Most SMEs have vague direction and quarterly spreadsheets, not real growth plans. Greg Wilkes on why a one-page plan creates accountability and consistency that drives results.
What’s Happening: According to Greg Wilkes, founder of Develop Coaching, the real problem is noise: unclear strategies, half-baked marketing, unnecessary meetings, and vague plans. SMEs that scale in 2026 will be those that simplify and focus, not those with the biggest budgets.
Why This Matters: Vague plans, unfocused targeting, and reliance on founder heroes create ceilings that prevent scaling. SMEs that implement repeatable systems and build disciplined processes unlock predictable growth and free their leaders from operational bottlenecks.
Cut the noise, find the focus. Australian SME leaders are drowning in choices. More software platforms. More marketing channels. More meetings. More ideas. Yet fewer of them are actually growing.
Greg Wilkes, founder of Develop Coaching and author of Building Your Future, argues the problem isn’t external. It’s internal noise and lack of focus.
“Scaling in 2026 won’t reward the biggest budget,” Wilkes says. “It’ll reward the SMEs that move fast, focus hard, and stop doing things that drain time without creating real commercial lift.”
The gap between businesses that grow and those that stall is widening, Wilkes notes, but the cause is straightforward: “Not because of market conditions, but because leaders are overloaded with noise: shiny software, half-baked marketing ideas, unnecessary meetings, and vague growth plans.”
From chaos to consistency
The first move Wilkes recommends is deceptively simple: build a one-page growth plan and actually use it.
Most SMEs claim to have a plan. What they actually have is a quarterly spreadsheet and a vague sense of direction. The difference matters enormously for execution.
“A proper growth plan fits on one page,” Wilkes explains. “It forces clarity. It sets non-negotiables. It removes the guesswork that kills momentum.”
That one-page plan should answer five specific questions: What exact revenue and profit targets are you driving toward in 2026? What customer segments will get you there fastest? What is your 90-day focus, broken into weekly commitments? Who owns what? What are you not doing anymore?
The discipline required to answer those questions creates accountability. “The companies that stick to a weekly rhythm of reviewing the plan consistently outperform those that review only when things get quiet,” Wilkes observes.
The second move is equally counter-intuitive: stop chasing every customer. Instead, tighten your ideal client profile.
“Broad targeting is expensive and impossible to scale predictably,” Wilkes states. “Your fastest growth next year will come from getting specific about who you want and who you’re prepared to walk away from.”
A strong ideal-client profile includes industry or vertical, company size, the urgent problem you solve, buying triggers and fears, and what clients value enough to pay a premium for. This specificity drives both efficiency and margin.
Wilkes cites a real example: “One Melbourne client cut lead volume by 40 percent but increased sales by 70 percent simply by narrowing their target.” That’s the power of focus. “Scale starts with saying no,” he concludes.
Five non-negotiables for 2026
Beyond planning and targeting, Wilkes identifies three additional systems that unlock predictable growth.
The third move is building what he calls a demand engine: a repeatable, trackable system that creates opportunities weekly rather than relying on luck.
“If you can’t pinpoint where your best leads come from, you don’t have a growth strategy. You have luck,” Wilkes says. A scalable demand engine typically blends three pillars: outbound targeted outreach to curated high-fit prospects, content that positions thought leadership and warms prospects, and paid channels that earn their spend through testing and scaling winners.
“When these channels support each other, you get consistent pipeline flow rather than feast-and-famine cycles,” Wilkes notes. “Leads shouldn’t be a surprise. They should be a weekly output.”
The fourth move is building a sales system instead of relying on heroic selling. Too many SMEs depend on one high performer or the founder to close deals, which creates fragility and prevents scaling.
A strong sales system includes a qualification framework that filters early, a consistent discovery process, a presentation that answers objections in advance, a pricing model that protects margin, and a follow-up cadence that extends beyond casual check-ins. Wilkes reports that “one client doubled their close rate in eight weeks by tightening discovery and follow-up.” The conclusion: “Systems beat heroes.”
The fifth move requires a cultural shift: redesign your business structure for the team you need to build, not the team you have now.
“Most SMEs hit a ceiling because the owner is still the bottleneck,” Wilkes explains. Scaling requires moving beyond control. Design roles with clear outcomes, not vague responsibilities. Hire for capability. Document core workflows. Give managers ownership. Build meeting rhythms that drive execution.
“Your systems set you free. Your team keeps you there,” Wilkes says.
The shift that matters
Wilkes acknowledges that implementing five new systems sounds daunting. It isn’t, he suggests, because each strategy can be staged over time. There’s no requirement for a huge team or a giant budget to start. What’s needed instead is intent, consistency, and confidence.
“2026 will reward SMEs that simplify, focus, and build repeatable engines for growth,” Wilkes concludes. “If you want scale, focus on fewer things done better. Complexity slows you down. Discipline drives you forward.”
The encouraging part: every one of these five strategies can begin immediately. Build your one-page plan. Sharpen your ideal client. Set your demand engine in motion. Systemise sales. Reshape your team for the next level.
“Do that, even imperfectly at first, and you’ll feel the shift,” Wilkes says. “More clarity. More control. More momentum. 2026 won’t belong to the biggest SMEs. It’ll belong to the ones that commit. The ones that execute. The ones that decide growth is not a hope, but a choice.”
This article is based on insights from Greg Wilkes, founder of Develop Coaching, author of Building Your Future, and host of The Construction podcast.
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
