How to introduce a NED without it sounding like a rescue
The client hears ‘you are in trouble’. That is why partners delay the introduction. The sentence is wrong, not the product.
Partners wait too long because the conversation feels like a verdict. It is not. A Non-Executive Chair or NED is an independent adult in the room while the business is still healthy enough to use one. Introduce it as structure, not as first aid.
The three sentences
Use these, in this order, and stay on the email.
One. “You do not need another pair of hands. You need someone who does not work here to make the board do its job.”
Two. “Jayesh takes a personal Chair or NED seat. He will not bid for audit, tax or the transaction. I remain your accountant.”
Three. “The first conversation is twenty minutes. No retainer is sold on that call. I can stay copied.”
When those sentences are due
A structural event is coming: succession, sale, PE, refinance or a serious restructure. Packs are late. Cash surprises the owner. The owner is still the operating system. That is a NED. If they need a marketing plan written or a CEO replaced, that is an executive hire. Say so.
What you keep
The compliance relationship. The right to stay on the thread. A growing client, therefore more room for virtual FD work and genuine advisory. R W Progressive will not cut across the firm.
Forward this briefing with the website. If the client is within 100 miles of Bolton, or remote, the next step is the same: enquire, then decide whether a Chair seat, a finite advisory brief, or IPO in 5 is the product.
Talk to Jayesh
Jayesh P. Patel MBA FInstSMM JP · R W Progressive
Non-Executive Chair · Strategic Board Advisor · IPO in 5
j.patel@rwprogressive.co.uk · 07771 871 757
www.rwprogressive.co.uk
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