When Avon Collis founded Relevate, a CRM, automation, and digital transformation consulting firm, he set out to bridge a gaping hole in the market. Businesses worldwide needed help adopting cutting-edge technologies, streamlining daily tasks, and staying competitive in an era of rapid digital change. Drawing on a diverse background – which included military service and running a coffee shop, Avon had already honed a willingness to experiment and adapt. Yet as Relevate expanded its roster of global clients, he soon faced a new set of challenges: How do you scale a specialized consulting operation without losing the spark of innovation? Where do you find time to handle strategic thinking when you’re consumed by day-to-day tasks? And most importantly, how do you keep a growing team aligned with a bold vision?
Avon recognized that technology alone, no matter how sophisticated the automation, AI, or CRM solution, does not guarantee success. An organization also needs clear leadership structures and defined accountability measures. “I was very self-directed,” Avon recalls, “but at some point, you need someone else to look at the big picture.” This realization led him to ActionCOACH, and specifically business coach Bill Stack. It was a partnership that would fundamentally transform Relevate, helping Avon step out of day-to-day firefighting and invest his energy in orchestrating global growth. In Avon’s words, “Coaching isn’t about a one-time fix or some piece of magic knowledge. It’s about someone else making sure you’re doing the right things at the right time – and calling you out when you’re off track.”
Relevate's Mission In A Rapidly Evolving Industry
Relevate’s core mission has always been to help businesses integrate technology in a way that genuinely simplifies operations. As Avon puts it, “Technology should be an enabler, not a hindrance.” Many firms adopt new CRM platforms or automation tools but fail to exploit their full potential, floundering in partial integrations and poorly trained staff. Relevate steps in to align the entire ecosystem – from strategy and advisory work to IT management, virtual staffing, and process automation – ensuring clients remain agile and ready to pivot.
Yet scaling such a consulting firm presents its own complications, especially when prospective clients operate across different time zones and rely on Relevate for end-to-end guidance. By the time Relevate reached the point of needing multiple teams for AI development, CRM integration, and client onboarding, Avon was juggling more roles than ever: team leader, sales manager, strategist, and brand ambassador. “I guess for me it’s about innovation,” Avon notes. “But at some stage, innovation alone doesn’t pay the bills, and you need structure. That’s where coaching comes in.”
When the day-to-day demands – vendor negotiations, staff training, client follow-ups – began overshadowing Avon’s capacity to explore big-picture strategies, he realized a crucial piece was missing: He needed an external partner to provide an objective viewpoint and a structured approach. “I had the passion, but passion by itself can make you do 1,000 tasks without finishing even one,” he explains. “ActionCOACH gave me the discipline to focus on what actually drives results.”
Recognizing The Need For ActionCOACH
Avon’s entrepreneurial journey is rooted in diverse experiences, from learning resilience in the army to understanding customer service nuances while running a coffee shop. These early lessons taught him to be self-reliant and to iterate quickly. However, once Relevate began to secure clients seeking comprehensive digital transformation solutions, cracks emerged in how the business operated. Employees were confused about their responsibilities, leading to overlap in tasks or, at times, tasks that simply fell through the cracks. The sales pipeline rose and fell sporadically, fueled mostly by ad-hoc networking and personal referrals. And as Avon jokes, “I was the first one in, last one out, but that only got me so far.”
While he valued the hustle and the nature of innovation, he found it difficult to step away from smaller tasks. “I can just do that myself,” was his thought whenever a minor snag arose, because in the short term, it was indeed faster. In the long term, however, such habits stifled the possibility of scaling. Recognizing this, he sought a coaching arrangement with ActionCOACH Bill
Stack. The program’s emphasis on accountability, short planning cycles, and measurable progress checks appealed to his data-savvy mindset. He notes, “Even if you know academically what good leadership or delegation looks like, you still need someone to hold your feet to the fire so you don’t wander off chasing the next shiny object.”
From the outset, ActionCOACH recommended stepping back and scrutinizing how Relevate was structured. Bill encouraged Avon to list every role in the firm and map tasks to the appropriate people, an exercise that exposed gaps in leadership and accountability. This reorganization was not a one-and-done process; it required weekly check-ins to ensure consistent implementation. “Accountability is huge,” Avon stresses. “I’m a doer by nature, but I can also get distracted by new ideas. Having a coach turned these ideas into step-by-step actions rather than random experiments.”
Transforming Leadership And Operations
Once the partnership with ActionCOACH was underway, Relevate’s processes and leadership structures began evolving in concrete ways. Together, Avon and his coach Bill laid out a strategic vision that addressed not only revenue targets but also the firm’s desired culture of innovation and how employees fit into that narrative. This planning underscored an important revelation: many responsibilities that had landed on Avon’s plate did not necessarily belong there.
He points to tasks like negotiating minor vendor deals or personally resolving IT hiccups for staff. In his own words, “I realized I was spinning too many plates, and the more plates I had, the less I could see which ones were truly important.” Under guidance from his coach, he started documenting tasks and standard operating procedures, enabling other team members to take over. Freed from what he calls “execution overhead,” Avon devoted more time to forging partnerships with specialized software providers and integrating advanced AI solutions into Relevate’s service offerings. This shift not only improved Relevate’s internal efficiency but also enriched the scope of the solutions the company could offer.
He also refined the content strategy. Previously, client education and staff onboarding depended heavily on real-time demonstrations. Now, with well-recorded modules, Relevate maintained a library of resources that both new hires and potential clients can access. Avon describes one particularly effective technique: “I sent a playlist of short videos to a prospective client before we even spoke in person. When I walked into the meeting, it felt like they already knew me, like it wasn’t a sales pitch anymore but a partnership conversation.” This approach streamlined the entire sales cycle, reflecting an overarching principle Bill Stack hammered home: harness your time and expertise in ways that multiply impact.
The Impact on Revenue, Clients, And Team Morale
Relevate’s adoption of ActionCOACH's principles led to tangible improvements across the board. Revenue saw a notable boost, in part because automated lead nurturing and content-driven sales replaced the previous sporadic networking method. By tracking key metrics such as conversion rates from video introductions to sales calls, the firm identified where new prospects fell off and addressed those gaps. This data-informed approach resonated deeply with Avon, who notes that “Everything we do for clients revolves around data, so why shouldn’t we be similarly disciplined within our own sales process?”
Clients also reported higher satisfaction and stronger engagement. With Relevate’s teams now operating under clarified roles and well-established processes, the quality of work improved. Employees, no longer overloaded by undefined tasks, found room for creativity and problem-solving. That surge in morale was particularly visible when the company entered new markets or launched specialized service lines. By empowering the workforce, Relevate saw an uptick in staff retention. People felt they had a stake in the company’s mission, which in turn built continuity for clients used to dealing with familiar faces. “I used to be the biggest bottleneck,” Avon reflects. “Now I’m not. That alone is huge for team morale. Everyone gets to pitch in with their strengths, and I can concentrate on forging alliances, improving our offerings, and looking for new opportunities.”
Accelerating Growth Through ActionCOACH's Accountability
While the internal changes were significant, Avon repeatedly highlights accountability as the bedrock of Relevate’s transformation. Weekly check-ins forced him to confront any drift from strategic goals or uncompleted action items. He says, “I’d been very self-directed all my life, from the army to running my own business. But self-direction can also mean self-distraction. My coach brought a structure I couldn’t ignore.”
That structure extended to leadership development within the company. Avon understood that if Relevate was to expand globally, mid-level managers had to embrace the same focus on data, results, and innovation that he championed. Using frameworks recommended by ActionCOACH, Avon delegated projects more confidently. He likens this approach to the discipline taught in the military: the right training and protocols empower individuals to act decisively without waiting for top-down commands. The payoff was immediate. Managers in sales, marketing, and technology began taking the initiative to streamline workflows, improve client onboarding, and propose new solutions that dove deeper into CRM and automation possibilities.
Meanwhile, Avon gained enough freedom to identify new partnerships that could catapult Relevate into bigger markets. He explored alliances with specialized AI providers, forging relationships that expanded the company’s toolkit beyond standard CRM solutions. That synergy, combining advanced technology with Relevate’s streamlined internal processes, caught the attention of enterprise-level clients looking for nimble providers who could navigate complicated digital transformations. The result was a pipeline of larger, more lucrative contracts that further justified Relevate’s investment in robust systems and staff training.
Building A Globally Recognized Consulting Firm
From the beginning, Avon’s dream was to see Relevate become a name recognized worldwide for its high-quality consulting in CRM, automation, and digital transformation. ActionCOACH’s emphasis on short planning cycles and goal alignment provided the scaffolding for this global vision. Freed from minor tasks, Avon spent time visiting new markets, attending relevant conferences, and forging relationships. He discovered that the thoroughness of Relevate’s internal organization impressed prospective partners. This credibility made them comfortable sending high-stakes, multi-location projects to Relevate.
That operational readiness became all the more crucial when Relevate opened offices in other regions or acquired smaller technology consultancies. Processes established under the watchful eye of his coach Bill, translated smoothly to new locales, since the fundamental steps remained consistent: define roles, set KPIs, and keep lines of accountability clear. Where once expansions seemed daunting, Relevate now had a road-tested playbook.
Avon points out that “Coaching kept us on track to achieve the real big picture. We aren’t just a regional consulting firm anymore. We have a presence in multiple time zones, we’re forging alliances with major players, and we’re ensuring each step is anchored by the structures we built.” This approach not only propelled revenue but also attracted a new caliber of talent. Skilled professionals sought out Relevate, enticed by the company’s combination of cutting-edge technologies and well-defined culture. New hires arriving into a stable environment could ramp up quickly, thanks to the content modules Avon and his team had created for training and orientation.
ActionCOACH's Impact And The Future of Relevate
Looking back, Avon considers ActionCOACH the catalyst that shifted Relevate’s potential from promising to truly global. He reiterates that he always believed in experimentation, whether that meant signing up for new software or testing different marketing angles, but acknowledges that without a guiding structure, these experiments risked spreading his energy thin. Bill offered a balancing force, encouraging him to set milestones, evaluate results, and, most importantly, hold himself accountable each week.
He also regards it as transformative for his personal leadership. Once reluctant to delegate, Avon now systematically offloads tasks to carefully trained and trusted team members, allowing them space to innovate. He references his time in the military to illustrate how a well-trained soldier should act effectively without micromanagement, noting that business can follow the same principle if employees clearly know their goals and the strategic outcomes. “I learned the difference between commanding and leading,” he says, referencing how the best results come when people feel a sense of shared responsibility rather than pressure from above.
Today, Relevate continues to refine its processes, exploring AI-driven expansions and forging new alliances in markets far from its Australian roots. Yet the fundamentals such as clear accountability, structured short-term goals, and unwavering focus on delivering results remain unwavering, a testament to the enduring influence of ActionCOACH on Relevate’s story. “We’re not waiting for someone else to come along and fix our next stage of growth,” Avon says. “We have the frameworks. We have the discipline. That’s the real gift of coaching: once you internalize it, you carry it with you wherever you go, and it keeps you on a path that leads to real, measurable success.”
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