How to build a high-performing team after your first acquisition

This email is Part 3 of a short series covering everything you need to do after buying your first business.

You can read the first two parts here:

• Part 1

• Part 2

You’ve built trust with your team in Week 1.

You’ve documented your systems in Days 30-90.

Now it’s time to turn your employees into high performers.

Most small business owners never do this properly. They hire people, tell them to “do a good job,” and hope for the best.

Today, I’ll share how to build a team that will actually help your new business grow.

Create comprehensive training programs

Your employees can’t hit goals they don’t understand.

This is where all that documentation from Days 30-90 pays off.

You’ve already created written manuals, video training, and clear standards for every role.

Now implement a training program that gets everyone up to speed.

New hires get structured onboarding. Existing employees get refresher training on the new standards.

The goal: everyone learns the same way, to the same standard.

Set clear KPIs for every role

Most employees fail because they don’t know what success looks like.

They show up on time and work hard, but they’re inefficient because nobody ever told them what to aim for.

Establish key performance indicators for each role.

For a salesperson, maybe that looks like 20 outbound calls per day, 5 meetings booked per week, 2 closed deals per month.

For a technician, that could be 6 service calls completed per day, 4.5+ star average rating, under 2% callback rate.

Just make it crystal clear what you’re measuring and why it matters.

Implement bonus incentive programs

Nothing motivates employees more than making more money.

When they see that doing X gets them Y, they’ll do more of X.

My students Ben and Andrea bought a nail salon and immediately implemented performance bonuses tied to revenue targets.

When employees hit their numbers, they got paid more.

This aligns employee incentives with company growth and makes employees think like owners instead of clock-punchers.

Establish quarterly performance reviews

You can’t just set KPIs and walk away.

I recommend quarterly performance reviews at minimum.

These reviews let you celebrate wins, identify struggling employees, spot training gaps, and decide who needs to be let go.

In most of my businesses, the general manager handles these reviews. They’re incentivized to keep the team performing because their bonus depends on it.

Build team cohesion from day one

Team-building matters.

To do this effectively, consider:

• Taking your team out for lunch

• Hosting quarterly gatherings

• Creating opportunities for people to connect outside of work stress

When employees feel like they’re part of something bigger, they’ll stick around longer and work harder.

Why this matters

Your team is either your biggest asset or your biggest liability.

Get this right, and they’ll help you scale faster than you ever could alone.

Next week in Part 4, you’ll learn how to grow revenue through marketing, pricing strategy, and geographic expansion.

Until then…

If you’re thinking about buying your first business, I occasionally share high-quality acquisition opportunities with this list when I come across them.

If you want those emails, just fill out the quick survey below:

👉 I want to buy (or invest as a silent partner into) a small business

Or if you’re a business owner looking to sell, let me know the details here:

👉 I want to sell my small business

Onward,

— Ben Kelly