(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) - According to the US Census Bureau, over 63% of small business owners are over age 45. In Indiana, over 90% of our employees work in businesses with less than 50 employees. Combining these statistics, the majority small to medium sized family owned businesses in Indiana will consider or be involved in a succession plan or change of ownership in the next five to ten years. A profitable succession is more likely when the company has identified and implemented a focused strategy for growth prior to the date of transfer. Most small to medium sized business do not have a professional level sales manager and sales training program to equip their sales team with the skills and strategy to drive this needed growth. To meet this need, ACTUM Group has opened an office in Indianapolis dedicated to addressing strategy, sales, and succession for small to medium sized businesses. The company began operations in July, according to ACTUM principal, Jeff Bowe.

“I am one of the few people providing our type of services who came into a family business, bought the family business as an arm’s length transaction, grew the business, successfully sold the business, and then created another successful business in an unrelated field. One of my biggest challenges in that business was recruiting, training, and motivating high level sales reps.” said Bowe. “Being part of the Indianapolis market for over twenty years, this new group understands the opportunities as well as the challenges of short and long term strategy and succession for small to medium sized family business. And in between, it’s all about focused sales growth, and sales training is the key.”

The company's founder is the former owner of Benham Press and Benham Imaging, both of Indianapolis. Benham Press was sold to publicly held Disc Graphics in 1997. Jeff Bowe has become one of Indianapolis’ premier sales and strategy coaches in the five years since leaving Disc Graphics in 2000, working with hundreds of sales people to improve all aspects of their selling strategy and skillset. He has also provided strategic planning consulting to numerous startups. Bowe is a frequent author and speaker throughout the country, as well as being adjunct faculty at Oakland City University and a certified instructor at University of Phoenix.