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Stop Hunting – Start Sharing… Collaboration Is The Key.

Making 'Business Networking' successful. “I cannot meet with you today as I am so busy…” he said but then when the phone went down he told me that he didn’t really know the person who just called…that they’d met at an event and exchanged cards etc …but he didn’t see it as a immediate client and so chose to plough on through his ‘admin and organisational’ work instead of meeting up.   My question to him was – “When DO you decide to have a meeting then?”   “Well obviously if they want something and I can make immediate business then I will meet up” he replied. “Do you find that people usually just immediately buy when you have only just met then?” I asked “No…” he said slowly “But I haven’t got time to meet just for a chat

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By | 2017-10-11T15:37:53+00:00 October 11th, 2017|Business, Marketing, Selling / Sales|0 Comments
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What Goes Around….dealing with the struggle in small business

What Goes Around....      or dealing with the struggle in small business!   It was my new neighbour who said it…in conversation this morning about ‘what I do / what he does’ etc   He asked “what do you do then?” I replied “Well I specialise in helping businesses grow…I help them with improving their sales and marketing…so that they can grow by sticking to what they do best…in this case roofing”   “Oh Yes” he said “I really should be better at that side of things!”   And it got me thinking….   Why? Why do so many people think that the answer is to be better in all areas? You see there are a zillion owners of smaller businesses who probably recognise that “I’m not really good at that” but then too often flip to the comment

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By | 2017-10-04T18:21:01+00:00 October 4th, 2017|Business, Selling / Sales|Comments Off on What Goes Around….dealing with the struggle in small business
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Don’t get left behind. Join the video revolution.

Have you ever been positively influenced by someone or something you saw on TV? We’re living in a time when you’re on camera more than any time in human history. Whether it’s iPhone photos, Skype calls or CCTV, you are being photographed. Maybe you’re even being photographed as you read this: if you’re reading on a train or at a bus stop, you probably are. Most of the footage goes to waste - the photos never looked at, the CCTV footage innocuous, the Skype communication employed for nothing more than the occasional ‘thumbs up.’ But what if you could harness the potential of video, get it pulling its weight for your business? Well, here’s the good news… You can. It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s powerful. If your answer was to the initial question was yes, you already know how powerful

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By | 2017-10-04T18:08:58+00:00 May 25th, 2016|Business|0 Comments
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Who wants to talk to a robot?

Labour saving devices. Pah. What happened to a labour of love? First off, I have to say I’m no Luddite: I adore technology. But not all technology represents progress. It makes me sick how keen companies are to rip the humanity out of their customer service. So much so, their damn robot henchmen are now programmed to answer back. And if I sign up to one of these wonderful membership organisations and I think I am going to get something helpful for my few quid each month, then surely I should expect to speak to a real person now and then?! Maybe a real person calls me to say thank you for my money? Maybe a real person is there when I just want to call and ask a question because somewhere in the techno babble I missed which button

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By | 2017-10-04T18:11:00+00:00 May 25th, 2016|Business, Marketing, Selling / Sales|0 Comments
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Don’t do it alone

I cannot tell you how much this piece of advice has helped me over the years. Running a small and growing business is a huge challenge. We have people issues, legislation issues, timing and supplier and customer issues…and there is simply no way we can be good in all areas. We hire people – but they need direction and look to us for stimulation and support…and still it comes down to the leader of the business to be equipped to cope. Thus I will tell you best advice is to get a coach or a mentor or someone to help you but do not attempt this massive task alone! A business coach is very much like a personal trainer, when you select the right one for you they push you, they challenge you and they motivate you…but they also bring

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By | 2017-09-22T15:26:29+00:00 March 31st, 2016|Business, Family|0 Comments
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I thought highwaymen were extinct – until my bike insurance claim

I loved my motorbike; the taste of freedom it gave me, the thrill of riding around some country lanes on a Sunday…then some bastard nicked it. Gutted. And if you will forgive me the f@@@ing insurance company has spent the last six months trying to wriggle out of paying it. It was taken from my locked garage and I’ve spent half a year chasing, box-ticking and pleading with the slippery buggers as they duck and dive, introducing new hoops for me to jump through whenever they feel like. Beware MCE Insurance if you ever have a bike that you need insuring. Honestly, I feel like I’ve had my bike nicked twice.

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By | 2017-09-22T15:26:29+00:00 March 31st, 2016|Business, Marketing|1 Comment
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To grow your business, sell the sizzle, not the sausage

If you’ve ever not fancied a bacon sandwich and bought one anyway, you’re well on the road to understanding a sure fire route to growing your business. By appreciating the perspective of the buyer and re-learning to think like they do, you can attract legions of new customers. It shouldn’t be hard. We all buy stuff. We’re all buyers. But it’s too easy to get caught up in thinking in a propriety way where you can’t see the wood for the trees. You’re not thinking straight. You’re too close to the action. Step back. For example: you are walking down the street with a friend or colleague. It’s just before 9am in the morning on a lovely sunshiny day. You’re hungry, so you decide you need something to eat. You ask your friend if they want something, they say: “no

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By | 2018-01-18T10:47:14+00:00 October 8th, 2015|Business, Free Tips, Marketing, Selling / Sales|0 Comments
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7 free (ish) CRM systems to help keep your business at the forefront of customers’ minds

A lot of small businesses I coach weren’t using CRM software...until I told them the only way to grow your business is by getting to grips with CRM. CRM is the only way to operate, unless you want to end up chasing your tail the whole time.Having your sales leads and customer data sorted into one shared profile that all your team can update is essential to reducing long term stress. With the help of Capterra and g2crowd, two software review sites, and the Google App marketplace, I’ve made a short list of CRM systems are useful for small businesses. They are all free, or nearly free. They’re all web based too, so take very little setting up. You can automate communications and create a process for keeping in touch. It might take a little learning curve of setting it

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By | 2018-01-18T10:53:04+00:00 October 8th, 2015|Business, Free Tips, Marketing, Selling / Sales|0 Comments
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Who do those French Farmers think they are?

Do these protesting French farmers think they’re helping themselves, scaring the sh1t out of truck drivers, waving their pitchforks around and setting fire to stuff that looks like it might be imported? What are they trying to achieve? It’s certainly no way to promote French exports - and nothing says, ‘Holidaymakers! Welcome to France!’ like a huge heap of burning fish. Now, if Eric Cantona is to be believed, French farmers go swaggering round getting treated like football superstars. Is it this ego trip that causes them to feel they can get away with doing whatever they like, and the world will still buy French machinery, holiday on their Rivera, gorge on their cheese and wine? Attacking truckers is a major ball-dropping by the world’s largest exporter of farm products. They’ve already got an Arab boycott on their hands -

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By | 2015-08-13T16:26:13+00:00 August 13th, 2015|Business, Latest News, Politics|0 Comments
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Ditch that stiff upper lip and feel your way to more sales

Successful selling is like blagging a discount at a Spanish greengrocer’s: you need to speak their lingo. If you pick the wrong words - or a whole other language - you’ll be understood by the brain, but not felt by the heart…and if a deal doesn’t feel right, it’s not happening. If you think a sale is the exchange of money for products and services, think again. A sale is the transfer of emotion, thereby, making someone feel the way you do. So how can you make a deal feel right? First of all it has to sound right. One of my little icebreakers when speaking at conferences is to ask people to scribble down as many different words for emotions as they can. How many could you get? Most people get around five or six. That’s a poor return,

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By | 2017-09-22T15:26:30+00:00 July 5th, 2015|Business|0 Comments
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