October 2012 Blog Posts (16)

Many people who believe they own a business are in reality self-employed. Now, if you’re self-employed by choice it’s fine by me. However, make sure you fully realise the risks and negatives:

• It’s hard to take holidays and days off
• Your business has no value - no one will buy your ‘job’
• You…

I wish I had £1 for every time a small business owner said to me - "Our website does not create any business and so I am getting it re-designed.  This is totally and utterly the wrong thing to do in 99% of all occasions.

Let's face it most businesses have a website that produces very little in terms of new business.  In fact most businesses spend most of their money designing a website that gets very few visitors and virtually no enquiries and they make an excuse like 'it is…

The recession has led to a re-examination of what creates business success and one important factor to emerge is that ‘good work’ can be at the heart of good performance and is as vital to the small and medium-sized enterprise as to any corporate because a highly competitive global market applies to all.  You need to be prepared for life after recession; to be ready to make the most of it; to be in the front line of your particular area of expertise.

In his “…

Berkshire's leading marketing trainer and coach Steve Mills, has just returned from a week in Dubai training business owners how to market themselves without money.

Steve said "It just goes to show that even in a country that has lots of money, people understand the value and importance of marketing your business using my 'Marketing without Money Formula'.  The workshops that I delivered were really well attended and received and I have been asked to go back there in November,…

‘It is not about the food’

I have been talking to friends and colleagues over the last few weeks about launching an awareness campaign about the feelings underneath eating disorders.  It has been really encouraging the number of people who feel strongly that obesity, anorexia and bulimia which is a serious problem in our society today.  Thanks especially go to the two Lorraines’s, Mark and Caroline for their active input so far.

So I emerged myself in getting a project…

How to have sales confidence – or how to sell without selling your soul! We all know that presenting rates as one of the greatest fears for many. For some it is even scarier than death itself. While I don’t know exactly where being seen as a sales person ranks, I suspect it is pretty high on the fear scale, especially in the UK. Waiting for it to become an attractive skill is not an option - we need to be able to sell now. It is true that some people are naturally comfortable at selling;…

How to bring your marketing plans to life

Marketing plans, like any other types of plan, are a great idea and can make for a very satisfying morning’s work! But, if we’re being honest, how much of the plan do we actually put in place?

If it’s 100%, congratulations! If it’s less than you would like then read on.

Peter Drucker summed it up when he said ‘Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans.’  So what…

Hands up everyone who’s involved in selling? Yes, it’s that old trick question. You and every person in a business are involved in selling. Anyone who isn’t clear about their role in selling is possibly sabotaging sales!

Think about when you deal with someone in an organisation. When you visit an…

Negotiation is all about preparation and planning, the majority of your time should be spent in the planning and preparation for the negotiation.

Click here for a free Negotiation Planning Checklist…

How to get more customers

Most business owners we talk to would love to generate more profitable work. When we start to ask about their marketing it’s clear that everything is a bit hit and miss!

So this week we want to share with you our step by step approach to improving the volume and quality of your lead generation.

Step 1

Work out the number of leads you need each week or month to reach your revenue targets.

Step…

It’s important to add value for your customers, but they have to know about it to appreciate it. What value are you adding, and if I surveyed your customers would they know about it and what value would they put on it?

This might connect with your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) or your Guarantee. It’s…

Together with the FSB, Italian! Simply is organising a product showcase night.

We will be providing food and a glass of wine for all the attendees, plus information on our products, where they're made and why we chose them.

During the night we will be offering the following menu:

Buffet of appetizers

- Green and Black Olives pate'

- Truffle sauce

- Tuscan Crostino

- Bruschetta Sauce

- Mousse with Pesto and Ricotta…

I once read an article in The Times, titled “Why women are such bad networkers”. The premise for the article was actually “Women are not natural networkers”  I would partially agree with the female journalist – but only partially.

Following years networking in a mixed gender environment, when I joined The Athena Network, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Spending most of my networking time with people who appreciate the value of building relationships is like a breath of fresh air.…

What’s all this jazz about being ‘trapped’ in your business?

Well, if you feel you are not progressing as you had hoped and planned; you don’t have enough time to do anything about it; you have no-one who could do the job as well and you are therefore no longer enjoying running your business – that’s what it means!

Okay, so what’s to be done?  There are four specific measures you can take to free yourself:

1. Beliefs:  Stop thinking you are the…

Running a business well and securely requires that you know your numbers! You have to be able to plan for cashflow and avoid the unexpected. It’s also about forecasting the numbers so that you can plan for growth. 

Anyone who’s had the experience of working as a senior…

I have lost track of the number of times I have heard a business owner say, “Everyone is my target market”. In other words they are saying that their product or service “could” be used by anyone. The reality of the situation is that “could” and “will” are two very different things.

There is a saying that the eagle that chases two rabbits will probably catch neither.

The key to creating a successful business starts with establishing very clearly who is most likely to buy…