Is Your Marketing Really Working For You?!
Businesses and organisations everywhere are missing the opportunity to expand, grow and most of all become more profitable and this is for one very simple reason; a lack of vital knowledge when it comes to basic marketing.
“Business growth is a choice; some people understand how to move their business forward, others need help, guidance and the resource of knowledge proven to deliver results…” – Nial Adams – Consultant & Marketing Partner for PUSH
As specialists in business growth through effective marketing we work side-by-side with the owners and managers of businesses who are serious about growth and stability. These people have recognised that marketing is a weak link in their business chain and want to resolve it. They want the advice, guidance and support of someone who they believe and trust; someone with a proven track record of real results.
What many business owners and managers are really looking for is a partner to help them put the right marketing strategies into their business and support them to ensure these produce profitable results. Someone to share the journey and show you the way…
Building a business can be a rewarding, exhilarating and exciting experience! For many people an in-depth knowledge of their subject, product or chosen field is a good place to start but may still show up gaps in business knowledge.
Marketing, for example, is where we often find business owners struggling. Knowing how to apply appropriate and effective marketing methods that generate bottom-line revenue is essential for every business.
PUSH Marketing Partners take a refreshing and unique approach to helping you get fast, tangible and profitable results from changes to your marketing.
Timeline For Facebook 26th March - Will you make the deadline for Timeline?
Over the past year we’ve seen facebook continue to grow and develop. One of the biggest elements of this evolution is how businesses, large and small, can tap into the power of a highly engaged audience – using Social Engagement, Permission-Based and Community Marketing and highly targeted advertising, promotion and viral campaigns.
The smart business owners out there are already on to this; you need to be too!
This month facebook will deliver the new Timeline format to all Pages. If you’re a business and operate a profile through such a Page you’re going to see this change on the 30th March. The smart people out there have already been moving to Timeline and working with the new layout and format, however we believe that very few people have really understood just why Timeline is such a powerful opportunity.
“Facebook Timeline Will Be Huge For Brands!” – Mashable.com
For the first time you will be able to really build your brand credentials through this format and use this to not only increase your audience and community but also turn up the volume on the way you promote your products and services.
As a leading Marketing Partner, working with a range of businesses (including two very large national marketing agencies), we are fortunate in that two members of our digital team are both registered Facebook Developers. So we’ve been working with this new technology for some time now.
Over the past few months we’ve had a lot of people ask us about Timeline and what they should be doing with it. With the deadline for this change coming up fast we’ve decided to run a ‘flash-seminar’ to explain why Timeline is so important.
The date is coming up very fast and we’ve only got a limited number of seats. Held at Drayton Old Lodge and delivered through our own PUSH Marketing Academy, this is your chance to get the knowledge and inside-track on Timeline.
At this seminar you’ll learn:
• How Timeline actually works and why facebook has created it
• What Timeline means for your brand credentials
• How to set up your Timeline correctly and effectively
• Exactly what you need to do before the deadline arrives
Date: Monday 26th March ‘12
Timings: 9:30-11:30am (registration from 9am)
Venue: Drayton Old Lodge, Norwich
Booking: via Eventbrite – just CLICK HERE
Cost: Sponsored Seat(s) just £30 incl. VAT and Booking Fee (Full Price £57)
Open to all business owners serious about harnessing Social Media
SPECIAL OFFER – We recognise that you’d really value the opportunity of bringing a friend or colleague with you. This will better help you to understand what you need to do to harness Timeline correctly. Book your ticket now and claim a SECOND GUEST ticket free – a £30 value!
Please note: very limited seats and we expect this event to be oversubscribed – Book Now
The PUSH Marketing Academy
Enrollment for 2012/2013 Academy Year Opening Soon
Nial Adams - PUSH Marketing Partner
Welcome!
Over the number of years I’ve been helping business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs I’ve learned that good marketing really is at the core of every successful business. More than this though, I’ve also learned that the owners/managers of strong and profitable businesses actually understand what effective marketing is all about.
While some business owners prefer to pass this responsibility on to others, the smart people out there have a good handle on how marketing can bring paying customers to their door, over and over again.
The strange thing is that so many people think good marketing is a mystery, or some sort of black art, when the truth is that good marketing – one that puts money back into the business and at a profit – is really very simple when you know how. To start with you just need someone with experience to show you the ropes and give you a proper plan to follow.
So let me ask…
- Do you sometimes feel confused about where to even start with your marketing?
- Are you ever anxious about the fact that you’ve not yet got a solid marketing plan to follow?
- Do you know what Return on Investment you’re currently getting from your marketing efforts?
- Do you wish you could find a practical way to get your marketing revved up for the months ahead?
- Are you conscious of the fact that SME marketing is changing rapidly… want to keep up?!
It’s in Your Hands!
At one of my previous Business Seminars I talked about the relationship between Business Knowledge, Focus and Systems. These three elements, when working in harmony, can create solid and profitable results. So you’ll understand me when I say that keeping up with your Business Knowledge is just like any other vocation; it’s something you need to invest in frequently to ensure you’re growing and moving forward. Remember; if you’re not growing, you’re falling behind the pack, as others (your competition) are forging ahead of you and probably stealing your customers.
I’ve also learned over time that trying to help improve the results of a business simply by adding some systems and a few new ideas rarely produces long-term gains. You see, the truth is that as business owners it’s all about us and our ability to grow, expand and APPLY our knowledge.
You don’t need to be a genius to be great at business, you don’t need to be the most creative, the most dynamic or even blessed with special entrepreneurial talents… you just need to UNDERSTAND how good business works and then focus on doing the right things every day!
This is why I’ve created a new learning platform for business owners who wanted to gain practical knowledge that can be applied, in real-time, to their business. Yes, there are lots of opportunities to gain academic knowledge about marketing; you can walk away with nice certificates for your office wall and lots of folders to fill the bottom draw of your filing cabinet. I wanted to create something far more tangible than this and ensure that this learning opportunity was married to practical action, so you can see the results of your learning in the bottom-line of your business. I wanted learning to go hand-in-hand with a real plan for action.
The PUSH Marketing Academy is a new way to get the knowledge that will help propel your business forward. It’s not online, home-study or distance learning, it’s up-front, ‘live and unplugged’ if you like!
You’ll have the chance to attend a Course Study Day each month with a small group of like-minded peers and learn direct from my personal experience and knowledge. The Course Programme is centred on current and relevant information that’s been assembled to ensure you can apply it to your micro or SME business in real-time and watch the new results you’re getting.
There are some great academic courses out there on marketing, and you can learn all about how the big names apply strategic and brand marketing to capture large chunks of the global market; but I’m guessing you’re much more interested in knowing how you’re going to improve your own business, without massive budgets or a marketing team the size of Saatchi & Saatchi!
You’ll also be learning a Programme that has been drawn from real-world experience of over two-decades (and not just my own). I’ve got my hands dirty and built a strong reputation on getting results where it counts. With the greatest of respect, there are some self-professed business tutors and coaches out there who have never run a business in their lives, let alone worked with (hundreds) of others.
It’s a Roll Call!
For the New Term I’m looking for just 12 people who are really serious about expanding their business knowledge and want to put this to good use and see this produce better results for their business.
The Programme is drawn from over 22 years of my personal business experience and focuses on the strategy and tactics that I know actually work. If you’re new to business (or even just new to marketing) it will help you cut your learning curve down considerably – not to mention potentially saving you massive amounts of money wasted on marketing that just doesn’t work.
As this is a live Programme you’ll be exposed to the very latest cutting-edge marketing tactics that capitalise on the recent significant advances in technology; all helping to make your life easier and your business simpler. You’ll find out just how much marketing has changed in the past two years and why so many businesses today are seeing diminishing results from their old-style campaigns.
The Course lasts four months and you’ll attend a One-Day Group Study Session each month, learning from a specially tailored training Programme that’s been designed and recently updated to ensure the content is fresh, relevant and applicable. You’ll be following a plan and have study material to follow as you go along so you can park your learning and build upon this progressively.
You’ll also have 1-2-1 Tutor Time with me personally to make sure you’re keeping on track and advancing your learning, as well as applying it in your business each week. There will be informal Peer Group Meetings too where you can share ideas and experiences along the way with your fellow students, helping you to even better understand and apply this new knowledge.
This Course Programme includes:
- Building & Communicating a Business Proposition
- How to Identify your Current Marketing Assets
- Effective Brand Creation & Management
- How to ‘Buy’ more customers and make a Profit
- Creating Real Leverage in Your Marketing Strategy
- The Fundamentals of Permission-Based Marketing
- Setting your Marketing Plan & Campaign Schedules
- Creating & Managing Multiple Marketing Channels
- How to Integrate your Marketing and Sales Strategies
- Tactics for Social Media – A New Wealth of Opportunity
- Setting Realistic Marketing Budgets and Measuring ROI
- How to Write Killer Marketing Copy like a Professional
- Effective PR that you can do for Yourself
- Working in Collaboration with Others – the Power of Joint-Venture
… a fitting location; Drayton Old Lodge, home to our Academy!
Is this for you?!
You don’t have to be a post-graduate or possess any special academic skills to join this Programme; a modest working knowledge of verbal and written English is all that you require… and a serious thirst to learn about practical marketing.
I’ll walk you through the essential basics first, then introduce you to the exciting stuff and show you how other businesses are adopting new ways to successfully market their products and services. You’ll learn what’s most current in the world of marketing, not re-hashed material that was out of date ten years ago!
Above all, this is a chance to really get some focus on your business from a marketing perspective; and I’m firmly of the opinion that if you’ve got a good handle on your marketing you’re more than half-way on the road to business success.
There will be only 12 places available for this next Term and I want you to have all the information you need to decide if this is right for you. So I’d like to encourage you now to request the full information pack to find out more (you’re not making any commitment at this stage).
To get this Prospectus Information, all you need to do is submit your name and email address below; this will ONLY be used by PUSH Marketing and not passed on to any third parties and you can unsubscribe at any time. Please note; the Prospectus is not on general release but on request only.
So… I’m going to leave you with a few very straight-forward questions that I think will help you decide if you’d like to be on this Programme:
- How serious are you about ‘growing’ your business? If you’re happy with the way things are and really don’t think you can change your results then this Programme is clearly not for you. If you know things could be better, then read on…
- Do you feel that your knowledge of practical marketing may be lacking or perhaps just a little bit out of date? And more importantly, do you want to DO something about it now?
- Do you find that you learn best when you’ve got a proper tutor guiding you through structured lesson plans, with practical exercises and follow-up work to complete?
- Would you value the benefit of studying alongside like-minded individuals who also want to gain an advantage in their business? Do you like learning in small groups?
- Have you ever felt that you’ve previously missed out on a more formal academic business education but never really found a programme that makes sense in terms of time and money invested?
- If you could learn new ways to bring new customers and clients to your business and all this took was some knowledge, your focus and some support, would you go ahead?
- Are you ready to step up a gear, demonstrate your business commitment by investing in yourself and learning new skills that will repay you over and over again..?
If my message above has stirred something deep inside you and if you’re curious to find out more, I’m offering you a chance to get the new Academy Prospectus and apply for a place on the next term of this year.
Just email apply@pushmarketingacademy.co.uk and mention where you found out about the Academy; I’ll send you a PDF Prospectus by return.
If you just want to talk over your thoughts or ask me any questions, I’m here – unlike some, I don’t hide behind my website! Pick up the phone and call me for some personal time and attention – 0844 357 0230
I very much hope you’ll take the next step on your journey of learning and would love to welcome you to the PUSH Marketing Academy this year.
Sincerely
Nial Adams
Academy Principal Tutor
Just 24hrs ago I began writing the blog you’re about to read. Today the entire perspective of my musings has taken a dramatic turn. Like so many, I’ve woken to the very sad new that Steve Jobs, co-founder and the inspirational leader of Apple, has passed away, aged just 56.
There can be no doubt that Jobs was both a visionary and creative genius but for me there was one more significant attribute he displayed, he was ahumanist. He understood what we, as humans, want and need. He also broke entirely new ground in the way vendors and consumers connect and created a brand that has probably become one of the most powerful and influential of today.
Why have Apple have impressed the heck out of me!
Yesterday (4th October) I watched the Apple Keynote address releasing new features, products and continued vision for Apple’s future. I was left in no doubt why Apple has become the world’s leading company in its field. Love or hate the brand, there is no doubting the statistics – these figures speak for themselves.
The Keynote Address, given by the new CEO Tim Cook, began with a rundown of successes to-date, reaching right back to the beginning of the first Apple products to the market. One of the most notable points from this presentation is just how fast Apple has grown and how fast their product have completely changed the technology landscape.
“What is all this got to do with me and my business.. I’m never going to be the size of Apple!”
Well, the one thing that becomes obvious when you see the keynote address is Apple’s attention to detail in every element of their business, from pure design and innovation, to customer service excellence, to the way they create culture and nurture their brand. Things we can all do in our business.
Listening to the Keynote Address left me in no doubt that absolutely every small business, large or medium business, or even blue-chip corporate the size of Apple, can learn something from their approach to the way they run and continue to grow their operation.
So what are these lessons and how can we gain from them?
First of all, there is no doubt that their main quest and ultimate goal is that of absolute excellence in everything they do. So many businesses talk of this but how many can clearly point to the way that they try to achieve the other day-to-day basis. Sure, like everyone else Apple sometimes falls short, the launch of the iPhone 4 was dogged with a major design flaw but the product still went on to become the world’s largest and fastest selling smartphone.
Like many, listening to the Keynote I felt slightly disappointed to find would be no release of the much-anticipated iPhone 5. Like many, I’ve been waiting to upgrade from my beloved 3GS and rumours of the 5 suggested another quantum leap for the next generation of Apple iPhone.
However, in listening to the presentation of the facts around the design of the new iPhone 4S it became apparent to me that not only have they produced another outstanding new product but that they also ignored all the desires of the consumers and produced what we really need, not necessarily what we think we want.
Watch the presentation and pay attention to every single feature, once again their product design is something that is truly world-class.
Of all the lessons that were apparent, the keynote address was a master-class on product presentation. More than this clear, it is the approach to strategy that defines who they are, what they do, and what the collective vision is at Apple.
In designing a premium brand that represents premium products, Apple have gone beyond being simple retailers – in their attention to detail in true customer service they have produced a retail experience that is simply unmatched. And this is not just for the fun of it. Apple stores are the most successful retail spaces in the world, generating more sales revenue per square metre than any other.
As many Apple product owners will know, should you ever have a need to take the product back, perhaps for a repair or maintenance, the level of customer service it is one of excellence. So why is Apple able to achieve this while only others in the same industry have failed so miserably?
Simple, Apple built this concept of premium customer care into the product and also into the pricing model, allowing them to deliver first-class service. The company accepted that from time-to-time things go wrong and sometimes products do fail, ever world-class ones, the question is… how we deal with it and most importantly, how the customer perceives our reaction after the event.
A study from the automotive industry a number of years ago gave evidence to prove that a company who responds well to a product recall can actually improve in terms of the customer perception rather than decline and suffer a PR disaster. The question is how you deal with it.
To see other examples of why I believe apple is an industry leader visit the Keynote Address and watch the video, a great example of business that has not only clear vision but knows the way to achieve it.
Nial Adams
Footnote:
As mentioned above; this blog was written only a few hours before the news of Steve Jobs’ death was announced. To get a beautiful insight as to what made this man the person he was please invest 15 minuets of your life and watch his famous Stanford Address here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
Engagement is the Key
For me, marketing is the very front end of sales, in most cases, every sale. In fact, consider this serious question; how many businesses can operate effectively with a sales team but no marketing (whatsoever) and how many can operate with good marketing and no sales team?
“But you always need a salesperson to close the deal… don’t you Nial?!”
No, not always. How many sales people does Amazon hire, how many do facebook… eBay, etc. etc…?! Apple’s App Store has supplied over three billion applications to customers making millions of dollars in revenue every month … and not one single salesperson is involved!
And it’s not just the big boys who play this strategy; there are hundreds of thousands of small businesses (mostly online) that generate regular profits every day, week and month by using simple digital marketing tactics.
Sure, knowing how to sell is vital and essential to know when it comes to crafting your marketing. For many businesses, having people who can sell is crucial but it’s only one part of the bigger picture. All too often I come across new business start-ups who have considered what they want to sell, know (or think) who their customers will be, go ahead, set up and open the doors but have no plan (or budget!) to do anything at all with their marketing!
My point is this, good marketing is all about effective communication and the key here is engagement. Engagement on both sides.
Engagement is the Key to Great Marketing
At the very core of good marketing is a deep and thorough understanding of human psychology and how this affects the way people react and respond to stimuli through various media; the written word, images, audio and other channels. It’s all about communication and the ‘Click – Whirr’ effect that Dr Robert Cialdini talks about in his seminal work on Influence and Persuasion.
So why is engagement important? Well, just like in the classic form of sales-based operations, if you want your marketing to find new customers and win you profits, then you need be prepared to get involved with your customers. Thankfully, with the growth and expansion of various forms of digital marketing you can now systemise and automate a lot of this but you can still engage with new-found customers and that requires time, effort and focus.
Engagement has THREE GOLDEN RULES:
- Find out as much about your new or prospective customers as you can. Don’t apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Even if you use data capture in the form of subscriber forms on your website, make sure that everyone has the option to add some free text and encourage them to express what’s important to them and why they want YOU to help them.
- Spend time making a proper introduction; don’t bore your new-found friend (yes, you should treat customers like friends!) with long monologues about how nice you are and what a great business you run… but do give time to expressing what makes you different and what your Essential Sale Argument (ESA) is all about.
[Editor’s note: if you want to know more about ESA click here -http://www.nial-adams.com/news/whats-the-deal/ ]
- Get your new customers to engage; make it fun, interactive and rewarding for them to engage with you. You’ve no hope of finding out what they want or what will ‘push their buttons’ if you don’t give them an encouragement to actually do something. Passive leads and prospects are very hard to turn into buying customers. So think of ways in which you can get them involved. Ask them to complete questionnaires, polls, ‘Like’ your page and share your news with others they know.
If all this has given you cause to stop and think, great, now you need to actually DO SOMETHING about it!
Step back and take a look at your current routes to market and what you’re doing to invite people to engage with you. Consider how you could make it:
- More Simple – don’t beat about the bush, tell them what to do and why
- More Fun – don’t take it too seriously, customers want to enjoy the experience
- More Flexible – accept that different people have different motives, give options
- More Rewarding – use simple tactic to reward them for being engaged with you
…and if you’re still lost to know what to do next, then simply engage – drop me a personal email via mail@nialadams.com and let’s start a dialogue.
Nial Adams
PS. And if you’ve read this far then I’m going to give you this valuable tip – if you really want to see what engagement looks like in action then login on facebook and take a look at ‘Frank Kern’… this guy is a genius at creating engagement.. 
I can’t keep quiet any longer! What an absolute load of rubbish most people talk about Social Media & Networking and, more importantly, how to harness it for business use. There seems to be a whole industry growing up around myths and stories that have no basis in fact.
Perhaps you’re still left wondering how best use it, or even if you should at all? Maybe you’ve already dived in but not finding it particularly productive or stimulating?
There’s a great confusion going on and I hope I can clarify a few simple points for you. Almost every day I see business owners and managers jumping into the Social Media space with the hope that they will miraculously tap into a rich seam of new business opportunities. For the most
part they follow the classic approach and make the classic mistakes that look like this:
1) create an account and profile, 2) add as many people as possible and then 3) spray sales messages all over their new-found ‘friends’ every hour, every day until someone gives in, actually rings up and then buys something. Beleive me, that strategy simply won’t work for you.
Nial Adams of PUSH Marketing Partners
My words might seem a little harsh. Sure, it’s not easy for someone starting out to know how to use a relatively new and fast-evolving marketing channel like Social Media. I’ve even seen the ‘big boys’ get it seriously wrong and there seems to be so much information out there how do you know who to listen to or what strategy to follow? More to the point, why should you listen to my take on it?
Well, here’s my point in a nutshell and I’m sure when you read what I am about to divulge you’ll have one of those ‘A-ha moments’ (and I’m not referring to an 80’s pop act!).
Guys, the clue is in the name…
Let’s work backwards for a moment. Social networking is exactly about that, networking. Creating a profile, adding lots of ‘friends’ and then broadcasting your news to the world is a bit like walking into a room at a networking event standing in the middle and shouting sales
messages to anyone who might care to listen. Meanwhile there are lots of people, all huddled in little groups, having interesting conversations between each other and getting to know each other. Standing on your own spieling to the room simply doesn’t work – and you’d look ridiculous!
As you might imagine, your efforts may seem a little strange and eccentric to others. Of course someone might come over and
try to help you out, strike up a two-way conversation and help you get started but it’s not likely.
You need to approach Social Networking in the same way you would a physical networking opportunity. Once you enter the space your
first job is to wander about, get close to the conversations that are going on already, find the ones that interest you (and you feel you can contribute to) and then listen. Listening is the key to good Social Networking skills. It’s where it all starts. Once you’ve found a conversation you like, you can find an appropriate way to engage with it and add something of value.
This is how you can start to build a credible profile
… which is vital if you want recognition in the Social Media space.
The second clue is in the other word; Social…
I’ll admit to being a bit of a Social Networking junkie but then it’s my job to understand how to use it and show others how to
get the best from it. One thing that I notice regularly is that some people think that you should either use Social Media for business or personal use, exclusively.
Wrong, so very wrong…
Social Networking is about YOU. It’s not about your business, organisation, products or services. It’s not about your offers, prices or why you think you’re better than the competition. It’s about you, what you do, what interests you and what’s going on in your life right now.
People who endlessly post comments about what they have to sell will find the Social Media landscape a very harsh and barren
environment. If you’re a mega-brand and your positioning is already established then yes, you may be able to attract lots of fans and keep them entertained with the next product offering you’ve got coming up. If not, you’ll want to use Social Media to start to create that profile and help people to get to know you.
Avoid inane comments and drivel and certainly stay well away from the keyboard late at night when you’ve had one glass of wine too
many but do let your tribe know what you’re enjoying right now. Be that a new product or service that you’re consuming, books, music, arts, comedy, etc., etc.
Engage and comment on a range of issues that not only affect you but the people you want to connect with.
So the other golden rule is to engage… to be Sociable.
It’s interesting to see people who pop into the space for just a few moments, stand there and shout about how great their product is and then
promptly leave again. What would you think of a person who did this in the ‘real world’? Take time to read what others are talking about, contribute, comment, challenge if you like but above all be social. The same good communication skills are needed in this virtual environment.
Apply these simple and hopefully obvious rules and you’ll not only find the Social Media space an interesting place to be, you’ll
make new connections and become recognised. Who knows… you might even find it brings you new business opportunities too.
Nial Adams
Nial Adams is Co-Founder of PUSH Marketing Partners who work with a diverse range of clients (from large blue-chip organisations to
micro and SME start-ups). This business also attracts a large number of these clients from the Social Media space.
Nial’s other blogs can be found on www.nialadams.com
A Testimonial -
Another great testimonial for the PUSH Marketing Academy, this time from Debi Hanley, an inspirational entreprenuer and great client to work with.
“Nial, I just wanted to congratulate you on a fabulous first days training at the PUSH Academy!
I have gained so much from it for both of my businesses; it has given me some clear actions to follow and challenged my thinking greatly. The first day of the course has helped me to find the focus I needed…thank you!
I felt the style of delivery was a positive mix of theory, practice and group involvement. I also found the day great fun and really enjoyed it.
There are certainly challenges ahead but I feel with yours and the groups support the next four months will be much more targeted towards success.
Many thanks”
Debi Hanley
Founder of Flax & Finch
Debi Hanley of flax & finch
Steve Gaskin of www.rightangledcsi.co.uk
We’re dellighted to share this fantastic testimonial with you from Steve Gaskin of Right Angle Events in Norfolk.
“I have known Nial Adams for the past three years, having originally met him through the Antidote Network and attended one of his marketing presentations.
Prior to forming and running our company, Right Angle Events, I was a Senior police officer in London. Since starting the business we have experienced good growth and have won several awards. Like all good companies, we carry out strategic reviews of all aspects of the business, it helps us stay focused and improve. Our marketing was highlighted as a clear weakness.
If, when I was in the police force, we identified a weakness we knew it had to be dealt with. It is the same with marketing! I don’t want to be caught again!
Last month I became an inaugural student on PUSH Marketing Academy, run by Nial Adams and his team, based in Drayton, Norwich, Norfolk.
Together with other local business people, we started the Experience in October 2010. I use the word “Experience” because a marketing “course” sounds bland and uninspiring.
Nial has designed an experience which is practical and is meant to have a rapid and direct impact on the business. His experience and enthusiasm is infectious. This instils a great feeling of positivity and has given me even more confidence to develop our marketing.
In fact, after the first course meeting and listening to Nial I followed his advice and I secured a new contract in London for nearly £1000, just 48hrs later. This is just the start of an exciting experience over the next few months.
I would highly recommend this different, exciting and inspirational Experience, which has and will continue to increase my bottom line!”
Steve Gaskin
Co-Director of Right Angle Events
PUSH Marketing Academy – We’re delighted to share this testimonial that has been provided by Jackie Willis, one of our PUSH Marketing Acadmey students…
“I have known Nial Adams for 5 years now. Nial helped me as my business mentor for 6 months from 2005 into 2006. I was a real ‘rookie’ to the business world, having come out of a secure job in the teaching profession.
Nial taught me so much and it’s only since that time that I have come to realise just how much I have actually implemented in my business, and in my personal development, that has come directly from him.
Now I am back with Nial, on the Push Marketing Academy, and it has a feel like ‘coming home’. I can’t really describe it except to say that Nial really knows his stuff and is able to put it across so well. I cannot speak highly enough of him nor recommend him more highly to others.
The structure of the Marketing Academy and the materials provided really ‘hit the spot’ and pushes you to do all those things you know you should but keep putting off – you know, that marketing plan and your budget and all those figures (aaagh!!) and, of course, the ‘test and measure’, Nial’s famous mantra. But, like all things that do you good, you know you have to face it and Nial will help you do just that.
So, if you are hesitating about going on the next Academy course, hesitate no more and go for it! You won’t regret it, I promise.”
Jackie Willis Cert.Ed. Dip.DI
Director Care Motoring Ltd
- Jackie Willis of www.caremotoring.co.uk
Can any business afford to ignore a sales opportunity these days; apparently the answer is yes.
Having worked in the marketing and promotions industry for well over a decade now I’m quite familiar with the simple process of placing orders for things like advertising space and print for point-of-sale. On the whole I’ve always found it to be a quite straight forward task. The golden rule is to set out clearly, in a language that suppliers are familiar with, the exact specifications of your needs. This ensures you get an accurate quote, the supplier recognises that you know what you want and in the vast majority of cases you get a good quality of service at a price that meets your budget. Everyone’s happy.
Perhaps this is changing and now I need to learn that the very first thing a written request for a quote requires is a clear statement at the very top, which reads:
‘THIS IS A LIVE SALES OPPORTUNITY – I’M ASKING YOU FOR A QUOTE BECAUSE I’M READY TO BUY’
You might detect a modest hint of sarcasm in my comment above and that would be correct. I’ve recently approached four local printers with to request a quote for a reasonable size print run. I’ve been shocked and disappointed that three of the four haven’t even bothered to reply. One did contact me to ask for some clarification on the copy but I’ve not heard a dickie bird since then. Thankfully the one printer who did respond was quick off the mark and offered me a great deal on a larger print run. Sadly his best offer doesn’t suit the requirement as it stands, so I’m still left looking. The other three seem to have completely passed by this sales opportunity.
"Oh dear, did we really miss that one?!"
Let me say quite clearly that I’ve often found printers to be very easy to work with, very professional and frequently willing to work hard to deliver a great service and build a good supplier/client relationship. Anyone in the print industry will know just how competitive this marketplace is. So this most recent experience is a slight shock and disappointment. Of course, the lack of effective follow-up on sales leads isn’t unique to one industry, or even the Business-2-Business market, we find it constantly in the Business-to-Consumer market as well.
I’m sincerely hoping that this recent experience is nothing more than a minor blip and purely coincidental. I could also look back at myself and remember that ‘Communication is about the result we get’ as I tell my own clients. This is always a good place to start. Did I really make it clear as to what my needs were, or the fact that order is quite urgent? In this instance I feel confident that I’ve done both of these effectively, so this experience leaves me bemused. The order itself isn’t mammoth but it will be the first of many repeat orders, so my Average Lifetime Customer Value could be quite high.
I’m sharing this experience with one clear objective; I want to provoke you to go back to your own business and confirm, beyond all reasonable doubt, that your own sales process is completely water-tight. I suggest you test the system, perhaps with a mystery shopper, to make sure that when an inbound sales enquiry arrives at your door it always enters a process that results in a clear and defined outcome. Then go one step further than this. Make sure you have some back-check process in place to ensure that every call, email or face-to-face request has been fully dealt with and ensure there is evidence to back this up. In every case there should be some record of how the request was concluded; did the prospect go ahead and place an order, or did they decline, and if so do you know why? What will you do to maintain contact with them and perhaps find a way to win the next sales opportunity they present?
In a time when so many businesses really need to ensure profitable sales continue to flow and increase, there can be no excuse for not having even the most simple of systems to ensure that every crumb of opportunity gets picked up and dealt with effectively. They also need to demonstrate that they’re open for business and ready to serve.
So, will I get my print order completed in time; yes, I’m sure of it and perhaps a few red faces might be the price worth paying to be made aware that something isn’t quite working as it should be.
Please don’t ever find yourself in the same situation.
Nial Adams
The F-word is Back!
Nope, it’s not another TV series with our favourite Celebrity Chef who suffers with Tourettes and I’m not about to launch into tirade of inappropriate language. Mother wouldn’t like it! It is that F-word that seems to raise it’s head all too often and only eleven days into the New Year I’ve had two clients talk about it in the space of a few hours… I’m talking about F-O-C-U-S and the need for it in every business.
There will always be a never-ending line of business experts ready to give you their best advice and perhaps tell you that there is a quick way to fame and unlimited riches. Certainly, there are some basic business tactics that will help you cut the learning curve in half and propel your results but there is one fundamental element that is much overlooked; the ability to apply real focus.
Driving a business forward, especially in such ‘interesting times’, is not for the faint-hearted but fortune does indeed favour the brave. The quality that seems to be common to all successful individuals, be it in business or any other field, is the ability to apply near-pathological levels of focus to the task at hand. That may strike you as a strange concept; excess is never a good thing (or is it?!), so why is FOCUS my top prescription for a quantum shift in your results? Well, because I’ve seen too many examples that prove the argument…
Just stop and think about it for yourself for a moment; consider all the people who you could list, according to your own definition, as being successful, or better still, hyper-successful. What attributes could be linked to all of them? I’m sure focus would be high on the list.
I think most people would agree with me in that Albert Einstein is probably regarded as one of the greatest thinkers in the history of the human race, and yet the quiet, modest man, who helped shape the world we live in today, was famously quoted as having said “I’m not smarter than anyone else, I just stick with a problem longer than most other people”. His message was clear; it’s not just about the level of your intellect that will determine your success, it’s your ability to apply real focus when it’s required.
"When the why is strong enough, the how becomes easy!"
So how do we find this elusive level of concentration and when? Any situation where you really need to deal with a challenging task requires high levels of focus. Perhaps you’re creating a new product or service, or maybe planning a new marketing campaign. Or you might be be aiming to push hard on sales performance for the next quarter. Of course people have different ways of finding focus but here are my top 3 tips:
1) Make space to focus; this might sound obvious but it’s vital to lay a good foundation. Space in terms of physical space and time. Make sure you create time to dedicate yourself to the task at hand. Don’t fool yourself into believing that you can multi-task and allow interruptions.
2) Create mental space too. Having a quiet place to work and allowing yourself uninterrupted time to focus are vital but you must also allow yourself to remove other distractions. Mental space is great way to liberate yourself from the daily tasks and ‘allow’ yourself the fully-deserved pleasure (and believe me, it really is a pleasure!) to ignore other priorities. Create a temporary island and jump aboard for a few hours, or even a day or two. Leave everything behind for a while and know that it will all be dealt with soon enough.
3) Find out WHY it is important to do the best job with this task. The WHY is so much more important than the HOW, or the WHEN, etc. Among the very many valuable lessons my own mentor taught me was that “when the WHY is strong enough, the HOW will become easy”. When you think you’re able to articulate the WHY, go one level deeper and really identify WHY it is really important to you.
Start using the F-word in your daily business diet in 2011 and you’ll see a positive change, guaranteed. You’ll feel a greater sense of control, you’ll achieve higher quality results and you’re going to stretch your abilities and help yourself grow.
Nial Adams
10th Jan 2011