A Powerful Way to Learn Marketing that Drives Your Business

Academy Open Event – 7th November 2011, Norwich, UK.

Test Drive the Academy through this ‘Access All Areas’ Event and find out why previous Students recommend it so highly!

From time-to-time we offer Academy Open Events, giving you the chance to benefit from powerful and valuable learning not available anywhere else. You’ll experience just how our Programmes help Students take a quantum leap in business results and growth.

With a new Academy Term coming up for January 2012 now is the chance to attend this One-Day Event and get hands-on with real marketing knowledge that WILL drive your business forward.

THE EVENT DETAILS:

The Science of Marketing – With Nial Adams, Academy Principal

“Nial Adams is one man who I’d wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who wants to rapidly grow their business. He has a unique knack for being able to see the big picture without losing sight of what you need to do, day-to-day, to make it happen. If you want more customers without any bull then you need to speak to Nial.”

Joe Gregory - Co-author of “The Gorillas Want Bananas”
www.leanmarketing.co.uk

The Science of Marketing - 

This Open Event takes place on the 7th November 2011, in Drayton, Norwich - with two identical training sessions (AM and PM), so you can choose which one to attend.

In this 3-hr training session you’ll have the chance to learn about the latest concepts and applications in marketing for SME and Large Business.  Nial will be sharing with you essential knowledge and insight regarding the significant changes to digital marketing in the past twelve months.

Find out:

• How Social Media will transform Marketing 
• How Mobile Marketing can be fully harnessed
• How Email Marketing is Making a Comeback
• How Viral Marketing can be used in your business

…and much more!

This session will not only share new and valuable information, it will also show clearly how you can monetize this in your business.

Full Details can be downloaded HERE - The Science of Marketing

SPECIAL OFFER -

This event has been Sponsored by PUSH Marketing Partners and supported by the East Anglian Enterprise Initiative

Normal Ticket Price - £67 per delegate…

Sponsored Tickets – £25 (strictly limited)

EARLY-BIRD BOOKING OFFER -

Buy before 22nd October and get a SECOND GUEST TICKET FREE (worth another £67)

Invite your business colleagues, Marketing manager, etc.

Taking place at Drayton Old Lodge, Drayton, Norwich – Free Car Parking & Refreshments

PLEASE NOTE: Places are strictly limited to just 25 tickets per session

Terms & Condition - All tickets are offered at the discretion of the PUSH Marketing Academy on application.

To gain access to the booking page please click here

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 a humanist. 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 (4^th October 2011) 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.

I recommend you 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, what’s clear is the approach to strategy that defines who they are, what they do, and what the collective vision is at Apple. Does everyone in your organisation understand and believe in a collective vision?

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.  I’ve also just discovered that Tim Cook and other senior members of the Apple team who gave the Keynote Address were aware before it started that Steve Jobs was only likely to live for a few more days at most. This makes their presentation even more outstanding; just imagine how they must have felt.

To get a beautiful insight as to what made Steve Jobs 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 - I challenge you not to be deeply moved by it.

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 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:

1. 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.

2. 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/ ]

3. 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, so be warned.

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?

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 very 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 Social Network across facebook

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.

I just can’t keep this secret any more.  I’ve kept silent about this long enough but today I’ve found another reason to finally let you know just how I feel.  I prefer to stay away from making political rants; I accept that each of us has our own perspective and that these are equally valid… however!

One more sound bite, one more quote and one more bleating individual from the Public Sector who simply thinks we can ignore the apocalyptic debt this country is in and that’s about all I can take.  So here it is; brace yourself!

A spokesperson for the Health Service (yes, another one) has declared today that he can’t possibly see how they are going to achieve efficiency targets of £20M savings over the next four years. “It’s never been done before!” – nope and now you’ve got a serious challenge to work on..!  So show us you’re worth the money you’re getting paid.  It’s not a popularity contest, it’s your job.

Let’s face facts; this country is stony broke.  The current deficit is of massive proportions and the interest alone is costing the UK over £120million a day… let’s just say that again… £120 MILLION EACH AND EVERY DAY!  We’ve never seen this sort of scale of debt before, ever.

How on earth can any sane-minded individual claim that by making cuts we’re risking a recovery to the economy when we have such a mammoth debt to repay?  What do they think the alternative is, close our eyes and it will go away?  Even if we could stimulate growth and deliver a massive up-turn in the economy where will the benefit of all this go?  On repaying the debt of course – now or in the future (when it’s even bigger and assuming we actually get there). 

Basic economics – the sort I learned and understood at school – teaches us that we need to reduce expenditure, control costs and raise production.  It’s really not rocket-science (and I promised I’d never use that in a blog..). 

So why can’t these people see it, or more to the point, why do they pretend it just doesn’t exist?

The problem, as it appears to me, is that so many people of this country really don’t seem to grasp just how bad the fiscal situation is and that without US ALL making an effort to resolve it, things will only get worse.  Sure, harsh cuts will affect many people and some of the most vulnerable in our society.

So what are WE all going to do about it.  What will YOU and I do to pick up the slack and do we really care enough?  I’m deadly serious!

I’m certain that Cameron and Co. completely failed with the Big Society campaign (I hope the marketing team responsible got the royal boot for that one).  However the sentiment was valid.  We all have a part to play in getting this country back on its feet.  Of course there will be large proportion of people who simply can’t be bothered, just like those who think it’s someone else’s job to sort out the mess.  I’m sure the Big Society failed because the nation just didn’t see the point.  The pain just isn’t big enough yet.  

We’ve created a political culture that supposed to solve all our worries, keep us fed and warm and make sure the bogey-man doesn’t get us.  For a nation with such heritage how have we receded into this adolescent and dangerous mind-set?  Where have the real leaders gone?

This form of childish and immature thinking is at the very root cause of so many of the problems we face now.  We borrowed heavily and created a boom in credit and the property market, now it’s got to be repaid we’re blaming the people who gave it to us.  The economy was built on unsustainable growth through lending and now we’ve got to fix it.  Don’t blame Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, don’t blame the Greeks, the Icelanders or the Irish. 

Gordon told us we were safe, with “the best Financial Services Market in the world” and then sold off nearly all our nation’s gold reserves for a fraction of their value.  It’s happened, accept it, move on.  Now we need to produce – that’s the best place to start.

Just because we drag ourselves off to the polling booth once in a blue moon doesn’t mean we’ve the right to abdicate all responsibility to this ‘super-class’ called politicians.  I think we can see that so many of our politicians have adopted values and ethics that fall far below the standards we should and do expect of them.  The fact remains though that it’s not reasonable or mature to expect them to wave some sort of magic wand and make the problem all go away.  It’s here and now and we all have to face facts and do something positive to change it.

Cost cutting, waste reduction and the focus on increasing productivity are all elements of real-world economics; ask any shopkeeper, business owner or Managing Director.  The Private Sector lives with this reality day in and day out and has always done so.  If you don’t manage your finances and you consume more than you produce… your company will perish, simple.  It’s exactly the same for the UK economy. 

I’ve had my fill of listening to people from Public Sector who seem to believe that they exist in some sort of parallel universe where the laws of economics simply don’t apply.  Of course I recognise that not all Public Services could or should be run with a commercial focus to make profit but they must at least be sustainable. 

They also need to accept that the Public Sector only exists because of the production and output from the Private Sector; where do they think tax revenue actually starts its life?  We have an essential need for a viable economic structure that can keep the wheels turning.

Nial Adams - PUSH Marketing Partner

Like so many others, all this concerns me deeply and I can see the serious challenges ahead.  Even the abnormal weather we’ve been enjoying in early Summer this year is potentially bad news; food prices will skyrocket later this year, that will put pressure on inflation and the Bank of England will almost surely need to increase the Interest Rate as a mechanism of control.  And that’s just it; it’s the weather, we can’t do anything about it.  We’ll all just need to eat less and pay more attention to balancing the domestic books.

Isn’t it time that we took a long hard look and decided what WE as each and every individual, can do to improve the situation and work towards getting back to where we all want to be?  The Public Sector will just need to accept the gravy train is over, that time has passed.  The Private Sector will also need to ‘buck up’ – every small business in the land will need to raise its game, sharpen up and pay more attention. 

Delivering real value and great service standards will set the best apart from the rest.  Staff, at every level, will need to be more diligent and look to deliver that little bit more.  This is in our own self-interest as well as part of our society as a whole.

I’ve visited and worked in countries where the majority of the population wake up each day and wonder where their next meal is going to come from.  They need to be effective, driven and focused.  They also need to be creative and take complete personal responsibility for their situation and what the need to think and do every day to survive.  This is the true reality of living.

Finally, I have every faith that as a nation the British people can and will respond… eventually.  The question is, how much pain will they need to suffer before finally accepting the reality we live in today and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

And breathe….

Over a number of years I’ve watch hundreds of business men and woman chain themselves to some sort of penal system called… self-employment.

They’ve developed a twisted mentality that if it doesn’t hurt, they probably aren’t working hard enough. Sure, as every small business owner will tell you, if you want the results you’ve got to be prepared to work hard. Some of the hardest working and most dedicated people I’ve ever met have been self-employed.

However… I want to share with you an idea, a mentality, that I and many of my clients have found a powerful way to change your approach to working long hours as a self-employed individual. Above all, I’ve found it a powerful way to significantly increase productivity and reduce stress and risk of burnout.

Of course, there is a range of different styles and approaches to work. Some people are extremely disciplined and use structure to ensure they chunk through the work to get the results in time. Others are more scatter-gun and reactive; when it comes in the task gets dealt with according to (perceived) priority. This is never really a good idea, as it means your business and perhaps your customers or suppliers (or even your staff) are actually more in control than you are.

Finally, there are the smart ones out there who simply focus on each task but rely upon a second person to assist in the management and priority – having a PA or secretary who manages your time can work incredibly well. This method seems to be ideal for more creative types who find little satisfaction in structure and focus more on the process and even more on the final product.

You might well have guessed by now that much of what I’m sharing here with you now is very close to my heart. As a person who started in self-employment at the age of 19 I didn’t really know what to expect, or have any experience of being employed (self- or otherwise). I worked harder and harder but still struggled. I needed to learn more and increase my skill sets before I could deliver good results quickly.

After eight successful years of self-employment I returned to the UK and switched to become an employee and eventually entered corporate life. I’m pleased to say that my return to self-employment (about 10 years ago) has been the ideal move and I know I’ll never return to the ‘dark side’. I’m simply not employee material.

As an employee I worked for and with a mixture of different managers, all with different styles. For the most part managers seem to quickly develop a mentality that suggests that employees should never be trusted and if you’re not squeezing every last moment of time out of them you’re not ‘managing them’. Again, I fully accept that there are some employees who are simply lazy and they will find every opportunity to skive. But I’ve seen this mentality destroy real enthusiasm and form bitter, untrusting and even divisive relationships.

I’ve worked for bosses who demand punctuality to the minute and would rather measure your dedication by how many lunch-breaks you are prepared to give up, rather than by the results you actually output. I’ve also work for self-employed people who believe their own insane desire of working 14-16 hours a day should extend to people with far less investment in the business.

One boss would start his working day at 5:30am or even 4:30am (in the office) and take perverse pleasure from reminding all his staff that he had already put in half a day’s work before others had turned up! His life was consumed by work, he had no social life as he went to bed at 9pm every night, no friends and eventually watched a business worth millions collapse in front of his eyes.

So here’s my radical thought; if business productivity is all about results, sales, profits and growth, why do we always tend to measure work rate by in-put and not by out-put?

It's all about your Output, not how many hours you work that really matters!

The number of hours you work is nothing more than a measure of time it’s taken you to complete the given task(s). I’ve met some people who are clearly workaholics and their biggest frustration is that 24 hours in a day just isn’t enough. If you’re running your own business and working more than 10 hours a day I would seriously question your business model. ‘Work should be boring and predictable’ and most of all it should be able to run without you; that’s called having a business, not owning a job.

As the majority of what we do day-to-day is broken down into tasks and the fact that being task-focused is a good way to stay on track, it’s tempting to approach these tasks by the measure of time required. The reality is though, it’s the actual out-put of the task that creates the result, the sale, the profits, etc. The amount of time expended is almost irrelevant. Arguably the longer it takes the more it costs and your profit margin shrinks as a result of inefficiency. Always remember, even if you own the business, your time is (or should be) a cost to the business too. Do you include this in your calculations?!

Instead of looking at each day as a set of tasks to be completed in a set amount of time, why not focus on how best to achieve the output you want for each? This will help you to think about production and problem solving in a far more creative way. I promise you; you’ll also find you complete tasks far quicker and with lower stress – and you’ll probably enjoy yourself a lot more too!

Now I approach my working day very differently. Sure, the days and weeks still fly past for me and I’d still like to create more. However, rather than looking at the next busy week ahead and thinking about all the hours it’s going to take to achieve the desired result, I now look at the end outcome and decide how can I quickly, efficiently and effectively create the result wanted. It’s also a great way to recognise that teamwork and collaboration are the key to business growth and stability.

The time you put into your working life is nothing more than a measure of how much of your life you are giving it. So surely it would be better to maintain a focus on what you want to actually achieve, for you and others around you?

Nial Adams

Are you really getting your message across?

A client coaching session on Skype last night threw up some very interesting and fundamental questions. The client, who runs a career coaching service, has a real depth and breadth of knowledge. Harnessed with the passion she has (and I mean serious passion) she produces some amazing results with her clients.

She’d admit to still being a novice when it comes to marketing and promotion, hence the reason for our coaching sessions. Last night’s session was very different though. The end result was a culmination of some vital concepts that she’s now ready to adopt and apply in her marketing.

I’ve spent many an hour talking and writing about the need for every business to create a ‘compelling proposition’. This is one of the most important things I’ve learned in marketing over the past fifteen years. I’ve met so many business people who have immense knowledge of their subject, have a real ability to deliver the goods but the most crucial element in their marketing strategy is still missing – a killer product offering.

It’s been said many times that selling a service is significantly harder than selling a product. This should be obvious. Allow me to digress for a moment to give you a powerful example…

I’ve just helped a client open a new retail space, a Coffee Shop. He’s an award-winning Barista Maestro and what this guy doesn’t know about serving great coffee really doesn’t count. In the past six years of his career he’s helped a major national chain make hundreds of thousands of pounds in profit. He’s highly successful and now has a very bright future ahead in his own business.

This is because he has a fundamental grasp on the three main aspects of his business; 1) knowing his subject, 2) knowing his business and 3) knowing what customers really want. Let me expand on this for a moment:

Knowing your subject – if you want to position yourself in the top end of your market, and if you want to sell a premium product offering (and why wouldn’t you?) you really need to know what you’re talking about. The best way to approach this, as I’ve found, is accept that you will always be studying and learning about your subject.

If you think it’s time to stop reading, listening and learning then you’re going to watch your competitors pass you and pull ahead. You’ll simply perish.

Knowing your business – again, I’ve said it many times before, too many ‘business people’ just don’t understand that you need a cast iron grip on the day-to-day management of your business and that all starts with the core figures. Our Coffee Shop owner is fanatical about margins and labour costs. Even if you only ever focused on these two elements you will immediately surpass about 95% of the business community out there. (And remember labour costs include YOUR time too!)

Knowing what customers want – I know this is probably stating the obvious but when was the last time that you really, openly asked a customer how you could improve the offering you give? Or, what process do you have for measuring the satisfaction of your customers on a daily basis? For the Coffee Shop owner it’s really simple; fresh food, a top quality coffee and made well (he’s even had his own roast blended to his exact recipe!), an immaculate and clean store and, most important of all… a smile for every customer!

Honey's Caffe in Fakenham

Returning to my original point, about the Career Coach – we agreed last night that her knowledge was significant and her delivery produces tangible results. The one ingredient missing to-date is a clear and concise proposition.

You see, if you want to take your prospective customer to the point where they are ready to buy you need to ask them a very direct question – every good sales person knows that ‘asking for the business’ is crucial. And yet you can only do this effectively is the consumer knows what they are being asked to buy and why they should go ahead.

Take five minutes and step back from your business. Ask yourself this very direct question; ‘if I were a prospect, would I recognise a clear sales proposition? Would I be totally clear about what this company or individual is asking me to buy?’ – ‘could I confidently give a Yes or No answer?’

Then you might want to go a step further and ask yourself these questions – known as the Key Buying Criteria (here are just four of the seven):

1. What actually is it? [the service or product]
2. Why do I need it? [again, the service or product]
3. What will it do for me – how will I benefit?
4. Why should I buy it from this company and not somewhere else?

Trust me, this is concept is responsible for creating quantum shifts in results from marketing and promotions – I know, I’ve proved this with hundreds of clients for over a decade. If you want to get a better result you might just need to take a different approach and being clear about your offering and proposition, or Essential Sales Argument, as it’s sometimes called, this is the best place to start.

Nial Adams

It’s who you are that counts, not what you do!

A few years ago I learned about the concept of ‘be, do, have’.  Like most of the really important lessons in business (and in life!) it can sometimes be a few weeks, months or even years before you really understand their true value.

In my work helping businesses, organisations and people to promote their products and services, I naturally start by looking at the individuals themselves.  After all, people buy from people, right?!  Perhaps as a result of this I’ve carved out a successful reputation for helping people to create strong personal profiles and focus on personal branding.

So I often find people, and especially those starting out, who tend to want to tell the world about what they actually do.  The fact is that there are lots of people who are really good at their specialist subject; they know their craft and could be described as experts or specialists in their field. 

The thing is, it’s not what you do that people are really interested in, they want to know how it could affect or benefit them.  They also want to know WHO you are.  I’m sure you’ve heard of the need to articulate benefits over features.  Your customers and clients don’t buy what you do, they buy the end result – the how is much less important.  This is all good marketing sense and something that every smart business owner needs to embrace if they want to get powerful results from marketing and promotion.

So you’ve helped the (would-be) customer or client understand what the benefit is, or the ‘WIIFM’… What’s In It For Me, now you need to help them understand why they should buy it from you, and not just anyone else.  You see, there are always TWO elements to every sales message and so many people either forget, or are completely unaware of this.

1. Tell them why they need to buy your product or service, and
2. Tell them why they should buy it from you!

It’s with this second element that WHO you are becomes so important.  Factors such as trust, confidence, credibility and my favourite (and possibly the most powerful) ‘Social Proof’ are all centred on who you are, not what you do or sell.  Above all, they want to get to know and like a person who is truly authentic… 

Be authentic and let others see who you really are

So here’s my question for you; how do you describe yourself to others?  Are you making the most of the personal brand assets you have as a person and are you really articulating these to the audience?

If you want to significantly dial up your profile and ‘position yourself’ effectively you need to BECOME that expert, you need to BECOME the person other people will trust and value. This creates a powerful effect; when you BECOME that person, you will start to DO the things that reflect this and, as a result, you’ll start to HAVE the outcome you’re looking for.

This concept may appear very simple and perhaps you already follow a similar ethos but my challenge is “how are you getting this message out to your audience and what could you do more to dial this up?”]

Nial Adams

Problems with the video?

Here’s the link to YouTube:

Nial Adams presents Profit Mechanics for O4RB – 5th April 2011

“It’s all about the basic mechanics of profit” explains Nial.  “Firstly you need to understand how to really make money and then leverage it – and that knowledge is far simpler than you might imagine”

Nial started his first enterprise at the age of 19, then went on to set up businesses in the US and the emerging economies of Eastern Europe.  Over the past decade Nial has worked with hundreds of businesses in the UK and abroad, training, developing and mentoring the owners, managers and staff, and showing them how to create fast, radical shifts.

In this presentation Nial will share with you the most essential elements that represent the Mechanics of Profit.  By the end of this session you will…

• Find out exactly how you can increase bottom line figures by 10, 20 or even 30% in days
• Learn if you really have a business or if you own a job and what the critical difference is
• Understand how simple but effective marketing tactics will help you multiply results
• Discover the No. 1 Rule in sales and marketing that the experts don’t want you to know!

Simple profit mechanics can be used in any business and don’t require costly changes to implement.  Nial’s advice has proven successful for consulting clients and students of the PUSH Marketing Academy…

“Nial’s gig on marketing was outstanding! He taught me more in that presentation than I have learned for some time! I would have gladly paid £100 plus for that input. I followed his advice, picked up the phone the very next day and secured £1,000 worth of extra business from existing customers!!!”

Steve Gaskin, Right Angled Events, www.csinorwich.com

BONUS: In this presentation Nial will also disclose the most significant change to impact on Marketing and Promotion for the 100 years.  It’s happening right now and if you’re not aware of it you risk watching your customers disappear to the competition.  Learn how to harness ‘PBM’ in your business!

Full Presentation Notes will be available to all attending delegates following the event.

You’ll also find out if you qualify for the free training and specialist business support under the New Enterprise Voucher Scheme from the East Anglian Enterprise Initiative (worth up to £294.00)

Want to book for this event?

Contact Michele Judd of O4RB Hopton-on-Sea

t. 01502 560 779 or m. 07973 376778

An interesting conversation with a new client yesterday threw up a very interesting outcome. The question and scenario that we were addressing was one of how best to establish Authority – and Authority in respect to the way we position ourselves in our respective field of expertise.

If you’ve read Dr Robert Cialdini’s work on Influence you’ll know that he describes ‘Authority’ as one of the key principles of influence.  If you’ve not read Cialdini, you seriously must; it’s one of, if not THE most important books on human psychology and how we relate to it in terms of marketing and sales communication.  [Here’s a link – Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - go an buy your copy now; if you don’t agree with me, send me the book and your receipt and I’ll personally give you a refund!]

The vital part to remember about Authority is that firstly you really do need to know what you’re talking about – if you think you can wing-it, forget it, you’ll get caught out sooner or later.  Authenticity is one of the key elements that builds trust and forges strong bonds in every human relationship, and vital in a professional context.  Through my experiences in business networking I often come across people who are desperately seeking acceptance but instead of simply being themselves, they believe that they require a mask of personality that ‘fits’ with what they believe everyone else expects of them.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  I don’t want to know who you think you should be, I want to know the real you – what makes you tick, what gets you up in the morning, what excites you, what provokes you!

Trying to create a personality that ‘fits’ with the accept norm is a myth anyway.  Reflecting on this the other day I realised that many of the people I value most in my life are actually a bit odd, strange and some are clearly quite barking…  I’m not sure what that says about me!  However, they are all completely comfortable in their own skin; they’re not trying to be something or someone else.  I see the real person and connect with them.  We all possess a most basic human ability to pick up on the subtle signs that others are faking it.  Sure, there are some great actors out there and it could even be argued that we’re all actors in one form or another.

Nial Adams - The 'Barking Blogger'..!

The main reason that people struggle to build Authority is actually not because they have a lack of knowledge, experience or skill in their chosen field but because they have a lack of personal awareness of what that knowledge is worth to others and how to value it.  We all know so much and world serves up to us, on a minute-by-minute basis, more information, knowledge and learning than we could ever hope absorb in one lifetime.  What’s more, we probably only use a fraction of our knowledge and experience in our daily lives.  So it’s not a lack of knowing that holds us back, it’s a lack of knowing how to harness it, for our benefit and for the benefit of others.

Stop for a moment and consider the life experiences that have brought you to where you are today. Remember that you’re at the very leading edge of human evolution; although sometimes it may not feel like it the morning after the night before!  These experiences have been successful, enough to keep you alive until today and that is no small feat.  Now stop and consider how those experiences and the learning you have can benefit so many other people around you.  It might not be in a professional context, it could be to the benefit of those close to you, a friend who needs a caring ear and soothing words of kindness, or it could be that child who looks to you for guidance as they go forward in the world.  Above all share who you really are and in this way you’ll build the trust and ‘authority’ that sets you apart from the crowd.

– Be, Do, Have…