Posted on June 29, 2009 by Nick
I want to tell you today about a great colleague and friend of mine, Matt O’Neill, who now runs a cracking communications company, Modcomms (if you run change management or corporate communications programmes, do get in touch with him – he is absolutely first class).
We have given each other advice, work and contacts for many [...]
Filed under: current affairs, marketing, sales, technology, tips | Tagged: sales, newsletter, marketing, business, CRM, entrepreneurship, matt o'neill, start a business, run a business, entrepreneur, communications, internal communications, copywriting, e-newsletter, modcomms, sales pipeline | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 5, 2009 by Nick
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I hope I’ve been broad enough in my declared opinions for you not to be able to guess which way I vote in political elections. After all, that’s nobody’s business but my own.
I’m not going to tell you here how I voted on Thursday (although [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, marketing, sales, service | Tagged: british politics, business, business and politics, business survival, customer service, depression, downturn, economic recovery, economy, election, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, european election, general election, marketing, recession, recovery, run a business, sales, start a business, turnaround | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 9, 2009 by Nick
All things considered, it’s been a pretty good first quarter to the year.
Business isn’t exploding and I’m not hiring more staff, but equally we haven’t been hit by the recession. Work is still coming in, we’ve trimmed back costs where necessary, and no clients have left us.
However, June is coming. Let me explain.
Working for small [...]
Filed under: finance, marketing, sales | Tagged: business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, procurement, run a business, sales, start a business | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 9, 2009 by Nick
Hi there!
I’m trying to make this blog as much about my personal business experiences as about the advice I both give and receive as I navigate the world of business. And sometimes that means being critical. I’m not going to name any names, but the following is absolutely true, and if the person responsible should [...]
Filed under: marketing, people skills, sales, service | Tagged: business, customer service, employees, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, freelance, freelancing, outsourcing, run a business, sales, service, staff, start a business | 4 Comments »
Posted on December 5, 2008 by Nick
This week, I spent some time working on an audio interview with Phil Ledger of Ledger Bennett, a rather savvy marketing agency in Milton Keynes.
Phil was extremely articulate, and remains resolutely upbeat about the economy. Actually, that’s not strictly true; I suspect that he agrees with me that the economy is in a parlous state; [...]
Filed under: current affairs, marketing, sales, tips | Tagged: business, internet maketing, ledger bennett, live search, marketing, PCC, run a business, sales, SEO, start a business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 27, 2008 by Nick
Do you run a shop? Read on, then…
As I write, it appears that Woolworth’s, staple of the high street for 99 years, is to be put into administration.
For fans of slightly soggy pick’n’mix- or sweets with a strange rubbery patina from the fingers of 50 other small children, this is bad news.
I genuinely sympathise with [...]
Filed under: current affairs, retail, sales, service | Tagged: bank, business, finance, Hilco, pick'n'mix, recession, retail, risk, running a business, sales, shopfitting, start a business, start your own business, store, Woolies, Woolworths | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 24, 2008 by Nick
Last week, I attended an event where the speakers were from a company called Empathy Styles (www.empathystyles.com). The company offers courses which help people become more productive or sell more effectively, by better understanding the people they’re dealing with. They have simple tests which will allow you to assess your own personality type, and that [...]
Filed under: people skills, sales, technology | Tagged: business, empathy styles, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, motivation, personality, productivity, psychometric testing, psychometrics, sales, start a business | 3 Comments »
Posted on October 27, 2008 by Nick
In my last post, several business experts gave me their top tips for surviving the downturn. One of the recurring themes was keeping in touch with customers- both existing and potential.
I have separately been given the helpful maxim “Talk to your customers at least every four weeks”. This seems like good advice. Let me explain why.
As [...]
Filed under: marketing, sales, technology | Tagged: contact, CRM, customer contact, marketing, recession, sales | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 28, 2008 by Nick
There is a funny discussion going on at the moment as to whether we’re in a recession or not. A recession is “official” if the economy contracts for two quarters or more. TV and radio debates therefore centre on wriggling as much out of spurious statistics as possible.
Let me help. I say: we’re in a [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, sales, service, tips, top ten | Tagged: advertising, business, business agility, cost cutting, dealing with suppliers, financial management, internet access, negotiation, office space, phone bills, recession, redundancy, sales, save money, suppliers | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 19, 2008 by Nick
I think I might have some Yorkshire blood: I think I’m pretty plain speaking. I’m certainly not one for politicking. Which is why I enjoy the bawdiness of PR man Colin Byrne’s blog. (I’m also not going to criticise Colin because he looks like a Friday night bouncer who eats dobermanns for elevenses). He’s recently [...]
Filed under: PR, marketing, people skills, sales | Tagged: Barack Obama, business, Colin Byrne, ethics, Georgia, John McCain, Mikhail Gorbachev, perspective, PR, run a business, sales, start a business | Leave a Comment »
