I think it’s fascinating. My automatic reaction was that I could only sell ‘ethically’, particularly as I firmly beleive that a key role of a sales person is to get customers to come back - it’s about developing a ‘relationship’. It’s relatively easy to sell a ‘one off’, but developing repeat business and word of mouth takes more skill. Surely, there are times when you have to say, ‘you’re right, this isn’t for you’.

Or am I being too niaive?

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Andy will be leading these interactive seminars for local business leaders aimed at helping them look at their own competitiveness, their sales and marketing and their approach to customer care. Not a list of do’s and dont’s, but practical ideas to help create and sustain real competitive advantage.

       At this FREE seminar you’ll:

• Identify the barriers to ‘remarkable’ customer service in your business
• Generate ideas to create and sustain real competitve advantage
• Discover how to generate massive ‘word of mouth’ by delivering ‘exceptional’ customer experiences
• Learn how to create a real passion for customers at every level of your business
• Be inspired to take practical actions to make a ‘dramatic difference’ back in your workplace

Seminars will be held in Doncaster, Wakefield, Brigg, Hull, Sheffield, Scarborough, Huddersfield and Ripon.

Click here to go to Andy’s upcoming events page to find out about dates and venues or choose one of the links above. Click on the seminar you would like to attend and there will be the link to the Business Link Booking System for that event. There will be a buffet after all the seminars and time for questions and networking!

Andy’s really looking forward to ’spreading the ‘3D’ word’ and meeting a few old faces as well as new ones! Feel free to bring colleagues and customers. We look forward to seeing you there!!!

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Podcast #1contains: Personal notes ‘work’; Make time for training; The 4P’s RIP; A book worth reading - Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin; An interview with branding ‘guru’, John Lyle; 15 ideas for keeping ‘devoted’ customers.

Related links for this podcast:

Jesmond Dene House Hotel and their Trip Advisor entry

My 4P’s RIP? article published on international management website insightory.com

Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin

John Lyle’s blog

Andy’s CompeteStore!

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Feel free to join (and contribute!). The aim is to link like minded people interested in sharing ideas on improving sales and marketing, creating and sustaining competitive advantage, maximising customer relationships, and all that stuff.

If that’s you, click here.

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Andrew highlighted 5 key opportunities thay we should all be taking advantage of:

1. The falling cost of technology - we can all compete now!

2. Customer acquisition is now easier due to lower costs

3. Super niche businesses can now be viable (Read The Long Tail by Chris Anderson for more on this)

4. Shelf space is now unlimited - maximise it!

5. The Democratisation of information means we can all get access to it - so use it!

His key message was this: ‘There’s more choice, more competition and, importantly, more opportunities’.

The challenge for all of us of course is to maximise those opportunities.

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Please click here for more details about the Institute.

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The Uk’s number one milk brand, Cravendale have helped eliminate that age old office problem about who makes the tea in the office!

Makethetea.com is a simple website that allows you to enter everyone in your team’s drink preferences and then randomly picks someone from the group to brew up when it’s tea break time! You can even rate the brewer once you’ve had your cuppa!

It nicely reinforces the brand… and provides a really useful tool too!!!

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“There is no teaching to compare with example”

                                                                                 Lord Baden Powell

Leadership is about role modelling and being a role model. It’s about ‘doing the right thing’ and being seen to be doing it. Transparency, accountability and empathy help build credibility, trust and ‘enagement’.

The UK’s politicians, by voting to throw out a series of reforms on their personal expenses have failed completely to demonstrate any form of leadership to the general voting public.

In a time of increasing inflation, economic hardship, consistently depressing financial news and calls for us to tighten our belts, many even attempted to vote for increased pay! It looks like greed and self interest across the whole political spectrum.

The result from voters? Some anger and frustration, but mostly I supect, ’apathy’ and ‘disengagement’.

This is leadership at its lamest.

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On fridays they provide FREE consultancy advice and support to new clients, particularly small businesses, start ups, charities and volunteer organisations. It’s a fantatstic way of giving something back and, I’m sure, creating new opportunities. 

“The concept of ‘giving something back’ is a powerful one for all of us at The Savvy Partnership’ said Barry Bassnett. ‘We have all been involved on a personal and business level with Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives for many years and Free Friday is perhaps our version of this. It’s about giving something back to the next generation of entrepreneurs and young business men and women”.

They say immitation is the greatest the greatest form of flattery (others simply say ’steal with pride’!). I love the concept - expect something similar from here soon!

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The world is full of ‘same as’ businesses selling the same things, employing the same people, doing the same things the businesses that stand out are usually at one of two ends of a continuum. As customers when choosing we’re likely to go for either the cheapest or the one that’s ‘remarkable’, ‘outstanding’ or the ‘Best’ (Every now and then we get both together, but not very often). In other words we don’t choose the ‘average’ or the ‘not bad’ because there’s simply no need to put up with that in this day and age.

This means that in a world of excess and incredible choice, the ‘safe’ ground of being ‘average’ is no longer a viable one if you really want to compete. The challenge therefore is about being the ‘Best’ and being known as the Best (or at least ‘One of the Best’).

But ‘The Best’ at what? This is where many businesses get it so wrong. Winning businesses choose a ‘position’. They clearly target customer groups and aim to be ‘THE one’ for those customers. Too many businesses try to be all things to all people. They’re ‘ok’ but not ‘brilliant’. The result is ‘blanding’, not ‘branding’.

One business that does this well (and some of you aren’t going to like this!) is Hooters, the restaurant chain that describes itself as ‘deliciously tacky yet unrefined’.

It may not to be everyone’s taste. In fact the recent howl of protest of a proposed opening in my own city of Sheffield clearly reinforced this. However, a good friend of mine (honest!) did visit the Nottingham restaurant recently and confirmed that there were attractive young women serving beer, ‘cheap’ fried food in a ‘boystrous’ atmosphere, and the majority of the clientele  were male aged between 20 and 35 (plus him still trying to be 35!). He said it was quite unashamedly ‘unrefined and tacky’ – completely in line with what he expected. Let’s be honest, you don’t go there for health food or a sophisticated family night out (although there were families in there he said). And that’s the point. They set out their stall and stand by it.

Other examples?  If you want no frills travel think Ryanair (in flight meals? reserved seats? Leg  room? What do you want for 9.99 to Prague?), Apple (just check out their stores to see how they reinforce their products - cool, sophisticated, vibrant). Look at some other success stories – Primark, John Lewis Partnership, Google, Porsche and Amazon. The thing they have in common is that it’s clear what they stand for, who they are aiming at (and who they are not).

So what does this mean for you?

First of all, don’t try to be all things to all men (or women). In fact, it’s fair to say that the majority of things that appeal to everyone are usually pretty bland. I’m not suggesting that you deliberately go out of your way to offend certain types of customers, but aim to appeal to specific types.

There’s a lot of evidence that we buy from people and organisations that we like and trust. The challenge therefore is to give your customers something to like and trust. So, be prepared to stand out and stand up for what you believe in. Raise your profile. Create a name for yourself. But do it for the thing(s) you want to be known for. Aim for ME, not Me too!

You might need to work out what you stand for. What did you originally go into business for? What’s important to you? What are your guiding principles or values? What sets you out from others? Don’t be afraid to define and publish your principles.

Use your guiding principles to shape the way you do business. Make them recognisable to others. This has nothing to do with ’strap lines’ or advertising slogans, nor is it about jumping on a band wagon. For example, I’m not niaive enough to believe that just because a soap powder company now sells its product in smaller boxes to apparently save the world from excessive carbon emissions due to fewer deliveries is now suddenly ‘environmentally friendly’. (Trying to be eco friendly through gimmicks and like that is called ‘greenwashing’ by the way). Trying to ‘position’ yourself with cosmetic and token gestures simply doesn’t work.

Establish what it is you do, who you do it for and aim to be ‘the Best’ at it! What would you prefer people to say about you? Company ‘x’? Oh yes they’re a joiners in the city? Or ‘They’re the BEST joiners in the city’. Better still, ‘The ONLY joiners in city’?

So, consider focussing on a niche – it’s often best to be brilliant in a narrow field, than one of many in a wide one. Wouldn’t you rather be ‘THE business to go to in your area’, rather than ‘just another’? For example, why not be THE number 1 Law Firm for professional women getting divorced, THE number 1 domestic electrician for rewiring old houses, THE number 1 IT support business for growing businesses, THE number 1 menswear shop for professional men under 50, THE number 1 restaurant for fresh, organic lunches?

Finally, please don’t dilute yourself – avoid being a ‘Martini’ business – you know – ‘Any place, any time, any where’. 

There’s only one thing that’s worse, and that’s ‘Any price’!

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