Marketing

No blog for absolutely ages - manic times!

I've been thinking, debating, uumming and aarrgghhing about marketing my business - its a very complex affair apparently.

Not sure where this came from - I got it from Claire Ferrari.

"Marketing. However, people often ask for a simple explanation of Marketing. Well here it is:-

SUPPOSE:

You were a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and say, I'm fantastic in bed, that's direct marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of freinds and see a handsome guy. One of your friends goes up to him and poinits to you says, she's fantastic in bed. That's advertising.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number, the next day you call and say, Hi, I'm fantastic in bed. That's telemarketing.

You see a guy at a party, you straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. You say, may I, and reach up and straighten his tie, brushing lightly up against his arm and then say, by the way I'm fantastic in bed. That's public relations.

You're at a party and you see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says I hear you're fantastic in bed. That's brand recognition.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend. That's a sales rep.

You're friend calls you later. That's Tech Support

You're on your way to a party when you realise there could be some handsome men in all of these houses you're passing. So you climb up onto the roof of the one situated towards the centre and shout at the top of your voice I'm fantastic in bed. That's Junk Mail."

Happy marketing.

Ch...Ch...Changes

It's sad I know, but I have got myself hooked on the Chris Evans show on Radio 2 - if you haven't listened its fab, and then this week I have discovered his blog - again very good. Check out www.bbc.co.uk/radio for full details.

Yet when I think back I was never really a big fan of his in the old days when he was on TV, in fact the programme used to really annoy me as I recall. So what's changed to have swapped me around?

I'm also hooked on all the cookery programmes on Sky, I happened to see a very old Delia Smith one the other day - it just looked so old and dated when you compare it with some of the really whacky food people around today. My absolute fave is Jamie - so inspiring, so passionate.

A lady I've been working with this week on her career transition said her friend had given her this advice - to do what she is passionate about and not consider anything else. Pretty good advice I'd say.

Maybe the reason I like both Chris and Jamie is they both have passion? There is a whole theory that says our passions in life are formed at a very young age - about 8 or 9, and the reason for this age is that we have some independence from our parents but haven't hit the scarey years of adolescence yet.

So to discover your passion - what were you doing at about that age?

I know from reading Jamies books he was already cooking in his parents pub in Essex, not sure about Chris need to do some research on that one.

For me, I was constantly moving furniture around in my bedroom to create a different look, writing short stories and driving my mother insane with the amount of mess I left in the kitchen after trying out the Blue Peter recipe of the week.

Do I still love moving furniture around? - you bet (I'm a very frustrated interior designer and keep all the housey magazines in business with the amount I purchase and drool over), am I still writing? - yes, and where is my favourite place - the kitchen!

In fact a friend invited us over for dinner not so long ago, not because she wanted company, but because she didn't have a huge amount of stuff in the fridge and couldn't be bothered to go shopping, she knew that if I turned up I would cook and be able to in her words "make something out of nothing that will be lovely". And I did, however, the kitchen looked pretty chaotic when I had finished!

Oh well, maybe things haven't changed that much at all.

Cool Man (& Woman)

Although its a bit cooler now, the early part of the week was still roasting hot. I was in London and it was lovely to see everyone laying out on the grass in Russell Square Gardens, even the dogs were sun bathing.

Its been so hot this summer that the TUC has called on employers to relax dress codes to help staff to deal with the heat, and apparently the Federation of Small Businesses has done the same.

The TUC goes even further by saying that employers who implement a relaxed dress code will get more out of their staff.

I was fascinated to read last week in the Times about a recent survey of 562 companies by Peninsula, the employment law, health and safety consultant, suggesting that abandoning traditional dress increased productivity in four out of five cases. The article went on to further say that dress down days are so successful that 73% of businesses have adopted the practice - amazing!

What the people laying on the grass in Russell Square gardens were wearing was even more amazing - I wouldn't have called it traditional nor would I have described it as relaxed. The words I would have used were "don't go there"! The translation of that is - flesh, lots of underwear on show, strappy tops etc.

So how can you look cool yet casual in business this summer?

My top tips are -

Make sure you look appropriate for the business you are in.

Start reading labels (not whether something is designer) but what the fabric is made of, the more natural the fabric the more it will keep you cool.

Wear short sleeved tops under suits.

Go for lighter colours.

Ensure your shoes co-ordinate with your outfit and you are not wearing winter shoes with a summer outfit, (if your feet are hot, you'll feel hot all over)

And if all else fails - make sure you have a spare deodorant handy!

Compliments & The Ring Of Confidence

On Sunday I was out at the front of my house when a young girl passed by, it was a gorgeous summer day and she had an equally gorgeous summer dress on. As she went by I complimented her on the dress, saying how nice it was. Her reaction was to immediately say thank you and then follow up by telling me how cheap it had been (£15).

This week I ran a workshop on the subject of assertiveness and during this we spent some time talking about confidence - what it was? where it came from? and how to get it? Confidence seems to be a very elusive quality and I really wish I had the capability to go to Woolworths and buy a bag of confidence, (a bit like you buy pick and mix sweets), I'd love to be able to sprinkle some on people.

Do you remember the very old toothpaste advert? It said use x toothpaste and you too will get the ring of confidence! It never ever ceases to amaze me how often people tell me they don't have confidence, and often seemingly very confident people.

Anyhow, our conversations on the workshop concluded that we actually felt a lot more confident when people either said thank you or even better paid us a compliment.

This led me to reflect about the girl on Sunday, how many of us when we do get a compliment, brush it aside, in her case by telling me how cheap the dress had been.

And also, my thought process led me even further - if we all feel more confident when we receive a compliment why don't we shower or sprinkle them out a bit more often?

This week I've had several compliments - people coming up at the end of my workshop and shaking my hand and saying thank you and how useful they had found it, another person emailing me to say well done. I like the young girl on Sunday, went to shrug my shoulders and say it's nothing, but managed to resist the temptation to do so.

So this week see how many genuine compliments you can distribute - and see what the response is. When you receive a compliment - just accept it in the spirit it was given and give yourself a pat on the back and add it to your confidence bank!

Just In Case

I stumbled across this poem yesterday (see below), a lovely, lovely, very funny lady called Elizabeth Stead gave it to me quite a while ago, in fact the first time I heard it Elizabeth read it out in her best Victoria Wood voice and I cried with laughter - it was written by Charlotte Mitchell.

Despite knowing all the theory about a capsule wardrobe I find it impossible to travel light. I have never yet gone through airport checkout and not had a large orange sticker slapped onto my case that says HEAVY!

When my friend got married about 12 years ago in Antigua we had a very bad delay coming home, to pass the time my friend ran a competition at the check in queue for people to guess how many pairs of footwear were in my case - the answer was 10!

Happy packing and happy hols to those of you going away.

Just In Case

"I'm going to the sea for a weekend,
in a couple of days I'll be back,
so I'll just take my little brown suit and a blouse
and a beret and carry my mac.

But what if the house is a cold one,
the house where I'm going to stay,
no fires after April, no hot drinks at night
and the windows wide open all day?
I'd better take one - no, two cardys
and my long tartan scarf for my head,
and my chaste new pyjamas in case they decide
to bring me my breakfast in bed,
and what about church on Sunday?
I could wear my beret and suit,
but if it were sunny, it would be a chance
to wear my straw hat with the fruit.
I can't wear my little brown suit, though
not with the straw and the fruit,
so I'll just take a silk dress to go with the straw
and a silk scarf to go with the suit.
I'll just take my jeans and that jumper
in case we go out in the car,
and my Guernsey in case we go out in a boat
and d'you know where my swimming things are?

D'you think I should take that black velvet
in case they've booked seats for a play?
And is it still usual to take your own towel
when you go somewhere to stay?
I had thought of just taking slippers,
but they do look disgustingly old,
I'd better take best shoes and sandals and boots
for the church and the heat and the cold.

I daren't go without my umbrella
in case I'm dressed and it rains;
I'm bound to need socks and my wellies
for walking down long muddy lanes.

I'd rather not take my old dressing gown,
its such a business to pack,
but s'pose they have breakfast before they get dressed
I'd have to have mine in my old mac.

I'm going to the sea for the weekend,
in a couple of days I'll be back,
so I'll just take my little brown suit and a blouse,
two cardys, my long tartan scarf,
my chaste new pyjamas
my straw hat with the fruit,
my silk dress, my silk scarf,
my jeans, that jumper,
my Guernsey, my swimming things,
my black velvet, my towel,
my slippers (no one need see them)
my sandals, my boots, my umbrella
my socks, my wellies
my dressing gown, no, not my dressing gown,
Ok my dressing gown,
and a beret and carry my mac.

By Charlotte Mitchell

Getting Hot, Hot, Hot!

Wow what a week for the heat, its been amazing.

Normally I'm on holiday when its this hot, and not thinking about work, let alone doing any. In Europe we often comment that the pace of life is so much slower and after working through this week I think I know why. Its virtually impossible to keep functioning and keep up the pace when its this hot, my brain just doesn't seem to have been able to co-ordinate as efficiently (as someone said to me yesterday its because your body is focusing on keeping cool).

Although I have to say I have really enjoyed not charging about and dashing from this place to the next (my normal style)! Its nice to slow down for once and as its summer time a lot of people seem to be taking a bit of time out.

Two people I've been working with on their career transition both commented recently that having the opportunity to get off the "work merry go round" has been really useful, its given them the time to reflect and think about what they really want to do.

They also both commented that what they thought they wanted to do changed over a period of time, so having time out is valuable. For them not leaping into the next job, which would not have been the right one. Yet slowing down is not a natural style for a lot of us.

The other comment that has stuck with me this week is from someone else I'm working with, again on career transition as they are facing redundancy, he explained to me that so many people want to make a mark on life, to build an empire or to leave a little something of themselves behind. Yet he found the native Indian tradition more appealing, he explained further that this involved the concept that you came, you lived, you experienced, but you left no trace. He used the analogy of going on a picnic - you pick the most picturesque spot you can find, you lay the picnic out, you enjoy the view, the food and the drink and then you very carefully pack everything away, taking all your rubbish home and leaving everything as you found it so that the next person who comes along says its so beautiful, its so unspoiled, no one has ever been here before.

Are you a make a mark person or more of a native indian person?

Long live the sunshine!

Hello, How Do You Do? Networking Power

If this week had been a stick of rock it would have had networking running through it, I started the week networking at Inspirational Speakers and I closed the week by speaking this morning on the Power of The Network on behalf of Cambridgeshire Business Services. Thank you to Margaret Butterfield for her splendid organisation.

Networking is described as a key business tool in the world of today, its power and success cannot be under estimated, and yet to a lot of us the thought of going into a crowded room filled with people we don't know and having to introduce ourselves fills us with dread.

Hopefully my session this morning enabled people to learn the art of networking - what it can do for you and most importantly how to be an effective networker to build your business. A lot of people think networking is about selling, I don't believe it is, for me its about meeting new people and maybe developing mutually effective business relationships. Networking isn’t a quick fix it takes time, energy and effort.

Here are my top tips for networking effectively:-

Be aware of your first impression - think about what to wear, and pay attention to body language.

Identify what you want to achieve - none of us can afford 3 hours out of the working day where we are not being paid or being productive. Do you want to network for inspiration, to find a role model, for information, for support?

Beginning and endings - learn the art of small talk to open a conversation, build some rapport, the kiss of death is launching straight into business speak.

Know when to move on, 7 mins per person is optimum.

Follow up - make sure you keep in touch with those people who you clicked with, and who you felt there maybe some value in developing an ongoing relationship.

Jo Parfitt and Jacqui Tillyard are both what I would describe as Queen Networkers, they have written a book together called Grow Your Own Networks ISBN 0-9529453-7-1 The book uses gardening as a metaphor. Well worth a read.

For those of you who came along this morning, it was lovely to see you.

Happy networking!

Decisions, Decisions

I ran a decision making and problem solving course in London yesterday, and yet when the 07.20 GNER failed to arrive I found it hard to make the decision as to whether to dash over the bridge and get the WAGN 07.26. I met someone I knew on the platform and took their advice as to what to do!

We all have to make decisions - some of them easy, some of them complex. I've been asked for more information about My Language of Colour service so that someone can make a decision as to whether its for them, as Lloyd said blogging is a great way to answer questions that pop up all the time and in the spirit of embracing the blog here is the answer I would have provided to her via email:-

We review your personal colour palette using the tonal method of colour analysis. This means reviewing hair, eye and skin tones and then draping you with many different colours to identify which ones are your best ones. People often think that they can't wear a specific colour, that is not the case, I will coach you to understand which tone of colour to look out for, so for example is a bright shocking pink best for you, or a soft dusky rose pink. We will also look at different make up colours and jewellery. You will have a swatch of your personal colours as an aide memoir. The whole process will take about an hour and a half. A lot of friends often come together and this can be great fun.

Once you understand which tones of colour are best for you shopping becomes a doddle, you will find you have lots of colours in your wardrobe that blend and match together. Your natural colouring will shine through and you will look and feel better.

This is what people have said who have attended the language of colour - "I've been stopped by 3 people today who have all told me how well I look", "Wow, I didn't really appreciate what a difference it would make to how I feel". "Thanks Belinda, had a lovely time really enjoyed myself".

I'm also running a series of workshops in September for a corporate customer entitled The Language of Colour, its a great team build activity.

Virgin Post

After attending Inspirational Speakers last night in Papworth and hearing Lloyd Davis talk passionately about blogging I have taken the heady decision to join the blog set!

Watch this space for more news about me, my work, and hopefully others comments too.