Business Development Howler - Selling washing machines at music festivals

During the Junior Apprentice (UK) series in 2012, one of the candidates, Andrew Tindall, led on a task where his team had to choose two items from a selected range of products. Their job was to sell their chosen products at the WOMAD world music festival, and make as much profit as possible.

One of the items Andrew chose, was a hand-powered washing machine, a large bin-shaped thing, which seemed to work on a similar principal as a salad spinner. His logic for choosing this product above the other options was that it would be attractive to the glamping market (campers who like to camp in style and with maximum comfort).

At the festival, he tried in vain to sell these machines, so much so, that he almost deserved a sale just for his sheer perseverance. But in spite of his efforts, he failed to sell even one machine. On reflection, it wouldn't have mattered who the salesperson was, or how skilled that salesperson might be, it was an impossible sales proposition and Andrew was flogging a dead horse.

For a variety of reasons, it was a classic case of the wrong product for the wrong market, being sold to the target audience at the wrong time.

1) The WOMAD festival lasts for just a few days. I don't know of anyone who goes to a short music festival with washing clothes on their mind.

2) True glampers would choose a camping site with launderette facilities, whilst true campers are happy to rough-it and wait till they get home before washing their clothes.

3) At £60, these over-sized salad spinners were a bit pricey.

4) To be fair to the product, it worked pretty well in the demonstrations and with minimal physical effort too, so maybe it has potential. Perhaps Andrew's team might have experienced better results from marketing it to large outdoor distributors and shops, rather than selling direct to campers who have already arrived at their camping destination, and have thus planned for their time away. In my opinion, these machines need to be marketed as a 'pre-trip' purchase if they're

going to be successful.

5) My memories of camping are of the car being packed to the rafters on both journeys, so adding a small bin sized thing to the proceedings would be a definite "no thanks".

So what's this got to do with your business?

If your sales figures are tight or under-whelming, or they're below target and looking gloomy, there are several angles to consider:

Question 1) Is it down to your sales skills?

In which case it could be a learning and development issue which needs careful exploration so that the skills gap is identified and addressed.

Question 2) Is it down to your product/service(s)?

This is a bigger question with more variations.

a) Your product/service is decent but your customers don't want it (yet/anymore).

b) Your product/service is decent but your customers can't afford it (yet/anymore).

c) Your product/service is decent but your customers don't understand it (yet/anymore).

d) Your product/service is decent but you're no longer selling it to the right people. 

e) Your product is lousy, or it has become lousy due to changes in your marketplace.

e) Your product is decent, but it is only decent, and definitely not brilliant.

Tip:

If your sales figures are struggling, make sure you explore the deeper and often 'more difficult to solve' issues around question 2, as well as the learning and development challenges around question 1.  

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk

Time Management Tip 1 - PUB POWER!

So surely this must be the strangest time management tip ever... Head to the pub for a pint of beer?

Let me explain...

I live and work in Birmingham and my daughters used to live in Dorset (3 hours drive). As a divorced dad, I had them every other weekend and did the driving to make it happen. So every other Friday, I would head down the M5 to Dorset, to pick them up from school.

Because I hate being late in general and because the M5 can get very snarled up with traffic, I would aim to arrive in Dorset for 12:00, which left me (on most occasions) with a 3 hour window of time.

Being keen to make good use of the time, I found a quiet pub and started taking work to do whilst I waited … and then I discovered a couple of things:

1) The quality of the work I completed in that space of time was vastly superior to anything I was doing at the office or at home. 

2) The things which I was getting bogged down in at work during the week, were resolved almost instantly, once I sat down in that pub with my pot of tea (sadly I had to pass on the beer due to the driving!).

Whether I was struggling with a task due to it's complexity, or just because I was finding it difficult to get started, it would always be sorted in that space of time and in that pub...in fact, I can say with full sincerity, that I have a 100% hit-rate of sorting things out when I am in that pub, (and as a pub, it's not even that nice, although it has a special place in my heart!).

So what was it about that pub that made such an impact on my brain power? 

Was it something in the pot of tea? 

There are a number of reasons why that space was so effective for my work:

1) The pub had no wifi, which meant no internet or email disturbance.

2) The pub had lousy signal for my phone, which meant no calls, no texts and no emails.

3) The pub was pretty dismal and so very few people would be in it, therefore there were no distractions for me from the lure of people watching.

4) My hands were free, which meant I had room to commit my thoughts to paper/laptop

5) It was a completely different space, so I was not bored of the physical space

6) The 3 hour slot left me plenty of time to get really stuck into things, so if the creative flow didn't get going immediately, it was no great problem (although I can't remember a time when the creative flow ever got blocked).

7) I felt relaxed. After a 3 hour drive, sitting down with a pot of tea was a nice thing to do and I always felt relaxed, as well as being in a good mood because I knew I would be seeing my daughters soon.

So should everyone be heading to the pub for a pot of tea or a pint of beer?

Not necessarily, but when you feel you are getting bogged down in things, or your are struggling to progress with a complicated task, it helps if you go easy on yourself and take practical steps to change the physical space, eliminate distractions and manage your state so you are relaxed.

It also helps if you can identify and utilise a thinking space of your own, where you can work through the more complex things you have to deal with and produce better quality work, more easily and more quickly.

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974

Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk 

Business Development Tip: Titles tip the balance

                 37 new clients gained in one month 

I received an e-shot recently and the title of the message began with the fatal word "Hurry". It certainly did make me hurry, but only to the delete button on my laptop!

I received another e-shot with an abrupt question, "do you like chocolate?" to which my only thought was "SO WHAT"? followed by the next predictable action ... delete!

Does this happen to anyone else?

Because we're so inundated with emails, some of which are spam, some of which we signed up to in years gone by, and some of which are genuinely important, we've become ruthless in sifting through our emails and weeding out the sales stuff as quickly as possible.

More than ever, if you want someone to read your e-shot, the title of that e-shot is absolutely crucial. It needs to find the balance between catchy, punchy and interesting and then of course, be followed by a message which gives value to the reader, rather than (or as well as), buy - buy - buy!

My most successful e-shots in both terms of number of people opening them and the positive feedback which followed, were titled:

- Business Development: What NOT to do (4 cardinal sins)

- Standing out from the crowd on Linkedin

- Time Management Tip 1: PUB Power

Given you'll never have met or spoken to some (or many) of the people who receive your e-shots, do your messages really tread the careful line of Catchy v Rude? Clever v Cheesy? Punchy v Abrupt? Mysterious v Pointless?

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk

Business Development Tip: Fishing net approach v fishing rod approach

Fishing rods catch one fish at a time and tend to be used for recreational purposes. Fishing nets catch lots of fish at the same time and are favoured by commercial operators. Whilst I'm not a great fisherman, if you check my point about fishing rods and nets with Robson Green or JR Hartley, I'm sure they'd both agree!

So what's this got to do with business?

Just imagine, you've made the breakthrough. After months of warming up your contact, (someone who you know is the key decision maker), you've at last been hired to do some work.

It took longer than you thought, but numerous phone calls, 2 x face-to-face visits, some Linkedin activity spread over a period of time and plenty of patience, have clearly done the trick. You've delivered your first piece of work and it's been well received, things are looking up and you can see the work pouring in.

But next week the bombshell is dropped. When you ring your contact for a catch up call (and hopefully a gaze into her crystal ball), you are informed by her PA that she's left the company.

All that work, all that time, and now it's back to square-one. You'll have to start the warm up process all over again with her replacement, whoever that is, and what if replacing her takes a while?

Question: Is there any way to avoid this horror?

Answer: We can't control what other people do, so the short answer is "no". People move companies, people become ill and people retire. But we can adopt a business development strategy to help us deal with this situation before it arises.

Fishing Rod Approach v Fishing Net Approach:

Good business developers start with a fishing rod approach, which means they focus on catching the key fish (the principal decision maker). But once they've attracted the key fish and caught it, they put the rod away and pick up a net.

Fishing net tips:

Tip 1) When your contact is ill, on annual leave, or simply away, and you receive an automated email response, check to see if anyone else at the company is named on the auto-response (they often are).  If there are names, develop a friendly connection with the people named on Linkedin. You could also call them whilst your key contact is away, in order to introduce yourself ... so long as you can think of a credible reason for the call.

Tip 2) Ask your contacts who might deputise on the occasions when they are away.

Tip 3) Ask your contact who he/she reports to and then try to connect with them on Linkedin.

Tip 4) Ensure you fully explore the people structure around your contact both in terms of identifying the people and also in terms of how it functions.

This is something which can be done early on in the relationship, or it can gradually unfold as the relationship progresses, but NEVER forget to do it! You can frame your fishing net approach as a win/win, because from the point of view of your contacts, the better you understand the structure which supports them, the better service you can give.

For you, the more familiar you are with the structure around your contact, the stronger your position will be should your contact leave the organisation.

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk

7 tips for creating an innovative team spirit

The question of developing creativity is more complex than it at first seems and there is no quick-fix solution, but whether you are a major corporate company, a public service or a small business, there are some essentials which must be in place if you want your team to be more creative.

1) Fear kills creative spirit: There are plenty of examples of fear being the catalyst for great innovation in history, but society has evolved at a rapid pace in the last 20 years and what may have been true up until the 80s, is no longer true in the working environment in 2013.

Today, most people respond to fear at work by switching into surival mode, which means focusing on self, and operating within narrow perimeters, both of which destroy creativity. People won't think much beyond next week when they're frightened, whether the fear is a fear of getting it wrong, or a fear of job security.

Examine your workplace culture, identify and weigh up the behaviours of the various individuals who make up your team, explore your processes and pin-point where there is fear and why.

Is the level of fear helping your business?
Is it productive?
Is it acceptable?

In most cases the answer is no, and eradicating fear is a very good starting point if you want creativity to be king.

2) Jazz up your appraisal system: Too many businesses still operate an appraisal system which is a frustrating box-ticking exercise, rather than a people development tool. Appraisals should be fun, inspiring and positive, so that both parties look forward to the next one. I know of one leader who has flip charts set up in the room and has his staff moving about, bouncing ideas of each other, examining ideas, effort, and goals. He is constantly looking for fun yet productive things to do, in order to get the best out of his people and keep his appraisals fresh.

3) Balanced approach: Sales teams in particular, focus so heavily on financial targets and volume of calls made, that they forget the rather important notion of quality, intelligence, long term business development, strategic business relationships...I could go on!

As Roberto Martinez, current manager of Wigan Athletic stated recently, when asked how his team survives relagation year after year, "Don't torture yourself with the maths." Appreciate the numbers, understand them, but don't fixate on them because it can get tedious and limit morale. Once morale is limited, your team is less productive and you then stand less chance of achieving the numbers.

4) Ban internal emails: Once upon a time, in the land of email, all was well. We all loved them and they loved us. Sadly, email's once sweet taste has now turned sour!

Our inboxes are overflowing and our communication skills are getting worse. Interestingly, companies who ban internal emails find that their servers speed up and that people get on better because they have to start talking to each other again. Without good communication, don't expect much creativity.

5) Rome wasn't built in a day: The problem with innovation, is you can't predict what you'll get. If you invest X amount of time, who knows what the end result will be, maybe something, maybe nothing. This is dangerous territory for people fixated on ROI. But the reality is that many of the best things are born out of failure, or have evolved from going off on a tangent from an original idea. Innovation is not a linear or predictable process and the only hard and fast rule is to give it time and to give your people time.

6) Collaborative culture: The best things are made when teams are dynamic, on-fire and in good spirits. This is shaped by good leadership, positivity, and also company structures, which actively promote team working. This may sound familiar and most businesses would insist that they adopt a collaborative culture (particularly given that the word collaborative. seems to be an in-word at the moment!) but consider the following statement in the Salz Review on Barclays.

"There was no common sense of purpose in a group that had grown. There was an over emphasis on short term financial performance, reinforced by a bonus and pay culture that rewarded money making over serving the interests of customers and clients".

Whilst the rest of the business world may feel smug when they read this, this statement sadly sums up many of the sales teams and cultures I work with in the private sector. If your business structures promote an individualistic culture, it will undermine your creative ability, however good the leadership is.

7) Culture of acceptance: Did you ever come up with an idea which you knew would work, but your manager thought differently, so it either got shelved, or was so insensitively criticised, that you dropped it and resolved not to be so bold with your ideas in future?

Leaders need to develop their personal skills so they coach rather than command, and so they can accept and encourage different styles of thinking which might not fit in with their own world views. I know of one marketing company where the golden rule is, that no one laughs at each other's marketing ideas, however crazy they may be, because crazy can be good and crazy often leads to awesome.

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk

Business Development Tip - What can businesses learn from 'Pippa Middleton bashing'?

Poor old Pippa Middleton has taken some serious stick over her column in the Waitrose kitchen magazine, (Pippa's Friday Night Feasts). To be fair to the press, I've had a read for myself, and I'm not impressed with her foodie ideas. However, the new phenomenon of pippa bashing is not just down to the fact that her content is a bit weak.

I don't blame her for taking advantage of the offer to write a column for an organisation like Waitrose and I understand that she's probably keen to step out of her sister's shadow, so she is seen as Pippa Middleton, rather than Kate Middleton's sister. But what both Pippa Middleton and Waitrose have failed to grasp is that we, the British public won't tolerate a lack of credibility.

If we are going to listen to what someone says and allow ourselves to be influenced in some way, credibility is everything.

Where are Pippa's credentials for writing the column?

Does she have any right to impart her knowledge, other than being good looking and the sister of someone who married into the royal family?

It's because we regard Pippa as a chancer, that we won't take her seriously and for her column to be successful, her writing would have had to be out of this world, breaking boundaries and superlative, before we took her seriously...it would probably have helped her cause if she had some Cordon Bleu training behind her.

So what's this got to do with business?

Authenticity - Credibility - Believability - they are EVERYTHING when it comes to generating success in business. Therefore:

1) Focus on what you do well and do more of it. Spend your time perfecting it and creating a catchy brand to go with it.

2) Identify which bits of your business offering are not of the highest order and either ditch it completely or go back to the beginning and start again.

3) Find the balance between offering variety, whilst cornering a niche and working it!

4) Ensure your services and products really do live up to your marketing hype.

Personal example:

In the early years of my training business, I wrote close to 20 different workshops, but I've since narrowed my offering down to 6 core sessions.

Clockwise - 5 great time management principles
The Mole Hill Approach - 4 great resilience principles
Mission Possible - How to sell when your buyers aren't buying 
Leadership Toolbox 2013 - How to lead when times are tough 
Mind Games - Taking the stress out of stress management  
Going The Extra Miles - Cultural awareness and success overseas

Because I streamlined my products and worked on the ones I decided to keep, it's no surprise that my clients have experienced better results, whilst I've experienced more business!

Thanks for reading

I help businesses become more profitable by developing their people: 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946

Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk

Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain

Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK

Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk