Grow & Think Rich

Brand yourself. Grow and Think Rich




Walk along any street and watch the people coming towards you. How many are looking down or way? How few, if any, do you make eye contact with?

People tend to look down or away and yet when you do make eye-contact and smile you'll usually get a positive response. Try it for yourself. It must be a genuine smile and you must look a people.

Once you start getting response you'll find that you can make general comments and people will talk back. If you try this in your neighbourhood, whether home or where you work, you'll soon find that you meet the same people and they'll often greet you first. You'll find people begin to think of you as "that nice person who talks to me" or "it's that aweful person who tries to make me speak". That is a kind of branding. You are standing out from the crowd - making your mark.

Make yourself stand out by attending as many networking and group events and be different. Always wear a hat, wear a specific tie that is instantly identified, go up to people and present yourself with your tag-line, be a bit louder than you are at the moment - or anything that will help you stand out.

If you begin branding yourself in this fashion you'll find that other business people will remember you. When I go to meetings I always wear my own name badge so people aren't embarrassed because they haven't remembered your name. You will grow in stature and you'll begin to do more business. You will begin to think rich.

Meanwhile . . . . .

. . . . . Who's Afraid of Virginnia Woolf! Come along to this great performance at the Dylan Thomas Theatre from 3rd - 7th March. For full details just lick here to take a look at the leaflet.

Swansea Business Show is just 11 weeks away. Book your stand or visitor tickets now just complete the simple form on the left side of this blog.

Are postcards better than leaflets?

After such bad weather over the last 2 weeks it was really great today to see the sun shining. And it has been warm.

Could this be an early Spring already!

We are bombarded with leaflets promoting everything from concerts to holidays to shopping offers. They seem very popular but are they read? s there an alternative and does that alternative work better?

If you want to put a message across quickly use a postcard. Postcards are cheap and easy to handle.

Postcards are:
· Easy to create· Fast to print· Easy to address· Multi-deliverable· Easy to complete · Cheap to return· A single sheet, complete in itself· No need to open· Visible upon delivery· Visible en-route and wherever left.· Bigger than a business card and can be many times more useful.· Convenient

You can deliver postcards by hand, by 1st class post, 2nd class post, courier or special delivery, door to door, with a product, in a postcard pack, in an envelope with advertising material, in display holders, with brochures, magazines and catalogues, given out at exhibitions and on the street, put behind car windscreens or left in library books, loose in cafes and any public area (but make sure they don’t become litter).

3 Ways to use Postcards

1. SALE PROMOTION instantly· This can promote one product or many.
· They can be used as a one-off for a special event· They can be used in a series because the average number of receipts before action is around 5-7· You can create your idea and often have it designed, printed and delivered within a week· It can be on the counter, handed out or left in a rack· If not delivered to the home they can be put in the pocket easily

2. PRODUCT PROMOTION · This can promote one product or many.· They can be used as a one-off for a special event· They can be used in a series because the average number of receipts before action is around 5-7· You can create your idea and often have it designed, printed and delivered within a week· It can be on the counter, handed out or left in a rack· If not delivered to the home they can be put in the pocket easily

3. GUARANTEE· Send with a product as a guarantee or warranty. When this is returned completed you have another name to add to your data base· There will be space to add additional material such as a special offer or about supplies or replacement parts

Watch out for my low cost e-booklet "37 Ways along the A6" which will be available in about 10 days. 35 pages of simple ways to use postcards to promote your business at around £3.

Ever trying for improvement you'll see my signature is now not in a white box, and is certainly blacker. Always looking to improve.

Have you booked your stand at the Swansea Business Exhibition click here?
Have you joined Local Business Networking? Join and grow your business. Click here.

If I can do anything to help your success do call me.

Talk to other Business Owners

"Friday Night and where did it all go wrong" playing on the radio right now.

This week has just disappeared and gone for ever. We all have 7 days, 168 hours, 10080 minutesa and 604799 seconds in a week. Just a second check out my maths and prove me wrong. That "one second" is as important as the 606799 others.

It is so important to make the most of every minute, whether workinmg on your business or enjoying a social life.

And what a week. Last Saturday saw more snow and I caught my postman on camera. He was one of jone of a handful of vehicles that made it up the hill to my home. It doesn't look too deep but it was really frozen and like an ice-rink.

It was actually very sunny until I went to Pembokeshire where it changed to blizzard conditions and there were several vehicles strewn along the road.

This week we have had our Local Business Networking meeting at the Dylan Thomas Theatre on Wednesday. These meetings work well. We sit in a circle at a table so we can munch on sandwiches and talk. I was able to update on the Swansea Business Show that is to be held in the theatre in May. It's looking very positive.

Last evening saw me at Swansea University where I manage Unibus (the university supporting local business). WE were able to give sme good input to the Student event being arranged by Bright Futures, the student organisation that oprepares students for the commercial world. They are holding a dinner at the local Marriott hotel on 18th March bringing local businesses and students together.

Today I've been involved in looking at sheltered accommodation for a housing association. It has taken several visits this week to different locations looking at disabled access. Can I finish by next Tuesday? I still have two locations to view. Then there is the report to finish. I'll keep you updated.

Much more has happened. I have commitments on Monday am, Tuesday all day, Wednesday all day, Thursday am and Friday all day.

So my advice is to keep a minute by minute check for a week and see how your time is used. Could it be more fruitful?

If I can help you make more time of your business call me.

regards

Do you have a "Today's List"

Mid February already and so much to do in such a short time

Do you keep a "To do List"

If not start now. Begin a habit and carry it through every day for one month. It wasn't a habit but it will become one. And a list will both remind you of what you have to do but give you the urgency to get on with it. Some jobs can roll over until tomorrow if necessary but you'll be able to prioritise. And don't put the jobs at the bottom that you don't want to do. Put them right at the top and get them out of the way.

The Swansea Business Show is just 13 weeks away. Have you booked your stand yet? Look at the blog for details. A website will be launched shortly.

46 stands all 1.2 metres. Low cost but high activity. This will be a show to remember as being successful. Make business for your Business. And the only way to do that is to be there.

What can I do to help you do better? Call me. I'm working with so really successful businesses right now in Swansea. The more I hear about recession the better they are doing. What is the most consistent thing that all of them is doing?

The answer is . . . taking action. Doing something. Looking for opportunities and going for it.

Regards

Around the world and beyond

We wish Clare & Richard a great life together.

And now for something completely different.

Have you been snowed in? The Federation of Small Businesses reckon on the loss of business because of the snow running into millions of pounds.

We live in an electronic age s you can work from home or on the move and still generate business. Think about:

BACS payments
Invoices by e-mail
Video and conference presentations
Telesales
Website sales
Quotes by e-mail
etc etc


There are so many avenues on the path to more sales through the phone, internet or even fax


Don't let the snow slip you up

E-mail automation is a winner. Come on my course next week and save yourself money, memory and marketing. Watch for full details.



How can I help you improve your sales Call me

Snow in Swansea

Today it snowed!

Today the world came to a standstill!

Today was a fun day for the kids and adults alike - or hell.

A lorry slid across the hill on Brynamor Road in Swansea and barely missed crashuing into a house as you can see from the left photo above.

Dylan Thomas sat, not exactly shivering, but certainly with a crown of snow outside the Dylan Thomas Theatre.

Lola, one of our dogs, sat patiently whilst I took a photo whilst she'd have preferred to play.

And Sketty Cross, where lorries and cars double park on this very busy junction, use and abuse the loading lay-bye, park across the flush disabled kerb or jump the lights, lay deserted apart from the ocassional car.

The kids took out the sledge and, after I'd sanded the runners, had great fun on our hill.

And many shops and offices were empty. The buses weren't running and the roads were like an ice-rink. The snow didn't just fall but whipped across us and blinded us if we looked up.

The sun is now shining so maybe the moment of change has come.

And about that shock and surprise at the Dylan Thomas Theatre on Saturday. Just wait an hour and come back to this blog.

If there's anything I can do to help your success do call me

What is the problem? Bang that Drum

Where has personal marketing gone?

I remember as a cinema manager back in the early sixties that I was constantly looking for promo material that would tell local people about the films I was showing.

What did we do? remember that we had stars of forthcoming films attend and in particular Oliver Reed. His film was about an advertising executive who has some sort of breakdown and smashes up his office. Well, he came to the cinema where we had set up a desk on stage, just below the screen so it wasn't visible and in the intermission, when the lights came up he strode down the main isle with an axe over his shoulder and onto the stage where he smashed up the desk. This was great for us because we'd announced he be there and so the cinema was packed and we could expect a crowd the next week for his film: it was great for the audience because they saw one of the stars of the day: and it good for Oliver Reed because it kept his exp[osure high.

I remember when we had Bond 007 films showing, we'd either dress up for local newspaper shots or have some of the big props and equipment from the studio set up in the foyer. We also had an open lorry that we'd tour the streets with where we'd paste up posters on a giant A-board.

Nowadays that's changing. I as amazed at two things on Friday and one on Saturday. The former very negative whilst the latter both positive and negative.

On Friday I went to an indoor shopping centre to look at a retail outlet. One of the points we discussed was giving out leaflets. He staggerred me by saying that it was against the centre rules. He wasn't allowed to step outside the shop to hand anything out!! I then went to a large outdoor shopping centre and heard the same story.

People buy from people. The best introduction is not through adverts, websites, mailshots or bill-boards. No! It's through personal contact. How can you make contact with possible prospective customers if you can't approach them?

Imagine fishing and having to dangle the line and bait right at your feet, rather than throw the line into the middle of the river or lake! I know that fish hide under the bank and can be tickled but that's a different game ; thery are usually resting or asleep - if fish sleep.


On Saturday I went into Swansea and passed through Swansea Market taking photos when I came across Jannis.

Jannis is Greek and has a market stall selling authentic Greek speciality foods. He's had the stall for just under a year and is a really happy chappie.

When I saw Jannis he was walking around the busy market ringing a bell and holding a tray of what could be doughnuts (I'm going back to find out). And he was shouting "Support local businesses" I couldn't believe it, particularly as I'm organising the Swansea Business Show in May and one of the themes is just that - support local business.

But there's a problem here as in the shopping centres: the management seem to disapprove because when I asked other stall-holders why they didn't shout or do anything to attract attention I was told that this wasn't acceptable!!

When I had a stall in Pettycoat Lane in London with a friend we were expected to shout out and try anything to attract attention.

What is going on? Is this being politically correct? Have we lost our sense of proportion? Please help?

Visit my Marketing Basics website to learn about easy ways to market.

Swansea in and around the Market



If you are doing anything different to attract attention on the street do let me know. Write a comment.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS . . .

. . . . at the Dylan Thomas Theatre on Saturday night was a superb production. There was one set and the main characters were there throughout then production. It was snappy and well rehearsed. I sat in the front row and didn't hear one prompt. The play went from being a serious production and slipped into a riot of slapstick at times. I couldn't stop laughing in the second half.


Until the curtain call when we all had a surprise and the Director a shock! But you'll have to wat until tomorriow for more about that. Another rmarketing trick is to leave the reader in suspense. There's no prize for guessing what happened but read on tomorrow.


Keep busy. Market well and be successful.

Add some spice to your site, blog or any web presence. It's free.


More about video coming. Watch out.
Meanwhile this is a really short post.
Tomorrow watch out for Jannis - tyhe Greek market man