Marketing seminar sponsored by Barclays Bank

Free marketing seminar for Leicestershire businesses organised by Barclays Bank

Local businesses are invited to a free marketing seminar to be held in Leicester city centre next month (March). The event will feature a talk by Leicestershire based marketing consultant Alastair Campbell of The Ideal Marketing Company and is sponsored by Barclays Bank which has 13 branches in the Leicester area.

The event is being held on Wednesday March 24th from12.00 pm to 2.00 pm at Mem-Saab Indian restaurant and champagne bar in Highcross Street in the city centre. Alastair will be giving a talk which focuses on the 4 critical marketing activities to grow a business and increase profits.

Monica Mendez, Area Manager for Barclays Business Banking Team in Leicestershire feels that the event is one not to be missed. “Marketing is one of the areas that many business owners forget as often they are so involved in the actual day to day ‘running’ of the business,” she comments. “Alastair will be discussing some simple strategies that businesses can apply, that might just help drive more customers through the door. This event will also provide an opportunity for networking – another invaluable and cost effective way of introducing new business.”

Alastair Campbell is Managing Director of The Ideal Marketing Company and gives talks on low cost marketing solutions for SMEs across the UK. He also runs the Marketing Mentor Programme, a fully funded 18 month support and training course designed for small businesses.

Businesses from across Leicestershire and the surrounding area that are interested in attending should call Pragnesh Sadadiwala from Barclays Bank on 0116 206 2184 or email pragnesh.sadadiwala@barclays.com to reserve a free place for this free marketing seminar in Leicester.

How many new years resolutions did you set you self this year?   We are almost 2 weeks into 2010, how many of your resolutions have already come to a grinding halt?  They may be business, financial or health goals that seemed such a good idea at the start of the month.   If you really want 2010 to be the year when your achieve great things  you must avoid the things which will make you fail, here are my top  5 reasons why people fail to stick to their resolutions

1. Failing to Plan and Prepare It’s great to have goals or resolutions but most people fail right there, they fail to write down a workable plan on how they are going to achieve each one of their goals.   For example was one of your resolutions to lose weight and get in shape this year?    Staying fit and healthy is the best thing you can do for yourself, but unless you have written it down and broke it down into more manageable sub goals its just a wish.   If you are serious about achieving your resolutions in 2010 you need to write out what’s in your head and put a plan together on how you intend to achieve it?     “Failing to plan is planning to fail”

2. Lack of action Following on from reason number 1 lack of action comes in at a close number 2.    With out a plan it’s unlikely you are going to take any action but even if you do write out a strategic plan on how you intend to reach your goal you must take daily action to move forward towards your goal.      Here’s tip to get you talking action, develop your plan using a step by step approach so you don’t get overwhelmed by the whole new years resolution thing . Break your main goal down into sub goals which can be achieved in a shorter period of time like a week, this way you can measure your progress and reward yourself weekly which is a huge component of mastering how to achieve your goals

For example if you need to lose 30lbs of weight, don’t focus on the  whole lot, just aim to drop 1-2 lbs every week and if you reach your goal reward yourself with something.

3. Not Rewarding Yourself when you reach a sub goal

This is basic human psychology, if you reward yourself when you reach your sub goal you are programming you mind to succeed, its a positive reinforcement.    Research shows that people who plan a series of smaller goals and reward themselves every time they reached it had 50% more chance of success

4. Not being emotionally attached with you goal

Most people want to be millionaire’s and have a great body but the people who get what they want have to earn it (well most of us, there are a lucky few of course).    So what is the difference between the people who achieve there goals and the people who are just dreamers.

As Napoleon Hill puts it in his book “Think & Grow Rich” They have a burning desire to get what they want.  A desire which is so strong that almost nothing will get tin their way, they have a strong emotional attachment to why they want what they set out to get.

Does that sound like you?

Do you want to achieve your resolution so bad that you will be willing to overcome any obstacle that gets in your way?

To be emotionally attached to your goal you must have a strong WHY, why do you want to achieve you goal?  You must know the PRICE, how much effort, time, money its going to cost and you must be willing to PAY THE PRICE.

People fail because they are not willing to do what it takes ?    What about you are you willing to do what it takes?

5.  Not Reviewing Your Goals & Not having Someone Hold You Accountable

Relying on will power alone is not enough; you must follow a systematic process and review your progress through some type of measurement system and have someone to hold you accountable for getting things done.    For example you can use a weekly body fat test to measure if your fitness program is working   From my experience you have a greater chance of success if you have some one or a group to hold you accountable.  Working with a professional fitness coach is a great way to be held accountable and get the support you need to reach your goals or if that is not a option for you surround yourself with like minded people.

In summery      Don’t let 2010 be another year where you fail what you set out to do.

1. Plan how you intend to achieve your goals

2. Take daily action

3. Reward yourself every time you reach a sub goal

4. Make sure you have a burning desire to reach your goal

5. Review and measure you goal and get yourself a fitness coach or someone to hold you accountable

Southampton Seminar

Thanks to everybody who came to my marketing seminars in Southampton this morning as part of the Venue Master annual event held in Southampton over a 3 day period.  Hope you found the marketing ideas useful and will take back a few ideas to help attract more new business leads.  Hope the rest of the event goes well and that you enjoy the keynote speech on Friday from Ruth Badger in the morning.   It was a lovely venue and it’s always a pleasure to speak to such a lovely audiance.

Marketing Seminars in northampton

Just arrived back from a morning seminar I was asked to run for the FSB in Northampton.  The event took place at the Northampton cricket club.  With around 60 business owners present it was a good oppertunity to talk about the ‘9 steps to successful marketing’ that I recently completed a tips booklet on.  If you were one of the people there I hope you found it useful.  I actually recorded the talk and plan on creating a CD and transcript out of it later this month.

I am delighted to have been asked back to talk at the East Midlands Franchise show.  The event takes place at the Leicester Racecourse on Saturday 20th.  My slot will be in the morning and if you are considering setting up on your own but want the security of working within a franchise than it may make good sense.

My talk will also cover how business owners can make the most of theMarketing Mentor programme for free.

This year the organisers are thinking about people who have been made redundant as the following news release indicates.

Redundancy need not mean Redundant – say Franchise Show organisers

As more of us begin to revaluate career options with lingering uncertainty in the workplace, starting up your own business – via a franchise – has long been a route considered by individuals looking to re-invest redundancy pay off.

And most franchising companies will tell you that, although a bolt out of the blue, being made redundant can be the making of you. You could well end up happier, and better off, than someone else’s wage slave.

But are those claims slick sales talk from franchise companies who want you to invest in them? Or is there hard evidence to reassure those who do lose their job that using their pay off to fund a business will “pay off”?

Well the organisers of the East Midlands Franchise Show, arriving at Leicester Racecourse in Oadby on June 20th, claim that 9 out of 10 franchisees report profitable business a couple of years into their licence.

And to reinforce the point, the low level of commercial failure is something that the high street banks have picked up on. In this immediate post credit crunch era, some high street banks have even set up specialist franchise teams keen to invest in what the have judged a “safer bet” – and offer preferential banking terms too

So if the worst happens, why not just set up alone? Why not use the capital you would have to pay the franchise fee and instead launch your own copycat idea?

Marcus Remfry, of franchise show organisers Job Done Marketing, gives as good an explanation as any;

“A good franchise will have a good brand, strong national marketing, good support for the new franchisee and most of all – a ready made, proven manual of how to run the business. None of that is there for a stand alone new business.

Those factors make franchising work. It is a far safer bet for the new business owners to succeed – and make their investment work for them

In addition, the clue is in the attitude of High Street banks. Cutting back on almost all forms of lending is in the news constantly, but some have set up specialist franchise teams to invest in, what they see, as a safer business opportunity”

So if you are one of those facing the push from work, it may just be the push you need to succeed. There are five million self employed Britons working today – and in times of economic slowdown, that tally could rise. Considering all career options – including creating your own career in your own company – is one avenue many will consider more and more.

Background:

The East Midlands Franchise Show 2009 takes place on Saturday June 20th at the Leicester Racecourse Conference Centre, Oadby, 4 miles south of Leicester city centre.

The show is free to attend – no tickets required – and there are specialist career and start your own business seminars taking place throughout which are also free to sit in on.

There are 36 exhibitors with full and part time business opportuntites on offer – a list of whom is available online at www.eastmidlandsfranchiseshow.co.uk.

Redundancy need not mean Redundant – say Franchise Show organisers

As more of us begin to revaluate career options with lingering uncertainty in the workplace, starting up your own business – via a franchise – has long been a route considered by individuals looking to re-invest redundancy pay off.

And most franchising companies will tell you that, although a bolt out of the blue, being made redundant can be the making of you. You could well end up happier, and better off, than someone else’s wage slave.

But are those claims slick sales talk from franchise companies who want you to invest in them? Or is there hard evidence to reassure those who do lose their job that using their pay off to fund a business will “pay off”?

Well the organisers of the East Midlands Franchise Show, arriving at Leicester Racecourse in Oadby on June 20th, claim that 9 out of 10 franchisees report profitable business a couple of years into their licence.

And to reinforce the point, the low level of commercial failure is something that the high street banks have picked up on. In this immediate post credit crunch era, some high street banks have even set up specialist franchise teams keen to invest in what the have judged a “safer bet” – and offer preferential banking terms too

So if the worst happens, why not just set up alone? Why not use the capital you would have to pay the franchise fee and instead launch your own copycat idea?

Marcus Remfry, of franchise show organisers Job Done Marketing, gives as good an explanation as any;

“A good franchise will have a good brand, strong national marketing, good support for the new franchisee and most of all – a ready made, proven manual of how to run the business. None of that is there for a stand alone new business.

Those factors make franchising work. It is a far safer bet for the new business owners to succeed – and make their investment work for them

In addition, the clue is in the attitude of High Street banks. Cutting back on almost all forms of lending is in the news constantly, but some have set up specialist franchise teams to invest in, what they see, as a safer business opportunity”

So if you are one of those facing the push from work, it may just be the push you need to succeed. There are five million self employed Britons working today – and in times of economic slowdown, that tally could rise. Considering all career options – including creating your own career in your own company – is one avenue many will consider more and more.

Background:

The East Midlands Franchise Show 2009 takes place on Saturday June 9th at the Leicester Racecourse Conference Centre, Oadby, 4 miles south of Leicester city centre.

The show is free to attend – no tickets required – and there are specialist career and start your own business seminars taking place throughout which are also free to sit in on.

There are 36 exhibitors with full and part time business opportuntites on offer – a list of whom is available online at www.eastmidlandsfranchiseshow.co.uk.

Marketing Seminar Nottingham

Marketing Seminars – thanks to everybody who saw my new seminar on 12 ways to grow your business through generating more leads.  The seminar took place towards the end of East Midlands Live at the Trent FM Nottingham Arena.  Thanks to Tara and all the team who worked so hard to put the event on. If you were there, hope you picked up some useful ideas – but do put them into practice. If you missed it, e-mail me and I’ll let you know when my next Marketing Seminar is on in the area or how you can enroll in the Marketing Mentor programme for free.

Marketing Seminar

Marketing Seminars in Leicestershire.

Just a quick note to let you know about the most recent Marketing Mentor seminar which took place yesterday at Hothorpe Hall. The marketing seminar attracted 100% business owners, but what was unusual was that people had traveled to Leicestershire from as far as London & Edinburgh. Most of the people who attend my marketing seminar travel within a 50 mile radius and I always feel under even more pressure than normal if people have set off at the crack of dawn – or even come up the day before – to attend my marketing seminar. Hope the all felt it was worthwhile – the feedback for the seminar would suggest that they found it a day well spent.

If you want to find out how you can attend the next seminar or want to enrol in the whole Marketing Mentor programme fro free call 01858 44 55 43.

Marketing seminar at Hothorpe Hall

Free Evening Marketing seminar – Low Cost Marketing Ideas to Weather the Economic Storm

This new seminar gives you practical, low cost ideas on what you can do to keep you existing customers coming back and win more new business – despite the economic storm that is gathering around us.

This event is free to any business owners or people with a marketing function within a company. It is aimed at small businesses with limited marketing budgets who want to make their funds stretch as far as possible – typically employing less than 50 staff.

Date : Tuesday April 28th 2009
Time : 6 for 6.30pm till 8.30pm
Location : Hothorpe Hall, LE17 6QX (near Market Harborough)
Cost : FREE

What will this free marketing seminar cover?

During the seminar I’ll cover 12 of the key main low cost marketing areas to help your business. These ideas cover making the most of existing customers as well as seeking cost effective ways to win new business. Previous slow-downs have shown that companies who cut their advertising lose their share of the market, whilst those who continue to market themselves do far better in the long run BUT only if they undertake the right marketing activity.

Why should I attend?

If you are the owner or manager of a small company, you’ll be only too familiar with these problems -

• Fear of Failure – too many small companies go out of business because they don’t understand how to market themselves. Out of the ones that survive the early years, few rarely go beyond ‘making a living’ for the owners
• Small businesses don’t have big budgets to spend on marketing
• Business owners don’t have enough time to attend lots of courses & seminars
• Lack of ideas and fresh ways to attract customers
• Not enough time to put any existing marketing ideas into place.

This seminar is aimed at companies who want to grow, but don’t know the best way to go about it and have limited marketing budgets to spend.

How will this Marketing Seminar help me?

‘Low Cost Marketing Ideas to Weather the Economic Storm’ will give you lots simple, practical ideas to introduce to your company straight away. You’ll also learn about the Marketing Mentor Programme and how it can give your business:

• Have a clear sense of direction in your business – where it is heading over the next 5 years and how it is going to get there
• Generate enquiries though successful direct mail and e-mail programmes
• Read about the success of your business in the local / trade and national press
• Convert more leads to appointments, and more appointments into sales
• Produce a brochure and leaflets that people read rather than toss in the bin
• Create a website to get noticed by Google, and visited by prospects
• Become the ‘go to’ company within your target markets
• Convert more customers, launch more successful products and keep more customers happy
• Receive more warm leads and find out how to close more sales more easily
• Keep your customers loyal and buying from you again and again
• Increase your profits by creating a simple sales strategy that makes sure even a junior sales person can increase their average order value
• Decrease significantly the chances of losing major contracts and improve the chances of extending the work you do for your best clients
• Make networking work for you and excel at exhibitions
• Have your company and products stand out for the crowd
• Learn how to make your advertising results increase 50 fold
• Ensure your customers stay with you for longer and spend more with you than ever before
• Stay ahead of the competition and maintain the lead in the market place

You will also be told about marketing funding that is currently available from the Government to help with your marketing. If you employ one member of staff or more you are likely to be able to receive this funding for your business.This funding will entitle you to a free place on the Marketing Mentor programme (worth around £3,500) and details will be explained on the night about how to apply and when the next seminar will run.

How do I book a place?

Free places for the marketing seminar are limited, but to check availability please e-mail seminar@idealmarketingcompany.com or call 01858 44 55 43 for more information
You can reserve up to 3 places for yourself and friends / colleagues.

Marketing Seminars Leicestershire

Thank you to Claire from Creative Leicestershire for organising last night’s marketing seminar at Stephenson College. Around 20 companies attended for a talk I did on low cost marketing ideas for smaller business owners. A number of them spoke to me afterwards and I’m pleased to say that all of them appear to have qualified for the Train to Gain grant which will give them a free place on the Marketing Mentor programme. I look forward to seeing them again in a month or so at one of the seminars at Hothorpe Hall.

Find out if you qualify for thr marketing Mentor programme by e-mailing charlie@themarketingmentor.co.uk

Just to say thank you to the 16 business owners who travelled to Milton Keynes to the CIM Regional event that I was speaking at last night. The topic was on low cost marketing ideas to avoid the ecconomic downturn.  I think the marketing seminar went down well and gave people some new ideas to take away.