tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59892735542141794832024-03-05T19:09:30.339+00:00Bob Shepherd Associates - News and CommentBob Shepherd Associates deals with Business Finance and Business direction for small business SMEs in South Wales and the West of England also covering Grants, marketing and business planning. Development of business with an external perspective, contacts and expertise you may not have, cutting through the red tape so your business can mature into a worthwhile and profitable business. A better business is right in front of you, waiting to be developed!Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-56177297204928429962018-08-06T13:03:00.003+01:002018-08-06T13:03:52.670+01:00Your name? I have no idea!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5a0g7zSvbYsc52jltQtpdajFLGnn33oOkTJu3u88kJKRtFPhph1QyYRULVrkOuBoxuSaKTAky9PkO-fpNGkVN8Xo1q5J7Qb_XOEPOhXkFT9Y8vfDrV-cxQFUa4elNJCTsS_7aT_7_jF35/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Business-Growth-Your-name-I-have-no-idea-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5a0g7zSvbYsc52jltQtpdajFLGnn33oOkTJu3u88kJKRtFPhph1QyYRULVrkOuBoxuSaKTAky9PkO-fpNGkVN8Xo1q5J7Qb_XOEPOhXkFT9Y8vfDrV-cxQFUa4elNJCTsS_7aT_7_jF35/s320/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Business-Growth-Your-name-I-have-no-idea-NEW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your name? I have no idea!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regarding the name it’s a common problem to many that they are completely unable to recall names when needed. They may use a trick to avoid the embarrassment like using the name a couple of times after introduction to reinforce it in their brain. It’s probably a nice thing in that context.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNm1LEvvXi1_nMgxedkblTeTawmzHNbv4Ihyphenhyphen3iR3fd5rs08gKLkBrp7iuFvsBWPxV43YmQMxmXmO1y-l2jvf982719puFLhYhweOrx7qLfpBB-M8eblu-mpEtf-JAh0I-kyByFKyxZfVTM/s1600/forgotten-name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNm1LEvvXi1_nMgxedkblTeTawmzHNbv4Ihyphenhyphen3iR3fd5rs08gKLkBrp7iuFvsBWPxV43YmQMxmXmO1y-l2jvf982719puFLhYhweOrx7qLfpBB-M8eblu-mpEtf-JAh0I-kyByFKyxZfVTM/s200/forgotten-name.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have this affliction and because of it I am much better now than I used to be at remembering names, especially when out of context. Also I decided a long time ago that the small embarrassment attached to confessing you could not bring their name to mind when meeting someone again is dwarfed by the massive destructive experience of painting yourself into a corner and never ever getting away with it. <a href="https://goo.gl/LMyqF1" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here. Simple really</a>.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-19315323788001312312018-03-15T15:57:00.000+00:002018-03-15T15:57:29.816+00:00Digital Marketing | That Social Media Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfQJAEQEyjvuCMpUwzqyZOTxIm9DIXrjehWO7ldCPZZ_keQuUCaR_CrpPKW9si9gemaAgfMDIYkppxh__dI1N8ofpb8BtjBf2Xb9D51j-zEo86PP72fIuY6flkRiPCAKIABh0P7e0bFpn/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Digital-Marketing-That-Social-Media-Thing-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfQJAEQEyjvuCMpUwzqyZOTxIm9DIXrjehWO7ldCPZZ_keQuUCaR_CrpPKW9si9gemaAgfMDIYkppxh__dI1N8ofpb8BtjBf2Xb9D51j-zEo86PP72fIuY6flkRiPCAKIABh0P7e0bFpn/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Digital-Marketing-That-Social-Media-Thing-NEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Digital Marketing | That Social Media Thing!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best you can say about the use of social media platforms by small businesses is that they have 'sort of' adopted them. A lot of small businesses have a twitter account, facebook page and perhaps a blog. Some of the more aware ones have a pinterest page. Many more do not partake at all. There are some misapprehensions out there!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9kesRmFLzuqfN5VRIt5QuDSspDx5qsUif1NnTNQ8Yc3KdYa14UgJQmF84c_VbUesjTuTt7aI3lODmAstsonzAKznBQ3Z3CMHq27KMfzB8ydQD0iidYtlUFNzg6Ae8PPjojc65IkkK5-8/s1600/target.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="251" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9kesRmFLzuqfN5VRIt5QuDSspDx5qsUif1NnTNQ8Yc3KdYa14UgJQmF84c_VbUesjTuTt7aI3lODmAstsonzAKznBQ3Z3CMHq27KMfzB8ydQD0iidYtlUFNzg6Ae8PPjojc65IkkK5-8/s200/target.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If your target audience is perhaps largely young women, then you should have an active presence engaging with your audience on a regular basis on the sites where you are likely to be seen. Not that older people and other people cannot be reached. The requirements for someone connected to the beauty business are going to be different from an air conditioning firm for example.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are not engaging with Professional business firms you still might get through by using LinkedIn. All those so called serious business folk have families and many have a sense of humour. <a href="https://goo.gl/pCTeZv" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here.</a></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-5382878951648146482018-01-23T16:24:00.000+00:002018-02-14T13:14:15.052+00:00Running A Business | Business Ethics Are Key<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSiOSmgpsnssE2al8WRwWRYsvoNwQKvX77Zvo2pmtBpx64YR_ieAfRJoLLqssbvRzV2zFqQ11Li7PJyPLQVsbTteMr02MSOpub4O-riIzDJmCGdxe_mSGsM42jk1An9leRsZFSfavKJH9/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-running-a-business-business-ethics-are-key-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image for LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd Associates | Running a Business, Business Ethics" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSiOSmgpsnssE2al8WRwWRYsvoNwQKvX77Zvo2pmtBpx64YR_ieAfRJoLLqssbvRzV2zFqQ11Li7PJyPLQVsbTteMr02MSOpub4O-riIzDJmCGdxe_mSGsM42jk1An9leRsZFSfavKJH9/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-running-a-business-business-ethics-are-key-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates | Business Ethics" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Running A Business | Business Ethics Are Key!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The way people behave in business has been troubling me lately. The integrity of a business is what is presented to the outside world. It starts off with politeness and courtesy, moves on to turning up on time and then to doing what you say you can. It also covers not saying you can do something when you can’t!</span></div>
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Communication is a lot to do with it. If you say when you are going to pay, make sure you do what you say. For any business struggling with cash flow that is a useful tip. Much better that you get in first and tell them what you can do rather than wait until the boys are coming round and start bleating then!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Dr1lbCI4TokMQiRLtIyJ9YzN19VJTvpyWNVZq3XVD2BBEt-9GAgKSeEa1btroXJmvDqIwcnjC1RXaHYwH90_Zl6jt-LQ7EjQ7wudFlTtvVC3IPdspiR33M71wL3WRof2O4E3t6JWTw23/s1600/Why.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Dr1lbCI4TokMQiRLtIyJ9YzN19VJTvpyWNVZq3XVD2BBEt-9GAgKSeEa1btroXJmvDqIwcnjC1RXaHYwH90_Zl6jt-LQ7EjQ7wudFlTtvVC3IPdspiR33M71wL3WRof2O4E3t6JWTw23/s200/Why.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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Think about all the times you have received poor service. A lot of it was unmanaged expectation. Had you been told some investigation was needed and a reply would be given within a certain time you would have waited. Had you been told what was happening/why there was a delay/ given an apology for whatever was amiss it is likely you would have had your opinion of the place enhanced and may even have recommended it. <a href="https://goo.gl/rcrVnZ" target="_blank">To read the full article by Bob Shepherd on "Business Ethics", just click here</a>. Simple really!</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-52254463366254727542017-12-06T11:22:00.000+00:002017-12-06T11:22:45.293+00:00Business Planning | Is it time well spent?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOG8nX5SQhBJEuabSI97ozDtAkOzvXw_WV7_hAxnDdsfG26iCUKadjpNRRPNGovb__y4DLExrts6ErL6XOeAjJByVwP-PoKFgDRm8SOhFMiH1yuYi01SDdDV1nNlKIz7-udz8IFXn2MSxO/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-Planning-is+it+time+well+spent-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOG8nX5SQhBJEuabSI97ozDtAkOzvXw_WV7_hAxnDdsfG26iCUKadjpNRRPNGovb__y4DLExrts6ErL6XOeAjJByVwP-PoKFgDRm8SOhFMiH1yuYi01SDdDV1nNlKIz7-udz8IFXn2MSxO/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-Planning-is+it+time+well+spent-NEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a client who was a tyre and exhaust depot who had tyres in every corner of space. I asked him how many and he had over 600. There was no real reason why he had to keep a couple of everything made when he could get them delivered in a couple of hours. His cash flow improved when I pointed this out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKLbM9OGOnk1UZdpxBR64qvRyQwmJEkX15LjIDFbmdjrqhpzY53WM1TE32TEHoSThLG4Yqek6zV83GCJ6RGlTkzbb0ewv9dy459Cvee8ZV_kGptj1ANbRgw5lzCwf2C31xuQEMERtm0xE/s1600/Xmas-Bulbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="265" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKLbM9OGOnk1UZdpxBR64qvRyQwmJEkX15LjIDFbmdjrqhpzY53WM1TE32TEHoSThLG4Yqek6zV83GCJ6RGlTkzbb0ewv9dy459Cvee8ZV_kGptj1ANbRgw5lzCwf2C31xuQEMERtm0xE/s200/Xmas-Bulbs.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We the consumers should demand less choice. That way when your Christmas tree lights don’t work and you try to buy some bulbs you will not need to discover there are dozens of variations which are essentially the same, but not interchangeable. <a href="https://goo.gl/ca5Bve" target="_blank">To read the full Bob Shepherd LinkedIn article, just click here</a>. Simple really</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-53259061019556598402017-11-15T11:46:00.000+00:002017-11-16T11:48:45.979+00:00Business Marketing | Just Who Are You Talking To?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42BSBxjgNF6VOaM1CMOw7g6qLdIqSYYF3VYGrRJA1PxMxAO0U_GU8JbRvUXMdEpPR1O_0stx4aQ8sXySD9eB3p-pZRNQPHWv1kYY2WOWIz6VFEAEtFYrm__Ij7ZK14mDnOCghVzF_AteK/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-marketing-just-who-are-you-talking-to-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="LinkedIn article image for a Bob Shepherd Business marketing article" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42BSBxjgNF6VOaM1CMOw7g6qLdIqSYYF3VYGrRJA1PxMxAO0U_GU8JbRvUXMdEpPR1O_0stx4aQ8sXySD9eB3p-pZRNQPHWv1kYY2WOWIz6VFEAEtFYrm__Ij7ZK14mDnOCghVzF_AteK/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-marketing-just-who-are-you-talking-to-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd LinkedIn Artcle on buainess marketing" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Marketing | Just Who Are You Talking To?</span></h2>
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“Business Marketing” – that old thing! It’s part of that section of company activities you could label “Shouting to the outside World”. If you do not tell anyone you are there they can only find you by accident.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6i0YPljSXPZ9rX-NSWwUZksOMsfhBSQ0C7VNHWuV9IiWlgTLgrkTD8Whqh1tJjP7RoHZ8tC7BxnljgA3KDKn4HWAmqavCpCsGfPkcOB4Vj9_9K5IzPpcDrMhC73J46wnC7WI-zpruDIdd/s1600/Eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="900" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6i0YPljSXPZ9rX-NSWwUZksOMsfhBSQ0C7VNHWuV9IiWlgTLgrkTD8Whqh1tJjP7RoHZ8tC7BxnljgA3KDKn4HWAmqavCpCsGfPkcOB4Vj9_9K5IzPpcDrMhC73J46wnC7WI-zpruDIdd/s200/Eye.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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For a small business the need to be seen and heard is paramount, but limited by resources of money, expertise and most importantly time available. Having sorted all that out the business of what to say comes under consideration. What shall we tell them? How shall we tell them? <b>How can we make them listen? </b>To answer that question, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-marketing-just-who-you-talking-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank">you'll need to read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd - Click here.</a> Simple really.</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-78133116924582470352017-10-24T11:35:00.000+01:002017-11-16T11:37:57.110+00:00Traditional Marketing & Digital Marketing - It’s still Marketing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4_yt4P38DFsfwToFGQjOCdGd4zNVPWqDJXslcGzlHflKgRzeVs8VDAikXNSqOKjbUzgWTnMN_i0cHfIoSc9O_6L2zDPGT2bfssK8Z-kmsc-dfHor-iLYx_AXBP02QD1MQb1fJkUhfbsV/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-traditional-marketing-digital-marketing_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Linkedin article banner for Bob Shepherds article on business marketing" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4_yt4P38DFsfwToFGQjOCdGd4zNVPWqDJXslcGzlHflKgRzeVs8VDAikXNSqOKjbUzgWTnMN_i0cHfIoSc9O_6L2zDPGT2bfssK8Z-kmsc-dfHor-iLYx_AXBP02QD1MQb1fJkUhfbsV/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-traditional-marketing-digital-marketing_NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd LinkedIn Article on Business Marketing" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traditional Marketing & Digital Marketing - It’s still Marketing</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you push your business? There are many possibilities and you probably need to do most of them!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7ipuJp01V7ViCaD266NPrBQBT6Ftup8cYR4S_T59FWOvX5ChhKXSDjX19z8dYhwsKCRl-7oo-0RvNWnIU5G0G3ARlTgFzrcjygr46VQq-OxrurzYoaI_q0qNgJm13xyk7l6AQZkwhre7/s1600/Website.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7ipuJp01V7ViCaD266NPrBQBT6Ftup8cYR4S_T59FWOvX5ChhKXSDjX19z8dYhwsKCRl-7oo-0RvNWnIU5G0G3ARlTgFzrcjygr46VQq-OxrurzYoaI_q0qNgJm13xyk7l6AQZkwhre7/s200/Website.png" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about your website? Is it Optimised for relevant Keywords/ Key-phrases? Is it mobile responsive? How fast does it load? Have you set page goals? Have you worked out the unique selling point of each page. Are the most important points "above the the fold?". That's just the tip of the iceberg.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about networking, some telemarketing, some effective PR and when should you use Social Media? How do you do that effectively?</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/traditional-marketing-digital-its-still-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd, just click here.</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-30507698863024587652017-10-10T11:16:00.000+01:002017-11-16T11:25:07.727+00:00Marketing | The Pricing Ceiling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKFy4mNV1JRinyXsimas_LeY3IaJQH31uHUNGbK9ZELSf3-zdFR3H3YftSBO1RvMVarI8PMhC6qykd2QaeT70QfgjNtntAPjt6_vy_0nRAoMhztq93Sea7TDKVv8gsuVpNYnhyphenhyphendt_Vcqt/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-marketing-the-pricing-ceiling_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bob Shepherd Article Image on business Marketing" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKFy4mNV1JRinyXsimas_LeY3IaJQH31uHUNGbK9ZELSf3-zdFR3H3YftSBO1RvMVarI8PMhC6qykd2QaeT70QfgjNtntAPjt6_vy_0nRAoMhztq93Sea7TDKVv8gsuVpNYnhyphenhyphendt_Vcqt/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-marketing-the-pricing-ceiling_NEW.jpg" title="LinkedIn Business Marketing Article by Bob Shepherd" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marketing | The Pricing Ceiling</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are interesting effects that a price ceiling invokes and there is a need to be careful in using them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvKePrf9hiQtVhNp7n8YTRYSB1Q-EBb0iLXu7Tzu-AtxPkqBFxO0njOtG8H6p-rYDGid3UN2kChiF9eJSKvPhEFSvjNdtBZRuiAhRaxpp5v7BTxQ_3yaAB6gm0yAz1vq2AkELl1mB8HpW/s1600/one+pound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="251" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvKePrf9hiQtVhNp7n8YTRYSB1Q-EBb0iLXu7Tzu-AtxPkqBFxO0njOtG8H6p-rYDGid3UN2kChiF9eJSKvPhEFSvjNdtBZRuiAhRaxpp5v7BTxQ_3yaAB6gm0yAz1vq2AkELl1mB8HpW/s200/one+pound.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example a life assurance plan at “less than £1 a week” is not going to be worth a look if I want a meaningful financial benefit . Assuming I am representative of the sort of clientèle the company really wants to attract, they are likely to haul in precisely the opposite. It smacks of the post war burial plans that were collected at the door at a shilling a week. In those days the sheer quantity of them made them a useful contribution to the company’s funds and since many of them got lost or were never claimed for some reason there is a tidy sum kicking about somewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The value of money has skewed dramatically in the last few years. Incomes are considerable now in......... <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/marketing-pricing-ceiling-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd, just click here. Simple really</a></span></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-82118794736547702482017-09-26T11:03:00.000+01:002017-11-16T11:07:32.964+00:00Business Presentations | Many ways to skin a cat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNGfPDNqe90XoJnjsVM-JLVIoqr5ddxqLxAt8YagXu37yEM9Wf08Zps4pf9p5UFj_yaG5iVBf2z4E9nptmVwNSOgAx9rxirnv4ywijfCaRAzKmiZlTROjQElwHRHIY_jfyq8FIdCVUs_H/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business+presentations-many-ways-to-skin-a-cat-NEW-flat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNGfPDNqe90XoJnjsVM-JLVIoqr5ddxqLxAt8YagXu37yEM9Wf08Zps4pf9p5UFj_yaG5iVBf2z4E9nptmVwNSOgAx9rxirnv4ywijfCaRAzKmiZlTROjQElwHRHIY_jfyq8FIdCVUs_H/s320/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business+presentations-many-ways-to-skin-a-cat-NEW-flat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Presentations | Many ways to skin a cat</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my corporate career, I was sent on many courses and seminars. I think every time there would be someone there saying they could not think what they were doing there as they had been doing the job for two years, or that it was bound to be a waste of their time in some other way.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P14jr8SqbzWLZXklxCZ5ARrVx8pFm8lfMUobqMlATuLCLgcfo3ceR3XJYh6eVxhL7qryRCOCbHhEPPrYVdP9HYL9rpPbsFzRZjYH4kswgczym4xMB-NRIhiejukwwqtWlrAeRi2jgypa/s1600/an-idea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="503" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9P14jr8SqbzWLZXklxCZ5ARrVx8pFm8lfMUobqMlATuLCLgcfo3ceR3XJYh6eVxhL7qryRCOCbHhEPPrYVdP9HYL9rpPbsFzRZjYH4kswgczym4xMB-NRIhiejukwwqtWlrAeRi2jgypa/s200/an-idea.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought at the time that I was missing several major points. Even if they knew everything about the subject we were going to get another perspective on the subject. We were going to spend some time with peers which might have some contact value or the opportunity to know and show who we all were. There was always a potential for some little nugget in the presentation that would prove useful and when else would we spend some hours concentrating on that particular aspect of our working life?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Altogether a positive experience, or it should have been. A lot of people did not see it that way however.......... <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-presentations-many-ways-skin-cat-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, simply click here</a></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-76945430108814783822017-09-12T10:54:00.000+01:002017-11-16T10:56:43.851+00:00Business Networking | Knowing your onions isn't enough<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0syXuzqaRB8pG80sWJ089o9fZsRQkMazEGQCS284eMRvLZTEWWOemGIzx5tqU4OjjABTA6dj1-_nk3kBucg1qtepqMbcGqQtQovaxOMRqAYDnRUyhyphenhyphenj7evHeCsWIvu3Y7p07LaFcZkrtp/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-knowing-your-onions-isnt-enough-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Linkedin Article Image by Bob Shepherd Associates on Business Networking" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0syXuzqaRB8pG80sWJ089o9fZsRQkMazEGQCS284eMRvLZTEWWOemGIzx5tqU4OjjABTA6dj1-_nk3kBucg1qtepqMbcGqQtQovaxOMRqAYDnRUyhyphenhyphenj7evHeCsWIvu3Y7p07LaFcZkrtp/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-knowing-your-onions-isnt-enough-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Networking | Knowing your onions isn't enough</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Professional knowledge is essential for any business but building an extensive network of relevant contacts can be just as important. This is particularly the case for a conceptual business. If you are a Printer, or an Accountant, or something with a definite label then people think they know what you do already. (They don’t of course but you have to see it positively) Getting to know the right people can be critical for business success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first purpose of networking is making contacts, building possible....... <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-networking-knowing-your-onions-isnt-enough-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here - Simple really.</a></span></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-22306798422625690592017-08-22T10:44:00.000+01:002017-11-16T10:47:33.456+00:00Business in a box | Franchises<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqrK76hB9X6RzcOWGlFitOzhONPfDU0_kwU2CGJq02v9IB0vgeH3Rc9Zwy7i5Yi2US1Ff5VlNyce8CEE8GKt7_79N-3etLQ16ad5gycWF0VZzDem4L54TT-AHFnHmyJzwbMsIHYeF5lVH/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Business-in-a-box-franchises_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqrK76hB9X6RzcOWGlFitOzhONPfDU0_kwU2CGJq02v9IB0vgeH3Rc9Zwy7i5Yi2US1Ff5VlNyce8CEE8GKt7_79N-3etLQ16ad5gycWF0VZzDem4L54TT-AHFnHmyJzwbMsIHYeF5lVH/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Business-in-a-box-franchises_NEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Business in a box | Franchises</b></span></h2>
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One very basic question applies to all Franchises of whatever flavour, size or type. It all comes from this.........</div>
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"Is the money you are spending to get a ready made business as much or even more than it would cost you to set it up anyway?".</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You might be surprised how often the question is ignored and how often the calculation is a close run thing. There may be other reasons for using a franchise but – buyer beware! The considerations for buying a Franchise are not that different to setting up a new business. In some cases the promised delivery of leads, dedicated areas, training and all the incentives that make it look worthwhile are just not there in sufficient quantities, once you have paid over the money.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-box-franchises-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank">To read the LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd in full, just click here - Simple really.</a></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-11389003666590263112017-08-08T10:33:00.000+01:002017-11-16T10:36:32.735+00:00Marketing | The digital follow-up to networking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggCpWAPiysba0jJHnhOleRj4iyKvnL8hxTYqIRThVE1cIU_QslyMCt6C7x7LoS3rowj7diP853cWfdVnGT_r-AKvjhyphenhyphen_bmlAxTCDvpWknl_0_OhUDIKe8xilromG4zGX6SkT1OGdZW68u/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-marketing-the+digital+follow-up+to+networking-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Article banner for Bob Shepherd Associates | The digital follow up to networking" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggCpWAPiysba0jJHnhOleRj4iyKvnL8hxTYqIRThVE1cIU_QslyMCt6C7x7LoS3rowj7diP853cWfdVnGT_r-AKvjhyphenhyphen_bmlAxTCDvpWknl_0_OhUDIKe8xilromG4zGX6SkT1OGdZW68u/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-marketing-the+digital+follow-up+to+networking-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates | The digital follow up to networking" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marketing | The digital follow-up to networking</span></h2>
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Recently, I have been catching up on my business contacts (do stay on top of this!). I take a card from the pile that is starting to topple over and I go through the following process....</div>
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<li>I look to see if there are any Social Media icons with the businesses tag present? – <b>Yes/No</b> (7 second have lapsed)</li>
<li>If no, go to their website: (14 seconds have lapsed)</li>
<li>Are there any Social Media icons at the top of the page – <b>Yes/ No</b></li>
<li>No, scroll down to the footer – <b>Yes/ No</b></li>
<li>No, click the contact icon (are they hidden Here) – <b>Yes/ No</b></li>
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<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/marketing-digital-follow-up-networking-bob-shepherd/" target="_blank">Just click here to read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd Assoicates<b> - Simple really.</b></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-22145090380840505732017-07-25T16:26:00.000+01:002017-08-01T16:39:17.376+01:00Business in a box | Franchises<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7KzjM9wUp89QRvD7kxgecd9XZ-GLYuRRCbEdhfjBJY82mRj5CgJ_JeycrNtNcjJMVOJYyeCP6LCcHqXcbabHHe4mzcRuSrHZl3TUi4xC47JH9xPo3Wxl8zLeYQQJvjAMmFaiFkSsyKZv/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Business-in-a-box-franchises_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7KzjM9wUp89QRvD7kxgecd9XZ-GLYuRRCbEdhfjBJY82mRj5CgJ_JeycrNtNcjJMVOJYyeCP6LCcHqXcbabHHe4mzcRuSrHZl3TUi4xC47JH9xPo3Wxl8zLeYQQJvjAMmFaiFkSsyKZv/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Business-in-a-box-franchises_NEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Business in a box | Franchises</h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One very basic question applies to all Business Franchises of whatever flavour, size or type. It all comes from this.........</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Is the money you are spending to get a ready made business as much or even more than it would cost you to set it up anyway?”</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might be surprised how often the question is ignored and how often the calculation is a close run thing. There may be other reasons for using a franchise but – buyer beware! The considerations for buying a Franchise are not that different to setting up a new business. In some cases the....... <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-box-franchises-bob-shepherd" target="_blank">To read the full Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article, just click here. Simple really.</a></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-12213187703598404592017-07-04T11:13:00.000+01:002017-08-01T16:09:51.665+01:00Business Sales | The Power of Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInOnkaU6sSS5glI1bHVmsTRG2Fb44TmHx-9BlBTJwaTt2OpB4HeEQp8aTXzlyqx0VQy8lAHKjfi65iWFR7-YcyYx2-6TIOXk4Z6_kYDCFNYzyjO0TQVBp5yusMnIqqz30cq2NVU3zvfgl/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-sales-the-power-of-now-NEW-flat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInOnkaU6sSS5glI1bHVmsTRG2Fb44TmHx-9BlBTJwaTt2OpB4HeEQp8aTXzlyqx0VQy8lAHKjfi65iWFR7-YcyYx2-6TIOXk4Z6_kYDCFNYzyjO0TQVBp5yusMnIqqz30cq2NVU3zvfgl/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-sales-the-power-of-now-NEW-flat.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Business Sales | The Power of Now</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The idea of immediacy has long been recognised in the "Sales" world. You know the sort of thing; if you are buying or signing up now there is a strong incentive offered like a discount on the price, or a free add-on. <br /><br />I have been reminded of this a couple of times lately when for logistical reasons I have set an appointment for a potential customer some days ahead, or the following week. That meeting gets cancelled and we enter a sort of limbo where I have thought what I might offer and what I can contribute but the magic of the initial conversation is fading and both potential customer and I are starting to forget the point that was so obvious in the beginning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the time that meeting does happen, if it ever does, the initial gain has been lost and we have to start all over again and sometimes........... <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-sales-power-now-bob-shepherd" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn post, just click here. Simple really.</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-76680423227604528022017-06-28T16:49:00.000+01:002017-08-01T16:51:59.018+01:00Business Marketing | A Different Audience<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWPNiNG-u4bDQD-NhpUvNnmUngWl9imJ5CLhipEGsMRWRJrNwmQSqqiyy_eu1D4rkU7PJfRTMCDDUFV2TkxA7czh8hakGYVNHeZqSQjkKpCU4Wcm5LaWoyu1x_EKbxibOypnivHaMH9SS/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-different_audience_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWPNiNG-u4bDQD-NhpUvNnmUngWl9imJ5CLhipEGsMRWRJrNwmQSqqiyy_eu1D4rkU7PJfRTMCDDUFV2TkxA7czh8hakGYVNHeZqSQjkKpCU4Wcm5LaWoyu1x_EKbxibOypnivHaMH9SS/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-different_audience_NEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Business Marketing | A Different Audience</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"First rule of business marketing: Always speak to your audience!"</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />When you present a talk always gear it up to the level you want for the audience you are going to have. It will be appreciated more. That seems obvious doesn’t it? <br /><br />So too with writing. These articles usually have some business point to make and illustrate and my natural style is not always appropriate. It needs varying to make the point hit home. So too with networking, or the broadcasting of your business in any way at all. Varying the pitch and the style applies to speech just as much as it does to writing and presenting. What is confusingly called your ‘elevator pitch’ might be different in different places. It needs preparation and some careful thought, particularly as you have only a few seconds to get your point across....... <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-marketing-different-audience-bob-shepherd?published=t" target="_blank">To read the full Article by Bob Shepherd Associates, just click here. Simple really</a>.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-5256096557831537252017-06-14T10:28:00.001+01:002017-06-14T10:41:46.816+01:00Business Branding | What's In A Handshake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQE1kqcWYi1x8Zf8YagSz5GABASlcHX1FJZS0pMRjrEGG8YZgoKxLtRY1_7_VYyMea5f9lyq8uF6ghXNSGaZ3MJuWoRX80NdgWLkLgMKqA8rV46hWilnNCUMWPQ5KMiXLAu7CIIv0JGFv/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Whats-in-a-handshake-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Image | Business Branding | Whats in a handshake" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQE1kqcWYi1x8Zf8YagSz5GABASlcHX1FJZS0pMRjrEGG8YZgoKxLtRY1_7_VYyMea5f9lyq8uF6ghXNSGaZ3MJuWoRX80NdgWLkLgMKqA8rV46hWilnNCUMWPQ5KMiXLAu7CIIv0JGFv/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Whats-in-a-handshake-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Business Branding | What's In A Handshake</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually a lot. Get it right and you are giving the right messages and no one thinks any more. Get your business branding wrong and you are giving impressions about yourself that will set you off on the wrong path. It’s one of the First Impression things you do better to get right. In a small way it is part of your branding.<br /><br />Some years ago I had the pleasure of running some mock interviews for a local Comprehensive school sixth form. The CVs presented were wonderful. The interviews nearly all went wrong the moment the candidates appeared in the doorway. It seems incredible that some youngsters do not know how to walk into a room. As well as that they did not know how to greet someone or how to sit in a chair and look attentive and interested. Any one of those small attributes would make a difference between getting a job or contract or place of some kind.<br /><br />Presenting yourself is a small part of being in Business. A wider part is presenting your business...... <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_WIAHS" target="_blank">Click here to read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd.</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-6329855151398282017-06-06T10:28:00.000+01:002017-06-06T10:28:56.751+01:00Business Systems | That Pile of Business Cards & Other Admin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_30yrRiSlXIjBQdZG8-hgPSQGpXf4aLUDrY5prPTApT2lemjd05xk34NBgEf81Dwc8BCQKxAlaHd_4c1DMgjhwK1-hA3t1Nj8fbt0jW0igs1QJB4DTWbeyMDtJdlANeVLH2LcGs0xXigw/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-that-pile-of-business-cards-New.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bob Shepherd Associates article image | That pile of business cards" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_30yrRiSlXIjBQdZG8-hgPSQGpXf4aLUDrY5prPTApT2lemjd05xk34NBgEf81Dwc8BCQKxAlaHd_4c1DMgjhwK1-hA3t1Nj8fbt0jW0igs1QJB4DTWbeyMDtJdlANeVLH2LcGs0xXigw/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-that-pile-of-business-cards-New.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates | That pile of business cards" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Systems | That Pile of Business Cards & Other Admin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was doing quite well until a couple of months ago. I had a filing system for cards and a cross reference book for business types – printers, accountants, marketing, banks etc. That reading pile was under control and I had a (small) urgent pile and a less urgent pile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then it sank. I had (inadvertently) several systems with the most effective being chronological order. How long ago did I see that person/document I now need to find? It must be so far back in the run then…. <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_TPoBC" target="_blank">Click here to read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd.</a> Simple really</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-16331563782620702412017-06-06T09:59:00.000+01:002017-06-06T09:59:26.313+01:00Business Planning | Executive summary or just an introduction<h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMEn46gWdyT_TwTQkAjHTeWXzAjS8p1h-eWE1GT9rW8jhRvAkxwgA8TTe41rzrd-XwiMio9j7qsefUzO8JgeEwGRUZG-v4V6A3Geylet8qjOT70C8qlqNheFMW3ZsidZAhk-I7p-sYcy4/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-executive-summary-or-just-an-introduction-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Bob Shepherd Associates article image | Executive summary or just an introduction" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMEn46gWdyT_TwTQkAjHTeWXzAjS8p1h-eWE1GT9rW8jhRvAkxwgA8TTe41rzrd-XwiMio9j7qsefUzO8JgeEwGRUZG-v4V6A3Geylet8qjOT70C8qlqNheFMW3ZsidZAhk-I7p-sYcy4/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-executive-summary-or-just-an-introduction-NEW.jpg" title="" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Planning | Executive summary or just an introduction</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What on earth is an ‘Executive Summary’? For some reason the term grates with me. What happened to the word ‘Introduction’?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trouble is that it has achieved a position of strength in the average business mind such that no business plan or feasibility study or similar document is complete without one. I am not saying it is not needed. I adopt the Ladybird school of learning where if you are tackling a large project or subject it is invaluable to gain an introductory view and thereby a scope of the topic. That way you can see how much is involved and you can gain an appreciation of the whole thing. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_ESOJAI" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn article, just click here.</a> Simple really.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-59085160560211174502017-03-07T13:19:00.000+00:002017-03-07T13:19:50.904+00:00Business Marketing | Increase your social media weight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GoufvVLpB2kxRwqwm3D3F6zuGrZXNq-3Om1ACQDda-qv4E7Bx3xxs_ZKXsHV5t0ofZY1qeC8TfSDZ0t4ZByHEXTZ5aoGDH0h7xDeORkVly-ApsqHx3thAVmeE0QwomMtd-7owzE_vx82/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Increase-your-social-media-weight_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Article image for Bob Shepherd Associates | Business marketing, increase your social media weight" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GoufvVLpB2kxRwqwm3D3F6zuGrZXNq-3Om1ACQDda-qv4E7Bx3xxs_ZKXsHV5t0ofZY1qeC8TfSDZ0t4ZByHEXTZ5aoGDH0h7xDeORkVly-ApsqHx3thAVmeE0QwomMtd-7owzE_vx82/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Increase-your-social-media-weight_NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates | Business marketing, increase your social media weight" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Marketing | Increase your social media weight</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the few areas where increasing your weight is necessary is where you have a business with a presence on-line but you have yet to grasp it and create some waves and positive consequences for your business.<br /><br />Leaving aside all else for a moment there is something you can do with Twitter that is not so obvious. Assuming you have Twitter profile and you are posting a variety of messages with the occasional flag waving for your business – that’s another article in itself, then you are probably trying to find ways of increasing your followers with useful contacts. T<a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_BMIYDW" target="_blank">o read the full LinkedIn article, just click here</a>. Simple really.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-37264252809701576222017-03-07T12:53:00.000+00:002017-03-07T12:53:41.905+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGoOMPEJd3FFc_sIT6xFF_b1rHz317OqnjhhdV1-_vJ2D88REzsQlReVfxe43h3-rwaI-LeJpe9v8LXMUsBmFrjUYIr5pwO8YZyGTzz6MOBsnDkAuGHgfuzES9WbiSNnX09pPsjUnO8rT/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Building-Businesses-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Article image for Bob Shepherd Associates | Business Planning, Building Businesses" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGoOMPEJd3FFc_sIT6xFF_b1rHz317OqnjhhdV1-_vJ2D88REzsQlReVfxe43h3-rwaI-LeJpe9v8LXMUsBmFrjUYIr5pwO8YZyGTzz6MOBsnDkAuGHgfuzES9WbiSNnX09pPsjUnO8rT/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Building-Businesses-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates | Business Planning | Building Businesses" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Planning | Building Businesses</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Five years ago, after months of consideration I hit on a way to describe what I do in a short introduction at business meetings. Bob Shepherd Associates is good at building businesses. The phrase is positive and constructive and does actually cover the case.<br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I’m known as Bob, the Business Builder" as a result.<br /><br />When I view a business I am looking for all the components to fit together and all fire at the same rate. If they don't, then there is something to work upon. For a new start up business it is more a question of making sure the business has all the components available, but the principle is the same. <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_BPBB" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn article, just click here.</a> Simple really.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-17454469630747178242017-03-07T12:15:00.000+00:002017-03-07T12:15:22.732+00:00Networking | People in business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJg6DEGmYR-k7lXeDMcpMj4r_cULwe7YZEs5wq1ZkpPfolZHSmZxJ4pfJ264rnlk21z3JLlo5XfTIURJT1mlalDDbGksNrrTKic2yi2HvRT0lXmPgXHJYYdKusGkS6oqrYdz7QNqmOfugx/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-people-in-business-networking-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="LinkedIn article image for Bob Shepherd Associates | People in Business" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJg6DEGmYR-k7lXeDMcpMj4r_cULwe7YZEs5wq1ZkpPfolZHSmZxJ4pfJ264rnlk21z3JLlo5XfTIURJT1mlalDDbGksNrrTKic2yi2HvRT0lXmPgXHJYYdKusGkS6oqrYdz7QNqmOfugx/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-people-in-business-networking-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates | People in Business" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Networking | People in Business</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business is about people to a large degree. People are always in the mix somewhere. They might be customers, staff, suppliers, contacts etc. Those who have the soft skills for dealing with people successfully can find it easier to get on and to be successful. The small business owner needs to network.<br /><br />The sole trader or consultant trying to cover everything certainly needs to network. That may not be formal meetings though. Stopping to pass the time of day with people, in person, on the phone, by email, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook is always important. It is becoming the case that everyone is assumed to be in with it all and taking part in the conversations.<br /><br /> Some people are more gifted in these things than others. <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_NPIN" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn article, just click here.</a> Simple really.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-90225156141791363122017-03-07T12:01:00.000+00:002017-03-07T12:01:12.594+00:00Business Start-ups | Part-Time Entrepreneurs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMw1ponqgNyGKy1N2dmrIz1UbnygCG7bBEk5_0_M8A6nVvQtpe6-U2JESENOERL4M9A1r3V86Q9rLjauHGr6wykA7S4O1L4GiBKkCTL5k9MdRVrGsB-yFoRRXlZfS2qIDghG1YiXYKbyX/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Part-Time-Entrepreneurs-NEW.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Supporting image for Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article | Part time entrepreneurs" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMw1ponqgNyGKy1N2dmrIz1UbnygCG7bBEk5_0_M8A6nVvQtpe6-U2JESENOERL4M9A1r3V86Q9rLjauHGr6wykA7S4O1L4GiBKkCTL5k9MdRVrGsB-yFoRRXlZfS2qIDghG1YiXYKbyX/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Part-Time-Entrepreneurs-NEW.png" title="Bob Shepherd Assocaites Linkedin Article | Part time entrpreneurs" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Start-ups | Part-Time Entrepreneurs</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you dive head first into a new business idea too soon, you could potentially be risking it all too early, with the result that you lose everything very quickly. Successful entrepreneurs don't do this, because they pay more attention to the risk and spend more time preparing properly before devoting their entire time, energy and resources into their enterprise.<br /><br />These spare-time enterprises actually increase their chances of success for the following reasons:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_PTE" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Asociates, just click here</a>. Simple really.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-19713789116550774522017-03-07T10:55:00.001+00:002017-03-07T10:57:20.020+00:00Business Marketing | Corporate Speak, cousins ‘Management Speak’ & ‘Sales Speak’ are alive and well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnPwi31km_B-3MLL0fLRK0QQlUKrfZy2UPtAm4Ps7LryGgPMEToCjfHqZPO6S-uOkiXkCBKW04mNJOu8kY78VfIuTYhqFrSASxy18N5hSwIRbG5oi-JaW7gs2Vw1Ju0ZIxW9BnaRRSao4/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Corporate-Speak-Management-New.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image for Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article Marketing | Corporate speak, Management Speak & Sales Speak" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnPwi31km_B-3MLL0fLRK0QQlUKrfZy2UPtAm4Ps7LryGgPMEToCjfHqZPO6S-uOkiXkCBKW04mNJOu8kY78VfIuTYhqFrSASxy18N5hSwIRbG5oi-JaW7gs2Vw1Ju0ZIxW9BnaRRSao4/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Corporate-Speak-Management-New.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article Marketing | Corporate speak, Management Speak & Sales Speak" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Corporate Speak and cousins ‘Management Speak’ and ‘Sales Speak’ are alive and well</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am always interested in language usage and there is a case for jargon and short hand speech within an industry and its peers. When that spills out to a wider audience it can be frustrating or amusing depending on your view point. I am not saying language should be always plain although that can be admirable on occasions. There are many cases for using the rich heritage of the English language to create effect, or give slant or emphasis to make a point. An articulate facility with English is useful and valuable as well as enjoyable. However those who trot out the business clichés raise questions about their own understanding of their subject and their own security within their business world. Are they trying to be impressive? Are they sheltering behind familiar club or tribal terms to show they belong? I count myself fortunate to have come across two people in business who unconsciously originated these clichés.<br /><br /><br />It must begin somewhere and I was amused to see people in their audience making a discreet note with the obvious intention of using those phrases later. <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_CSMSSS" target="_blank">To read the full Bob Shepherd assocaites article, just click here.</a> Simple really</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-51528071421667691222017-03-07T10:40:00.000+00:002017-03-07T10:41:05.014+00:00Business Finance | Paperless Or Just Less Paper?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPBqWSdcO_dmIPFXCjWEuOT7QgOHQSYc6TwUBzKqwcl_9_YuRfi7VzsNSzI3VIF10boMn4t_jFYEiuYxSMemtKEnLnXlIbPbSacFd5F0QUpI3y1Kj7n4hYp17H9MLvTAoYozeu83RwShQ/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Paperless-or-just-less-paper_NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Supporting image for a Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article: Paperless or Just Less Paper?" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPBqWSdcO_dmIPFXCjWEuOT7QgOHQSYc6TwUBzKqwcl_9_YuRfi7VzsNSzI3VIF10boMn4t_jFYEiuYxSMemtKEnLnXlIbPbSacFd5F0QUpI3y1Kj7n4hYp17H9MLvTAoYozeu83RwShQ/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-Paperless-or-just-less-paper_NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn Article: Paperless or Just Less Paper?" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Business Finance | Paperless Or Just Less Paper?</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the 1980s we were promised a paperless office. I am not the best at technology but I have some of the tools and make an effort. Nevertheless, I have just spent 2 days sorting through some of that stuff that has accumulated. In the old days there was a pile on the end of the desk. ‘That’s interesting, I’ll read that later’ sort of pile. I have a pile like that and I have the equivalent in e-newsletters and emails as well.<br /><br />When it comes to reading masses of text on screen I hunch up and eventually go to sleep. I need to make notes to keep myself awake and interested. So I still have masses of paper…<br /><br />My Bank wants me..... <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_BFPO" target="_blank">To Read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd Associates, just click here.</a> Simple really</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-78832842907295635502017-03-06T20:08:00.000+00:002017-03-06T20:08:17.400+00:00Business Leadership | Leaders, The 7% conundrum - Private Education, Top Universities and all that<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ieow0I2TTcoiyys6hVgSavCHA1BdLcShhOCoebeHY6APDupGtB_XUZjMbX_7KcX3Zkc-I5jsXJV8ZkgiN0cVz9odVRNuvB8cgZ7ZeMUzIhQ_oeQse5pbEipSAzSXm1UHrFqjRy8S2b-z/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-leaders-the-7-percent-conundrum-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Supporting image for Bob Shepherd Associates Article - Leaders, The 7% conundrum" border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ieow0I2TTcoiyys6hVgSavCHA1BdLcShhOCoebeHY6APDupGtB_XUZjMbX_7KcX3Zkc-I5jsXJV8ZkgiN0cVz9odVRNuvB8cgZ7ZeMUzIhQ_oeQse5pbEipSAzSXm1UHrFqjRy8S2b-z/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-leaders-the-7-percent-conundrum-NEW.jpg" title="Bob Shepherd Associates |Business Leadership | Leaders, The 7% conundrum" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business Leadership | Leaders, The 7% conundrum - Private Education, Top Universities and all that</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am all for achieving equality in education provision and ensuring equal opportunities for those with talent and acumen and entrepreneurial initiative.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have seen a lot of coverage critical of the system where the majority of our leaders, our politicians and our senior commercial folk seem to come from the 7% who attend the best universities and private education.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think this is skewed the wrong way round. The question should not be ‘how is it that best universities and the private education schools seem to generate the leaders and initiative takers ?’ but rather, "how is it that an education system with the other 93% of our young people does not?". <a href="http://bit.ly/BL_TSPC" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Associates, click here</a>. Simple really.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0Newport, UK51.584151 -2.997663999999986151.4262535 -3.3203874999999861 51.742048499999996 -2.6749404999999862tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5989273554214179483.post-39099437093241347022017-03-06T18:43:00.000+00:002017-03-06T18:43:26.642+00:00Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAJ_tdj_tFj9TSe9cTCj_PSftosP610w5pXZ5vM0TMFmjxeWIID8i3cMkFlUruO4LXlw4IiOaybLjRZFs8CwaodylJooFO18ZDFaD3QhC7nS7uZfaoOA_1CAfIobGbsxYW7xk_Tpo0aDS/s1600/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-planning-the-big-risky-ticket-in-one-basket-NEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAJ_tdj_tFj9TSe9cTCj_PSftosP610w5pXZ5vM0TMFmjxeWIID8i3cMkFlUruO4LXlw4IiOaybLjRZFs8CwaodylJooFO18ZDFaD3QhC7nS7uZfaoOA_1CAfIobGbsxYW7xk_Tpo0aDS/s400/BobShepherd-LinkedIn-Article-Image-business-planning-the-big-risky-ticket-in-one-basket-NEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Small is sometimes better. Take the railways for example. The government has pinned a lot on HS2 the high speed line that will unzip economic miracles for that foggy bit they are unsure about up the M1 somewhere. £55 billion is big by any standards and I bet it's more by the time we have finished. It'll save a few minutes off journey times apparently.<br /><br />Return on investment is a subjective interpretation in many ways . That money would be better spent financing smaller rail projects and rail regenerations. There is a stack of evidence that local rail regenerations work, and then some. The Ebbw Vale line to Cardiff is a local example for me. Lately the Midlothian "Borders railway" is a recent one. <a href="http://bit.ly/BSA_TBRTIOB" target="_blank">To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here</a>. Simple really</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">visit us at www.BobShepherdAssociates.co.uk</div>Bob Shepherd Associateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11069794733504632429noreply@blogger.com0