Business Networking | Knowing your onions isn't enough

Business Networking | Knowing your onions isn't enough

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.

The first purpose of networking is making contacts, building possible....... To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here - Simple really.

Marketing | The digital follow-up to networking

Marketing | The digital follow-up to networking

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....

• I look to see if there are any Social Media icons with the businesses tag present? – Yes/No (7 second have lapsed)
• If no, go to their website: (14 seconds have lapsed)
• Are there any Social Media icons at the top of the page – Yes/ No
• No, scroll down to the footer – Yes/ No
• No, click the contact icon (are they hidden Here) – Yes/ No

Just click here to read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd Assoicates - Simple really.

Business Marketing | A Different Audience

Business Marketing | A Different Audience

"First rule of business marketing: Always speak to your audience!"

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?

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....... To read the full Article by Bob Shepherd Associates, just click here. Simple really.

Networking | People in business

Business Networking | People in Business

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.

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.

Some people are more gifted in these things than others.  To read the full LinkedIn article, just click here. Simple really.

Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket

Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket

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.

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.  To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here.  Simple really

Business Advice | Anything for a clear desk

"Hey! I am a consultant!".

Don’t do what I do, do what I say! The reason I know about this problem in any detail is business experience – my own experience. Before we had fancy online efficiency modules we used to examine efficiency in the corporate workplace by manual statistics and measurement called ‘Work measurement’.

It was interesting to see what you did actually do all day. One difficulty was recording it consistently; another was the interpretation. For example, the patterns showed that customer flows usually dropped away at certain times of the day on certain days of the week. Therefore, staff were presumably not needed at those times and we would save money by using part time staff and giving others non time related jobs to do at those times. Result? Utter shambles!  To read the full Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn article, just click here.  Simple really,

Business Planning | Networking South Wales

Business Planning | Networking South Wales

There are dozens of business networks in South Wales . I help businesses with business strategy and planning (“Business Building”) and I deal with business finance and organisation. Not a shameless plug altogether because my point is that the business planning for growth requires experience and knowledge in networking as a major sub heading under the all embracing term “Marketing”. You need all this in place to get your finance sorted to show you are a functional business, by which time you have a plan to put into action, if you have done it properly.


My view is that there is not just one answer to networking. Some networks work best with a business that can be easily pigeon holed by everyone. (Accurately or not – doesn’t matter, you can sort that out later on). Other businesses do not. Click here to read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd

Marketing | The Elevator Pitch. So Important When Networking

Marketing | The elevator pitch, so important when networking

It’s a strange term in business that has achieved the status of a phrase everybody knows and few people have examined for meaning.

Elevating is lifting up in some way and that is quite graphic. The word pitch is interesting though. There are dozens of meanings for the word, actually 50 listed in my dictionary.  In the business networking context I like the idea that it could mean the tone of your presentation, as it does in music.

More aggressively when you pitch something you throw it and the idea of hurling your service or product at someone you have just met is an anathema to business networking folk. It will get you nowhere.  To read the full LinkedIn Post by Bob Shepherd Associates, click here.  Simple Really.

Organic Marketing | Networking South Wales

There are dozens of business networks in South Wales . I help businesses with business strategy and planning (“Business Building”) and I deal with business finance and organisation. Not a shameless plug altogether because my point is that the business planning for growth requires experience and knowledge in networking as a major sub heading under the all embracing term “Marketing”. You need all this in place to get your finance sorted to show you are a functional business ,  by which time you have a plan to put into action, if you have done it properly.

My view is that there is not just one answer to networking. Some networks work best with a business that can be easily pigeon holed by everyone. (Accurately or not – doesn’t matter, you can sort that out later on). Other businesses do not.

So which group is best for you?

To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Associates, please click the link.  Simple really.

Marketing | Brand Building and all that

Marketing | Brand building and all that

I have been into a number of businesses lately who haven’t grasped something I think is clear. Your presentation to the big world out there will have much more effect if it is a coherent one. Think about some of the big brand names that have infiltrated our souls, whether we like it or not or whether we actually use them or not. It is quite disturbing in some ways. Becoming a household name has a bit of a relationship with brain washing or brain conditioning of some sort.  To read the full LinkedIn post, just click here

Marketing | The Power Of Business Communication

Marketing | The Power Of Business Communication

Communication takes many forms and is not just about speaking at events or writing. In business many things are important but communication is right up there at the top of the list.

What many do not realise is that you are communicating your business worth, credibility, trustworthiness, efficiency..... To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Associates, just click here.

Business Expansion Has To Be Balanced

One of the greatest enemies of business expansion is simply the business balance. It is no good, for example having the orders come flooding in if the company cannot handle the work-flow. Equally the business resources are finite and you cannot have resources waiting for an expected work-flow which doesn't materialise.

Retail is an easy one to judge as we all use shops. Have you ever noticed a shop closing down and thought you knew why? Was it location? Or was the location right but just not for that sort of shop? If the business owner compromises on location because of cost perhaps the results can be disastrous.  To read this article in full on LinkedIn, just click here 

Setting Up A New Business

Setting up a new Business

Anyone can set up a business - Observation and experience has taught me that not everyone has the make up to do so successfully. Most professional Managers have come across those psychometric tests beloved of the HR people. Some people say they can manipulate them but I always wonder why you would want to do so. The corporate career world is full of people who are round pegs in the square hole of their employment and who are basically unsuited and unhappy with their lot. The‘Peter Principle’ pops up all over the place as people are promoted one step too far. Heaven help us when that step puts them in a senior position that carries such a bow wave of credibility that they are unassailable and too senior to be criticised. There are enough of them out there!  To read the full LinkedIn article, click here.

Several things to get right at networking

Several things to get right at networking

Networking may seem daunting, but it is an essential business skill. The best net-workers accept they are not on a mission with a sales pitch. The real point is to build up your circle of contacts and your influence out there. It’s a big mistake to think you are going to turn up and everyone will slap their foreheads in wonderment that they have somehow managed without your services until now. It is said you need to be in touch with someone seven times before they’ll start to consider you as a colleague for working.  “Kissing frogs to find a princess”, is the analogy that is trotted out to illustrate the point.

This post contains some essential advice to the art of business networking.  Click this link to read the full post on LinkedIn

Traditional Marketing With A Hint of Digital Marketing - Make It Easy For Them

Digital Marketing | The digital follow-up to networking

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....

• I look to see if there are any Social Media icons with the businesses tag present? – Yes/No (7 second have lapsed)
• If no, go to their website: (14 seconds have lapsed)
• Are there any Social Media icons at the top of the page – Yes/ No
• No, scroll down to the footer – Yes/ No
• No, click the contact icon (are they hidden Here) – Yes/ No
• If I still can’t connect with the person (40 Seconds have lapsed). I ask myself “do I need to connect with this person – this is becoming hard work!”

So now, look at your own Business card!  Would someone have the same problem connecting with you?  To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Assocaites, just click here.  Simple really

Attitudes To Networking

The jury is out on all networking. Not that you should not do networking. It is an essential ingredient of any small business marketing. What is in question, is the style of some of the events.
In our area we have many networking events and many groups. Trying to differentiate between them is not easy. There are usually good things to be said about any one of them and of course the value for one small business will be different to another.
The worth of a networking group depends on the type of business you have, but also the personality of the networker. I have heard very recently people decry a particular event because there are too many one man bands there or too many start ups.
I have to say that it is obvious some people just don't get it. They will be the ones who leave the event as soon as they can as if they have something more important to do. They are the ones who try to oversell themselves. They are also the ones who expect to measure each event by the perceived outcome statistics.
There are formal events and informal events. Some have a lot of structure and some do not. Then there are morning ones and evening ones; sit down ones and stand up ones.
Ultimately the opportunity to do some business and grow your influence is the reason for doing any networking. How clinical and perhaps cynical you are about it is up to you, but I think you get more out of it in many ways by contributing and enjoying the conversations you are having.
At Bob Shepherd Associates we talk to new businesses about networking and its part in the marketing and positioning of the business. Coaching individuals in getting their presentation right , their 'elevator pitch' or their 1 minute introduction is part of the preparation for turning up at a networking event with some idea and some plan for making a success of  it.

The Cost of Marketing

Marketing Your Business doesn't have to cost a lot. There are ways you can present your service, your product and your existence to the outside world which don't cost a fortune.

Social Media

Most obviously there are a number of social media channels open to you free of charge. The only cost will be your time and effort. But that starts with understanding how to deliver a strategy for your business and the differences in their weighting.

It also involves understanding where your audiences are. For example two businesses  I am helping should appeal for different reasons primarily to young ladies between say 17 and 35. Five minutes observation in any high street coffee shop will tell you that they are very likely to be on smart phones and or tablet computers for what seems like most of the day. Conclude therefore that we need to have a presence there with a mobile friendly web site, good search engine architecture and a good active presence on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and probably Instagram.  

None of that will be direct marketing but will all build the notion that we are attractive, knowledgeable and fresh with ideas.

Networking in person

Similar principles apply to networking in person. Building a 'profile' in the business community is always valuable and in some cases those people are our potential customers anyway. Again though there are things to know before diving in. Somewhere around 100 networking outlets are available in SE Wales. You can't do them all and some are more suitable for you and your business aspirations than others.

There is a cost to some. Others are less and some are free. Always there is travel to take into account, and your time again.

Articles , press,  blogs and publication

Are you expert in your trade, your field, your area of business? Can you talk about it? In some cases you may be able to deliver talks.  It doesn't follow for some reason that if you can talk about your subject you can write about it, but if you can set out your thoughts and theories on blogs online using one of the platforms that are easy to operate. If you can submit articles to publications, on line or on paper then do so.

Use the discussion forums to hold forth in an entertaining way either in answer or to start a new thread.  'PR' may cost but it needn't be expensive. So called editorial is more effective than plain advertisements. As with anything there are things it is better to know and understand which will improve the quality of your material and therfore its effectiveness.

Talk to your audience

Always bear in mind the attitudes of your audience or no one will read your efforts. There is no harm in telling of your achievements if you do so with a certain humility and are generous to others as well. No one likes boasting but you can be pleased that something in particular has turned out well and others will join in your pleasure. It also waves a flag for your success.

If you already have customers then talk to them without being pushy. Send them newsletters perhaps or some form of news delivery that shows appreciation of them. In the bad old days that meant a bottle of wine at Christmas plus a diary they mostly did not want.  Things have evolved since then. Imagination is rewarded nowadays.

If you are adventurous shout about that. Charitable activity is always applauded and the publicity is there for the taking.

Never be pushy, trying 'too hard' It is not appreciated and can be derided, which is not what you want.  Your Market is what is out there, your marketing is what you do about it. BobShepherd Associates will help you build your business by looking at what you are doing within your resources of finance, time, skills to get the best out of the potential you have. 

Networking Not Working?

For small businesses it is essential and compulsory to get your name out there! There are a number of ways of doing this of course but to make an obvious point - if no one knows you are there you can have the best ideas/service/expertise in the world and no one will see it.

The truth is that the networking meetings you may have thought I was referring to initially are a part of a web of marketing initiatives you can set up. The point is very much that they should all work together.

Presuming that your small business depends on the personality of one or two people for new business then the presentation to the outside world should take advantage of some obvious outlets available to you.

Each one supports and is supported by its neighbour. The marketing web includes a web site.  80 thousand businesses in Wales have no web site I saw recently. These days anyone under the age of let's say, 50 and quite a few over that age will search for things on line. I rest that case.

Moreover if your business intends to catch a younger demographic - then a mobile site is an essential addendum. 20% of searches are now done from mobiles rather than PCs. 

Back that up with references in a chatty way on Twitter and personal facebook. In a more business like way on a Business Facebook page and in a more serious way on LinkedIn.  Also include some longer pieces on blog sites. Now make those refer to some of the others and you are building a net. Have a nice leaflet to hawk around, prepare some quick answers to questions like 'What do you do?'  and you are ready for networking events.

The business message 

The link is a consistency of message. That doesn't mean bang on about the same things incessantly. It also doesn't mean grab someone by the throat until they agree to buy from you. It is all far more subtle than this.

It all has to fit and be part of your brand, your presence and indeed your personality on line. So too does all your communication. Have a nice email heading. Have a nice badge with your name on it for those events. Have a banner to put up. Work up a bit of a talk to make yourself memorable then deliver it. Make a few points on discussion forums.

Once established this all becomes part of your business personality. You will get to the stage when you can mix and match and adapt to what is going on around you.   The result? People will know you, like you and trust you to work for them or to recommend you. You have arrived!

But don't stop at that point. You have to keep up the presence out there. Oh, and you need to find time to do some of that work you have said you are good at....

Bob Shepherd Associates at http://www.bobshepherdassociates.co.uk/marketing.html  builds up businesses by helping you take a practical view of what you have, what you can do, and how it all can fit together. For a monthly sum that won't break the budget (there's another topic to consider) you will save so much time money and effort in developing your business, or perhaps setting up your business, that the investment will repay itself over and over. If you are in SE Wales or nearby, ask for an initial meeting at no charge to explore the possibilities and open the door to a new level of business.  

Make it Happen Monday!

4N's extra session called Make it Happen Monday is designed to make small business stop think and focus on improvement. It's a clever idea and when well organised does a lot of good. So having been to one of these workshops, you have come away with a basket of ideas to address.

Well Good, that is what it is for. This Monday's Cardiff MHM was an interesting case. Last time we had one in Cardiff nearly everyone stood up to say the things they were having trouble with were the money aspects of business. 

Things like Cash Flow, Pricing, bookkeeping and banks all figured strongly. The previous MHM to that had an emphasis on Marketing and Social Media. Many wanted to know more about Twitter LinkedIn and Facebook and how to use them to advantage in business.

This last MHM on Monday had an emphasis on Time Management, organising, short term business planning and general effectiveness. 

As a lecturer and practising consultant in building businesses and sorting out finance for people I would have previously stated that taking small business as a whole you could reckon on 40% having issues with money, 30% having Marketing issues and another 30% having admin and time worries. 

It could be that all businesses have all of these worries in some measure and when one or two express them out loud the rest find their focus swings towards that. It could be that for some reasons of networking cohesion, like minded businesses have gathered together with their friends to come along to MHM. 

It could also be that the seasons change and there is some sort of annual cycle going on that leans towards certain problems at certain times of the year. 

It could also be that I specialise too much in this stuff and I should get out more. Safe to say most businesses have their issues. The sooner you can address them by improving, outsourcing or concentrating on getting the mix right the better will your business be. 

Too Many Channels

Social Media for business is undoubtedly the thing! But where to start? There are outlets for your creative muse by the dozen. Actually there are hundreds of them but you have to pick ones where you feel comfortable and your audience is likely to be relevant for you. So explore before you belong, and see what sort of thing is going on there. It's like a giant party with groups of people drifting in and out of the conversations.

My own perceived difficulty is with the inspiration. If I see a useful article or some observation strikes me I can tweet about it, put it on my facebook business page, include it in an article I am publishing somewhere, put it on the 4N forum, Linked in Groups, Googleplus,  or any of the other outlets I have something to do with. The point is that having done one or two of those the creative inspiration has been used up for that little topic. I am not short of ideas but I am short of enough to service all these outlets.

Keep it under control

The obvious answer is to keep an eye on the response you get and service the outlets that are most useful. You are in business, TIME is your biggest resource problem and it is not cynical to ignore some of the chat that is constantly going on. The measure might be - would they miss me if I didn't bother for a few days? Harsh but fair!

Measured Response

You could go overboard and studiously examine the insights, the klout, the metrics and the various applications (apps) available to tidy up your social media. Probably it is worth keeping an eye on some of it but you can spend too much time analysing and worrying about all the measures and creating a bigger problem still.

Allocate your time

So my considered conclusion is that a mixture of outlets is useful. This should be a mix of what you perceive to be useful areas to keep in with and you do that by seeing if the material there is useful to you. There is also the social context. A little light distraction is not harmful, but don't spend all day on it.

Content

Of course you should talk about your business things, but not without humour and not incessantly. Equally I think it is unhelpful to talk about frippery and pointless inconsequential things. Have something to say, just as you would when chatting to a friend at a break in a meeting.

There is the key. It is 'social' media you are dealing with. Building up a circle of friends in business is always useful. Helping them promote their on line presence is not difficult and creates the goodwill you need.

Bob Shepherd Associates builds up businesses. One of the components - a sub heading under 'Marketing' in the business plan is social media and what to do about it. Off loading it to a managed service is okay only if you keep a close eye on what they say and supplement the whole with your own content. The arena for this is changing and evolving. Emails are no longer as effective, newsletters are  largely ignored, blogs are losing their impact. It's a moving floor and you need to keep your balance. Doing something involves allocating time to service it. Doing it badly is a waste of time. A strategy is necessary to make it worthwhile.