Passive marketing – or how to get clients knocking at your door

During the first week of January this year, we took on two new clients and had two existing clients ask us to do more work for them. I wasn’t at work during the first week of January, and, as one of my members of staff pointed out, I hadn’t been out networking or meeting clients [...]

Can Your Business Afford to Stand Still This Year?

If your business is standing still – always doing the same things, the same ways, for the same people – then you could be missing out on new opportunities and new business. Your competitors will be innovating – looking for different ways of making money – which means that you could be losing business to [...]

Marketing planning and why now is a great time to do it

Planning, that old exercise of writing a list of things you are going to do, only never to look at the list again!  Sound familiar?  The start of a new year is generally filled with repeated resolutions that are quickly forgotten once day to day life starts. We all do it in various aspects of [...]

How not to run an event

So you’re planning to run an event. A workshop or perhaps a seminar, where you can share your expertise with an audience. Or maybe you’re aiming high with a conference? Here are some tips for you to follow, if you want to make a complete mess of the event and ruin your reputation! Use a [...]

Why you have to write that book!

Last week I launched my brand new (and first) book! It was so exciting to have dozens of copies on display at the workshop I was running, with people picking them up and looking at them. It hardly took any time at all before people were asking if they could buy a copy (silly question!) [...]

Want to know how to develop a consistent brand? Take a Holiday (Inn)

Back in May I went to a workshop in London that was held at a Holiday Inn. Before we started, I helped myself to a mug of coffee from the row of jugs at the coffee station. None of those silly cups and sauces, which don’t hold much coffee and which need two hands. When [...]

FastTracking: Smart moves for smart businesses

One thing I see quite regularly in business is the need for new blood. Many small businesses find themselves in a cycle – the ‘feast and famine’ rollercoaster. They spend lots of time doing marketing, generating new exciting work and clients and then get wholly distracted by the work these clients bring in. It’s wonderful [...]

Can you sell from the stage?

Can you sell your products and services from the stage? I’m not talking about the theatrical stage or suggesting that you become an actor. This is about selling what you do from giving presentations. For many years I’ve given presentations at networking groups. At the end, people tell me how much they enjoyed my talk, [...]

Using video testimonials to spread the word

A few weeks ago I went to a really good workshop on social media. I picked up lots more tips about using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter that we’ll be passing on to you through this blog, through our newsletter, Scribbles, and through Twitter (follow us @TopMarketingTip). At the end of the session, the presenter, Nigel [...]

Use networking to catch up with your clients

At a recent workshop I ran on how to get more from your networking, we talked about having an objective for each meeting you go to. This objective could be to meet new contacts, ask for help with a particular issue, to find a new supplier or even to catch up with your clients. I [...]