Paul Avins / Igniting Business Results

"What do you need to let go of in your business?"

Hi,

As we pass the longest day of the year and enter the second half of the year I have a question for you.

If nature is a very powerful force, which I think we can all agree, and The Law of a Vacuum exists and works, which I think we all know is true on some level then…

here’s my question - “What are you holding onto that you should be releasing in your business to create space for things you want to move into?”

You may want to STOP and read that again a few times. It’s a very thought provoking question.

Perhaps your answer is one of the following:

·         A C/D grade client who is sucking the energy out of you

·         A poor supplier who is constantly letting you down

·         A team member who is just not up to the mark

·         A product that is no longer delivering the sales it used to

·         A market that has moved on or has no cash to spend right now

·         A marketing method that used to deliver but now sucks cash out

·         A sales person who can no longer hit his/her targets

Whatever, it is for you to commit to clear it out this week or before the end on June.

Have a great week and enjoy creating positive space in your business.

PS – You can now follow me @ www.Twitter.com/paulavins or connect with me on www.facebook.com/paulavins

How Pants was The Apprentice Last week...?

I watched the UK version of The Apprentice in horror last Wednesday as supposedly the brightest and the best young business brains in Britian came up with an idea so bad for a marketing campaign that my 3 year son old could have done better.

Why did somebody with an IQ above 10 not wake up and think...."Hang on, we are going to have to walk into Sir Alan's boardroom and justify why we called a new product PANTS! I think he may just have an issue with that."

Had all their little grey cells just gone to sleep or were they just that lacking in creativity?

Yes, the Project Manager should have been fired for letting this disaster ever happen, especially as she claimed to have a background in advertising. But my question is 'Why was the body count not higher with the idiot who came up with the idea as well?'

Come on! In the real world there would have been many more people thrown out for such bad judgment. I love the programme, but, if I am honest, the US version with Trump has my vote over the UK version, it's close, but please can we have more reality into this so called reality TV show.

Up the pressure and fire more than one person at a time.

A Crazy long day - but well worth it ...

First day back after the Easter weekend and it's been a very long, but enjoyable day.

It started off with a smaller than usual Oxford Wealth Club meeting but this gave me more time to get round to everybody and add as much value as possible. I especially liked the story from a new member who revealed how he has put his prices up 30% and not had ANY reduction in his conversion rate so it's all bottom line profit!

Then on to Milton Keynes to meet a new client, his Management team and Sales team. All are great people and very committed to moving the business forward and they have some exciting opportunities in the next few months. I can't wait to get more involved with them all over the next few weeks and months.

These meetings didn't finish until almost 6:45 then home to tuck JJ up....he had crashed as well so in the end it was just a good night kiss while he hugged Teddie !

After dinner it was back to working on the designs for my new project and e-book concepts. A full on day and more tomorrow with a Networking meeting at 7 am in High Wycombe.

Was Mr. Darling asleep at the wheel over Business Rate Increases?

The last few days have been amazing to watch as the Government seems to be more interested in saving the world that saving UK businesses battling with the ever increasing tax burden on them. How can a Chancellor not realise that a Rates Tax rise in the worst recession in most people’s lives would not have a MAJOR impact on small and large businesses alike at a time when we are all battling with managing costs?

Did he think the FSB and IOD were just making up the figures and impact this would have just for fun?

If one thing is clear by the way he did a massive “U” turn on this (or more like a 3 year time bomb than a “u” turn as we are still going to have to pay it!) - it’s that the so called business brains of this Government have clearly never run a business in the REAL world.

Does Mr. Darling forget that small and medium sized businesses are the engine that drives the UK economy and that if you keep putting grit into it eventually it will seize up. Stop messing with employment law and taxes and start helping businesses and business owners to grow and thrive so we can employ more people and create more wealth!

After all the Banks are going to need us as customers or will you just keep lending them more and more money?

Proof that "Lumpy" follow up mail works

I am often saying to clients that just sending brochures is not enough to cut through the clutter of messages taking up the head space of your prospect or future client as I prefer to call them.

So....to stand out you need to send them something physical, something that stands out and demands they give it the time it deserves. If it can be fun as well then this is even better.

One of my clients sends out a fluffy cat with a carefully crafted sales letter. The results have been great and to make the point I thought I would share with you part of an e-mail his marketing team recently received that makes this point far better than I can.

Here it is...

Hello Jackie,

In my line of work I feel it’s important to let others know when something they do is working. I have just gotten a stuffed cat in the mail with your handwritten notes and informational brochure. To be honest, I couldn’t recall the company name when I read it so I went back through my emails to locate your below message.

I do recall getting this message and thinking it was nice to see the person who was emailing me, an idea we had considered within our own company, but I had put the conversation with Alan and your email to the back of my mind due to the sheer volume of these types of call I get.

Anyway, I just wanted to send a ‘well done’ to your marketing department, as this very unconventional mail follow-up has made me take time out of my day to not only view your website, re-read your email, tell my colleagues about this funny cat/message and to ultimately spare more time yet to email you now.

A company I was once unfamiliar with is now at the front of my mind. Be assured that when the time does come for us to progress this project we will contact you.

Thanks for the cat, he looks great on my desk!

Have a good day,

Jenny

Proof if you ever needed it that the more "put of the box" you get with your marketing the better results you'll deliver to the bottom line.

Great Business and a Great Race - Virgin and F1

You have to admire the way Richard Branson moved into the F1 world this weekend and backed possibly the next big name in the sport?

Whatever happens going forward you can't put a price on the Positive PR the win in Melbourne generated for the Virgin brand and just shows that in these economic times you can leverage your band if you invest in a winning TEAM.

Well done to everybody involved especially Jenson Button and Ross Brawn. This will be a huge boost to the town of Brackley, which is just 5 mins up the road from our offices and will go on to become one of those great turn around stories of the year.

To read more from Richard's Blog go to http://entrepreneur.virgin.com/2009/03/30/f1-success-for-brawn-gp-virgin-at-melbourne/

I know I can't wait for the next race and I have a feeling there is a lot more to come from this story.

Powerful Synergy Marketing Example

 

All too often business owners think the only tool at their disposal to drive sales is discounting when in reality all they need to do is open their eyes and use some creativity.

Here is a great example of two products from different companies being used together to create a great offer.

By doing this neither brand is devalued and the customer sees additional added value - well, I did as I bought it 3 days in a row !

A Really Stupid Call To Action....(CTA)

I was in the car earlier this week and I happened to hear an advert which ended with what I consider may have been one of the most stupid calls to action I've come across for some time:

I shall not reveal the company name but let's just say that they are a large player in their field. The advert ended with the words "Just Google Us!" as the call to action.

Why would they do this? Yes, it seems like a good idea especially if they have a very memorable company name.  However, if the advert has managed to capture my attention enough to go type in a website address why take them to a search engine?

Having typed in the company name or product the listener / prospect will be server potentially millions of websites with competitors offering their products!! How crazy is this?

Its very like when radio or TV advertisers used to say "find us in the Yellow book" - yep, along with all my competition and their adverts and phone numbers to make shopping around really easy.

Here is my view is what they should consider doing to real drive a positive sales result:

1. Send the listener to an easy to remember web address
2. This address should go to a very specific landing page with the offer that was promoted on the radio on it.
3. There should be an e-mail capture box so if nothing else we can capture the prospects details and start a relationship with them.

4. Offer the prospect something of value in exchange for their e-mail address, perhaps a discount voucher etc

So if you hear of any other CRAZY call to actions please tell me about them here I would love to know.

Wealth Club Open Day Sponsorships Sell Out in just 90 mins!

Yesterday was just amazing and I’m still on a buzz from it.

We launched a number of sponsorship packages for our upcoming Oxford Wealth Club open day on May 12th to be held at the Bicester Golf and Country Club, Oxfordshire.

I wanted to do this to help members raise their business profiles with dynamic business owners who attend our event. I though it might hit the mark, but even I was surprised by how fast the bids started coming in for the packages.

In less than 90 mins we had all the slots taken AND we had people wanting to go on a waiting list for the next event in October!!

I want to thank everybody who e-mailed and called in with offers for the packages or in some cases just messages of support. My business would be nothing without your continued support and it means a lot to me - Thank You.

Rachel loved my Sales Stratgies ...

I was recently invited to give a "web seminar" to many of the Entrepreneurs that Rachel Elnaugh works with. I had a great time and got to connect with some very passionate business owners looking to take their sales to the next level.

Here is her feedback:

"I invited Paul Av ins to be the special guest on my first business coaching webinar, as I believe that driving sales has to be the number one priority for small businesses trying to counter the effects of the recession.  When you have sales - and therefore cash flowing into a business - almost everything else can be sorted.  Paul's no-nonsense advice was brilliant and I've already had many messages of positive feedback from the entrepreneurs who joined the webinar and who were able to put their questions to Paul."

Regards
Rachel

To find out how I can help your business increase sales even in a credit crunch economy give me a call on 01869 278900 or e-mail me at success@paul-avins.com