My inspiration hit list

I am a legend at starting up conversations. It’s another part of my Thing. I’d forgotten how good I am at this until I helped a client out recently on their exhibition stand.

My advice is to have conversations even when you don’t know where they’ll end up. Worse case: you’ll have a pleasant chat, best case: you might have a new customer.

The ride is, of course, the main attraction and the 3 minutes of thrills and spills you’ve been queuing so long for. And when you get on the ride sometimes you love it and wish it lasted longer, and other times you are very happy that it’s all over with quickly! But was it worth it either way? Was it YOUR ride?

This is one of my favourite expressions when I’m letting someone fabulous know they are keeping their Thing a secret UNTIL clients work with them.

I know it makes sense to save your really good stuff (after all it might sell out!) but how is anyone going to know about it if it’s not on show in the window?

Yesterday, I got back from the first 2-day ‘Small Business Marketing Workshop’ run by the very smart Jonathan Jay in his new business venture Success Track.

The purpose of the 2-day workshop was for Jonathan to share his own experience in what does and doesn’t work in terms of marketing a business. Jonathan also offered a ‘marketing clinic’, where attendees could (perhaps crushingly honestly in some cases!) receive a critique of their current marketing materials and approach (note to anyone who attended here — you will of course get the irony of Jonathan describing this in his own words as “a clinic”!).

It’s the ‘best dress in the shop window’ scenario, it’s the ‘fire the big guns first’ option. Don’t offer tasters of anything less than what you do that’s brilliant when you’re faced with hungry potential customers. Serve them a little bit of your steak not a bowl of chips.

One of my favourite (most overused, if I’m honest!) words is ‘consistent’. I love a bit of consistency. Whether that’s consistency in Marketing activity or message, it’s showing up saying the same Thing (Find your Thing, anyone?) over and over until you’ve told everyone who needs to hear it.

There’s also consistency in how you do what you and how you ask people to buy.