Tag Archives: marketing

Alison Edgar on better sales and building an entrepreneurial spirit at work – MAF222

MPAF Podcast, , , ,

My guest this week is bestselling sales author, Alison Edgar.

We talk about how to make sales engaging to drive business growth and building an entrepreneurial spirit at work.

Welcome to episode 222 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.

Alison Edgar on better sales and building an entrepreneurial spirit at work - MAF222

What you’ll hear about in this episode

  • Why sales isn’t all about the hard sell
  • The difference between sales and marketing
  • What ‘Intrapreneurial’ means
  • How an entrepreneurial culture can exist in a business
  • How businesses can avoid being victims of their own success
  • The process Alison uses to help her clients

Who is Alison Edgar?

Alison worked in hospitality all over the world, then for BT in the UK. She wrote a book, “Secrets of Successful Sales” in 2018, describing things as ‘going mad’ after the launch. It was the WH Smith top ten and became an Amazon no.1 best seller. 18 months on, it’s got 115 five-star reviews, cementing her position as a sales expert.

She explains that she took on board what the top salespeople did and carried out analysis and research to learn more. She discovered that they did the same things as top performers in other industries.

Summary of our chat

Alison believes that when delivered correctly, sales and customer service are exactly the same thing. This has become the mission statement and how she delivers. People get sales wrong because they haven’t been trained properly. It’s an art, not a trick.

The key is to keep things as simple as possible. In her book, Alison uses the analogy of golf to explain the difference between sales and marketing. Marketing puts the tee in the ground and the ball on top – the set-up. Sales take the ball down the fairway, onto the green and into the hole (and you make money).

Alison created some content as part of a bid to encourage businesses to consider things from different points of view. Asking “What would I do if it was my…” helps to understand the employees’ needs and how to improve team relationships. The difference between an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur is risk.

Alison says a growth mindset is really important. All businesses have someone who says no, but it’s always possible to do something differently. That person needs to change their mindset. Everyone in the business needs a growth mindset, and seeing things from other points of view can help.

A lot of microbusinesses don’t put foundations in when they start. They don’t have policies or a standard operating procedure, which makes growth harder. If they started off with structure, they’d find success easier to manage. Having a clear vision means they can employ the right people at the right time.

Alison encourages her clients to carry out a SWOT analysis right at the beginning. Self-analysing the owner and the business helps them to see where exactly where they want to go. From there, they can set SMART objectives. Too few people take specialist advice at the start to help them grow successfully.

Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Things don’t happen in five minutes. In her own business, Alison uses an outbound strategy to start conversations. Lots of local companies know who she is because she’s been building connections and marketing her brand over a long time.

One thing Alison would like listeners to take away

Alison says that networking has been invaluable for her. Not the early-morning breakfast get-togethers, but by attending the events which will help her grow her business and reach her goals.

If you want to take over the world, you can’t do that from your back bedroom! You need to get out there and meet people. Speaking at events can also be a good way to get known.

It’s not easy to run a business, so you need a good support network. Always be learning, and get your work/life balance right so you’re not working 24/7. Take advice for experts on the parts of the business you’re not as strong on. Nobody knows everything, so learn from others.

An Example of Simple Marketing

Alison says her new favourite campaign is Cadbury’s Dark Milk. They’re really good at diversifying their products with very little effort. The new advert features singer and actor Jason Donovan, and he takes the mickey out of his time on Neighbours.

He talks about how he’s grown up and he’s different now, which matches how the Dark Milk chocolate bar is the adult version of the Dairy Milk bar. It works really well and it’s memorable.

An Example of Marketing Madness

Alison says that the Go Compare adverts drive her bananas. They’re annoying, but it’s good marketing – viewers remember it for the negative connotations! She’s not a fan, though.

Links

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Simple steps to a killer talk or presentation – MAF221

Marketing, , ,

If you’re putting together a talk or a presentation, don’t repeat don’t, go straight to powerpoint.

There’s a much better way.

Let’s grab a coffee and talk about it some more.

Welcome to episode 221 of the award-winning Marketing and Finance podcast.

Simple steps to a killer talk or presentation - MAF221

What you’ll hear about in this episode

  • Why PowerPoint shouldn’t drive the structure of your talk
  • Focusing on the needs of the customer (event organiser) and the audience
  • The “Idea worth spreading”
  • Knowledge, emotional and action goals to consider
  • Powerful openings and closes for a killer talk or presentation
  • The right kind of slides for your talk

Links

If you enjoyed – Simple steps to a killer talk or presentation – please leave a comment or a review on iTunes.

And if you know anyone who would enjoy the show – please share it with them. You can use the buttons below to share on social media.

Don’t miss an episode of the MAF Podcast – subscribe now.

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Nathan Hirsch on developing a marketplace for freelancers and VAs – MAF220

Marketing, , , ,

My guest this week is Nathan Hirsch, founder of Freeeup, an online marketplace for freelancers and VAs.

We talk about how he built the company and how he helps companies find the right freelancers to help them grow their businesses.

Welcome to episode 220 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.

Nathan Hirsch on developing a marketplace for freelancers and VAs - MAF220

 

What we talk about:

  • Why businesses need to outsource
  • How FreeeUp Came about
  • How FreeeUp works
  • The freelancer filtering process
  • Who FreeeUp is for
  • The challenges Nathan faced
  • Lessons Nathan’s learned
  • Business results achieved

Who is Nathan Hirsch?

Nathan imagined he’d have a steady job for 30 years, just like his parents did. Working 50-hour weeks at summer jobs, however, he learned he didn’t like working for others.

He viewed college as four years of building his own business before graduation. Nathan sold textbooks cheaper than elsewhere and set up a referral programme and was so successful the school asked him to stop.

He used Amazon to sell products, settling on baby items. Aged 20 and overworked, he realised he needed to find help. College students and sites like Fiverr didn’t work out, which led him to set up his own freelancer marketplace.

Summary

Business owners are perfectionists, and it can be scary to trust other people to help. However, you can only go so far on your own. Hiring early on means business growth and scale. Waiting too long to find support costs you money and loses opportunities.

Nathan wanted efficient freelancers for his own business, and realised other Amazon sellers did too. He took his list of reliable freelancers and began making introductions to businesses. People began to recommend him, so he had to scale quickly. From there, he built up a recruitment team and invested in better software.

FreeeUp gets thousands of freelancer applications every week but only accept a fraction. They have access to project boards and support. Clients can quickly set up an account and create a request for support. Within one business day, FreeeUp suggests freelancers and helps the client find the right person.

Assessing people only on their skills is not enough. Attitude and communication are more important, so FreeeUp look for people who have all three. They want freelancers to be honest about their abilities and price accordingly. There’s a skills test and a one to one interview.

FreeeUp doesn’t focus on a particular type of freelance support, with 100 skillsets offered and both solopreneurs and agencies available. Initially, their target audience was Amazon sellers, then they moved into e-commerce as a whole. Now, they focus their advertising on e-commerce and marketing businesses.

Nathan says his biggest challenge was software, particularly as it lagged behind everything else in the business. They got lots of feedback from different platform users, and had to choose which upgrades to make first. Focusing on the software first has enabled them to scale the business.

Nathan says FreeeUp has been successful for the last four years, but learned a valuable lesson with his first business. He invested six months in training a manager, who quit on the first day they were left in charge. He realised that diversifying responsibility is essential to prevent a business coming to a standstill.

FreeeUp was started with $5,000 and no investment. Growing organically, they spend $1,000 on paid ads and PPC. They’ve gone from $1m to $9m in four years, and are hoping to hit $13m this year.

Nathan hires people from all over the world for his own business. He says the person is more important than where they’re located, and generally, clients prioritise that too. The only difficulty comes when people struggle to understand each other’s accents.

One Thing Nathan Would Like Listeners to Take Away

Hiring is hard, and nobody has a 100% record of getting it right. However, if you focus on what you can control, such as your interviewing and hiring processes, it’s a game-changer.

As an entrepreneur, marketing, lead generation and customer service are all great, but if you can’t get better at hiring over time, you’re only going to grow so far. FreeeUp have a lot of content on how to outsource effectively.

If you enjoyed – Nathan Hirsch on developing a marketplace for freelancers and VAs – please leave a comment or a review on iTunes.

And if you know anyone who would enjoy the show – please share it with them. You can use the buttons below to share on social media.

Don’t miss an episode of the MAF Podcast – subscribe now.

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