experience growth Magazine - Issue 6 (Summer 2015)

eg

entrepreneurs’ tales, tools & tips SUMMER

2015 | Issue 6

it’s

FREE quarterly the branding & innovation issue

www.egmagazineUK.com

experience growth |

A lust for Trust

The importance of trust in business relationships

5 ways to differentiate your Brand Message How to cut through the noise & get your message across

How to create the Entrepreneurial Edge

5 powerful strategies to find your edge & push your competition over it

Fix your Financial Future

5 characteristics of a great business opportunity

Social Media Masterclass

Branding

10 FREE strategies to drive facebook engagement

Madonna like

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GROWhow stuff. Personal Wellbeing. Social Causes. Business. Money. Training. Technology. GROWzone.

Our Top 6 Branding & Innovation books | Our Top 3 Small Business apps | much more

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Publisher’s page

Colin Tomlin, Publisher, author & speaker

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Welcome to

T

his is easily one of my favourite issues of eg magazine.

and a host of entrepreneurial ventures under her belt, she has the results to show.

This is issue is about branding and innovation and has the inimitable Madonna on the cover.

We are also delighted to introduce a number of new regulars.

Who better to be on the subject of our cover story than someone who has constantly reinvented herself to become a popular music legend, adept at riding each wave of musical change by using the power of branding and innovation.

She really is the Queen of Reinvention with the results to show for it.

Still the highest selling female artiste of all time with 10 sell out tours, 13 albums, 21 films

Australia’s Peak Performance Business Strategist Calvin Colyes weighs into the UK and onto the pages of experience growth magazine by showing us How to create the Entrepreneurial Edge and crush the competition.

As someone who has influenced tens of thousands of young entrepreneurs in over 30 countries, Calvin certainly knows what he is talking about.

We also welcome Ru Wikmann, a fitness model who is one of the UK’s leading Body Transformation coaches with glowing testimonials to match.

In fact, just turn the page and see all the great contributors we have assembled.

Keep turning to see all entrepreneurs’ tales, tools and tips we’ve put together just for you to experience growth in every area of your entrepreneurial life.

Be engaged, enlightened & encouraged to move from your potential to your possibilities!

Colin & The eg Team

In case you missed it

Browse the previous issue FREE now

Regular Contributors Lilach Bullock, Social Media Expert (www.commsaxis.com)

A business owner, social media consultant, internet mentor and genuine digital guru, Lilach is consulted by journalists and regularly quoted in newspapers, business publications and marketing magazines (including Forbes, The Telegraph, Wired, Prima Magazine, The Sunday Times, Social Media Today and BBC Radio 5 Live).

Listed in Forbes as one of the top 20 women social media power influencers and likewise as one of the top social media power influencers, she is one of the most dynamic personalities in the social media market, she actively leverages ethical online marketing for her clients and for Comms Axis.

In this issue Lilach gives ‘10 ways to drive Facebook engagement without advertising’

Calvin Coyles, Peak Performance Business Strategist (www.youngandwildlysuccessful.com)

Calvin Coyles, is an award winning social entrepreneur and international speaker who believes that if you’re not making someone else’s life better then you’re wasting your time!

As the 2013 Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Australia, Calvin has achieved wild success with business ranging from Social Enterprise Start up’s to Fortune 500 Corporations and everything in between while transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people in over 30 countries around the world, spanning 5 continents. All while igniting a movement of young people committed to becoming wildly successful in every area of life!

His vision is to eradicate poverty through education and entrepreneurial means and to inspire within others a sense of passion, purpose and possibilities.

In this issue Calvin shows you ‘How to Create your Entrepreneurial Edge’

Alex Gordon, Speaking Coach www.masteryourmessage.co.uk

Alex is an accountant by training with years of experience within The City of London and running an accounting solutions practice. His real passion, though, is helping people to discover or rekindle their dreams. He regular speaks to audiences asking a poignant question, ‘What is your dream?’ He recently published his book by the same name and travels the UK preaching a message of redefining, refocusing and repackaging your talents and abilities to bring solutions to your community, customers and clients. He lives in London with his wife, Sharon and 3 children.

In this issue Alex writes ‘5 ways to differentiate your Brand Message’

Ru Wikmann, Fitness Model & Body Transformation Coach (www.ruwikmann.com)

Ru is Model, Personal Trainer and Body Transformation Coach based in a private health club in Central London. Unlike most fitness professionals, he knows what it’s like to be seriously unfit and as a result knows how important the right mental approach is, in order to take action, overcome adversity, and succeed at reaching goals you previously thought were unattainable.

Ru has an enviable track record and is known as ‘The Sculptor’ for a reason. When not in the gym or transforming bodies he can be found strutting his stuff on the catwalk.

In this issue Ru highlights ‘The Problem with your Diet’

Nisha Zala, The Creative Lifestyle Consultant (www.facebook.com/nishazalalive)

Nisha is the 2014 Newcomer Coach of the Year from the Association Professional Coaches, Trainers and Consultants and has produced events for world influenced speakers including; Tony Robbins, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Brandson, Sir Alan Sugar, T-Harv Eker, Big Al and many more. She steps on stage delivering as a key inspirational speaker and dedicated to making a difference in society. Her coaching and therapy style is described to be the best in the industry and known as a Life Enhancement Consultant and Spiritual Awakener. She is the founder of “Freedom for Change” and is writing her first book within the area of her expertise in spiritual growth and personal development. She has been frequently featured in the Basildon and Southend Echo and has her own monthly radio show on Gateway Basildon 97.8.com.

In this issue Nisha provides ‘7 tips on how to be a Diva Achiever’

Guest Contributors Sunil Bali, Executive Coach, Speaker, Writer (www.sunilbali.com)

Sunil has been responsible for hiring over 50,000 people and has worked with some great entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders, as a former Head of Talent for two of Europe’s largest companies, Vodafone Group and Santander, and having run a £50m business himself. He is on a mission to help create authentic, sustainable and rewarding business relationships. To this end, he help entrepreneurs and professionals to generate stronger relationships, results and revenues by showing them how to increase the level of trust that people have in them and their business.

In this issue Sunil explores ‘A Lust for Trust’

Laura Moxham, Google Search Engine Specialist (www.yourbusinessangels.co.uk)

Laura Moxham, trained by the World’s Number 1 ranked Google Adwords Trainer, runs Your Business Angels and has a wealth of over 14 years business and marketing experience as well as a solid, proven track record in internet marketing.

Laura and her team deliver award-winning quality of service and results that will leave you gutted that you’ve not met them before. Seriously!

In this issue Laura shows you ‘Are you a Chicken or Antiques kind of business’

Cheryl Nankoo, Executive Coach (www.thenankoo.com)

Cheryl is an experienced sales consultant and executive coach with over 17 years business experience. As a Certified NLP Master Practitioner, she has coached and mentored people from all walks of life including senior executives, board members, elite athletes and even other coaches. In 2014 she qualified as an mBIT (multiple brain integration techniques) coach which looks at how we use our three brains (head, heart and gut) to make decisions.

Cheryl is continuously developing her skills and is often reading and listening to TED talks.

In this issue Cheryll unpacks ‘How Customers use Multiple Brains to make Buying Decisions’

Paddy Venner, Life Coach (www.weareeternity.com)

Paddy Venner is married to Jennike and they have two teenage sons.

He is senior pastor of Eternity Churches: Norwich and Downham Market and does a lot of work as a lifecoach in various settings. He is a British South African and loves a good braai and a game of rugby on the TV, as well as having an extensive and eclectic collection of music.

In this issue Paddy asks ‘Where are you headed?’

Publishing & Editorial Director Colin Tomlin colin@egmagazineuk.com

Coaching & Education Director Judy Lynch-Tomlin judy@egmagazineuk.com

Project Management & Design Creative Wells Design design@egmagazineuk.com

Advertising advertising@egmagazineuk.com 0785 34 33 700

Partnership Development partnerships@egmagazineuk.com 0785 34 33 700

Photography Google Images Eryn Grace Kirkcaldy Fotolia Dreamstime Cover image by Mert & Marcus

Published by Creative Wells Enterprises Ltd Costessey Lane Norwich NR8 6HA

Terms & Condition: All material is strictly copyrighted and all rights are reserved. No part of this online publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed permission of Creative Wells Enterprises Ltd. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage of any material, solicited or unsolicited. The views expressed in this publication are not those of the publisher or those of the advertisers. No cash alternative will be offered for competitions and the editor’s decision is final.

Previous issues & Resources www.issuu.com/egmagazineuk

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eg growth with

Contents Growhow stuff in partnership with

Our top 6 Branding & Innovation books

Read them and learn the tricks of the top brands on the planet

Our top 3 small business apps Use them and stay on top of your business.

Personal Wellbeing The Problem with your Diet

Social Causes Virgin Unite

As The Virgin Foundation’s working arm celebrates 10 years of creating change we look at how they help others to be better at doing good

Business Branding like Madonna Discover how the World’s Pop Queen uses the power of branding to drive her seemingly never ending career

How to create the Entrepreneurial Edge

Are you really what you eat? Are diets what they are made out to be.

Out expert spills the beans.

5 powerful strategies on how to to find your entrepreneurial edge and push your competition over it.

Where are you headed?

A Lust for Trust

As the Worm Turns

5 ways to differentiate you Brand Message

Do yu know your destination in life? Let’s explore what do you have to do to find it and how you get there.

What does fixing a Kitchen Aid have to do with life & business?

Delve into the mix and learn 4 powerful lessons.

eg Cover Story Branding like Madonna

An exploration of the importance of trust in business relationships

Everywhere, someone is vying for everyone’s attention. How do you cut through the noise and get your message across?

How to create the Entrepreneurial Edge

entrepreneurs’ tales, tools & tips

How to be a Diva Achiever

What does it take to be a diva achiever? Here are 7 ways to get in touch with your feminine side

Click to Connect with us!

Training Are you a Chicken or Antiques Kind of Business

A lust for Trust

How do you come across to the public. Find out if you are coming across as a chicken shop or an antiques shop.

How customers use multiple brains to make buying decisions

Learn the decision process that customers use to make a decision and what it means for you.

Technology Social Media Masterclass

Discover 10 FREE strategies to drive Facebook engagement

Money Fix your Financial Future

Fix your Financial Future

5 ways to create a business that funds your dreams.

Get the book FREE

Are you equipped for

your journey?

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growth

roadmap

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6

growhow stuff

our top

Branding

books in partnership with

experience growth magazine.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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#1 David A Aaker

David uses real brand-building cases to demonstrate how strong brands have been created and managed.

He shows how to break out of the box by considering emotional and self-expressive benefits and by introducing the brand-as-person, brandas-organisation, and brand-assymbol perspectives. He goes on to demonstrate that brands are part of a larger system consisting of many intertwined and overlapping brands and sub brands.

to leverage brand assets into new markets and products.

As executives in a wide range of industries seek to prevent their products and services from becoming commodities, they are recommitting themselves to brands as a foundation of business strategy.

Essential reading.

Aaker shows how to manage the ‘brand system’ to achieve clarity and synergy, to adapt to a changing environment, and

You don’t need a marketing degree or intensive training to build an attention–grabbing brand; you just need this book and 30 days.

Simon Middleton shows you how to create, manage and communicate your brand profoundly and effectively, in just 30 days, by following 30 clear exercises.

How you work through the book is up to you, the result will be the same: an authentic, compelling and highly distinctive brand that will attract and engage customers and fans.

In this book you will learn that branding is not about funky logos and expensive

#2 advertising.

Your brand is what your company means to the world. Getting that meaning right is the most important thing you can do in business.

“

Your brand is what your company means to the world.

Getting that meaning right is the most important thing you can do in business.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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“

Simon Middleton

experience growth magazine

Wally Olins CBE (1930 – 2014) “the world’s leading practitioner of branding and identity”.

Financial Times

experience growth magazine.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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#3

“

Branding has now moved far beyond its commercial origins, and consumer response has entered uncharted territory.

the most successful brands in the world triumph by making insiders believe in them and consumers buy into them.

Wally Olins describes the ground rules for branding success in the 21st century, explaining why understanding the links between business, brand and consumer is vital for commercial success.

This is an essential book for everyone in advertising, marketing and business who needs to know why the most successful brands in the world triumph by making insiders believe in them and consumers buy into them.

#4

Bernadette Jiwa

What if, instead of finding ways to be one step ahead of your competition, you could build and market your business to give people a reason to choose you?

What if you could completely reinvent a category or experience? What if you could stop trying to beat the competition, and become the competition?

'Difference' lifts the lid on how brands like Airbnb, Uber and Apple have succeeded by creating difference and gives you a new one-page method for reimagining your business and reinventing your marketing. It helps you to recognise opportunities that create value, to develop products and services that people want, and to matter to your customers.

“

An essential component for anyone who is serious about doing work that matters, and Bernadette Jiwa is the bright new star to lead us there.

“

Every year we're spending more money, to interrupt more people, more often, with messages they don't care about and don't pay attention to.

We've come to believe that the way to succeed is to have an advantage—by being different or better, more visible, or just plain louder.

“

Wally Olins

Issue 6. Summer 2015

experience growth magazine

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#5

Carmine Gallo

Any business that deals with people, both employees and customers, can adopt these techniques initiated by Steve Jobs to achieve Apple-like market dominance by enriching lives, building loyalty, and reimagining the customer experience.

Steve Jobs and Apple re-imagined retail in their iconic Apple Stores.

The Apple Experience reveals the secrets to the pioneering brand’s unparalleled success during one of the most difficult retail environments in decades.

“

A global expert on the business methods of Steve Jobs, Carmine Gallo uncovers the five steps of service that the company’s customerfacing employees follow in Apple Stores to engage customers.

The most important component to the Apple experience is that the staff isn’t focused on selling stuff. It’s focused on building relationships and trying to make people’s lives better Ron Johnson

Jeremy Miller

Growing a sticky brand makes your company stand out like an orange tree in an evergreen forest. It draws your customers to you; they'll understand what makes your company unique, and they'll choose it first.

Growing a sticky brand creates a distinct competitive advantage.

The challenge is that most companies don't have endless marketing budgets and resources to advertise and grow brands like the big guys.

They don't buy ads in the Super Bowl or rely on massive sales forces. Most companies innovate to stand

#6

out.

But the few that commit to the journey are rewarded.

Growing a sticky brand generates more customer demand, higher profits, and reduces competition.

Your customers will come back again and again, because they're fans. And the competition will avoid you, because it's hard to compete against a company with a sticky brand.

experience growth magazine.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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A staggering 95% of UK businesses have fewer than 10 employees.

These apps help you to stay on top of your business like one of the big boys/girls.

Check them out...

3

our top

small business

experience growth magazine.

apps

Issue 5. Autumn 2014

eg

#1

Manage it!

Manage your business. In one place.

17Hats is an all in one system specifically designed with the solopreneur in mind. It promises all the features you need in an all in one package. Contact Communication?

Workflow management? Scheduling? Lead capture?

Quoting? Invoicing? Accepting payments?

You can do it all from 17Hats. A really great system at a great price!

www.17hats.com

#2

Monitor it!

Monitor it. In one place.

Cyfe is a business dashboard app that helps you easily monitor all your business data from one place.

Whether you want to monitor your social media, your marketing, your sales, your support, your infrastructure, your new sign ups, subscriptions or your app downloads. If it’s connected, you can monitor it.

www.cyfe.com

#3

Account for it!

Account for it. In one place.

Born out of the frustration that doing the books was just too hard for most of us, they’ve spent the last seven years on a mission to demystify accounting. The result? Free Agent, a web based accounting software specifically designed for small businesses.

www.freeagent.com

experience growth magazine.

Issue 5. Autumn 2014

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eg

magazine | UK

experience

growth.

Nobody said it would be easy but

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The

Problem with

your Diet by

Ru Wikmann

Fitness model & Body Transformation Coach

F

or more than 20 years the media has bombarded us with a perpetual diet craze.

An avalanche of fad diets are announced one after another as breaking news while producing zero true results.

Sure, you may lose 5, 10 or even 20 pounds on a fad diet...but you'll gain it all back and then some.

How can I be so confident that your results will be short lived?

It's actually a simple concept, and once you understand it you will be forever saved from the tortures of yo-yo dieting.

Unreasonable Calorie Restrictions

Fad diets saddle you with unreasonable calorie restrictions and some even cut out entire food groups just to produce that short lived drop in weight-a process that is actually harmful to your health. The fad diets also ignore one major component

to shaping up: exercise. You see, most fad diets operate on one age old premise: cut calories, cut calories, cut calories. By restricting the type and amount of food consumed the fad dieter usually sees an immediate drop in weight. If only it stopped there...

But it doesn't stop there. Life continues, and the fad dieter returns to their pre-diet eating habits-with one major difference in their body due to the sudden drop in pounds.

Their calorie requirements have gotten smaller.

Weight Regain

In practical terms this means that the dieter will begin gaining weight even though they are eating their normal pre-diet portions. And since exercise hasn't become a part of their routine, the unneeded calories will result in pounds gained. So what's a dieter to do? Find a brand new diet to follow. Right? Wrong.

experience growth magazine.

There is a way to drop pounds and firm your body, but you won't read about it in the next diet book or hear it on the news.

The solution to your fad dieting nightmare is a lifestyle change.

Click here to start your

Transformation

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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“ The solution to your fad dieting nightmare is a lifestyle change.�

Issue 6. Summer 2015

experience growth magazine

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Where are you

headed? by

Paddy Venner

Life Coach

I

rish rockers U2 stated in their worldwide hit song “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”, which in turn begs the question “so, what are you looking for, and how will you know when you’ve found it if you don’t know what it is?”

King Solomon put it so clearly when he said that when people lack vision they cast off restraint, or in fact they perish, which means they die slowly from the inside from directionless living. We were not put on earth by accident, and once we have made peace with this notion we start that incredible journey of discovering what it is we were put here for.

Setting up the target I get to speak to people of varying ages in life skills conversations and l love to hear how people envisage things for their own future.

The problem is in the actualisation of the visualisation.

It has been said that if something can be visualised it should be able to be actualised and that can be very overwhelming for a person who is determined to achieve but sees the goal as an ever-shrinking illusion on an everbroadening horizon.

So start small. It’s called taking baby steps.

Human beings begin their

experience growth magazine.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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but who cannot tidy their bedroom. I meet people who want to be entrepreneurs but who can't pay the gas bill on time. Get the little things right and the big things become more and more do-able.

Sometimes that little thing is the very thing a person is good at. I was watching the life story of a man on television as he spoke about how his mundane office job in a council office was killing his creativity, and how he decided to take a step with the most obvious thing for him. He could bake amazing cakes.

So he made a few and found a coffee shop that wanted to sell them, until he was able to set up his own cake shop

transportive lives not by running marathons but by walking a few tiny steps, often aided by others, until they have confidence to broaden their stride. A broad stride is indicative of confidence and confidence is the product of achievement.

When a person experiences themselves as an achiever, the confidence starts to grow.

Doing the Obvious Thing

So then, what are the baby steps? I speak to people that want to conquer the world

Issue 6. Summer 2015

and make himself a fortune.

Do what you are good at and that sets your imagination ablaze. You might never get wealthy from it in a financial sense, but I believe the richest people on earth are those who wake up to a day they can't wait to be a part of because they love their job.

Set attainable goals - today I tidy my room. When you’ve done that you can look with pride at an achievement and know that you initiated it, executed it and completed it. You are a goal-setter and a goalgetter. Now go bigger - what else needs doing?

When we achieve in a micro setting we set our minds for achieving in ever increasing circles.

How will you know unless you try?

If not today, then when?

experience growth magazine

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See a clearer,

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magazine | UK

better future

Subscribe & get previous issues

worm turns As the

by

Colin Tomlin

Publisher, Author, Speaker

I

n our house we love food!

Judy is a great cook and Leah is becoming an expert baker.

She makes the best cookies and is becoming a regular supplier to our training events and barbecues.

The indispensable magic tool for both Judy and Leah is a Kitchen Aid, the most used piece of equipment in our kitchen!

1. It’s usually INTERNAL

The other day, though, it broke and Judy casually said, ‘You can fix that can’t you Col? I know you can!’, and she smiled and walked away with complete confidence.

2. It’s seemingly INSIGNIFICANT

The worm gear was tucked away deep inside the machine and the only way to get to it was to take the thing apart.

Yippee! Not.

After a couple of frustrating attempts combined with lot’s of encouragement from Judy and curiosity from the kids, I got to the worm gear!

I didn’t share her confidence and even got annoyed that she would have me use my time tinkering with a Kitchen Aid. When I learnt the cost of replacing it, though, I decided to give it a go.

It was a tricky and time consuming process, but to fix the problem, I had to get inside the machine. I could tinker with the outside as much as I wanted to but the solution was an inside job.

What I saw was this little gear no bigger than a 50 pence piece, but it was the thing that drove the whole machine. It was the thing that made it work.

After many Google searches and You Tube videos, I found out what the problem was. The ‘worm gear’ was worn out.

Our external problems tend to be symptoms of an internal issue. A very wise king name Solomon put it like this, ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.’ (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)

Here are 4 things that fixing our Kitchen Aid taught me about life and business. experience growth magazine.

The things that causes our lives not to work, are also seemingly insignificant. Our beliefs, our attitudes, our thoughts and our values.

When broken, they cause our lives to grind to a halt just like our Kitchen Aid.

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3. It’s always messy INSIDE While the machine was clean and pristine outside, when opened up, there was a thick layer of black grease, which had accumulated through years of use. To get to the worm gear I had to scrape all of this out of the way.

Whenever we confront the issues which cause us not to grow, it’s messy. It means dealing with layers of ‘gunk’ that have accumulated over a long period of time. Are there areas of your life or business that aren’t workingg? Then be prepared to get messy and disruptive to get to the source of the problem.

4. It’s about being regularly INTENTIONAL I learnt that to keep the Kitchen Aid in tip top working condition, I needed to be regularly intentional in checking the machine. The machine makes a sound which serves as a warning sign.

Whenever, you hear sounds of negativity, frustration, doubts and fears coming from your mouth, then it might be time for a regular intentional check up of our internal workings.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

Professional road bicycle racer and twotime Olympic gold medalist, Kristin Armstrong, puts it this way ‘Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities.’

Do you need to stop and have a look inside?

“ Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” experience growth magazine

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doing business creating change having fun

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Business

story cover

Branding & Innovation

special

most innovative Probably the

musical artiste

around!

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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eg

Branding like

Madonna

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone wears many hats: singer, songwriter, producer, director, actress, philanthropist & entrepreneur.

Known simply as Madonna, she is widely acknowledged as the reigning Queen of Pop, having sold more than 300 million records during her music career by constantly reinventing herself and being an early adopter. Who else to show us a thing or two about branding.

by Colin Tomlin

L

ike her or loathe her, you certainly can’t ignore her!

Controversial, provocative, ruthless, genius are just some of the names you could use to describe someone who has been on the top of the charts and in the public eye since the release of her first album in 1982.

Ever since that release she has displayed an uncanny ability to ride current trends and reinvent herself, able to sit comfortably alongside the fresh newcomers of the music business.

Thirty-three years on, she

has been described by one Professor Colin Barrow from the UK’s prestigious Cranfield School of Management, as ‘America’s smartest businesswoman… who has moved to the top of her industry and stayed there by constantly reinventing herself.’

London School of Economics continued the accolades by describing her as ‘a dynamic entrepreneur worth copying.’

They say this with good reason because in the first decade of her music career she grossed close to £1 billion in sales and over the course of her career has

‘America’s smartest businesswoman… who has moved to the top of her industry and stayed there by constantly reinventing herself.’

Professor Colin Barrow, Cranfield School of Management, UK

experience growth magazine.

shifted over 300 million records and in the process become a role model for a whole host of new artistes and music industry executives.

No wonder the Guinness World Records recognized her as the best selling female artiste of all time!

So, where did all this begin?

The Making of Madonna

Madonna or ‘Little Nonni’ as she was called, was born in 1958 to Italian immigrants Silvio Anthony Ciccone & Madonna Louise Fortin in Bay City, Michigan.

Her mother dying when she was only five years old had a profound impact on her.

This was compounded by her father remarrying three years later. For many years Madonna resented her father’s marriage to their housekeeper as the ultimate

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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Issue 6. Summer 2015

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act of betrayal and resented him for many years.

It was at this point that she developed a rebellious streak as a way of simply trying to find her way as a young lady who she felt had lost both her mother and wasn’t far off losing her father.

1

2

3

4

5

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Like a Virgin

7

8

9

New York meant lots of new experiences like flying for the first time and riding in a taxi cab.

10

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12

After excelling in high school and receiving a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan, she was set for a career in dance.

Never being one to not do what she wanted to do, she soon dropped out of university and relocated to New York in 1978.

Arriving in New York she literally felt like a virgin arriving into a new place with only $35 in her pocket.

New York, though, meant growing up fast and four years later her first self titled album Madonna hit the streets.

A star was well and truly born and the star really shone at that iconic performance at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.

Madonna, the icon, the brand and the innovator was born.

Like a Virgin went on to sell over 25 million copies and laid the foundation for her critical and commercial success.

13

True Blue

After the success of Like a Virgin, Madonna continued to churn out the hits and even made her foray into acting in the critically acclaimed film Desperately Seeking Susan.

Her next album True Blue topped the charts in over 28 countries worldwide and became her best selling album to date. Her Who’s that Girl Tour broke attendance records with 130,000 attending her concert just outside of Paris.

experience growth magazine.

By this time she had met and married Sean Penn who she went on to divorce 3 years later.

Despite the personal life drama, she continued to make and break records with her first greatest hits album, Immaculate Collection becoming the best selling compilation album by a solo artist with over 30 million copies.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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Maverick

Always one to not just be a singer, Madonna had found success as a songwriter, music producer, actress and all round entertainment brand.

Her 1992 joint venture with Time Warner saw her add another string to her bow as an entrepreneur.

The new venture consisted of a music production, film production, music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing and merchandising.

She received an advance of close to $60 million as well as a 20% of all music sales, an unprecedented royalty rate equalled only by the then reigning King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Demonstrating that she had the entrepreneurial touch, she proved that sex indeed sells and her first output from the new venture was a book simply entitled ‘Sex’.

Showing herself as someone who knows how to court and cash in on controversy, the book sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each in a few days, despite a generally negative reaction from both the media and the general public.

Don’t cry for me Argentina

However, this star was not ready to stop shining and she still chased that critical acclaim of a film in which she was in the title role.

In 1996 that opportunity came by way of the film Evita.

She was convinced this was the role she was born to play and threw everything into this film.

At the same time she released Erotica, her fifth album.

She even fell sick due to the emotional intensity of the role.

These actions only served to cement her reputation as a entrepreneurial entertainer.

Maybe she was just apprehensive about how the film would be received.

The next few years saw her push the boundaries in every way with many critics suggesting that she had peaked and her career was over.

She needn’t have worried because the film was an amazing critical and commercial success and Madonna the leading lady had finally arrived.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

Rebel Heart

After Evita, Madonna found time to get married to Guy Ritchie, perform sell out tours, star in more films and even reinvented herself as a children’s writer and broke more records as the fastest selling children’s picture book of all time, earning her a spot on the New York Times best seller list.

She is still at it with sell out tours planned for later this year into early next year.

13 albums, 10 tours, 21 films and many awards and business ventures later, her latest album title gives us a clue as to what drives her.

She has a Rebel Heart!

That is her brand.

And the driving force behind each reinvention that pushes the boundary.

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Madonna’s 1

Madonna Louise Fortin Her mother died at a very young age of breast cancer, which had a profound impact on the young Madonna.

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influencers

In her own words, ‘The anguish of losing my mom left me with a certain kind of loneliness and an incredible longing for something. If I hadn't had that emptiness, I wouldn't have been so driven.’

2

Mary Mother of God

Madonna Louise Fortin

Madonna’s Italian-Catholic upbringing has been a prominent feature in her music. She has always paid homage, sometimes irreverently so, in her albums and tours over the years, displaying crosses, rosaries, and other religious symbols She dedicated ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ to the Pope while on tour!

Mary Mother of God

3

Marilyn Munroe

Influenced by the glamorous actresses of the 1930's,Madonna saw herself in them, especially Marilyn Munroe.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Material Girl music video.

albums

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1.

2.

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Date

Album

Sales Volume

1983 1984 1986 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2003 2005 2008 2012 2015

Madonna Like a Virgin True Blue Like a Prayer Erotica Bedtime Stories Ray of Light Music American Life Confessions on a Dance Floor Hard Candy MDNA Rebel Heart

10,000,000 25,000,000 25,000,000 15,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 20,000,000 15,000,000 5,000,000 12,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 650, 000

Totalling

150,000,000 album sales

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How to gain the entrepreneurial

edge

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Issue 6. Summer 2015

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by

Calvin Coyles

Peak Performance Business Strategist

B

ruce Lee once said “Knowing is not enough, you must apply. Willing is not enough, you must do.” There may come a time in your business where you feel you sort of know where you’re going and what you’re doing but you’re insecure about what you’re delivering because your competitors seem to be doing so much better than you are.

The idea of whether or not they’re doing anything better than you is irrelevant. The fact is that they’re doing it. They know exactly what they’re doing, where they’re going, who their market is, and the value they want to deliver.

This is where you need to be.

You need to get the edge up on your competition. You need to be the standard that other people in your industry aspire to reach – and you can be. You need to have the entrepreneurial edge.

What is the entrepreneurial edge, you wonder? The Entrepreneurial Edge is a state of mind that you must take on to be able to blitz the competition. It’s knowing that you have what is takes to get to the top of your industry’s ladder and stay there for the long haul.

Imagine you’re playing an epic game of tag on the

Issue 6. Summer 2015

school playground. All the other players are trying to catch you. They’re trying to get you. But you have the skill (and the stealth) to be miles ahead of the pack. That is because you have the edge up on the other players. It’s time to move that into your business.

There are five long lasting and easy ways to have the Entrepreneurial Edge.

1. Hunger

No, this is not the kind of hunger that you feel after a long day of swimming in the ocean. This is the kind of hunger that serves as a

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driving force for your passion.

This is the hunger, the longing, and the desire that gives you the energy you need to create your empire on three hours of sleep.

What inspires you to do what you want to do? What is the unquestionable outcome that you have to reach? What keeps pushing and motivating you time and time again?

Establishing where your hunger comes from and making it ever present in your work environment is a necessity to keep you in constant genius mode.

2. Outstanding Communication

The most important thing to remember when working with clients, leading a team, or just chatting with friends and family is to have outstanding communication.

Communication is only as effective as the response it elicits. Knowing and observing how language can have an effect on others is one of the most powerful tools in the world.

Words like “appreciate”, “respect”, and “agree” have a much more powerful effect on the listener than “but” and “understand”. Many times, we enter into conversation with the intention to respond rather than listen. We think about what we’re going to say in response to the other person, that we’re not 100% invested into the conversation.

That being said, only 7% of our communication comes down to the words we actually say. 38% of our communication is how we say the words and the other 55% is how our physical body is delivering the message. Arms crossed, stern face, and a low uninterested voice is probably

not the best combination when telling your girlfriend that you love her for the first time. On the flip side, clapping your hands, grinning from ear to ear, and having a higher tone to your voice doesn’t convey “Your dog just died” very accurately.

3. Authentic Leadership

When in business, knowing how to be an effective leader is an absolute asset. More importantly, knowing how to lead authentically is a necessity. This means being honest with yourself (and your team) on where you currently are as a company and an individual.

Whether you’re the type of leader that leads by example (a Pace Setter) or the kind who loves to constantly proclaim the vision and future of the company (the Visionary), you need to be true to you and your team.

Humans these days are smart. That’s not said in jest.

In a world of constant media and celebrity interaction, we’re becoming more and more attune to the smoke and mirrors act that used to work in the past. We see beyond the mask and into the actual crux of the situation.

It saves a lot of inter-office drama (and embarrassment) if everyone on the team is their authentic self.

4. Unshakeable Belief

This may be the most important step in getting the Entrepreneurial Edge. This is the step that quite literally makes or breaks a company.

If you were to rate yourself,

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right now, on a scale of 1-10 (one being ‘eh, not sure’ and ten being ‘duh’), how sure are you that you’re going to succeed? Take the 13 seconds it’ll take to rate yourself. Go ahead.

If your score is anywhere under a 9.872646758, I need you to sit down and reevaluate what you’re doing and why. If you’re going to succeed, you need to know that you’re the best of the best. You need to know your worth.

Think of Ghostbusters for example. Those guys knew they were the best in their field. They were so confident that they made their theme song a literal promotion for them. “If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!”

They don’t say “Oh…maybe us but if you don’t want to call us here are others you can call”.

You need to have Ghostbusters level of belief in yourself and your product!

5. Emotional Mastery

I got a little pop quiz for you.

How many emotions do you think we feel, on average, a day?

The average person feels 12 different emotions a day.

Now, bonus question. How many of those emotions do you think are positive and how many negative?

If you answered 8 negative and 4 positive, you’d be correct.

Imagine that! You feel twice as many negative emotions during the day than you do

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positive. Being able to recognize the emotions that you’re feeling, and the potential triggers for those emotions, is vital for emotional mastery. Yes, we’re human and we’ll feel things we may not like at times. But understanding those emotions and taking steps to process them is a powerful tool that can be used in any situation, not just in your business.

Your competition is only competition if you’re not winning. When you’re at the top of your game, and your team is at the top of their game, you’re winning together. That’s not to say that you should ever stop the hustle (#hustle365) but it means that your hustle is paying off. You have the edge that everyone wants and strives for. Give yourself a pat on the back. You started from the bottom and now you’re here, and all you do is win win win no matter what.

Get more information on getting the Entrepreneurial Edge with our FREE 4 Part Training Series.

Trust A lust for

by

Sunil Bali

Executive Coach, Speaker & Writer

I

’d like you to remember the last time that someone tried to sell you something? Maybe it was a car salesman, estate agent, insurance salesman or simply someone who cold called you or knocked on your door.

If you focus on doing the right thing for your customer and value the relationship above the sale, you’ll increase both your sales and customer retention rates.

I don’t want to go all woolly and New Age on you, but the “You get what you give mantra” is at the foundation of successful business relationships.

When they gave you the sales spiel and the hard sell, how did it make you feel? I suspect that your defences went up and any trace of a smile instantly left your face.

The best way to sell it transpires is to not to sell.

Traditional approaches to selling like direct mail, cold calling and aggressive closing techniques have had their day.

Whilst you might get a few sales here and there, these tactics won’t build your brand or grow your business half as well as using a trust based sales approach.

The best way to be credible is to be who you are, tell the truth and admit what you don’t know.

The best way to influence people is to not try and influence them at all.

Whether you switch on the television, read a newspaper or are surfing the net there’s a good chance that you’ll come across some sort of “crisis”

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sooner rather than later.

It might be a financial crisis, or the crisis of global warming or maybe the energy crisis.

Now I don’t wish to diminish any of these crises but the real crisis in our society today is the one of a lack of trust.

There exists a trust deficit.

In the 21st Century, the world’s most precious resource is trust.

In an age of excess supply we’re all competing for heart and mind share. But people’s attention is scarce because we’re being bombarded with information and data like never before.

A week’s worth of The Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th Century.The result of this information overload is that everyone is competing for eyeballs.

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People have less time to engage with you and even if they do engage with you, they have less time to buy into you and what you’re selling.

But the good news is that the ability to earn trust is a skill which can be learned.

Trust isn’t an intangible soft skill. It’s a measurable competency which can produce quite dramatic results.

“ When people believe in you and trust you, they will buy from you. The currency of business and life isn't money, it's trust.”

If the buyer has a trusted business partner it means that the buyer doesn’t have to waste time and energy choosing between lots of suppliers and then managing the supplier to make sure that they’re delivering what’s been agreed.

Conversely, when there’s a lack of trust everything costs more, takes more time and is more stressful.

This holds true whether there’s a lack of trust with your partner, a friend or a client.

Professional athletes and celebrities who have breached the public’s trust in them, lose millions of pounds in endorsements.

Your credit rating is really a measure of how much a financial institution trusts you to pay back a debt.

Research by the management consultancy Watson Wyatt shows that companies where there is high trust tend to outperform companies where there is low trust by almost 3 to 1.

Anything of any value, whether it’s a personal relationship, or a billion pound business, is based on trust.

The price of doing business is trust.

When people believe in you and trust you, they will buy from you.

The currency of business and life isn't money, it's trust.

Sunil Bali is the ex Head of Talent for Vodafone Group and Santander, and writes a weekly blog with over 40,000 subscribers. www.sunilbali.com

When a brand is trusted, people pay more, come back and tell others.

That’s the case with Apple.

When a salesperson is trusted, people will buy. As is the case with Sir Richard Branson at Virgin.

When a leader is trusted, people follow: Nelson Mandela The irony is that the buyer has a lust for trust.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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5

ways differentiate your

Brand Message

B

ecoming the master of your message may be one of the most powerful things you can do to differentiate your brand in this crowded market.

We have seen a phenomenal explosion in social media messaging platforms all vying for your attention to get your message out.

One of the biggest stories that is still worth watching is Facebook paying $19 billion for Whatsapp.

Another one which I am just experimenting with is Periscope, live broadcasting from your phone sharing on the twitter platform.

So, how are you differentiating your brand?

You cannot ignore this question if you want to survive as a business.

With so many platforms to carry your message, you must know what you are saying, and that is true for big companies, small one man bands, private and public companies as well as not for profits.

The difficulty is attracting people into one space for a period of time just to hear what you are saying.

One of the most successful entrepreneurs that I grew up watching and anticipating his next move with his brand was…. actually I’ll tell you later.

He has been successful at occupying visual and intellectual capital in the

experience growth magazine.

minds of the public for over forty years, expanding that brand into a variety of different niches, which we have grown to know, like and trust.

Have you guessed yet?

Let’s look at 5 ways to differentiate your brand message.

1. People buy

emotionally, not by logical reasoning.

Is your audience are buying based on how they feel about your product? No. They buy based on how your product makes them feel.

That is very different and requires you to tap into

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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by

Alex Gordon Speaking Coach

their senses. Your message has to tug at their heart strings.

experiencing, what they want and what are they dissatisfied with.

As a customer I am not interested in what special features your product has but what can it do for me in the shortest possible time.

Work this out and you will discover where they are spending their money. I used to shop for my kids, big mistake, buy what I thought they needed. This radically changed when they told me my taste “stank”.

2. Know the

audience you want to attract very well.

You want to speak to your potential audience. Many years ago when all my kids were at home I spoke to them without calling their names. As they got older they demanded that I call them by name to get their attention.

Your audience are not kids and demand that you know them, the problems they are

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I learned a valuable lesson, stop buying what they needed and allow them to buy what they want. In most cases it was what they needed disguised as what the wanted.

3. Don’t leave it to chance, plan that positive message.

Your brand has a dual-face, the external buying public

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Levi Roots was a ill-equipped business man with a compelling story. Investors took a stake in his idea because of his story. The public bought his story from the shelves of the supermarkets. Today many people cook ‘jerk chicken’ because of his story.

and the internal selling audience.

The external audience reinterprets what ever message is pushed out by the internal organising teams and that is true whether you are a big organisation or a small one.

The complete focus of the internal teams: production, sales, marketing, finance and personnel is to sell the product or service by sharing a compelling story, a story that sells the brand.

Levi Roots was a illequipped business man with a compelling story.

Investors took a stake in his idea because of his story.

The public bought his story from the shelves of the supermarkets. Today many people cook ‘jerk chicken’ because of his story.

Nearly thirty years ago the owner of Ratners, the high street chain of jewellers said his jewellery was “crap” on national TV. You can guess what happened!

So, the big question is: What do you want the public to think about your brand ?

Be purposeful in what you want them to think, do not allow them to draw their own conclusions, you might regret it.

4. Use every

opportunity to enter into a conversation.

Do not tell your buying audience what they need ask them,

5. What image is your brand conveying in the minds of your buying audience.

How would they feel if things changed?

Are you suave and sophisticated catering for an exclusive club, or those aspiring to be ?

“Ask and it will be revealed, seek and you will find, knock and it shall open”, this statement has been true for generations.

We all want to be accepted, to be part of some club or a community. Just watch the amazing growth of Facebook.

Remember the entrepreneur I was speaking about, he went from vinyl records to the space travel, talk about knocking another door. He tore it down to get in.

How many users do you think they have?

How many different groups are being catered for ?

Enter into a conversation about the problem you are solving. Customers are always looking for solutions to their challenges.

Connect with their problem and they will buy your solution.

In the early years of Microsoft, Bill Gates always allowed the public to provide valuable feedback, the buyers were the testers of his software.

The upgrades provided the solution to the last problem shared.

experience growth magazine.

It is almost as if Facebook understood what Church communities did for the public and duplicated that same feeling on line.

So, did you guess?

Sir Richard Branson has connected the buying public to Virgin for over forty years. He now has one of the most expensive hotels in paradise but when he bought it there was nothing there.

Your message has to get your audience to know like and trust you to solve their problem in the shortest possible time. Kaching!

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8 tips on how to be a Diva achiever by

Nisha Zala

Executive Coach, Speaker & Writer

I

n the era of information and technology, it’s becoming even more challenging to standout and be noticed as a women with power, influence and to create a recognisable brand as there is so much stiff competition in the marketplace.

One of the ways for a woman to execute their presence in such a overcrowded market is to become a Diva Achiever.

There are 6 key principles to becoming a recognisable authority in such a battlefield.

I call it the F.E.M.I.N.E way.

1. Fearless

A Diva needs to be courageous and strong to go beyond any limits to achieve success.

Have full faith and believe in oneself. To embrace confidence and be a risktaking rebel with a purpose to fulfil ones mission.

2. Energetic

A Diva needs to fill uplifted with passion that will carry her forward to continue her growth and development when there are obstacles in the way. Overcome the hardest knocks that life throws at her and empower change.

Be motivated to push boundaries and become physically fit to fulfil one’s purpose through raising energy levels to go out and conquer to reach her very best.

4. Impact

A Diva needs to have a good set of beliefs and values that they can utilise and draw upon in order to create an big impact. Become resourceful and standout to be featured as an authoritative figure in the way they present themselves to the public by what they wear, act and do through the choice of her words and actions and create consistent improvements.

5. Network 3. Message

A Diva needs to have a clear message, the more clearer her message the more she can inspire more people. Become a visionary leader to serve a higher purpose. Be able to make a difference through her language and words that will reflect positively in changing certain processes, events and ready to bring the message within to life.

experience growth magazine.

A Diva needs to have the brilliance to network and make connections that will help her carry her message and vision forward. It’s important to gather valuable contacts that will enhance and assist in the process of becoming an authoritative figure. She must have the ability to communicate her vision to connect with key players to help her move forward in her mission.

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“ A Diva needs to create a winning team around her by building good relationships with people.”

6. Impact

A Diva needs to have a good set of beliefs and values that they can utilise and draw upon in order to create an big impact. Become resourceful and standout to be featured as an authoritative figure in the way they present themselves to the public by what they wear, act and do through the choice of her words and actions and create consistent improvements.

8. Engage

A Diva needs to create a winning team around her by building good relationships with people. To engage with them via social media, on stage or even in person. Be a confident communicator and speaker to reach out to many people who will help with her growth of delivering the message out to the world.

Be warm, friendly and inviting!

As you can see, it’s a worthwhile challenge for any women to compete not just with the women, but also in a mixed environment with powerful men too. A Diva must be able to create a place where her voice is heard and she can standout with passion, purpose and radiate her beauty to be noticed.

7. Network

A Diva needs to have the brilliance to network and make connections that will help her carry her message and vision forward. It’s important to gather valuable contacts that will enhance and assist in the process of becoming an authoritative figure. She must have the ability to communicate her vision to connect with key players to help her move forward in her mission.

The F.E.M.I.N.I.NE. Way!

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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Issue 6. Summer 2015

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Are you a

Chicken or Antiques kind of business

by

H

Laura Moxham

Google Search Engine Specialist

ow often do you ‘Google’ something, only to be presented with a list of unimaginative “samey” ads. It does not inspire you to take action, am I right? Or do you sometimes come across a website that connects and talks to you like they really understand what you are after? That is branding and innovation. They are integral functions for any progressive business.

Branding is not about making your target audience pick you over other competition within your field. It is about connecting with your potential client so they see you as the only company to help them in solving their problem. It will connect your potential customers emotionally, as well as visually and compels them to take action.

Innovation, well if you don’t have it you’re dead in the water, my friend! It’s about giving your customers an experience that they won’t receive at other businesses.

What are you doing differently that’s value to your clients? If you find this, you will have customers eating out the palm of your hand and they’ll be prepared to pay more because of it!

A cocktail of innovation and branding are a tool to ensure your business stands out from the crowd and is producing consistent leads on tap, whilst maintaining your client base to come back to you time and time again because the competition don’t “get it”.

After all, that’s why you’re in business – to get and keep customers. It’s not rocketscience.

So recently I was at the Business Growth Summit where I was hanging out with Frank Kern, ah-hem, the world’s most paid internet marketer. Turned over $6m in 6 short months. To get all fired up and on my game ready for the day ahead I went for a morning run. I was flabbergasted as on my run (cum-jog) I passed all sorts of pizza and chicken shops with fairly downmarket appearance trying to attract customers. I ran merely 100 yards down the road where I stumbled upon (don’t worry not literally) the most beautiful antique shops. They has styling, beautiful unique pieces in the windows and were simply mesmerising. If I had my credit card I would have whipped it out and got spending right there. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is branding and innovation.

Issue 6. Summer 2015

The antiques shop drew lured my intrigue and had my attention straight away. Well your business is no different.

What’s your website, shop window, staff, pamphlets saying about you. Are they screaming ‘Stop what you’re doing right now. Yes, RIGHT NOW. You have found exactly what you need and there’s simply no-one on this planet better to serve YOU. Period.”

So come on, don’t be a pizza or chicken shop. What are you doing to makes your business stand out from the crowd to TRULY give them what they want? Once you have this are on your way to drawing new leads into your business whilst maintaining customers and blossom from a pizza and chicken shop into a beautiful antique shop.

Laura Moxham wants to help you grow your business by releasing the power of Google Adwords.

www.yourbusinessangels.co.uk

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How customers use their

Multiple Brains by

Cheryl Nankoo

Life & Business Coach

“ we use our head, heart and gut brains to make important decisions�

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to make

Buying Decisions

W

hat triggers that urge for your customer to make a buying decision?

Where does that electrical impulse come from that allows a customer to commit to a proposal or purchase a product?

I decided to spend some time analysing what has triggered my customers to make buying decisions. Having recently qualified as an mBIT (multiple brain integration techniques) coach, which looks at how we use our head, heart and gut brains to make important decisions, my main interest was in how my customers use their three brains.

Sales people know the importance of marketing, branding, features and benefits of our products/services.

Analytically, logically and rationally there may be no reason why anyone wouldn’t choose to go with our offerings, but all of this just appeals to the customer’s head (i.e. their mind).

My research shows that buying decisions initially involves a lot of head-based processes but just before the decision is made the customer’s gut feels it is the right thing to do.

The customer’s heart also plays a very important role because customers buy from people they have a connection

with – a sales person they build good rapport with that they can trust.

As sales people it’s relatively easy to understand a situation, an issue, a client’s perceived need and tailor our product or service to meets those needs.

Marketing people spend a lot of time on promotions, adverts and processes that will identify, promote and solve issues and meet client’s needs.

These needs must be met in our products or services because our customer’s will be looking for these features and benefits – this is their logical head brain working.

However, my research and experiences shows that what turns a prospect into a lifelong relationship as a customer is a heartfelt connection.

It’s rather old school thinking in sales to believe that it’s all to do with the number of calls, frequency of visits or the amount of times our target market has seen our message.

As sales people we need to overcome old school thinking and go back to the reason why we got into the work that we do.

be real throughout an organisation.

Sales people can have the best processes, scripts, marketing and persuasion skills but if they don’t care and have a clear sense of purpose about their role, they will struggle to build true rapport and have that heartfelt connection with their customers.

My customers have told me that when a sales person feels genuine to them and demonstrates compassion that they then build a stronger connection.

From my own experience, I know how it feels to connect with a customer when I am selling a service that I truly believe in that I know will make a real difference.

When I walk away from a client meeting that really moved the ball forward and I feel that the client really got it, it feels like everyone involved has a bond towards a common goal.

Knowing our sense of purpose and why we believe that the service or product we are offering will make a real difference for our customers is key.

Caring about what we are selling and caring for the customer has to permeate and

Issue 6. Summer 2015

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It’s Impossible! “

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scoffed pride

It’s

“

“

screamed Risky!experience

It’s

“

It’s

“

Pointless! stated reason “

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“

Worth a try! suggested my heart

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The Social Media

Masterclass

10

with

Ways

social media consultant, internet mentor & co founder of commsaxis.com

to drive

engagement

Technology

O

ne of the most common questions we get asked at Comms Axis is how to drive more engagement on Facebook, particularly as Facebook’s algorithms change frequently and of late have resulted in less of your fans seeing your posts.

Frustrating indeed!

without Advertising

The good news here of course is that by improving what we see in our newsfeed, it should therefore be more relevant and targeted.

This could be a welcome addition for brands and SMEs and in theory should help increase

engagement levels, although it is very early days and time will tell!

But as always with Facebook it’s best not to rely solely on their algorithms and there are lots of things you can do which can help increase your engagement.

Facebook is always trying to improve the news feed so their recent changes that they announced on the 12th June, “Taking Into Account Time Spent on Stories” come as no surprise. Simply put, newsfeeds will now show you content that matters to you. Not just by your actions i.e. clicks, likes and shares but also by your inaction – from how you view content and how long you spend reading it. It does sound slightly Big Brotheresque. So bear that in mind when you hover over something for too long! experience growth magazine.

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Below are some of our favourite tips:

1. Quizzes

Ever been tempted to do the latest quiz on Buzzfeed?

Buzzfeed provides daily quizzes and it’s transformed their publication and made them very quickly a strong contender against the likes of Huffington Post and Mashable. Of their 200+ million monthly visitors 75% of their traffic comes as a result of quizzes.

2. Current events

If ever you’re looking for some inspiration then the Innocent Smoothies fan page always delivers. Their fan page is creative, engaging and fun! Their marketing and messaging very cleverly reflects what their brand is all about.

Timely events like the Marathon below, recent elections or just the day of the week are great opportunities to drive engagement.

Newsfeeds will now show you content that matters to you.

3. Quotes

Quotes inspire, motivate and are a fantastic way to drive likes, shares and engagement.

People naturally gravitate towards them and they are one of the most shared forms of content on Facebook.

4. Competitions

Competitions are very popular and can generate a ton of engagement. However it’s important that you provide the right prize. Cash prizes can be a great incentive but it opens up the audience far and wide and makes it much less targeted. So always think about who you’re trying to reach and what you’re objectives are.

5. Questions

Ask and you shall receive.

Asking questions is a great way to drive engagement as well as learn more about what people think about your brand (by asking them!). Be careful though as there is nothing worse than asking a question and no one answering it!

6. Offers

Everyone wants to know about the latest sales so don’t be shy and share the news on your Fan Page… for best results ensure you have a time sensitive offer. Daily offers tend to lose their popularity so consider the frequency.

7. Facts

Facts can be interesting, and a little bit fun. They are great for engagement and particularly good for generating shares.

8. Awareness

Charities have a big challenge when it comes to social media marketing, getting the balance right between awareness, compassion, fund raising and the feel good factor can be tricky. Hats off to The Breast Cancer fan page as they seamlessly tick all the boxes and have created a highly engaged community with a variety of different posts.

9. Fun

It can be worthwhile for a brand to show their fun side.

Krispy Kreme’s video below is a simple, cost effective and fun way to engage with their audience.

10. Pictures/Videos

Getting people to take pictures of themselves with your product is a brand’s dream come true. And selfies are becoming one of the most popular ways to do this. People just can’t help taking pictures of themselves and posting them online, especially if they are incentivised by a Facebook competition to do so! Dove’s short film “Selfies” goes one step further and embraces this beautifully. Their campaign was a huge success and their film debuted at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

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Issue 6. Autumn 2015

experience growth magazine.

eg

reps is what makes muscles grow. “

The last three or four

This area of pain divides

the champ from someone who is

not a champion

�

ion Arnold Schwarzenegger

Actor, Politician, former Mr Universe

eg

magazine | UK

fix your

5

characteristics of a great business opportunity

financial

future by

Colin Tomlin

Publisher, Author, Speaker

I

came across a rather shocking statistic a few months ago.

So, how can you ensure that you are not in the last 2 categories?

1. People focused

Currently, out of every 100 workers reaching retirement at 65 years old:

One of the most common ways to create wealth and gain financial independence is to build a business.

Great entrepreneurs like Sir James Dyson and Anita Roddick both started businesses to change people’s lives.

With the internet it is even easier to start and grow a business today.

Sir James was passionate about helping people get rid of the pesky vacuum cleaner bags.

Here are 5 characteristics of a great business whatever age you are whatever category you fall into.

Anita was obsessed with providing products that helped people consume beauty products in an ethical way.

· · · ·

1 is wealthy 4 are financially independent 41 are still working & 54 are dead broke.

The really scary thing is that this statistic hasn’t really changed in 100 years.

experience growth magazine.

A great business is always people focused.

Issue 6. Autumn 2015

eg

The product is really a means to and end.

2. Product based

There has to be a tangible product that can be consumed.

Apple makes great products that are synonymous with elegance and ease of use.

Find a way to ‘productize’ what you are offering. If you are a trainer then create a training event or better still an online training product that can be consumed without you physically being there.

5. Portable

We live in a connected world and the internet has really revolutionized the way business is done.

In our case we publish an online magazine which can be accessed on any device, anywhere, anytime.

That means people can engage

with us at any time and we can run our business from any physical location with a smartphone and a tablet.

So, what is your BiG idea?

Contact me to see how we can help you with a FREE Financial Game Plan.

Think of it as the vehicle to get that BiG idea underway.

3. Patent friendly

A great business has a product that is unique that cannot easily be copied. If the product is a commodity then it has to have some component which is unique. Lots of companies make mobile phones, tablets & laptops. However, given the choice most people would choose Apple.

Why? Because they are known for superior product design and ease of use. That is what makes them stand out.

4. Price positive

This one is self explanatory.

There is no point selling a product that costs more to produce than the price to the consumer.

In no time you will not have a business.

A great business should have a healthy profit margin with which to re invest into the business as well as reward the founders/owners for taking the risk.

Book a Strategy session for your FREE Financial Game Plan

Issue 6. Autumn 2015

experience growth magazine.

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from

Dynamic Financial Coach & Author,

Barbara Anderson

Learn and understand: 路 How to be more effective with your money 路 How to let your money start working for you 路 What is the best type of Protection for you 路 Credit Options & more...

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People

who are

crazy enough to think they can

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“

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us! experience

&

growth.

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