for UK Business Owners who are serious about becoming super-successful

Pssssssst...

Want to know a

SECRET?
TH

DE
INSI

ON
M
S
HI

Entrepreneur of the
Month Page 4
Lessons from the
Pyramids Page 4
Creasers Got 99
Problems Page 10
Success Story Special:
Kip McGrath Page 12
How to Get More Stuff
Done Page 16

QUOTES
of the

MONTH

Youre hiding your light under a bushel. It

was the comment from one Masterminder to
another at a recent session.
The recipient of this particular piece
of feedback had just been explaining
how a new customer had recently
come in and explained that, whilst
she had lived less than 400 yards
from this particular business for the
last 5 years, she had no idea it was
there.
This, of course, is a positive piece
of news in so far as it means
that there are likely to be other,
similarly ignorant people in the
neighbourhood who, with the right
amount of marketing, could be made
aware and, hey presto, the business
grows as a result.
But its also a stark warning.
You see, we all live in our own little
worlds.

We mix and mingle, online and offline, with the same group of people,
week in, week out.
For some of us this group is quite
large, for others its a little smaller
but, in all cases, its inadequate if
were to achieve the goals for our
business. We need to amplify our
presence. To expand our circles. In
short, more people need to know
about us.
Now, of course, Im aware here that
Im stating the bleeding obvious, but
that doesnt make it any less right.
The truth is that every member of
the Entrepreneurs Circle has ideal,
perfect customers who are ready
to rock and roll and would spend
money with us if only they knew
we existed.

Your ability to learn faster than your competition

is your only sustainable competitive advantage.
Arie De Gues, one of the worlds most effective business strategists

Triumph is often nearest when

defeat seems inescapable.
B C Forbes, Founder of Forbes Magazine

entrepreneurscircle.co.uk

June 2014

helping businesses grow.''

''The UKs largest Membership Organisation dedicated to

WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

Those existing circles that we operate
in, that we meet with and talk to at
our networking events, that we see
repeatedly interacting with us on
Facebook, you see, theyre not enough.
Our circle needs to be growing.

For many of us, the reason people

havent bought from us isnt because
theyve considered us and looked at
us and decided were not for them. Its
because they have no idea that we even
exist.

This is even more pertinent and relevant

if youre one of the popular guys or
gals. If youre one of those who are
often at the centre of the conversation
or interaction. If youve got a big
personality... Because we all get
comfortable with the familiarity.

Of course, fixing this really is all about

the marketing. Working out how we get
out there and connect with the right
people (key word that, right) isnt easy
but it is doable. We can crack it.

We forget that the most useful thing we

could do today is forge a relationship
with a dozen new people whod never
heard of us when they got out of bed
this morning.
The truth is that too many businesses,
my own included, are a well kept secret
from a significant chunk of our ideal
target markets. And its our job to fix
that.

Your BGAs can help and, indeed, the

May sessions on effective use of PR
have, I know, been very well received
and acted on by many members,
which is hugely relevant in this regard.
But ultimately, responsibility sits with
you to either fix and solve this yourself
or go out there and get the appropriate
help.
If theres more that I can do, please let
me know.

It might take more heads than our own

to work out the solution its one of
the main benefits of Mastermind, but
the pursuit of the answer is surely the
elixir and holy grail that all of us should
have at the forefront of our mind every
morning especially when we start our
90 minutes.
There are several articles in this months
edition that may help you in this regard.
In particular, I commend to you my little
piece on Why Google Adwords is so
Important Its Not What You Think.

Whats in a Club Sandwich?

Every month our BGAs hold Club Lunches. They provide a chance for members to discuss the
topic of that months meetings, the Club+ material for that month or any other queries and
questions that crop up; as well as a bite to eat, obviously! This month BGA for the North West
and Yorkshire Jay Allen is tucking in
I find that theres something really
exciting about a Club Lunch.
Whilst I enjoy every day working in the
EC, since starting club lunches there
is always something to look forward
to each Friday. Im not sure if its the
members who attend, the calibre of
conversation, the uncertainty of what
youre going to get asked and which
direction the debate will veer off into,
or all of the above that create such an
enthusiastic, intriguing and inspirational
atmosphere.
Within a few hours of the tickets going
live theyre almost always all gone, with
2-3 on a reserve list! I know other BGAs
will do things their own way, but at my
club lunches I sit in the middle of the
table and guests. We then either run
through a series of hot seats (one during
starter, a second during main course
and a third - and sometimes fourth,
with coffee) or well concentrate on a
topic informed by that months Club+
material.
2

A few weeks ago, at a Club Lunch,

everyone wanted to know more about
Social Media and the how to of it all,
so we spent the majority of the time
really getting into the nuts and bolts of
what is working and what isnt and how
to resolve some quite technical issues.
However, at my latest lunch, people
wanted to debate and discuss the
Done-For-You Marketing, which created
a great lively and healthy debate as to
what members have been implementing
and how successful its been.
Everyone who attends gets stuck in
(to both the food and the debate) and
offers insights that prove really beneficial
to the group; the conversation usually
continues well into several coffees
afterwards. Every lunch reaffirms just
how valuable these meetings are, as
they spark loads of new ideas and also
strengthen some great relationships
within the EC.

If you havent already booked onto a

club lunch, do so; you only have to see
the flood of positive comments on the
Club Facebook page and discussion with
Inside Track members ref their lunches
to know of its benefit.

And if youre not yet a club member

upgrade now by simply calling
0121 765 5551 or by emailing
Andreas@nigelbotterill.com

GOOGLE SECRETS

Why Adwords Are

So Important To You
...and I Promise You Its Not What You Think!
If youve been around the Circle for
more than a few weeks then youll be
familiar with my pathological obsession
with the triumvirate of Market, Message,
Media as the critical three steps (in that
order) when developing your Marketing
Plan.
The principles very simple; you define,
as tightly and specifically as possible,
exactly who your target customers are
(market); you then work out what your
utterly compelling message to them is;
and then finally you establish the best
and most effective routes by which you
can communicate that message to that
market.
Its not rocket science but it is ignored
by many business owners who then
wonder why theyre not growing at the
rate they would like
Now, for the purposes of my very
significant point today Im going to break
my own rules and offer up a template
set of media which could apply to any
business. Its a dangerous start point,
but people love ready-made simple
solutions, so here goes. Heres my top
10 Marketing Media (ranked in order of
importance):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Google Adwords.
Email.
Direct mail.
Banner ads and ad networks.
Facebook ads and social media.
Affiliates and referrals.
PR.
Print advertising.
Radio advertising.
SEO.

Now, that list comes with a huge

number of caveats so please dont tell
me Ive got things in the wrong order or
that you think, for your business, there's
another marketing pillar that should be
on the list.

I know that will all be true. The only

element of that list that I care about
regarding its positioning (and indeed
whether its even on the list at all) is the
item that I put at number one. Google
Adwords. And the reason that its there
is that, when you do it properly, your
learnings and experience with Adwords
shape and drive all the other elements
on that list.
What do I mean? When lets say you set
up an Adwords campaign. You choose
your keywords and you throw up your
first ad.
Lets just suppose that you start out with
a 0.5% click through rate. Thats your
starting point. Heres what you do next:
1.

Initially youre getting, say, 15 clicks

a day, but instead of just running
one ad, you start to test two ads
against each other. Four days later
youve got 60 clicks in total and you
declare a winner. Your click through
rate has doubled to almost 1%.

2. Youre now getting over 30 clicks

a day. You now repeat the process,
testing ads against each other and
within a week or so youll be able to
declare a split test winner everyday.
3. Dont forget, shifting your click
through rate from 0.5% to 1%
doubles your response rates. Hold
onto this thought because Ill come
back to it later. As your number
of clicks increases we can start to
improve other elements of our ads.
After a couple of weeks youll have
something like 400 people click
through from your Adwords and
lets say 10% of them have opted in
to your newsletter, or downloaded
your report, or asked for a quote,
etc.

4. What you do now is start split

testing different opt in pages. You
try different headlines or re-write
some of the bullets.
5. Within a couple of weeks you
can realistically double your opt
in rate from 10% to 20% and the
compound impact of these changes
is now starting to have a material
difference on your business.
6. We then take it to the next stage
and start looking at the number of
people who go from your opt in
pages to your order forms, say. You
get the picture.
7. What you then do is take all the
learnings that you can gain so
quickly and scientifically from
Adwords and you translate them
into all the other things in that
marketing list.
8. So your emails start to use the same
headlines as the ads that converted
best. Your affiliate and referral offers
will be shaped by the things that
doubled your opt in rate on your
landing pages, etc.
9. In effect, your Adwords experience
and refinement is your laboratory
for working out exactly what it is
that triggers the right responses
and gets the right actions from your
potential customers.
And thats why Adwords is at the top
of my tree: Its why were continually
refining and testing and why (in my
own humble opinion) not running
Adwords at all is a behaviour completely
incongruent with your goals.
Any business owner with
ambition to grow
should be using them.
I hope that helps
3

ANCIENT MARKETING LESSON OF THE MONTH

One of the highlights of our

trip to Egypt this Easter was an
excursion to Cairo to see the
Great Pyramids at Giza and the
Egyptian Museum, which houses
all the amazing artifacts from
Tutankhamens tomb.
It was a long day, with a flight into
Cairo and then a private tour that I had
booked for the six of us (Sue, me and
the four children, including Fabian who
is only seven). Our tour guide was a
very entertaining Egyptian chap with
the unlikely name of Robbie (no, I dont
think it was real!)
Robbie looked after us really well - he
made us feel very special and having
toured the centre of Cairo and spent
a couple of hours in the museum, we
headed out towards the pyramids, which
we were all very excited about seeing
(they really are quite incredible by the
way).
It makes you feel very humble and small
to see these colossal structures (all the
photographs Id ever seen completely
diminish the scale of them) and climbing
inside the Great Pyramid all the way to
the burial chamber is something that I
think will stay with me forever (although
its not for the claustrophobic) However,
I digress
On the way out of Cairo to the Pyramids,
Robbie explained that he was going to
stop off at the International Papyrus
Centre, where he thought the children
would really enjoy painting some
Hieroglyphic characters on papyrus. In
addition, he said, there were some great
things for us to see.
4

Now, I cottoned on straightaway that

there was likely to be a commercial
element to this stop off, but we were
having a great day, everyone was in
good spirits and I was happy to go
along with it.
The driver of our little minibus (there
were only the six of us on board, dont
forget), pulled up outside a very nondescript building, which did indeed
have above its doorway the heading;
International Papyrus Centre- and
heres the first lesson; Calling itself that
gave the establishment a sound, at least,
of authority and respectability. In truth, it
was one of more than a dozen papyrus
shops in and around the Pyramids that
we saw, but this was the one where
Robbie obviously had his deal and, after
all, it had the official sounding name!
We went inside and it was very
beautifully kitted out; very deep pile
carpet, beautifully cool air conditioning
and the walls were all hung with
hundreds of classical Egyptian paintings,
all on papyrus, all images of ancient
Egypt. Some were small, but many were
huge. We were greeted by a lovely lady,
whose name I forget. She welcomed us
in, asked the children what their names
were and straightaway sent one of her
staff to bring us cold refreshing drinks.
This was the first really smart thing that
they were doing here. By providing us
with free drinks and going out of their
way to welcome us, they were starting
to put into play what I call The Law of
Reciprocity.
This is a universal law, which says that if
you do something nice for me then I feel
obliged to do something nice for you.

In 99.9% of cases its a law thats very

effective and works very well. In short,
the second we walked in the door she
was teeing us up to spend money!
Once we had finished our drinks, she
gave the children a demonstration of
how papyrus was made (it was really
quite interesting) and they were able
to lay a few pieces of papyrus down
themselves. She then got them special
ink pens and showed them how to
write their names in Hieroglyphics on
papyrus- which is pretty cool when
youre 7, or even 13!
What was happening here was more
Law of Reciprocity. She was providing
free childcare, education and fun for
my children - who all warmed to her
whilst Sue and I were able to browse
around the beautiful papyrus pictures on
the wall! You can see exactly what was
happening, cant you?
Once shed got the children happily
inking away on papyrus, she came
across to join Sue and I and explained
that the very big pictures cost 2,000
Egyptian pounds, the medium sized
ones were 1,200 Egyptian pounds and
the smaller ones were only 800 Egyptian
pounds. However, because we were
friends of Robbie (!!!) she would be able
to reduce these prices for us; that there
was real value to be had if we bought
more than one papyrus picture and that
they made great gifts for family back
home.
She explained in detail how her bundling
worked (basically, the more I bought the
less each one cost) and I couldnt help
but be impressed on the master class we
were being given on effective selling.

Shed kicked off with the Law of

Reciprocity and now she was following it
through with an exemplary performance
of how to package and bundle your
products up. Her piece de resistance
was the introduction of a deadline when
Sue suggested that we might want
to think about the pictures whilst we
viewed the Pyramids. The lady explained
that we would be going back to the
airport via a different route and therefore
if we wanted to take advantage of these
amazing opportunities that shed given
us today, we would have to make the
decision now whilst we were in the
shop. It was very low-key high pressure,
if you get what I mean.
Never at any point did we feel pressured
but she was fully in control of the
situation. Our entire time in that shop
was controlled by her, and was to her
agenda, BUT IT DIDNT FEEL LIKE THAT
TO US, because she did it so well.
There are more lessons to come: She
then spoke to the children and asked
them which pictures they liked best.
This is a really cunning sales technique,
because of course what happened then
was that the children, having done some
Hieroglyphics of their own on papyrus
were very keen to each have a papyrus
picture for their bedrooms. A pincer
movement was now occurring as all four
of my children were whizzing round the
International Papyrus Centre deciding
which picture they wanted on their
bedroom walls. She had very subtly and
cleverly instigated this.
And so it was that we ended up buying
three papyrus pictures that we didnt
need, didnt want and had no intention
of buying when we set out that day.

She cut me a bundle which was a hugely

reduced price - but I still spent almost
200, so she did quite well. What was
interesting is that two of the children
chose pictures that had the scope to
be personalized and heres where the
upsells came in. Having done the deal
on the pictures, she explained that
if we wanted the two pictures to be
personalized with our childrens names
then her artist would be able to do that
straightaway for us but wed have to pay
the artist separately and that her price
was the equivalent of 10 per picture
- so she took another 10% off me with
that.
And then when she asked me how
I wanted to pay and I proffered my
Barclaycard, she said Oh, what a shame
you havent got cash, well have to
charge an extra 3% for the credit card
charges. Now, at this point, the pictures
were all unwrapped, the personalization
was underway - I had nowhere to go,
she took the additional 3% as well.
Reading this back it would be easy to get
the perception that we were pressured
into buying this papyrus. That is not true.
The reason Im writing about this and
sharing the story with you is because the
whole 35 to 45 minutes that this took
was a lovely, pleasant experience, for all
of us. We never felt in any way pressured
at all.
We didnt feel bad about spending the
money - I didnt even have any buyers
remorse to be honest (after all it was
only 200), but the way she steered us
from complete non-buyers when we
entered that establishment, to spending
200 with her less than half an hour
later was genuinely superb.

I told her so as well- and offered her

a job if she ever came to England. Id
definitely employ someone with that
amount of skill and craft in their sales
techniques.
Later on in the day, I wandered
into another papyrus shop and the
experience was completely different.
No one spoke to me, I asked the prices,
I was given them and, obviously, I didnt
buy.
You know, selling is an honourable
profession. Nothing happens in business
until somebody buys something. One
of the reasons so many businesses
experienced a downturn in the recession
is because, for many years, we were
able to be complacent and lazy and not
have to worry about selling. People were
buying lots of stuff, fuelled by debt. In
2005 and 2006 you didnt have to be an
expert at selling to make lots of sales.
But you do now.
The world has changed and that lady
in the International Papyrus Centre
could teach many, many good British
businesses the tools and techniques that
they need to know, learn and implement
if theyre going to flourish in the months
and years ahead.
Please dont neglect your sales skills and
especially putting them into practice.
It really was a salutary lesson for me
and very worthy of inclusion as our
Marketing Lesson of the Month.

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

JUNE 2014 WINNER

Jez Rose
Jez Rose joined the EC in November 2011
and his first year was a whirlwind of activity.

Between the implementation of new marketing pillars,

Adwords, setting up new systems, banner retargeting and
learning to use social media more effectively, Jez barely
noticed the remarkable results; he had gained 80 new
clients and increased his turnover by 200%.

Something interesting happened on

1st January 2014. Throughout 2013 I
had been approached by a number of
managers and individuals on executive
leadership boards asking me to coach
them on motivation, mindset and strategy
implementation, so I sat down and began
pulling my own resources and knowledge
together in order to create behaviourally
efficacious plans in response to their
requests.
I always ensure that the advice that I give
and the techniques that I present actually
work, so I put them into practice and
began creating a global strategy for my
business in 2014.
What better place to start than the Six
Pack? I poured over every single page of
the Six Pack folders and every single back
issue of the Circular. When the Circular
comes through, I read through it and bend
down the corners of pages that interest
me or stand out; it might be something to
swipe and deploy or it could be a strategy
that would work well for me.
Then, I put the Circular away and at
regular intervals throughout the year I pull
on resources to help guide projects and
decisions.
A key thing that I took from reading
through the Six Pack was Nigels advice
about taking a moment to stand still, take
stock and take drastic measures if your
numbers dont add up.
In 2013 I had 4 fairly large businesses but
the most profitable, and the one that I
enjoyed working with the most, was not
the one that received the most of my time.
6

These were great signs of success by any means, but the

start of 2014 marked a change for Jez; he was determined
to get serious, super serious, about focusing his attention
on one business, The Behaviour Expert, and making that
business the best. With the news that he has increased
his business turnover to 500,000, wed say that he was
making great steps, which is why hes our Entrepreneur of
the Month for the month of June. Heres how he did it.

The other businesses had, unknowingly,

become time vampires - so I sold them.
The last sale was completed in February
2014 and in just those few weeks since
the remaining company has already
seen significant acceleration in output.
Focusing on just one business has given
me the opportunity to develop three new
services and add a premium product, as
a direct result of which weve seen sales
of more than 10,000 within just two
months of implementation.
A big revelation for me since joining
the EC is the concept of 90 minutes of
protected time every single day. To start
out with I only did this when I needed to,
but now I do it seven days a week, without
fail. Sometimes, if time is tight or Im
going to be doing a lot of travelling then
Ill arrange for a driver, or ask Mrs Jez to
drive, so that I can do my 90 minutes on
the move.
Im deadly serious about the impact that
scheduled, protected time has made to
my business, and to my life, because if Ive
done my 90 minutes, then I feel like Ive
achieved the number one must do on
my list.
Its those 90 minutes that have been vital
in securing me the time, and opportunities
to get implementing - and thats the key.
You can read books and watch videos
until youre old and grey but at some point
youve got to stop and put it all into action.
Were all looking for the magic wand; the
magic pill that will do it all for us but, in
reality, were guarding an empty safe.

There arent any more secrets - all thats

left to do is to put them into action. Take a
printed newsletter/magazine for example.
In the last 9 months, as a direct result of
sending a monthly printed magazine to
my clients, I have added 28,500 to my
bottom line. I know this because I asked
why the client had scheduled work with
us, three times, after not hearing from
them for 6 or more years.
They told me that it was because theyd
forgotten all about me, but now, due to
the magazine, they dont get the chance
and have actually been reminded of what
theyre missing out on by not working with
us.
Alongside this, we also send out regular
emails and lumpy mail to stay in touch
and position our key services. So far
this year this has resulted in a 32,000
contract, with another 11,000 contract
coming in as a result of spending 200
on personalized cards to cold clients who
wed lost touch with.
When I couldnt find the names of a few
key prospect contacts that I really wanted
to get in touch with, I sent out a Guess
Who? boardgame (thanks to fellow EC
member Sian Nisbett for the idea!) with a
post it note on it, attached to an antelope
(yes - thats not a typo!) and complete
with a cover letter and copy of our client
magazine.
One was sent to Italy and another four
went to addresses in the UK. As a result
of those five packages, I am now in
discussions about a sponsorship deal
worth 45,000 a year.

Ive also outsourced nearly every

role that I dont have to do,
including a few that I could do but
dont need to, which has freed me
up to keep a closer eye on strategy,
spend more time building key
relationships and also developing
new services. Its also improved
efficiency and productivity, too.
For a long time I really resisted
outsourcing anything at all, and at
one point I didnt think that I had
the money to, but I bit the bullet
because I soon realised that I had
reached capacity- that nothing
more could get done with just me
working in the business.
Fortunately, I found the right
people and theyre now critical to
the smooth running of the business
today.
Three years ago the business was
turning over a humble 30,000,
whereas now were on track to
reach a 500,000 turnover by
the end of this financial year. But
it didnt just happen by reading
things. Its been long hours, hard
work and persistent effort. Ive had
to regularly amend strategies and
get my head down to JFDI.

My second book is due out

summer of 2014, Im touring a oneman theatre show through 2015
(which debuts on 26th September
2014 in Worthing if you fancy a
fun evening out!) and weve been
developing a TV show, which is set
to air at the beginning of 2015.
The start of 2014 has been action
packed for me, to say the least, but
the most important thing for me
has been to stay focused.
I have very clear goals, strategies for
those goals and after consolidating
the masses of knowledge available
to me (The Vault, old editions of
The Circular, The Six Pack and
various business books) Ive been
able to find the space to breathe
and finally start putting things into
action.

you!
It could be

We are always on the hunt

for the next Entrepreneur
of the Month winner and as
the voice of the balls says...
IT COULD BE YOU!
To enter yourself (or to
nominate another member)
simply send an email to me
at nigel@nigelbotterill.com
telling me what you have
done in your business that
makes you worthy of this
prestigious prize.

The results, however, are better

than I ever would have imagined.

07

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Granny gathers momentum...

At the EC, were always keeping a watchful eye on our members. We love hearing
about your successes (and at times, the not-so successes) and sometimes we
feel that the spotlight should be shone on one member in particular.
This month, were shining the light on Snezana Knowles and her business
Grannys Secret. The start of 2014 has been great for her business, Grannys
Secret, so far and we cant wait to see what shell do next
Once you have the interest of the
customer, its all about keeping that
momentum and holding onto it until
you make the sale or close the deal,
Snezana told us when asked why the first
quarter of 2014 has been so successful
for her business, Grannys Secret.
After beginning the month of April with
a nomination as a New Business Finalist
for Women In Business for Bristol & Bath
and a Bronze Artisan Marmalade Makers
Award under her belt (or in her hamper!),
the start of 2014 was off to a great start
for Snezana - things were about to get
better though!

This is a great opportunity for Grannys

Secret to appear in front of masses of
potential customers, as there are many
El Corte Ingles stores across Spain and
Portugal.
However, in order to close the deal and
please the customer, Snezana had to
redesign product stickers, send samples
and translate all emails to Spanish using
the help of Google Translator. No one
ever said it would be easy, did they?

Snezana rounded off the first third of the

year by landing two new international
customers. Getting their business wasnt
without its challenges, but Snezana
attributes closing the deals to her new
determination to just say yes, even
when the logistics arent completely
finalised.

After receiving a 3,000 order from a

customer who had purchased a large
pallet of fruit juices (just to put this
into perspective, the average customer
orders 10 cases, this customer ordered
178!) for his chain of restaurants over
in Luxembourg, Snezana just said yes
once again, whilst behind the scenes
she was busy sourcing international
shipment as well as packing and
dispatching the stock within 3 working
days.

Her first new customer was the owner

of the Spanish department store El Corte
Ingles, who wished to place a first order
of 30,000 after being bowled over by
Snezanas personality and passion for
food.

To top things off, Snezana recently

signed a new supplier contract and
received two purchase orders from
Lakeland worth 15,000. Lakeland has
been my dream shop for ages and is my
ideal target, she tells us.

Snezana Knowles
Grannys Secret
www.grannyssecret.co.uk

By happy accident, Snezana recently

entered Britains Next Top Supplier, a
competition organized by Ocado. After
entering, Snezana realised that the
competition was only for suppliers who
produced their food in Britain. Seeing as
Grannys Secret is not produced in the
UK, Snezana assumed that she would
receive a Sorry but email from Ocado.
However, she actually received an email
saying that Grannys Secret was not
eligible for entry as it lacked the required
certificates.
Snezana got back to them straightaway
to tell them that she did in fact have the
relevant certificates and that it was a
shame that her products hadnt caught
anyones eye this time. Ten minutes
later she had received an apology from
Ocado and an invitation to a meeting
called Grannys at Ocado.
Whilst Snezana is still finalizing things
with Ocado, this is a great lesson on
how a simple mistake can lead to a great
opportunity.
Huge congratulations from everyone at
the EC Snezana - what a fantastic few
weeks!

g this very article,

PS: Whilst we were in the process of writin
t would now
Secre
Snezana emailed with news that Grannys
oppable!
unst
is
ny
Gran
that
be listed on Amazon. It seems

Theres only one Nigel Botterill... or is there?

You would be forgiven for thinking
that they broke the mould when
they made Nige, but weve recently
had intelligence that perhaps
suggests otherwise...

Hes a successful business owner

(he started a packaging business and
took it to 1.7 million in 9 years) and
hes married to a lady called Sue.
Spooky, right?

A few weeks ago, Nigel received an

email from a Nigel Botterill.

Much like our Nigel, Nigel Botterill

is a huge advocator of working on
your business, rather than in it.

Hes just headed up a major rebrand

of his packaging business, Smart
Shield, and consequently has seen a
consistent rise in sales.
Will you ever see Nigel and Nigel
in the same place? The chances
are slim, The Other Nigel lives in
Canada!

AMATEUR DRAMATICS

DIGIT
AL
SHARECROPPING
Social Media Manager and Ace Reporter Alice Tew gets dramatic
about the internet monsters coming to a city near you soon...

A couple of weeks ago LinkedIn axed

their product page function, and along
with it flushed a lot of information
down the social media drain.

They also attract big numbers, so its

tempting to be drawn in by imagining
the amount of people who (possibly) will
see your offer or blog post or video.

These product pages were home

to carefully written copy describing
the services and products offered by
businesses, large or small, and, crucially,
they were also home to customer
recommendations. Business owners had
relied on these pages to store useful
testimonies and information for years,
but once LinkedIn gave the nod; they
were all gone.

However, heres why rolling up your

sleeves and working for The Man is such
a risky move:

This got me thinking about an

article that Id read recently on the
phenomenon of digital sharecropping
(sent over by David Kyte- you can hear
more from him over on page 15)
Digital sharecropping is one of those
terms that has popped up out of
nowhere in response to an online
phenomenon. In this instance, that
online phenomenon is the distribution of
production into the hands of the many
and the concentration of the economic
rewards into the hands of the few. Its
like a techy, web version of feudalism.
Basically, anyone can create content on
sites such as Facebook, but that content
then belongs to Facebook.
So, going with the feudalism analogy,
sites like Facebook, eBay and Google are
the landlords. If they decide to get rid
of you, then youre out and theres not
much that you can do about it.
Obviously, there are some up-sides to
digital sharecropping. Those landlords
sure do make it easy for you to upload
content, much easier than it would be
for a small business owner to learn how
to host all of that content themselves.

Constant change
Social media networks are constantly
changing, usually at a rapid pace and
without much prior warning to its users
- Facebook, Im looking at you. If those
sites decide to drop a particular feature
then your content will disappear; or if
youve done something that they dont
like then your account will be, at best,
suspended. To some, this might be a
mild inconvenience, but if youre relying
on a social media profile as a makedo website then its a big problem; it
means that for every day your content is
missing or your account is on lock down
then no one is seeing you, and if no
ones seeing you then theyre forgetting
about you.

Yes, digital sharecropping puts your

business at risk, but Im by no means
saying that Facebook, Google, LinkedIn,
Twitter are bad for your business. After
all, what kind of Social Media Manager
would I be if I was advising people to
steer clear of social media sites?
What I am saying, though, is that social
media sites should be used alongside
other assets that you are able to control.
These are:
1.

A well designed website with your

own hosting account
2. An opt-in email list, ideally with a
high quality autoresponder
3. A stellar reputation
These are the equivalent of buying your
land, rather than renting it.
I hope youll forgive the amateur
dramatics, but I had to get your attention
somehow, didnt I?

Disappearing acts
Social media networks and
sharing sites can disappear
in the blink of an eye. Users
could have put hours of work
into crafting a perfect profile
or creating brilliant content
for sites like Myspace and
Digg, but even though the
sites still exist, they dont get
anywhere near the amount
of traffic that they did in their
heyday.
Facebook and Google are
probably going to be around
for a fair while yet, but do you
want to pin the success of
your business on probably?

CREASERS COLUMN

99

problems
But a8 nitch3 aint one9
ECs very own M.C. (Mark CreaSer) raps about
niche marketing, cars and cans... whats your
niche, and how are you going to exploit it?

In the UK we talk about neeshes and in the US its

nitches, but it seems I know a lot of business owners
who use the word niche wrongly.
I hear people using it as a synonym for
their business category, or their market
or vertical and thats not quite right. A
niche and a vertical are not the same
things, there are a few key differences
the most obvious giveaway is usually the
size of the market.
Most business owners target large
markets
the mortgage broker whos selling
mortgages and whose market is
people who need to finance a
property purchase
the printer whose market is
businesses who need stuff printing
the IT support business who are
targeting businesses within 90
minutes of their office
the studio photographer whos
shooting for customers wholl stay
still for long enough to have their
photo taken
the accountant whose ideal
customer is a business that needs an
accountant.
In all those examples, the business is
targeting a sizeable market, perhaps
restricted by geography. Thats not
targeting a niche, thats doing business
with pretty much anyone who breaks
their stride.
10

When youre targeting a niche, youre

not shooting at the whole market; youre
a sniper, picking off customers with
specific needs.
the mortgage broker who
specialises in selling mortgages to
first time buyers
the printer who specialises in
monthly newsletters
the IT support business who only
works with professional services
businesses
the studio photographer who
doesnt do family portraits or
commercial work, they only
photograph new-born babies, thats
it.
the accountant who only works
with farmers.
But why would you choose NOT to
promote your business to everyone who
might want it, and instead focus just on
a specific subset of that market?
Well, by funnelling your focal point on
a specific, smaller, number of target
customers, you become more attractive
to those people, because they see you
as a specialist or expert in solving their
particular problem.

As a specialist in a well-chosen niche

youre likely to find that youre able to
charge significantly higher prices than
any generalist fishing in that same pool.

Niching your Marketing

You can target a specific niche with
your marketing, without making any real
changes to your product or service.
Lets take the mortgage broker as an
example: theres no special qualification
for getting mortgages for first-timebuyers, no certificate for being an expert
in getting mortgages on 4-bed detached
properties, and the service offered will
be much the same, but youd tailor
your marketing message very differently
depending on which market you were
targeting.

Niching your Proposition

Ive talked on these pages before about
how big businesses are tailoring their
products to suit niches and microniches, thats why there are 17 different
types of Colgate Toothpaste on the
shelves in Tesco.

Its happening more and more, in every

market you can imagine.
I drove past a BMW 2 series the other
day, I didnt even know that they made
one, but it came as no surprise.

Its true, but BMW dont keep designing

and building new cars from scratch. The
1 and 2 series are pretty much the same
car, same deal with the 3 and 4 series.
They just tweak a few bits here and
there, but all the cars are put together
from the same big box of parts.
Lets call it a remix.
So someones designed a decent car,
now lets put a different bum on it and
call it a tourer, lets remove a couple of
doors and make it a coupe, lets cut the
roof off and make a cabrio. Perfect for
summer.
Rather than taking half a dozen cars to
market, BMW turns them into a range of
25+ cars, each one targeted at a really
specific subsection of the car-buying
market.

In the UK, BMW offer quite a range,

theres the 1 series hatchback, the 2
series coupe and tourer, the 3 series
saloon, touring and GT, the 4 series
coupe or cabriolet, the 5 series saloon,
touring and GT, the 6 series in 2-door
coupe, 4-door gran coupe and cabriolet,
the 7 series saloon, and of course the X
range, which started off with the X5, and
then added the X1, X3, X4, and X6, not
necessarily in that order. An X7 is just a
matter of time. Oh, and theres the i3,
the i8 and the Z4. Dont forget those.
And the M3, M4, M5, M6

Cant Beats It
As I write this, it seems that Dr Dres
Beats business is being lined up by
Apple as a $3.2 billion acquisition.
Whether its the right or wrong thing to
do from Apples perspective (and when
youre sat on a $100 billion cash pile,
what does $3 billion really matter?),
its interesting how Beats has gone
from literally nothing in 2008 when
it launched, to a multi-billion dollar
valuation today.
Theres the product placement in music
videos, the free headphones given to
athletes, the endorsement deals with the
likes of Puff Daddy, Justin Beiber, Lady
Gaga, and David Guetta, the partnership
deals with brands like HP, Chrysler and
HTC it all works.

executive
Youve Earned Them.

Beats Executive headphones are desig

ned
to take you from boardroom to the tarma
c
and everywhere in between. These over-e
ar
headphones deliver the legendary Beats
sound
in a refined premium package thats
easier than
ever to take on the road.

Its not just BMW, all the car makers are

at it, designing and producing new cars
that answer questions that nobodys
ever asked. Whether you want a 2-wheel
drive off roader to use on road, or a 4
wheel drive on roader to take off-road,
you can buy one. A saloon that looks
like a bit like a swooshy coupe? Its all
yours.
Nobody wants a conventional car these
days, they want something thats just
right for them.

Heres some good news

It costs a load of money to design and
build a car from scratch. Its not a cheap
business to get into. So more cars in
the range means more money spent
on building them, so BMW must meet
the point of diminishing returns, where
adding a new car doesnt mean any
new sales, it just cannibalises sales they
would have got anyway.

Its a good approach, and one that you

can easily swipe and deploy. Take your
existing product or service, and look at
how you could tailor it to a niche.
Its an interesting twist on premium
pricing. Instead of just adding some
additional value, calling it your VIP
package and charging more for it,
think about how you can tailor your
proposition to 3 or 4 different niches,
create 4 different packages and sell
them all for higher prices.

Its helped Beats go from nothing to

cultural phenomenon in just a few years.
Beats accounts for about 60% of the
premium end of the headphones
market, thats a lot of headphones, and
Ive got news for you.
They dont just sell one pair.

11

SUCCESS STORY SPECIAL

Kip McGrath could te

a thing or two...
When looking over our Success Stories for the past few months, we noticed that quite a few Kip McGrath
franchisees kept popping up- so much so, that we wanted to give them their very own Success Story Roll Call!
Weve picked out just a few of our favourite stories from over the last few months.

Deborah Toulson Kip McGrath Salisbury

A great email campaign brings in 10,000 for Deborah
Kip McGrath franchisee owner Deborah
Toulson recently used a winning combination
of our 80 Hour Cash Machine and the Club+
Done-For-You marketing to help grow her
business.
Deborah used the 80 Hour Cash Machine
email marketing template to connect with the
parents of students who had been assessed
by Kip McGrath previously, but failed to book
on to a course at that time. By following up
with an email a week later, Deborah brought
back 5 students.

Although the link between accountants and

tutoring might seem fairly non-existent,
Deborah cleverly used the Know Your
Numbers headline from our Club+ Done-ForYou Accountant marketing to her advantage,
tying it in with their mathematics tutoring.
This campaign also attracted 5 new students,
meaning that after only a few amendments
Deborah was 10,000 up.
This is a great example of how swipe and
deploy can really work for your business well done Deborah!

Jan Long Kip McGrath Southampton

Jan Long expands her business, and ambition, to increase takings by 54%
Kip McGrath franchisee Jan Long joined the
EC in June last year, after chatting with fellow
franchisee Jana Meyer (Jana actually runs the
largest Kip McGrath centre in the UK) at the
annual Kip McGrath conference.
Since joining, Jan has seen fantastic results.
After increasing her number of tutors to 7,
taking on admin support and adding Science
to her tutoring programme, Jan has seen
a large increase in bums on seats and her
average weekly takings have grown by 54%not to mention the fact that shes more that
doubled her profits!

Kip
McQuotes
Here a few quotes from some of the other
Kip McGrath franchisees within the EC
12

Although all of the marketing tips and tricks

have been helpful, what Jan finds to really
make a difference to how she runs her
business is the enthusiasm, contagious
attitude and constant stream of ideas that
come with being a part of the EC.
Before I joined I was being held back by my
own capacity and skills, now the ceiling of my
ambition has been removed, Jan tells us.
Congratulations Jan- what a great first year!

Realising the power

of creative and original
marketing such as lumpy
mail rather than just
sticking to the traditional
methods
Zoe Trodd from Kip
McGrath Sevenoaks

d teach you
Cerys Llewellyn-Bevan Kip McGrath Neath
Cerys doubles her business in less than a year
It was the success of fellow Kip McGrath
franchisee Jana Meyer that first inspired Cerys
to join the EC and since becoming a member
in August 2013, Cerys business has doubled!
Cerys has been spurred on by the inspiration
provided by other Kip McGrath franchisees
within the EC; they even have their own
Facebook group where they exchange
updates and advice.
In order to grow her business and reach her
goals Cerys decided to focus on building her
marketing pillars and set about implementing
Adwords and Facebook ads.

In 2013, Cerys was used to an average of 8

new pupils a month, but this has now jumped
up to an average 15 sign-ups per month!
At the time of publication, Cerys was off to
a garden party at Buckingham Palace the
height of networking!
Joining the EC has shown me that being
a technician and always teaching wasnt
necessarily the best use of my time. So, Ive
thrown myself into marketing and am reaping
the rewards!

Jana & Schalk Meyer - Kip McGrath Brentwood

Jana & Schalk think big to increase their turnover by 1122%
Jana and Schalk Meyer have been members
of the EC for 3 years now, and run the largest
Kip McGrath franchise in the UK, but they
havent allowed themselves to become
complacent and have recently increased their
usual turnover for this time of year by a huge
1122%!
Usually, at this time of year, Jana and Schalk
hold one or two 11+ mock exams for their
students. However, after hearing Nigel talk
about ensuring that your service is available
for people the couple decided to be bold and
schedule 11 mock exams.

Motivation,
motivation,
motivation!
Claire Hitchcock from
Kip McGrath Gravesend

This was a bit of a risk, as Jana and Schalk

only have 40 students eligible to take the 11+
exams, but word spread and they attracted
non-Kip McGrath students too! The exams
were actually so popular that they have added
5 more dates! This meant that this year, they
took a turnover of 11,000, compared to the
usual 900 turnover for this time of year.
This all just comes down at being around
business owners and the EC team, and
thinking and doing business differently, Jana
tells us. This is an amazing result! Well done to
Jana and Schalk!

Developing my ideas
and creativity has enabled
me to see the potential
for my business far more
clearly. EC has motivation,
enthusiasm and support in
abundance

Gareth and
Clare Powell
of Kip McGrath
Scunthorpe

13

THE FAB FOUR

A Word from the Experts

Veronica Pullen

Adam Cliff

Word of Mouth Local

Make It Media

Veronica is an Online Relationship Marketer and

creator of the Social Marketing Profits Blueprint.
If you want to be heard by a bigger online audience
then Veronica is the lady for you! She also hosts
#ECHour over on Twitter every Tuesday between 8
9pm, so get involved!

Whats your trip wire?

If you dont have a trip wire behind your Lead Magnet
(the free eBook/audio/video etc you offer your social
media connections and website visitors in exchange
for their email address) then you are losing out on a
zero effort, passive revenue stream.
The definition of a trip wire is:
A compelling, low cost, high value offer which sets up
the business/customer relationship.
When visitors fill out your opt-in box with their name
and email address to access your Lead Magnet, are you
sending them to a thank you page?
Well, with a trip wire, you substitute the thank you page
with a sales page.
And on that sales page you offer a low cost, no-risk,
no-brainer offer for your newly opted-in lead to
purchase something from you.
Seriously, its that simple!
But now, your new lead is a more committed warm
prospect because theyve invested in you meaning
theyre much more likely to buy again!
Spend your next 90 minutes adding a trip wire to your
lead generation funnel... and watch the value of your
list multiply.
Check out my trip wire, by downloading my free
eBook 8 Steps to Profitable Social Marketing from
www.veronicapullen.co.uk
14

Adam has worked alongside some of the best in UK

prime-time television, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4
and even Al Jazeera. Nowadays, his vision is to bring
all that knowledge, expertise and professionalism to
the world of business communication.

Scripting for a piece to camera

Presenting to camera is a great way of introducing
you and your business in a much more personal way
online. You need to plan though. So, heres some
advice to help with your video masterpieces.
1.

Keep the tone conversational. Youre not a

book; you are a wonderful human being with a
personality, so lets make it shine!
2. Keep it short. Seriously! Some of the best and most
effective PTC style videos I have worked on with
our Green Screen Roadshows are the ones that
stick to the key points. Try not to overcomplicate
your message.
3. No long, hard-to-pronounce words. Unless youre
really talented at tongue twisters or need to use
certain terminology, make it easy for yourself.
4. Not sure what to say? Try breaking your script
down into this easy formula:
Introduce yourself
Remind the viewer why they are watching in
the first place (e.g. Youre here because youre
searching for the best value accountant in
Leicestershire, right?!)
Describe the problems your viewer is likely to be
facing
Describe how you will solve their problems
Remind them why they should buy from you
(your USP)
Make them an offer (product offer, free opt in,
etc...)
Give a Call to Action
If youre looking for a little more detailed help with
your scriptwriting and tips on how to present to
camera, visit:
www.businessvideoexperts.com/free-script-guide

Every month we ask four experts to share with us a few pearls of wisdom that you can put to good use in your business.
This month were featuring three of our Trusted Suppliers. Theyre all longstanding members of the EC that understand
how to service business owners that approach business with an EC mindset. Take note of what these guys say, theyre
our Trusted Suppliers for a reason!

David Kyte

Andy Wilcox

Doodle Ads

Regional BGA for

London and the
South East

Hailing from a background in marketing, David truly

does understand what will grab the attention of
your customers when they visit your website, which
is what ensures that his Doodle Ads effectively
communicate your business story to your
customers.

Hes been a paramedic, hes been an electrician and

hes been an EC member. BGA Andy Wilcox has been
where you are now and wants to share what hes
learned in business, learned from Nigel and learned
in life - hes completely committed to helping you to
grow your business.

The One Big Idea...

Quick Tips on Public Speaking

Whilst driving to Bristol one afternoon, I was listening

to Legendary Copywriter Michael Masterson, as you
do. He gave me an enormous wake up and smell the
coffee moment; as he described the power of The
One Big Idea.

Whether youre speaking to a room of 1000 business

owners or a best man at a wedding to 30 guests
recounting the story of the groom, the pole dancer and
the prison cell, we probably all have to speak in public
one time or another.

Let me explain

When youre performing remember VOICE:

Michael works with Agora, a company that sells over

$600M worth of email newsletters per year. Michael
has written thousands of essays for Agora.

V Volume - You need to make sure the folks can hear

you at the back as they will only ask you a couple of
times to repeat what you just said. So get your volume
right or use a microphone.

He was analysing the tracking for his emails, articles

and essays, trying to uncover the format that worked
best for his content.
Michael discovered that he had more opens, more
clicks and more sales when his content focussed on a
Single Big Idea.
At this time, I was having a problem with a Doodle Ad
client. No matter how I changed the script, my client
was never satisfied; I couldnt get the script signed off.

O Oh, ah, umm, so, basically Watch your gap fillers.

OK, at the end of the day, the reality is, obviously,

happy days ... If youre like me, once I clock someones
filler word, I end up tallying how many times they say it
rather than listening!

I Intonation Dont talk like a R-O-B-O-T all

monotone, or a dog talker all high pitched or an
Australian where your voice goes up at the end of
every sentence like a question. (I bet you just read that
like an Aussie!)

So I tried a different tack. I suggested that we focus on

What was the Big Idea? Bingo; the script dropped out
and was accepted within 10 minutes.

C Clarity Be nice and clear when you talk, as they

wont ask you to repeat too many times, remember?

SO take another look at your copy and ask yourself

the same question What is the ONE BIG IDEA you
want to get across in this piece?

E Enthusiasm You have to be enthusiastic about

what youre talking about or how the heck will the
audience be if youre not?

Take a look at Davids work on his website:

www.doodle-ads.co.uk

So, good luck because basically at the end of the day

the reality is you will obviously be great. OK? Happy
days. OK :)

15

BIG LESSON OF THE MONTH

How To Get
More Stuff Done
If you want super-success in
business, youve got to get better
at getting more stuff done. If you
want to be a millionaire, then
youve got to get really good at
getting stuff done.
One of the most frequently asked
questions I get from EC members,
especially new members, is this:
How do you get so much done?
So many business owners are full of
great ideas, things that they want to do,
but, for one reason or another, their
rate of implementation and execution is
not where they would like it to be and
as a result theyre being held back. Lets
be clear, right up front the biggest
difference between high income, high
profit businesses and run of the mill, low
income, low profit businesses is

IMPLEMENTATION.
If you want super-success in business
then youve got to get better at getting
more stuff done. Ideas are worth
diddly-squat. Its the execution and
implementation that gets results.

So Much To Do, But Not

Enough Time -And No
Money To Employ Staff
Theres often a subtext when Im asked
the question about how I get so much
done. People explain to me how there
are all these things that they want to
accomplish, but that their business isnt
yet generating enough cash to pay for
an employee to come onboard and
increase capacity.
Well, the good news is, you dont need
employees to start making progress
here. You can access a ready supply
of high quality, reliable, VERY COSTEFFECTIVE, labour in your business.
16

Skilled people who will create hours a

week and, potentially, hours a day in
your schedule to enable you to get more
stuff done. Look, the reality is that, to
achieve super-success, your behaviours
(i.e. what you spend your time doing)
need to be fully congruent with your
goals.
This means that if you aspire to an
earning level in excess of, say, 20 an
hour (!!) then you cant maintain that
goal and, at the same time, be answering
your own phone all the time or doing
your own book-keeping.
Those are behaviours that are
completely non-congruent with where
youve said you want to be...
So get some help.

Call Handling
Getting your telephone answered by
somebody else is one of the most
useful services for many businesses
especially when theres only you.
The services provided by people like
Graham Hill and his team at Verbatim or
Jacqui Frost at Office Genie are brilliant.
Your phone can be answered at certain
times of day, by them, or all the time, or
just when your lines engaged.
You can teach them exactly what you
want them to say and what you want
them to do with the calls. Its genuinely
game changing especially if youre
getting more than two or three calls a
day.
Your phone gets answered by a real
person who knows what theyre talking
about (their systems are fab so the
scripts are always consistent) and they
answer the phone as if it was someone
working in your business, which gives
you the added benefit that it makes you
look and feel like a bigger organisation
and it strengthens your positioning in
your market.

They can have different criteria for

different types of calls, so some may
actually get put through to you, but
others it may be that you get an email or
text with a message on.
Even with our dozens of staff at Botty
Towers we still have systems in place so
that some of our calls are handled by
these guys and in the early days, when
I was getting traction, on my own, this
type of service was invaluable.

Bookkeeping
If youre a business owner and you are
doing your own bookkeeping, then you
are certifiably insane OR lacking in all
ambition to grow OR unenlightened
and were about to put that right!
For most small businesses your
bookkeeping will only take 3-4 hours
per month. With an outsourced
qualified bookkeeper doing the work
it will typically cost you less than 100
a month. It will take them less hours
than it will take you
anyway, so lets say,
conservatively, that
handing over all your
bookkeeping and
invoicing will probably
free up at least six
hours of your time
per month plus a
whole load of mental
baggage that youve
been carrying around
with you whilst youve
been worrying about
having to do your
accounts, invoicing
etc.
Now, the trick for you
is to bunch that time
together and use it to
get new customers
and new business.
Continued on p18...

EC MEMBER EXCLUSIVE DEALS

Tracy Irwin

Graham Hill

Jacqui Frost

TI Payroll & Accounting

Verbatim

Office Genie

01229 813 388

01635 576 700

01604 532 022

We at TI Payroll and Accounting

know how valuable your time is
when running a business, which is
why we make it as easy as possible
for busy entrepreneurs to outsource
their bookkeeping. We use cloudbased systems that allow clients 24/7
access to their up-to-date numbers,
which gives you the time back to
focus on growing your company.

You invest time, energy and money

in getting your phone to ring, but
too many businesses let calls just
slip through the cracks.
Those callers could be your best
customers, or new customers, if you
miss them, youll never know.
Thats where Graham Hills
company, Verbatim, can help.

The GOK WAN of Call Handling!

The Office Genie Trial is like no
other it takes away all the guess
work. You start with The Naked
Genie, we dress her up in a range
of services until youre ready to go.
You get to take home the outfit that
suited you best. Accessorized only
with what suits you, anything which
adds weight is simply discarded.

EC MEMBER EXCLUSIVE DEAL!

EC MEMBER EXCLUSIVE DEAL!

EC MEMBER EXCLUSIVE DEAL!

Were that confident youll

see the value of knowing your
numbers after one months
bookkeeping service with us,
that well do the first month
for just 20 for anyone who
gets in touch before 6pm on
Monday 23rd June 2014.

Graham has pulled together

an unbeatable Get Your
Phone Answered package for
EC members, which includes
a full 6-week long risk free
trial, with a 100% money back
guarantee. Hell even throw
in a 2 week trial of his mobile
app SU, the PA in your
pocket. Call 01635 573208
before 6pm on Monday 30th
June to take advantage.

Register your interest before

15th of June by emailing us
on ecf@theofficegenie.co.uk
to get our 12 week trial (worth
270 - 495) for just 120.

Youre
Definitely
Missing Calls
Everyday, at 8.00pm, an
email pops into my inbox
from my telephone system!
Attached to it is a PDF listing
all the missed calls for that
day. Theres usually 5 or 6,
occasionally 10.
It tells me the number that
rang and which particular
extension or department
they were calling when they
didnt get through.
It also tells me how long
they were hanging on for
(sometimes its only one
second because all the lines
were engaged!)

Thats less than half price!

In Mastermind last week

I asked a member whose
marketing was all about
getting people to call her
business, how many calls
she was missing a week.
None she confidently said,
not since I hired my parttime office support person.
She is nave in the extreme.
And probably, so are you.
Unless youre getting a
report every single day, like
I do, you have no way of
knowing whether youre
missing calls or not. The
reality is that you almost
certainly are.
When youre engaged, when
you have nipped off for a
wee, when you just popped
upstairs to get something

That call could have been

the one that led to the large
new contract, the difference
between hitting targets or
not this month, the ripple
effect from the amazing job
you would have done if
only.
I dont know anyone that
has implemented the
roll-over call answering
service (where your calls are
answered elsewhere when
theyre not answered in your
office) who has not been
pleasantly surprised by the
difference that its made.
Your ignorance doesnt
change the facts

17

BIG LESSON OF THE MONTH CONTD...

If you deploy some of the
progressive marketing
techniques that youve learnt
through EC, and spend a full six
hours focused only on getting
and keeping customers, do you
think you could generate more
than, say, 100 in sales?
You bet you could - and the
value of those customers will
increase over time as well.
Thats why, you and I both know
that if youre hanging onto
menial tasks like these then
youve got a mental blockage
which is completely sabotaging
your progress in business and
youll never aspire to the heights
that you dream of until you deal
with it.
Fortunately, we can help you
with this too, because Tracy
Irwin of TI Payroll & Accounting
is someone that weve known
now for several years and lots of
EC members use her services.

She uses Cloud-based systems

(so you never even need to
meet with her) and the benefits
to your sales and profits can be
really significant.
All the people Ive mentioned in
this article are Trusted Suppliers
so you can use them knowing
that myself and the EC stand
squarely behind them.
Ive given them space in the
panels below to explain a little
bit more about what they do,
but the smart thing to do, if Ive
struck a cord here, is to give
them a call and have a chat.
If you want to get more stuff
done and you havent addressed
these two elements then you
know, deep down, that it needs
tackling.
And theres no time like the
present...

We re

DOING A

RATNER

(sort of...)

Were very happy to announce that

Gerald Ratner will be speaking at our
Made In Britain National Event in Bolton
on 7th July!

When hes not regaling audiences with

tales from his life in business, Ratner
runs Gerald Online, his online jewelry
business.

If youre a business owner, then youll be

familiar with the story of Gerald Ratner
and, most probably, the term Doing a
Ratner. He was the CEO of major British
jewellers Ratners throughout the eighties
until one joke - that joke - cost him his
business, his reputation and his fortune
in 1992.

Gerald Online is now over ten years old,

worth an estimated 35million and is the
UKs largest online jewellery retailer.

But the story didnt end there. In what

promises to be a very humorous and
engaging talk, Gerald will tell us how he
turned everything around.
18

Not too bad for someone once touted

as the poster boy for failure (Geralds
words, not ours!)
Come and see Gerald Ratner at our
Made In Britain National Event in
Bolton on 7th July.

National Event
Monday 7th July 2014
Youll also be listening to (and taking
home) nuggets from Nige, so it really
isnt something you want to miss out on.
For more information and to book
your ticket then go to:
www.nigelbotterill.com/events-2014
...or phone our Member Support Team
on 0121 765 5551

!
See you there

CLIMBING THE ROCKFACE

3 Things I learned in my first

month at Botty Towers

By Alice Tew

Its standard for people who come into a new job to describe their first few weeks in the role
as a learning curve. Maybe, if theyre working in an intense environment, they might describe
it as a steep learning curve. I thought about whether this applied to my first few weeks at
Botty Towers and decided that no, it doesnt. Not even a little bit.
If there is such a thing as a learning rock
face, a totally vertical rock face, then
thats what my first six weeks were likein the best possible way. If I was to list
every single thing that Id learned since
joining the team, then that would be
this issue filled (actually, that would have
made my job much easier), so here are
just a few...

Taking responsibility

S*** systems
Sometimes I am an idiot. I try very hard
not to be, but sometimes it happens.
Thankfully, at Botty Towers, if youre
being an idiot then it will always be
pointed out to you. This has happened
to me a few times, but Im just going to
stick to recalling the one, for now.
I was, before the big move around, lucky
enough to have two screens on my
desk.

Ive always been described as

responsible. Every school report, there
it was- responsible. It wasnt until I got a
bit older that I realised that, sometimes,
responsible is used as gentler way of
saying boring, but I try not to think
about that. I was always great at taking
responsibility for the things that were
given to me, but was often too timid to
ask for more responsibility.
I joined the EC as Social Media Manager,
and I still am, but when the last editor
of the Circular decided to hang up
histypewriter (?), I sidled up to Mark
Creaser and said Is there, possibly, a
bit of a chance that I could, maybe,
write some stuff for the Circular?
Not the smoothest, most confident
proposal, sure, but I did find myself
sitting opposite Nigel in his office about
4 hours later being offered the role of
editor.
Its only now that I feel like I understand
responsibility a bit better. You cant
really take on any responsibility without
a certain amount of self-belief. You
really have to believe that you can own
something and make it great.
My almost-conversation with Mark
meant that I must have had a bit of
self-belief, or else I wouldnt have even
broached the subject, and luckily, the
fact that Nigel was willing to take a risk
on me that he thought I could do
a good job, provided the rest of that I
needed; think of it as borrowing a bit of
belief.

One of those screens belonged to a

Mac and it was covered in Post-it notes
- it was possibly the most expensive
noticeboard going. Anyway, Nigel
came into the office, was struck by a
lightning bolt of inspiration and told
me to remember that for next months
circular. I dutifully grabbed a Post-it
note, scribbled everything down and
then stuck it onto my noticeboard/Mac.
Nigel watched me and said Thats an
interesting system youve got there.
I knew he was about to tell me of a
better system, and he did- forget Postits, email yourself. Me and my precious
Post-it notes felt ridiculous. Emailing
myself was a much better system- all of
my amazing, earth-moving ideas would
be safe and sound.
The point that this illustrated to me really
was that sometimes, even when I think
Im being super-efficient and organized,
in reality, my brain is being lazy. There
was clearly a better way of doing this,
but my brain couldnt be bothered to
look for it.

Who you hang around with

(at work) matters. A lot.
I spend more time with my colleagues
(or work buds, I prefer work buds) than
I do with my own family. So, its a good
job that my work buds are all ridiculously
smart- itll make me smarter, wont it?
Before I joined the EC, I worked in very
small businesses. At most, I was used
to working with two other people. Not
only was the office as dynamic and fun
as a cheese sandwich (Im talking Tesco
Value, here) but no one really knew
anything and wasnt really that bothered
about knowing anything. Its frustrating
and it drags you down.
A sports metaphor about raising your
game would work perfectly here, but
Im not really very sporty, at all; so,
as much as it pains me, Ive chosen a
stereotypically girly metaphor of clothes
- if youre around people who look great
all the time, then you put more effort in
to making yourself look great too, dont
you? No one wants to be the group
scruff.
Now, Im surrounded by people who
know so much about what they do
that my tiny, untrained brain can barely
comprehend it- people like Nigel,
Phil, Mark and even Smithy. Theyre
all ridiculously knowledgeable and
it makes me want to be ridiculously
knowledgeable too- I want to be in the
club!
So, those were just a few of the little
holes that you Ive pulled myself up the
rock face on (Im no rock climber, can
you tell?) over the last few weeks. Its a
rock face that Ill never reach the end
of, Ive realised that, but what do you
do when you get to the top of a big ol
mountain anyway? Stand still? Enjoy the
view?
I think I would get bored after ten
minutes.

19

REBRANDING

It started with a (new) name...

After listening to Nige speak at last
years convention, Nic Johnson
couldnt shake the feeling that it
was time to rebrand his business.
Heres how he did it.

Nic Johnson
of DesCom
is no April
fool...

The decision to rebrand DesCom wasnt

made overnight. It was actually the
product of a seed planted in my mind
at last years National Entrepreneurs
Convention; one thing was deeply
embedded in my psyche- Its all about
relationships.

Right from the very earliest days

the company has internally and
affectionately been referred to as
DesCom, but it felt exciting to give the
business an internal boost and to feel
that the coming year was going to be
amazing!

We also produced 1,000 seperate

DesCom Day Birthday Cards containing
another offer the chance to win
6,000 worth of work from us once
wed directed them to a squeeze page
on our site and extracted the info we
wanted from them.

Now, a rebrand isnt something you

should take lightly (Hull City AFC take
note). Its your core identity; how
youre perceived by the outside world
and how youre judged (rightly or
wrongly) by those who dont know
you. We realised that as a company our
identity was very ambiguous...

We picked April 1st (April Fools Day) as

our launch date - forget April Fools Day,
we wanted to promote DesCom Day.

All of this was backed up with full social

media promotion, blogs, a series of
e-newsletters, PPC and a high degree of
local visibility.

So we changed our name from Design

Community to DesCom. Where did
it come from? It was born out of
simplicity, and a little laziness, if Im
honest.

Our plan was to produce bespoke cake

boxes and hand deliver Happy DesCom
Day party packs that contained a time
limited offer to get a 27.6% discount off
their first project with us.

AN EC BAFTA WINNER!
Wed like to send a huge
congratulations to EC member
Jeremy Tidy and the team at
Happy Graphics for their BAFTA
win!
On the 27th April Happy
Graphics were awarded a
Television Craft Award in
recognition of the outstanding
creative and technical teamwork
behind Strictly Come Dancing.
Jeremys team are part of a
wider group of designers and
animators who work to provide
all of the stuff that makes
Strictly Come Dancing, and It
Takes Two, look so amazing.
20

Happy Graphics provide the

Live Graphics systems for the
show and the award is great
win for them.
Just in case a BAFTA isnt
enough, Jeremy and his team
have recently picked up The
Voice UK as another huge
entertainment show for them
to provide graphics for, as
well as enjoying an increased
revenue of 45% for the year to
date.

Well done to Jeremy

and everyone at Happy
Graphics!

The results? Well, so far theyve

massively exceeded expectations, with
four new confirmed clients within three
weeks of launch, three more that are
close to coming on board plus loads of
new leads via our competition squeeze
page.

If you looked at our previous website

and literature we couldve been anyone.
We lacked that essence of who we really
are and what we stand for.

It was time for serious action. Wed

already started the build up/tease
campaign on social media, newsletters
and e-news three weeks beforehand.
We then refined and updated our data
list and hand picked 50 companies
within a 60 mile radius that we wanted
to work with.

Damn you, Botterill, and your good ideas

- youve gone and done it again!

COMMUNICATIONS

How To Write Great

Emails That CONVERT
I know I bang on about it, but the
reality is that more sales in my
business are generated by emails
than any other piece of marketing.
The problem though, when youre
marketing via email, is that your
customers inbox is very crowded and
getting them to open and even read your
message is not a trivial challenge, and
thats before we tackle the big issue of
conversion.
There are some great practitioners of
email within EC, and Ive talked about it
and highlighted many from the stage over
the last couple of years. I thought it might
be helpful, however, if I shared with you
the formula and approach that I use when
Im crafting that weeks emails during my
90 minute session (usually on a Monday).
Step 1 Short or Long?
Most of the emails we send now are fairly
short. Some are only a few lines.
Occasionally, it is appropriate to go into
more depth, but we found, over the years,
that, broadly speaking, less is better.
Theres no definitive right or wrong
here though, just through testing the
different types of email and tracking
your open rates and click-throughs that
youll discover the length that resonates
best with your customers and potential
customers.
Step 2 The Goal
Im not going to pretend that I spend
hours mapping this out but, before I start
any email. I do think about the following
things:

What do I want them to do when

they read this email?
Who, exactly, is it going to (I picture
them sat the other side of my desk
whilst Im writing)?
What is my offer?
What have we done thats worked
before on stuff like this?

Step 3 Write The Subject Line

Way too many people treat the subject
line as an afterthought - it is arguably the
single most important element in every
email ever written.
Think about it, the only factors that
influence whether or not your email gets
opened and read is the subject line and
who the email is from.

We all make decisions, every single day,

to delete emails without opening and
those are the two factors. Once you
recognise this youll start to devote much
more time to getting better at crafting
Subject Lines.
In the panel on the right Ive included
some of the best subject lines (as ranked
by Open Rate) from our own marketing
over the last 12 months, my good friend
Ryan Deisss experiences also and from
a handful of very accomplished EC
members who do very well in this field.
Feel free to swipe and deploy
Step 4 Photo/Image?
Most of our emails do rely solely on copy,
but weve seen, in recent months, a slight
increase in response when were using
images.
This is particularly true if you want people
to watch a video. We put what looks like
a picture of the video with a play button
on it and the whole thing is effectively a
clickable link that sends people through
to the landing page that contains the
video. Works very well.
Step 5 A High Impact Intro...
How many emails start with bland
messages like I cant believe were three
months into the year , Spring has
sprung , How are you?.
These people are throwing away
readership at a hefty rate.
We try really hard to appeal to peoples
self-interest and curiosity in the opening
of our email. Often well link into a story
- its usually quite specific (certainly when
we do it well!).

TOP RANKED SUBJECT LINES:

Facebook traffic is dead
I feel kinda sorry for you
Bad news...
Only stupid business owners will
ignore this
I blame Kevin Costner
Man fights off attackers whilst
holding fish and chips
I think theres problem with your
website

Step 6 Right Call To Action

You need to make it crystal clear EXACTLY
what you want people to do. I still see lots
of emails, some even from accomplished
marketers, that are lacking in any clear
direction. You must tell them what to do.
The clearer the better. Just imagine that
Homer Simpson is your customer. Thats
how clear you have to be.
Step 7 Provide Proof
This can be by quoting facts and figures
or using quotes from other people as
testimonials. Done well it can make the
email much more readable and it builds
confidence and increases the chances of
getting action taken.
Step 8 Write the PS
Normally your PS should restate the offer,
but it can also be used to communicate
other reasons that the reader should act
now.
Step 9 Make Sure You Answer The
Most Important Question...
With any email, your reader is asking him
or herself Whats in it for me?.
If you look back and reflect, honestly, on
the emails that grab your attention or that
you read today then the common thread
will be that they all have something in
it for you. Thats why you cant become
overly self-indulgent when youre writing
to your customers. Theyre not interested
in you, only what you can do for them.
Step 10 Embrace Failure
I think this is probably the most important
step when it comes to writing emails that
sell and convert. Ive written lots of emails
that have not generated any kind of
meaningful response. I learn from what
happened and I try not to make those
mistakes again.
One of the most useful techniques is to
just picture yourself at your customers
PC or desktop, or maybe theyre in the car
sat at some traffic lights, when your email
pops into their inbox. By putting yourself
in their shoes and thinking how they
would think youll dramatically increase
your chances of constructing an email
that theyll want to open, read and take
the appropriate action. Its only when we
forget about our customers and craft our
email marketing from our own ivory tower
that we get lots of things wrong.
Put yourself in their shoes and you
wont go far wrong.
21

SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME

MARKET, MESSAGE, (social) MEDIA?

By Exeter Gal & EC Trusted Supplier Julia Bramble of BrambleBuzz
Recently, Ive been
privy to more than a
few discussions that
have gone a little
something like this:
-What social networks should I be using?
- Try this, it works for us, it should work
for you too
- The more the merrier
- Use the ones that you like best
Its taken all my strength not to wade
in and say Woah, woah, WOAH. What
happened to the three Ms? You know, the
mantra that all EC members have woken
up murmuring at one point or another?
Market, message, media?
Just because were online, it doesnt mean
that we can forget Niges most salient
advice!
Quickly reciting market, message, social
media to yourself before you log in to
your Facebook account or start scrolling
through an endless stream of tweets will
give your social media marketing some
purpose.
Consider your MARKET, carefully. Who are
they? What is your ideal customer profile?

What do you know about their interests,

how they spend their leisure time, who
else they spend money with and what their
daily routines are?

If its the latter then, Im sorry to be the one

to have to tell you, youre suffering from
Shiny Object Syndrome. Pinterest is a
great example of this.

Its important to be clued up on where

your customers are hanging out online, its
time to get a bit Fatal Attraction on them,
Im afraid. Its only once you know where
your customers are that you can focus
your social media efforts and adapt your
MESSAGE to fit their online environmentthe message that youre sending out on
Facebook will most likely be different for
the message that you want to send out on
LinkedIn, for example.

Lots of us signed up and immediately

became hypnotized by the pretty pictures,
without considering whether our market
are actually on there, pinning away.

So, before you go spending any more time

on social, why not just take a bit of time to
reflect on your customer avatar and how it
translates into social media activity.
Most importantly, do you know that the
networks youre using are actually the
ones where your current and potential
customers or clients actually spend regular
chunks of time?
Or are you just there because its the new
place to be and you want to hang out,
virtual shades on, looking uber-cool?

When it comes to selecting your (social)

MEDIA, you should pinpoint the one
network that your potential customers and
clients are most active on, and get really
good at that and make sure you know how
to get results that you want. Then, move
on to learning about the next best one
and how to use that one effectively- each
network is different, with different slants
and ninja-tricks.
Seriously, thats the only way to cure Shiny
Object Syndrome.
Please, folks spend some time working
through the Three Ms as they really do
apply to social media if you want to get
the best results from it. Thats the key to
making every minute count and getting
your triple M rating top-notch! Dont forget
to let me know how you get on!

SWEET TREAT

Galaxy anyone?
So recently I bought a bar of galaxy,
nothing unusual - not for me anyway...
But I noticed a pretty tasty offer that I
couldnt refuse; text the word galaxy
to 88802 every hour for a chance to
win a Kindle. Texting was free. And who
honestly would remember to text every
hour?
I still think Im in with a pretty good
shot of winning that kindle. (Ooh, Im
going to read so many books!)
But then, as I was typing the word
galaxy into a text box for the 8th time it
hit me...
22

By Marketeer and Chocolate Addict Alicja King

Im spending most hours thinking about

the word galaxy. Galaxy chocolate.
Galaxy the brand.
What a bloody amazing way to get
people to remember your product!
No word of a lie - on Friday I actually
bought a bar of galaxy for Emma Spark
(a fellow Marketeer).
I am but a pawn in this chocolatey game
of chess. Being one of the crack team
of Copywriters & Marketeers dont be
surprised if a few of you spot this in a
future campaign! (Big shout out to my
niches)

Seriously though, keep this in mind if

you want to try a bit of promotional
activity yourself - it doesnt always have
to be a MASSIVE offer with an intricate
message.
It may be as simple as just getting
people to go to your website constantly,
or sending an email or in this case, a
text...
Clearly it works!
See you soon! Alicja Galax- oh,
I mean King...

MARKETING LESSONS

Three Quick and Easies

Three rapid fire marketing initiatives that Nige has spotted this month. On your marks, get set...

Five-Star
Days

It was Mrs Bs birthday in May and,

loving husband that I am (!) I got her
a card!
Ill spare you an insight into the card
choice that I made (!) but what is
worthy of note is the little marketing
piece that fell out onto the table
when I unwrapped the cellophane.

Free
Sunglasses
Cleaner

Mrs B features in this one as well,

because last year she bought some
designer sunglasses from a boutique
in Solihull that, when she bought
them, offered her a lifetime supply of
free sunglasses cleaner. Very smart
move this because, with a number
of foreign trips pending, Sue realised
she needed to keep her glasses in
tiptop condition, so in she popped
for a replenishment to her sunglasses
cleaning kit.

Forty minutes later she walked

out with a brand new pair of
350 sunglasses!

You can see a copy of it above. I

have no idea who Woodmansterne
are, but theres someone pretty
smart in their marketing department,
because theyre promoting their gifts
to people at exactly the right time.
Its a classic market/media match.
The message isnt too bad either a
nice link with an implied discount
code.
It could be made better, of course,
with a phone number (tracking
number obviously!) and I think, in
this instance, the inclusion of some
price indications would also drive up
response, but its a great way for this
company to get their product in the
hands of exactly the right people at
EXACTLY THE RIGHT TIME.

Who else is selling things to

people who could become your
customers?
Start talking to them, because
therell be deals to be done and
opportunities to be exploited. It
rarely costs much money, but can
bring about step change...

Googles
Direct
Mail

Oh the irony! I got a lovely parcel

from Google three weeks ago.
Seven different items of paper
in there, all personalised. It was
a contest to win a trip to sunny
California and it all hinges around
Adwords and the usage of it.
What should not be lost on anyone
here is the fact that Google, the
worlds dominant online marketing
company, who own the platform
that is Adwords, are using good old
fashion direct mail to get people to
use it.

Now, easy though it would be to

make fun of my wife at this point and
suggest that this was all her doing
the truth is rather different. If they
had not offered the free sunglasses
cleaner she would not have gone
back into that shop. Period. If youre
in retail (off-line or online) what can
you be doing that makes it a nobrainer for people to come back and
visit you? Because when they do,
some of them will end up spending
more money.

If that doesnt get you thinking

that direct mail ought to have
a place in your business, then I
dont know what will.

Again, all this requires is thought

rather than money, or indeed much
time/effort. But of course most
people dont think that much, which
is why they languish amongst the
60% of businesses who get by or the
20% who are struggling.

My Mastermind Groups this year

are awash with members who are
getting really great returns on direct
mail. It encompasses all sorts of
sectors, all sorts of products and all
sorts of markets. No-ones dropping
it cold - its always going to people
with whom there is some sort of
relationship already - but when
its done properly its effect can be
devastating, and our direct mail
campaigns for EC remain at
the top of the tree in terms of
our top performing marketing
pillars.

To get in the 1%, the 4%, or the 15%

then this is exactly the type of thing
that you need to do.

Its just media so getting in that

market and message match first is
really important, but there will be lots
of past customers, for instance, who
would love to get something in the
post from you and, when they send
it, theyll get a response.

Like I said, if this doesnt get

you into gear, and adding
direct mail to your 90 minute
chunks this month, then...

23

TACTICS TO DEPLOY IN YOUR BUSINESS

Success Story

Roll Call
In the last month we have had some amazing
success stories from our members, all of whom
have made real strides in making their businesses
into the success that they want it to be. Our new
resident success champion Alice Tew has been
gathering the finest examples from across the EC
and you can see them all by heading over to
www.nigelbotterill.com/success
As well as this months Success Story Roll Call, weve
also picked out two of the most impressive success
stories from the last four weeks, which we hope will
inspire you and your business.

Laura Moxham - Tech Angels

Vanessa Lanham-Day - On Track Marketing
Delyth Jones - AnswerMyPhone
Sara Cheeney - Pure Perfection
Daniel Verrells - Beeline Data Services
James Nicholson - SEO Desk
Rachel Naylor - Rachel Naylor
Tracy Irwin - TI Payroll
Michael Little - Loinim Media
Joanne Sparkes - Expedio
Pauline Davidson - Partners Hair & Beauty
Simon Eastwood - The Jonas Centre
Snezana Knowles - Grannys Secret
Peter Barker - Wildgoose Events
Chris Waldron - Bolton Joinery
Gary Walton - Sports Pro UK
Mike Chance - Colour Wave Printing
Hilary Nuns - Can Do Courses
Neil Dudman - Pear Tree Childcare Group
Mark Hammond - Abacus Marquee Hire

Focusing on professionalism rather than price

wins Tristan a 250,000 contract.
Tristan Reakes - Trotman Builders

When the opportunity arose for Tristan

Reakes to tender for a 250,000 project
situated close to his office, he decided
to approach things a little differently
and in doing so proved that its not
always the price that secures the deal.
For the first time ever, Tristan suggested
that the client take a look at the W. J
Trotman Builders website, as he had
recently completed some similar
projects, the photos of which could be
viewed online.
However, Tristan was aware that the
photos didnt do the work justice and so
he asked the client whether they would
like to visit the sites with him and view
the work firsthand.
24

Tristan picked up the clients and

showed them around the projects.
They were extremely impressed and
emailed Tristan the following afternoon
to say that he had secured the job.
So, after a mornings work and a
few well-written emails, Tristan had
managed to land a 250,000 contract
and pick up 6 months work for half of
his team.
Great work Tristan - this is a brilliant
example of how, sometimes, price isnt
everything!

Targeting a niche earns Derek 25,000

Derek Mason - Super Structures Associates

This year Derek Mason decided to

focus on specialising and developing
niche areas of his business, Super
Structures Associates, one of these
being Forensic Engineering; this is
the process used to investigate when
something goes wrong with a building
or construction project.
When Derek was recently contacted
and asked to assist in such a case, he
realised that his skills and experience
were critical to achieving success for his
potential client- and he told them so!
Derek also decided to raise his price per
hour by 250% for this specialised form
of engineering.

The client agreed without attempting

to reduce the fee, meaning that this
project alone earned Derek 25,000.
It just goes to show that if youre
confident in your abilities and explain
the value of your skills and experience
to your client then you can increase
your rates and still win the project, and
be paid what you are worth, Derek
says.
Hopefully this will encourage others in
the EC to have the confidence to follow
suit.

Constructing marketing pillars

brings Eddie 58,000
Eddie Johnson - Isis Insurance

Eddie Johnson has been a member of

the EC since January and since then he
has really tried to focus his attention on
building marketing pillars.
Historically, April is a slower month for
Eddies insurance business, Isis, so he
decided to work on constructing some
new marketing pillars to give Aprils
takings a boost. Inspired by a chat with
Ed Pearson, Eddie revamped a previous
direct mail campaign, set up a new
Google Adwords campaign and also
agreed two new affiliate partnerships.

April 2014 has been the best April in 9

years for Eddie, producing 58,000 of
income from completely new clients.
Going forward, Eddie has even bigger
plans for May and is preparing to launch
new direct mail campaigns, as well as
implementing a new CRM system in
order to cope with all of the increased
enquiries!
Congratulations Eddie- a true
testament to how focusing on your
marketing can really pay off!

The results have been fantastic, growing

the business by over 40%.

25

AskNigel

If youve got a queston that youd like

answered, just log on to the members
website and Ask Nigel.

Its not working...

From: Richard Cale, Aqua Essentials
When a customer requests a catalogue from our website we send it out the same
day. One week later, if they havent ordered, we send out a flyer telling them more
about the products we have and how they benefit them
Seven days later, again if they havent ordered, they get a second flyer - which is all
about them and answers more common questions.
A further week later flyer number 3 is sent out
And ultimately 4 weeks after they requested that catalogue the final flyer goes out.
After flyer number 4 we stop sending them info and give up.
Ive been very careful with my flyers and I believe they are written well, but the
problem is this approach is not working very well at all. Were not getting any
conversions. Should I be calling them after flyer 4 and asking their opinion?

Nige Says:

It sounds like youve got a

reasonably good process here,
but whats missing from your
question is precise numbers.
Before I can give you proper
advice we need to know exactly
what not many conversions
is. We can then extrapolate
those numbers and see if this
activity is generating any kind of
positive response or not. Its very
dangerous to assume here and I
wont be drawing to conclusions
without the hard data.
However, there are a couple
of things that Id definitely try
which are likely to improve your
situation. The first one, as you
suggest, is to get on the phone
and speak to them. I wouldnt
wait until week 4, as you suggest.
On the contrary, Id be jumping
on the phone on day 2 or 3. I
might even call them on the day
they request the catalogue.
It would be a very friendly call
thanking them for requesting the
catalogue and finding out exactly
what it is that theyre looking for
help with.

26

As you probably know, Ive

invested heavily in a new
telephone sales team this year there are currently 10 members
of that team and its set to grow
much more in the second half of
the year. They have transformed
the growth rate of our business.
There is no doubt that, in
almost every business, the more
conversations you have with
potential customers the more
sales you make and requesting
a catalogue on your website is a
great excuse to give someone a
ring. Try it and see.
The other change Id make is
that I would swap out one of the
later flyers for a straightforward
letter. You see, a flyer is a piece
of sales material and thats not
necessarily the case with a letter.
Something short and sweet,
that would fit on a single sheet
of paper which says something
along the lines of You asked for
our catalogue but you havent
placed any orders yet and Im
just wondering why?

Are we not carrying the right

products, was it not what you
were looking for, have we upset
you in some way? Please let me
know
In other words, a very personal
letter that specifically elicits a
response. Itll make you stand
out and, certainly when weve
used this kind of approach, has
a very good ratio at generating
responses.
I hope that helps.

A WARM WELCOME TO...

New members
this month
Congratulations and welcome to the latest group of forward
thinking business owners that joined the Circle last month.
Youve made a smart decision!
Make sure you make the most of your membership by booking on to our upcoming events (both
national AND local), delving deeper into the super useful content in The Vault on the members
website and taking away those valuable nuggets from the monthly Circulars to implement into
your business. Its great to have you on board as part of the EC gang.

Here are the new members who joined last month:

Aaron Dronsfield
Adam Penfold
Adele Bryant
Adrian Cook
Adrian Moore
Agneta Lindberg
Alan Scaplehorn
Alan Smith
Alan Spence
Alex Young
Alex Sharman
Alex Emmerson
Ali Shah
Alison Thompson
Amanda Rourke
Amanda Jane Sopp
Andre Hedger
Andrea Wainwright
Andrew Stephenson
Andrew Loftus
Andy Springett
Andy Wilkinson
Angela Harper
Anne Daybell
Annette Lee
Ashley Wilson
Atif Mahfooz
Barry Haeger
Bas Brown
Boota Ubhi
Carina Sharp
Carlton Brailey
Carol Sullivan
Carol Fennell
Caroline Maunder
Celia Adams
Chris Podwojski
Chris Emery
Chris Bull
Chris Davies
Christine White
Clayton Ainger
Clive Campling
Clive Doyle
Colin Tapsfield

Craig Brooke
Dale Leader
Daniel Murphy
Darren Fawcett
Darren George
Dave Evans
Dave Cottrell
David Bruce
David Emery
David Stead
David Cox
Dean Starbuck
Deborah Thompson
Dermot Murphy
Dick Bird
Donna Obstfeld
Fuzail Jamall
Gareth Dinnage
Gary Jeffrey
Gary Lee
Geoffrey Gordon
Girish Naker
Gordon Frew
Graham Davison
Hannah Weston
Helen McCann
Helen Raymond
Hema Rajah
Hiten Pabari
Ian Philp
Ijaz Akhter
Jack Mason
James Cook
James Welsh
James Newbery
James Levannais
Jane Wood
Jason Sutton
Jason Pass
Jennifer Barnes
Jeremy Knight
Jim Macmillan
Joanna Herve
Johanne Bone
John Oakden

John Campaigne
John Harris
John McKeown
John Thompson
John Mills
John Parkinson
John Michael Dane
Jon Field
Julie New
Juliet Goss
Justina Torrado
Kamil Bouzek
Kamlesh Makwana
Kamran Miah
Karen Hulatt
Karen Whitelaw-Smih
Kashif Saeed
Kate Duffield
Katie Sandrey
Keith Purkiss
Keith Davies
Keith Petty
Ken Whipday
Kerry Orr
Kevin Hamilton
Kim Geddes
Kristina Fields
Laura Fergusson
Linda Scannell
Lisa Pointin
Liz Newman
Liz Ware
Liz Price
Liza Poerksen
Lubna Alam-Orths
Luke Redding
Lynn Hilton
Lynne Austin-Dutton
Madeleine Morgan
Maggie Jackson
Marcus Earnshaw
Mark Hyde
Mark Tracey
Mark Boulcott
Mark Ball

Mark Roberts
Mark Neild
Mark Palmer
Mark Instance
Martin Dedman
Martin Jones
Matt Davis
Matthew Davies
Matthew Gawley
Megan Taylor
Michael White
Michael Cassidy
Michael Rogers
Michael Griffiths
Michele Judd
Mick Sheehan
Murray Macnaughtan
Neal Gurney
Neil Bridgland
Neil Milligan
Neil Thompson
Nicholas Gwynne
Nick Goodall
Nick Joiner
Nick Fenmor collins
Nicole Wright
Nigel Davies
Nigel Lumsdun
Nigel Asba
Oli Glockler
Pamela Coates
Patricia Niland
Patrick Johnston
Paul Haigh
Paul Samspson
Paul Abbott
Paul Hollis
Paul Jennings
Peter Court
Peter Cross
Phil Edwards
Pieter Claassen
Pravin Kharwadkar
Rachael Brockwell
Rachel OKennedy

Rakesh Dedi
Ria Carroll
Richard Clapp
Rob Birnie
Robbie Smith
Roman Marszalek
Ron Whitcher
Rowan Chuck
Roy Gwillam
Sally Dickson
Sally Tomlinson
Sally Peockock
Sam Bradley
Samantha Evans
Sandy Rees
Sanjeev Virdee
Sarah Williamson
Sarah Cook
Sean Toole
Shaun Luxton
Sian Chambers
Simon Hutchinson
Stefan Boyle
Stephane Xavier Magnani
Stephen Docherty
Stephen Allison
Stephen Tams
Steve Tyler
Steve Barber
Steven Brown
Susan Hooper
Susie Mackie
Taher Rashid
Taiwo Sheteolu
Tim Mulkern
Trevor Toms
Valari Hancock
Vickie Norris
Victoria Bush
William Okeeffe
Willie McLaughlin
Yolanda Kerr
Zia Butt
Zoe Phillips
27

Your Local Meetin

MAY BGA MEETINGS

The monthly local meetings are your

opportunity to get hands-on, practical
help for your business.

The meetings are all free to attend for members and

timings and venues can be found by booking your spot at

www.nigelbotterill.com/local

REGIONAL BGA NORTH EAST & SCOTLAND

Gemma Toner

Newcastle

2nd June

REGIONAL BGA NORTH WEST & CENTRAL

Andrew Scholes

3rd June

Warrington

4th June

Liverpool

4th June

Chester

9th June

Hereford

10th June

Stoke

10th June

Macclesfield

16th June

Stafford

16th June

Wolverhampton

17th June

Shrewsbury

17th June

Telford

18th June

Kidderminster

18th June

Worcester

19th June

Edgbaston (Birmingham)

19th June

Solihull

25th June

Leamington / Warwick

26th June

Sutton Coldfield

26th June

Tamworth / Lichfield

3rd June

Sunderland

3rd June

Durham

3rd June

Darlington

4th June

Richmond

4th June

Middlesborough

5th June

Kendal

5th June

Carlisle

9th June

Belfast

11th June

Milton Keynes

Aberdeen

16th June

Northampton

Dundee

17th June

Bedford

Glasgow

17th June

Leicestershire / Market Harborough

Edinburgh

17th June

Rugby

18th June

Coventry

10th June
11th June
12th June
13th June

REGIONAL BGA CENTRAL

Robin Sharpe

REGIONAL BGA NORTH

REGIONAL BGA EAST

Jay Allen

Adrian Close

2nd June

Blackpool

3rd June

Stevenage / Hitchin

3rd June

Wigan

5th June

Cambridge

3rd June

Preston

5th June

Bishops Stortford

4th June

Manchester

10th June

Huntingdon

4th June

Stockport

11th June

Leicestershire

5th June

Bradford

11th June

Leicestershire / Loughborough

5th June

Oldham / Rochdale

12th June

Peterborough

17th June

Blackburn

17th June

Lincoln

17th June

Burnley

18th June

Sheffield

18th June

Brighouse

18th June

Chesterfield / Mansfield

18th June

Bolton

19th June

Nottingham

19th June

Leeds

19th June

Derby

19th June

Wakefield / Barnsley

24th June

Kings Lynn

23rd June

Hull

24th June

Norwich

23rd June

Doncaster

25th June

Ipswich

25th June

Harrogate

25th June

Colchester

25th June

York

25th June

Bury St Edmunds

28

ting Dates
REGIONAL BGA SOUTH WEST

REGIONAL BGA SOUTH EAST

Andy Wilcox

Karl Anscombe

2nd June

Weymouth

5th June

Tunbridge Wells

2nd June

Bournemouth

6th June

Brighton

4th June

Salisbury

9th June

Guildford

4th June

Winchester

9th June

Weybridge

5th June

Swansea

10th June

Farnham

5th June

Haverford West

10th June

Godalming

9th June

Oxford

11th June

Dorking

9th June

Banbury

11th June

Epsom

10th June

Newport / Cardiff

17th June

Crawley

11th June

Wells / Glastonbury

24th June

Southampton / Portsmouth

Weston Super Mare

24th June

Chichester

12th June

Swindon

25th June

Croydon / Bromley

16th June

Gloucester

16th June

Cheltenham

17th June

Bristol

17th June

Trowbridge

23rd June

Bath

25th June

Bristol

25th June

Trowbridge

11th June

HEAD OF REGIONAL BGAS

Tim Savage
11th June

Basingstoke

12th June

Newbury

REGIONAL BGA LONDON & THE HOME COUNTIES

Damian Smyth
9th June

Watford

10th June

Hertford / Wellwyn

11th June

Central London

11th June

Ealing - West London

12th June

Chelmsford

12th June

Stratford - East London

16th June

Dartford

16th June

Farnborough

17th June

Barnet - North London

18th June

High Wycombe

18th June

Fulham - South London

19th June

Hemel Hempstead

19th June

Harrow

23rd June

Aylesbury

24th June

Luton / St. Albans

24th June

Reading

25th June

Richmond / Twickenham

25th June

Camberley

26th June

Uxbridge

Local BGAs
Julia Bramble

9th June

Exeter

Ian George

10th June

Maidstone

Julia Bramble

11th June

Plymouth

Your upco
ming loca
l
BGA Meet
ing dates
are availa
ble online
!

Weve now made it even easier to book a place at your local meeting.

Just visit www.nigelbotterill.com/local

29

Be Paranoid.
I had a horrible experience a couple of weeks ago. I was driving in my car listening to recordings of some of
the phone calls into Botty Towers. Im going to spare you the details here, but there was one particular call
which absolutely horrified me.
It was handled by an experienced
member of my team, someone who had
been with me for over two years, but it
was truly awful. Im squirming now, as
I write this, four days later. There was
hardly a single thing about the call that
was acceptable.

It reminded me of my trip to Rick Steins

Delicatessen in Padstow a couple of
years ago, a story which many of you
will be familiar with. In short, Rick was in
his shop that particular sunny Saturday
to stop the sabotage. It wasnt that his
staff were out to shaft him or that they
were malicious in anyway, just that they
werent doing their jobs properly in
the way that he wanted, nor were they
doing everything.
The fishmonger wasnt talking about the
scallops and offering them as the perfect
starter and the lady on the till had
forgotten all about her job to build Ricks
database by getting customers to fill in
the data collection forms. Simple things
that make a difference. Either way.
Whether theyre done or not. And thats
exactly how it was with this particular
phone call.
Whats interesting is, the customer left
the call perfectly happy. She would
never have complained because, from
her experience, there was nothing to
complain about. But, metaphorically
speaking, my guy had not sold the
scallops, or got the data form filled in
he was sabotaging my business in a
meaningful and substantive way.
Whose fault is this? Well its mine of
course. I dont listen to as many phone
calls as Id like, but I do listen to a
big bunch of them every month and
Im getting hold of even more now
following my experience last week
because, you see, I know that sabotage
is happening in my business.
I know that not every interaction of a
member of my team and one of my
dearly beloved customers goes exactly
as I would like it to.

30

I know were missing opportunities to

deliver value, I know that, on occasions,
were saying the wrong thing, that were
not following through, that were not
thinking as effectively as we could about
every scenario.
I also know that, to a large extent, it
wont ever be thus, but that cannot and
must not stop me trying to fix it. The day
I get complacent and think everythings
okay is the day my business begins to
die. And so it is for you too. I would not
trade my conscious incompetence for
your blissful ignorance.
Just because you havent heard in
excruciating detail one of your team
talking to your customers completely
inappropriately doesnt mean its not
happening. And these are not bad
people handling these calls, dont forget.
My guy did absolutely NOT set out to
do a bad thing or to disappoint. He
was well intentioned, even if he wasnt
thinking properly or clearly. He was
also inadequately trained thats my
responsibility, fair and square.
Its seductive, for all of us, to plot
and plan and dream of growth and
expansion and amplification. But with
such things comes increased exposure
and our reliance of other people
becomes more and more critical to our
success. We forget this at our peril.
Right now, this week, someone is
sabotaging your business and its your
job to find out who, where and why
and stop it.

rd
And thats the final wo

MAKE YOUR NOTES & ACTION PLANS HERE

Please use this space to map out the things that youre going to be doing over the next four five weeks to move your business forward. Hope it helps

31

Whats ON

A round-up of whats coming up!

June

July

August

Tuesday 3rd
Platinum Mastermind Group 1
Solihull

Wednesday 2nd
Mastermind Group 2 Solihull

Tuesday 5th
Platinum Mastermind 1

Monday 7th
National Event North - Bolton
Made In Britain

Thursday 7th
Platinum Mastermind 2

Thursday 5th
Platinum Mastermind Group 2
Solihull

Thursday 17th
PPC Workshop with Jo Davies
Solihull

Tuesday 10th
PPC with Jo Davies Solihull
Wednesday 18th
Platinum Mastermind Group 3
Solihull

Tuesday 12th
Platinum Mastermind 3

Thursday 24th
Mastermind Group 3 Solihull

Monday 30th
Mastermind Group 1 - Solihull
Saturday 28th - 1st July
Masterplan Event

FOR INFORMATION ON ANY OF THE EVENTS OR TO BOOK, CALL 0121 765 5551
There are five levels of EC Membership:
1

Starter

The ideal starting point for

start-ups and smart business
owners looking for practical
help that will help them and
their business grow.
Access to National
Membership Events

CLUB
member

Club level membership is the

perfect next step for switched
on entrepreneurs who are
serious about seeking out the
support they need to grow their
businesses.

Marketing critique
sessions

Sign up for a 12-month Club

membership and youll get all
Starter member benefits PLUS:

1:1 with one of Nigels

expert team

A GUARANTEED 30-minute
1:1 meeting or call with Nigel

Access to The Vault

Access to our PRIVATE Club

Class Facebook group

Fortnightly phone-ins
giving you the help you
need

Exclusive member sessions

at National Events

The monthly
Entrepreneurs Circular
delivered to your door

Priority booking on ALL events

Regular online webinars

with renowned experts

Exclusive advanced content

in The Vault

Two Marketing Critique

vouchers worth 145 each

Club+

Club + is our fantastic new

membership level for 2014.
Imagine if the Entrepreneurs
Circles best marketing
experts were working on
YOUR business. Well, thats
exactly what were offering.
Sign up for Club + and youll
get ALL the great benefits of
Club Membership PLUS:
Done for you marketing
material
How Can We Helpdesk?
Concierge
Legal Advice Service

The ultimate 12-month

business growth teaching
programme.
Six areas of focus covered in
detail during two-month long
modules; each with printed
learning material, online
teaching and live one-day
Mastery Meetings.
To find out more about the
brand new Accelerate 360
membership, text 360
followed by your name to
88802.

Niges Notes our special

done-for-you reading service

Nigel Botterills Entrepreneurs Circle

www.nigelbotterill.com

Coming soon...

100K Accidental Death

Cover

Your monthly Botcast CD

3 Olton Bridge, 245 Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 7AH

Tel. 0121 765 5551