Be Surprising (in Bids and Tenders)
Being surprising in bids can be the single point of differentiation between you and your competition.
The Cardinal Sin of Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Key decision makers for part of a sales process don’t want to necessarily know or appreciate being told they’re part of an ABM strategy… even if it could reap huge benefits.
THE greatest ABM cardinal sin!
With so much coverage now, writing an article on Account Based Marketing (ABM) felt akin to asking your grandmother to suck eggs (She doesn’t? Well she should. Run an ABM programme on her…). Everyone’s ABM’ing it, we have Heads of ABM, ABM specialists, ABM Teams, ABM agencies (yup, guilty as charged). Supposedly ABM – or […]
3 Things They Don’t Tell You When Responding To A Bid
Search online and you’ll find a wealth of advice on bid tendering. It sounds pretty obvious and formulaic when you read it. Bid or no bid. Make a plan. Form a team. Be compliant. Offer great evidence, submit and wait for the good news. Frankly, what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal may be […]
Emotional v Artificial intelligence – who wins out?
It is hard to stop revolutions, and we are most certainly in an AI revolution. Data this. Analytics that… function over emotion, process not prose, economies of scale, cost savings over creativity, and of course, guaranteed success needed immediately. We are well on our way to becoming a ‘Robots welcome only’ era. So what are […]
What to do when robots are judging your bid
We spend our lives helping clients win crucial bids in many different industry sectors. But are we on the cusp of a whole new world of Bid procurement behaviour? 2021… Picture the scene Following an 18-month plus slog of RFP process, you make it through to the short-list stage and the all-important face-to-face presentation day […]
The Art of Positioning
The art of positioning presents so many ways to explain something, through use of context, insight, humour, humility and giving others the opportunity to look at something with a different perspective. Nick Pearce looks at the positioning disasters, time wasters and winners.
3 ways to guarantee value for every customer
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]All businesses are engaged in a quest to provide ever greater value for their clients. But the sheer size and speed of available information means delivering it has become more challenging. The key to overcoming this is knowing the universal constants that span all industries and all clients. Here are three pillars that, if realised, […]
‘Liquid Thinking’
by Damian Hughes
I hope Damian Hughes won’t mind me saying this but he doesn’t immediately strike you as an obvious inspiring life guru. Writing on a topic – fulfilling your life’s purpose – which is a current literary obsession, is brave when your credentials read as: ex-football youth player, Unilever HR manager and volunteer at Manchester’s Moston […]
Become a thought leader in just 5 steps
Thought leadership is a position of power. As a thought leader you’re an influencer and a market commentator rather than solely a vendor – it’s a very different position, and one that brings with it credibility and responsibility. The best thought leaders play a key role in the conceptualisation of new business ideas, trends and […]
Why security inertia is more powerful than any hacker
If your house kept getting burgled because you’d been leaving the key under the same flowerpot, you’d probably think deeply about why it happened and how you’d make sure it would never happen again. Why have so many businesses failed for so many years to think deeply about their cyber security strategy? You might blame […]
‘Simple Thinking: How to remove complexity from life and work’ by Richard Gerver
‘Simple Thinking: How to remove complexity from life and work’ by Richard Gerver When a book comes out with a title so close to our very own ‘making the complex compellingly simple‘ heart, how could we resist checking it out? Sadly the similarity ends with the title. Richard Gerver makes some sound points, but the book […]
5 signs you need a restructure not a rebrand
One of the first questions I ask any client who comes looking for a rebrand is: “Why?”. I don’t just ask this because I’m contrarian, but because all too often they are looking for the solution to a problem that can’t be solved by brand alone. A repair isn’t as sexy as a rebuild […]
How well do you know your business enemy?
Dunkirk. The Blitz spirit. Famous examples where people displayed an extraordinary courage and pulled together in a cohesive manner not seen in calmer, safer times. Threat brings humans closer together. Focus becomes sharper, clearer, streamlined and more meaningful – whether the threat turns out to be real or imagined. Without this, we live in a […]
How to sell Security
‘The Internet of Things’ is a term you’ll now be familiar with. What is the one striking feature of this world-changing term that stands out? Uncertainty. Utter uncertainty.
The Best Advice I Never Took?
As a 10 year-old schoolboy I never expected that the lesson I valued the most today would be one of my father’s rare pieces of advice back then. It’s something I will testify to have had a huge impact on my business life. And yet I ignored it for over 20 years. His advice? Ask one dumb question every day of your life.
How straight and powerful is your business?
Alignment. Not a hugely exciting word I grant you. But in the right hands? Wow is it powerful.
In a world of abundant choice and excessive everything, where everyone can seemingly do everything 24/7, it’s hard to be clear on who does what and for what reason?
Death of a Salesman
Matthew Dixon’s bestseller The Challenger Sale is renowned bedside reading for most sales executives. His unique mix of experience, research and insight is widely believed to hold the secrets to both a successful sales strategy and honing your personal selling skills. Yet in the two years since The Challenger Sale…
Brand identity: Has your brand strategy got soul?
Consumers are seeking authentic brands. Brands with soul. Soul needs to be baked into your brand identity. Gone are the days when marketing was about having the biggest, shoutiest brand, being ‘revolutionary’ or being the first to launch stuff into space. To today’s hype-weary consumer, flash brand strategies, such as…
Do Lecture Diary
Attending a Do Lectures weekender has always ranked highly on my business bucket list, so naturally when our PR/content team “Project Voice” put the application under my nose I jumped at the opportunity and decided to document my experience for future Do Lecturers.
The Secret to Business Success – Strategic Listening
Guest post requested by our friend from across the pond – SurveyMonkey, who may appear to be in the survey business, but who are really in the insight business. We share our experience on ways strategic listening can directly determine business success – and avoid failures. From business inception to…