The Business Bulletin
Paul Green
Working with ambitious business owners who want to grow their business through networking, business support & workshops.
Welcome to The Business Bulletin - a weekly collection of useful articles covering all pillars of business created by leading experts in their field. Plus a "spotlight on" interview - gaining insights from small business owners.
In this week's edition:
What’s the point of a mortgage broker? - Mark Chapman
Why when the internet provides limitless amounts of information and advice available at your fingertips would anyone still choose to use a mortgage broker? Add in the advent of comparison sites, and surely anyone internet savvy can find their own mortgage.
In many ways, the internet’s biggest benefit – its pervasiveness – is also its greatest drawback. With so much information out there it’s almost impossible to know which of it is reputable or accurate, and which of it applies to you. This is especially the case if you’re looking for a specialist mortgage either because of your personal circumstances or because of the peculiarities of the property you want to buy.
This is where a mortgage broker comes in. Combining up to date knowledge and experience of the mortgage market, mortgage brokers are the right people to cut through the confusion and find the most appropriate deal for you.
We’ll take a look at the edge a mortgage broker can give you, as well as discussing what you should look for in a broker and what to ask them before you decide to give them your business.
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How not to make a cold call - Dr Alison Edgar MBE
Cold calls – let’s face it most people don’t like them. They can seem pushy and they’re often inconvenient. In case you’ve been living off the grid and don’t know what we’re talking about… a cold call is a phone call from a company or business you don’t know, who are trying to sell you something. It’s one of the easiest things to get wrong for anyone working in sales. But it’s also not that hard to do it well…if you know how!
My experience of cold calls
A few weeks ago, I received an inbound call from Laura, somebody who we didn’t know and who wanted to sell us her branding and printing services. When you make a cold call you have to start to build rapport with the person you are calling fast.
It’s not all about you
Laura spent the first 4 minutes talking about her company. She missed the all-important topic of what benefits her company would bring to me.
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Do you feel like reading this article? - Charlotte Whelan
A dive into the muddy waters of emotional motivation and its link to conversion.
Therapy teaches us about human experience
One of the most common things people who have had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) learn is the connection between different parts of experience.
We are taught that our experience can be broken down into the following elements. (I will give little examples of each based on imposter syndrome as this is something many of us can relate to).
The CBT cycle teaches us that all parts of our experience are connected and are important to what makes us human.
Something that often gets lost in a world of Google Analytics and big data is that your target audience are human beings that go through this full range of experience. It doesn’t matter if you are a B2B or B2C business, losing sight of what makes people tick will harm your ability to convert.
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Recommended by LinkedIn
Using psychometric testing for recruitment and development - Simon Merriman
Have you ever worked anywhere where there was high staff turnover, little employee investment or engagement or a lack of understanding between staff and their managers?
There is an old saying that staff don’t leave companies they leave managers. Often that statement is true and more than often it is down to poor development of managers when recruiting or promoting them into a role.
Managers are not ‘natural’ at management skills, they are not born with these skills within their tool kit. Some will have natural traits that can be associated with being good leaders, they may have natural traits that are good for their roles as managers such as empathy and listening skills however, they will still be raw traits and knowing how to use them and what to do with them is the essential skill.
The high turnover of staff can be traced right back to the initial recruitment stage. Recruiting managers often use unstructured interviews relying on their own knowledge and gut instinct. If I had a pound for every manager that told me their gut instinct always selected the right person I could have retired by now……….also how do they know they got the right person if they hadn’t tried any of the other candidates.
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What the hell is a mastermind group, and would it benefit my business? - Paul Green
For many business people being part of a mastermind is hugely beneficial. Whether a mastermind would be worth it for you though is a very personal choice. It is a real commitment so before you can make a sensible decision you need to have perspective on what one actually is what it can do for your business and, sometimes more importantly, you as a business owner.
What is a mastermind group?
I have noticed over the years that there are often some misconceptions around what a mastermind group is and what it is for. This is possibly because they tend to vary in form and function a little. Some are specialised to certain marketplaces, others have an entry requirement of a particular turnover or profit and so on. For the moment though, to cut through the noise, you can probably put all the subtle differences aside and focus on the single question of whether one is right for you. Before you find the right group, you need to look at what a mastermind is.
All masterminds will
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Realistic optimism - Mark Billage
Are you a glass is half empty or a glass half full type of person? The answer to this question is to help you understand whether we are generally optimistic in our outlook or more pessimistic. Which would you say you are? I would say that I am generally an optimist. I try and look for the positive and the opportunity in most situations. You may be similar. Being optimistic is helpful for the most part. However, there is a caveat to this. You cannot be optimistic without being realistic.
As a team or organisation leader, or a business owner it is important to realise what your general tendency is in this regard, because depending on what your situation is will dictate how you orientate your optimism. In other words, optimism is generally helpful, however if you don’t take account of the facts of your situation then the optimism will not be helpful it will be harmful.
To illustrate this, I have included a quote from Admiral James Stockdale who was held as prisoner of war in Vietnam for 8 years. This is an extract of a conversation he had with Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great.”
“I asked Stockdale: ‘Who didn’t make it out?’ And he said, ‘Oh, that’s easy. It was the optimists. […] They were the ones who said we were going to be out by Christmas. And then they’d say, ‘we’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again.’ And they died of a broken heart.”
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Spotlight on: Mark Coster , Pixooma Ltd
Mark has spent over 20 years as a graphic designer, working for a number of large organisations and national brands. Most people start their own business so they can just do more of the things that they're good at, but he wanted to operate as a larger business would from day one. He has maintained excellent levels of service and put in processes and procedures that help him provide an efficient, proactive service. Judging by his many 5* Google reviews (the most in the UK), it's working.
Watch the video to learn more about his business journey as well as some top tips.
Director at Ballyhoo PR | Freelance writer and public relations consultant | Copywriter
1yI watched the Spotlight on with Mark Coster. A great interview. Mark, could you send me details of your creative networking group, please?
Motivational speaker creating high-performing individuals and teams. Dyslexic author of 2 Amazon international best-selling books. TEDx speaker. MBE for entrepreneurship and business. Doctor of Education (honoris causa)
1yThanks for sharing Paul Green I’m laughing 😂 about Laura as I re read the article. She really was dreadful at cold calling people coukd learn a lot from her mistakes.