• Business Development Clinic: 7 signs that a prospect is interested in using your services

    Business Development Clinic: 7 signs that a prospect is interested in using your services

    The question that I was asked recently – How do I spot the signs that a client is interested in working with me? When are they just being polite and taking an interest, and when are they serious about working with me? In this blog post we explore how to spot when you have a…

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  • 11 speaking tips from the pros for when it really matters

    11 speaking tips from the pros for when it really matters

      Recently, I had the ‘pleasure’ and honour at presenting at CIPD HRD2013. This is a massive event, and any speaker at this event had earned their stripes. I.e. it is reserved for the creme de la creme of the HR profession. Well, and little old me. There is nothing as daunting as presenting to…

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  • A great tip to get the quality thinking time you need to plan your career

    A great tip to get the quality thinking time you need to plan your career

    A month ago I had one of the best days I had ever had at work. So much so, it didn’t feel like work. In fact I was lucky on a few levels… firstly, I had the pleasure of a 3 hr working session with great client to work with, who is very focused and…

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  • Business Development Clinic: 7 options to avoid lowering your fees for a client

    Business Development Clinic: 7 options to avoid lowering your fees for a client

    Even if you have qualified your lead correctly, there are still times when your prospect is asking for a reduction in your fees. In this blog post we examine, how to avoid lowering your fees, so that you maintain your profit margin and STILL sign up the client. Unless you are in a competitive bidding…

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  • 3 tips to help you decide on whether to focus on a niche

    3 tips to help you decide on whether to focus on a niche

    In many of our previous blogs we have discussed how to find your niche. (See 5 steps to finding your niche – part 1 and part 2, business development time savers: have a niche – part 1, part 2, part 3) You could say that we have examined the sixty million dollar question of helping…

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  • A tip to help you really shut off from work on your holiday

    A tip to help you really shut off from work on your holiday

    If you are reading this blog now, you may like to feel a little sorry for myself. I will probably be shivering in a field, camping with my family. Yep, that’s right, it’s our annual week of “hoping” that the sun will shine and the british weather will be kind to us. Anyway, this is…

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  • Business Development Clinic: 6 tips to get back in touch with old colleagues

    Business Development Clinic: 6 tips to get back in touch with old colleagues

    Getting back in touch with people and old colleagues is something that many of us find difficult. Regardless of whether your motive is driven by a commercial need or you are just curious, it doesn’t make it any easier to get back in touch. However, for most of us, there is a huge amount of…

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  • The business card test of credibility

    The business card test of credibility

    As I mentioned yesterday, I recently attended the Professional Speaking Association’s spring convention, Creativity Live (See here for 5 ways you can present like the pros). At the convention were many different forms of speakers, from a funeral speaker (yes, seriously) through to people who had run 250 marathons in one year. There was also…

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  • 5 ways to truly present like the pros

    5 ways to truly present like the pros

    I recently attended the Professional Speaking Association’s spring convention Creativity Live. What a day! I came away with many new ideas and ways of improving my professional speaking. In this blog post I am going to share with you some of the key points and learnings which I got from the top professionals. Slides We…

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