Free Seminars

Marketing on a Shoestring

Low Cost Marketing Ideas to Kickstart Your Business

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Some people think that marketing is all about expensive TV advertising and fancy design agencies. Well some larger companies do spend their multi-million pound budgets on advertising and flashy design agencies but the principles they apply to deciding on their marketing approach, apply equally to every type and size of business - large or small.

In fact, there are many marketing techniques that are low cost and even FREE!

Join marketing expert Sarah Orchard from Orchard Marketing Associates for this practical session on getting more marketing for less!

WHAT’S COVERED: Find out what marketing really is and what it can achieve for your business. Learn how to profile your customers and identify which benefits you should communicate to them. Discover several low cost and no cost  techniques that can be used to attract and retain them. Look into real-life case studies of how small businesses have used these techniques to successfully start and grow their businesses.

HOW  YOU WILL BENEFIT:

This session will help you to identify your customer target audience, and you will be able to decide which techniques will work best to attract and retain them. You can then build a plan of action to put these techniques into place as you launch your business.

Branding for Your Business

How to create an identity that'll make your competitors cry

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Does your business image do you justice? Does it excite, engage and encourage your potential clients? Or does it confuse, alienate and turn them off? Join branding expert Fiona Humberstone, from printing.com Guildford for a practical workshop to ensure your business sends out the right signals.

WHAT'S COVERED:

Discover the tools the experts use to create brands that work. Learn what works and what is certain to fail - the fonts, colours and imagery that will attract your target audience, and those which repell. See real life case studies from businesses like yours and learn how they used design to move their businesses forward.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Learn how to identify the message you’d like your business to project, 

evaluate how effectively it’s doing that at the moment and

move forward with some practical tips to improve your business branding today and have your competitors reaching for the Kleenex!

Email Newsletters in Five Simple Steps

The invaluable guide to creating your own email newsletter

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Email newsletters are an incredibly low cost way of you building a relationship with customers and enquiries; positioning you as an expert in your field and keeping you at the forefront of your prospects minds. This 45 minute seminar is stacked full of hints and tips to help you get your email newsletter online. Led by Karen Skidmore, online marketing expert and founder of CanDoCanBe.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Anyone looking for a cost-effective method to build relationships with customers and prospective customers. By attending this seminar you will come away with a greater understanding of how to create an email newsletter that will really start adding value to your business.

“How I Got Started”

Inspiring stories from unusual business start ups

SEMINAR OVERVIEW Open forum chaired by Karen Skidmore, founder of CanDoCanBe. Join 21 year old entrepreneur Peter Richman,  mumtrepreneur Claire Brown of Plant Passion, Ida Horner and Mike Lunch of the Surrey Enterprise Hub. Hear their side of the story – the highs and lows of starting a business, learn from their mistakes and how they’ve marketed themselves. This will be an open forum so delegates will have the opportunity to ask the panel some cutting questions!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Anyone thinking of, or in the first couple of years of starting a business. It can be a lonely and daunting process when you first start your business. Particularly when there are so many other considerations at stake. Gain inspiration from our unusual business start ups and hear how they have made it work for them.

KEY TOPICS

How do I start a business with young children?

Starting a business on a budget, how do you do it?

Creating a term-time only business - is it realistic?

Home based business basics

How to keep sane when you're the only employee

Work-life balance - what's that and how do you retain it?

Successful Networking

Networking fundamentals you need to know

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: What are the fundamentals in networking? Gain insight from Thomas Power and Penny Power, founders of global success story Ecademy.

WHAT'S COVERED: In this 45 minute interactive workshop, you'll look at what networking is and how you can benefit from it, understand what to do and what not to do and learn useful hints.

HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT: You'll walk away with three powerful tips giving you the tools and techniques to become a successul networker. 

Presentation Skills You Need to Know to Get Your Message out There!

How to look and sound confident when you're quaking in your boots

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Whether you are presenting formally to a large group, running a workshop or pitching your business in a face to face meeting, your audience is weighing you up. Do they feel comfortable with you? Do they think you are competent, honest, that you have integrity? Could they do business with you? Or are your nerves stopping all your best qualities shining through? Do you feel a healthy expectancy when you get on your feet to speak – or just downright terrified? If nerves are sapping your confidence and making you feel that you can’t get your real personality over and that you are not doing yourself justice – then this talk is for you. Presented by Lyndon Hughes, a Public Speaking and Presentation coach

WHAT'S COVERED: An interactive seminar, with talking and demonstration as well as participation, Lyndon will cover how to speak with authority, passion and clarity. What 'presence' is and how to find yours and how to conquer stage fright.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: You'll learn how to confindently present through giving the right signals to your audience and the importance of posture. You be able to reach your audience and keep hold of them.

Sales Confidence Tricks

How to unlock your inner salesperson

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Like it or not, when you own a business you become a salesperson. Learn how to massively increase your influence and impact on your clients to help you grow your business. Elizabeth Cairns of  Amovita is a Master NLP practitioner and an expert in helping clients develop success mindsets. Join her for this fun and lively seminar guaranteed to leave you feeling exhillarated.

WHAT'S COVERED: You''ll look at how to

Communicate effectively without being pushy

Adapt a successful mindset

so that you present your best possible 'face'

Overcome customers resistance to your prices and charge what you're worth.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: You'll walk away with the tools to be able to sell your products or service in a confident and successful manner.

How to create websites that make you money

Help! My Website isn't working

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Discover Bruce Hazleton of the Marvellous Media Company's secrets to creating websites that work.

WHAT'S COVERED:

In this 40 minute free seminar Bruce will share with you:

Matching Expectation - make sure you understand your visitors, and they understand you

Conversion

- identify their pain and overcome their objections

Most Desired Response - now you've got them, what are you going to do with them?

Test, Measure, Improve

- how do you know if it's working? How do you make it better?

This seminar distils 20 collective years of experience in creating websites that make money. It's packed full of industry secrets and the learning points come thick and fast so concentrate and make plenty of notes!

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

You'll be able to use your website as a successful element of your marketing plan, and ensure it's meeting the needs of your target visitors.

Grow your Business by Understanding your Customer

Using market research to your business advantage

SEMINAR OVERVIEW:  Anne Crotty of Market Research agency Pensare has over 20 years experience in Market Research and passionately believes that understanding your customer can seriously impact on your sales – join her to learn how you can use market research in your business.

WHAT'S COVERED: Learn how to use Market Research to grow your business – how to do it, what you need to know and how to use what you find.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: You'll gain an insight into what Martket Research is and how you can use it in your business.

Better Business Blogging

What is blogging and how can it help my business?

Better Business Blogging expert Mark White will guide you through this essential marketing tool.

Business Growth and How to Avoid Becoming Another Statistic

SEMINAR OVERVIEW: Learn why 80% of new businesses fail within the first five years and how to avoid the pitfalls. Come and listen to marketing expert Mike Jennings of the Quantum Organisation who will explain the reasons so many businesses don’t succeed.

WHAT'S COVERED: Learn in a simple, jargon free style the key levers of business growth, which when applied correctly will ensure your business grows and prospers.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: You'll leave this seminar armed with the facts and tips that should help you overcome the new business challenges.

Reputation? What's that?

What is a personal brand?

What is a ‘personal brand’, why do you need one, and what difference would having a personal brand make to the quality and value customers experience on your day to day business?

Why does it matter?
People ‘buy’ people, in just the same way as we buy any product or service.  We have choice, and we make our decisions based on how much we think we will benefit from ‘buying’ a product or service and if we will ultimately delight in experiencing the brand values we are promised through its reputation.

Delivering a great reputation.
Having a great personal brand is about having a promise of value, being able to ‘do what it says on the tin’, never compromising on service and understanding exactly how important it is to represent your business in exactly the way you require and need it to be represented. If you ever worry about the soft skills you and your people are demonstrating in your market place, now is the opportunity to listen to Tessa Hood talk about how to develop your own personal brand and develop your reputation in the direction you want, not what others perceive.

Take ownership of your brand and make sure you give added value to your clients every day.
It is a well-known maxim that reputation is hard won and easily lost, but what is often forgotten is that reputation has to be worked at every day.

Join Tessa Hood MD, of Changing Gear Ltd., in this fun and lively session.

Search Engine Optimisation

Geek free advice to help your website get found

Seriously good advice on getting your website found in Google and the other search engines with techie-speak free practical advice, top tips and expert insights. Learn how to be found, and how to be used by Peter Richman from Plug and Play Design

Sell It Like It Is

Public Relations Know How

Jonathan Steffen of The Corporate Story Ltd explains how SMEs can use the strength of their own stories to achieve improved media coverage. Topics include identifying media opportunities, crafting press releases, selling stories in to the press, and leveraging the coverage achieved.

Building Your Business Through Innovation

Innovative Strategies to Grow Your Business

How can the small business build competitive advantage and compete with peer businesses  and the big guys? Why are some companies so innovative, always pioneering and leading industry sectors. What gives them this competitive advantage? Is it just because of technology and scientific advancement, critical mass or special business techniques and processes? Come and share my views, participate and if I make you think and stimulate your approach to business growth with at least one idea to explore, then it’s been worth it; you’ve only got something to gain. Then finish the day with us – right there – for a wine tasting and networking session to exchange views and make new friends.
 
Keith McCullough has many years experience in innovation with R&D, product, service and management development experience, having done the learning curve from the bottom to Executive, CEO and NED, with international and private companies and his own businesses, in scientific, consumer and service market sectors. He has a practical, down to earth and understandable approach to business growth and management.