Workshops

A very happy new year to you. Did you have a good Christmas? I am super-excited to be launching our 2011 workshop programme for you. We’ve made a decision to run all of our workshops (bar the Customer Greenhouse Customer Retention event) at our Guildford based studios. It’s lovely to have you all at the heart of our studio, it means that we can really spend more time one on one with you as well as providing gorgeous food in gorgeous surroundings. And it goes without saying that the content of the workshops will be totally user-friendly and very easy to implement once you get back to your desks.

So without further ado, here’s an overview of the workshops we’ll be running in 2011. Full details are on our website, where you can also book quickly and securely. Running workshops from our studio does mean that places are strictly limited to a maximum of ten delegates, so if a workshop catches your fancy then do book – our last two have sold out three weeks early!

Creative, inspiring and practical workshops designed to show you how to create marketing that really works. Held at our Guildford based studios, small intimate groups for maximum value along with ooodles of know how and homemade cakes!

2011 Marketing workshops:

January 20th 2011 : Promote Your Business Workshop

Discover how to create marketing pieces that work – a great introduction to writing great copy, planning your outcomes and designing for success.

February 3rd 2011 : Retaining Customers and Building Your Tribe

Some of the country’s leading experts in customer retention (… and me ) come together for our first Customer Greenhouse conference at Denbies Vineyard in Surrey. Discover how to retain more of your customers and build a truly profitable and evangelical tribe.

February 17th 2011 : Blogging Workshop

Our ever-popular blogging workshop will cover the basics of how to create a blog that’ll win you plenty of business. You’ll leave armed with oodles of ideas and plenty of simple strategies you can implement to improve your blog.

March 24th 2011 : Branding Workshop

A brand new workshop designed to get you thinking hard about how you can make your own brand more compelling. Mood boards, brand strategy and plenty of practical tips and techniques too!

April 14th 2011 : Copywriting Essentials Workshop

A must for anyone responsible for writing copy for websites, brochures, newsletters or email marketing. Discover how to attract, engage and galvanise a response.

May 19th 2011 : Workshop Bootcamp

Back by popular demand! The absolute essentials of running successful workshops and seminars to promote your business, find your ideal clients and generate a profit.

June 23rd 2011 : Christmas Campaign Planning Workshop

Get organised and start planning ahead. Ideal for those of you that sell product that would work as Christmas gifts.

September 22nd 2011 : Blogging Workshop

Our ever-popular blogging workshop will cover the basics of how to create a blog that’ll win you plenty of business. You’ll leave armed with oodles of ideas and plenty of simple strategies you can implement to improve your blog.

October 13th 2011 : Design Rules Workshop

Design tips for non-designers. Find out the tips and tricks us professional designers use and how to avoid your self designed stuff looking like an amateur has done it!

November 17th 2011 : Copywriting Essentials Workshop

A must for anyone responsible for writing copy for websites, brochures, newsletters or email marketing. Discover how to attract, engage and galvanise a response.

December 8th 2011 : Focus & Flourish Workshop

Our overwhelmingly popular workshop with Elizabeth Cairns. Focus on what really matters for the new year and plan for success.

Full details of all our workshops are on our website, so go on, treat yourself! I look forward to seeing you.

Tagged as in Workshops

Yesterday marked the last of our marketing workshops in Guildford for the year. And I like to think that we went out with a bang! Together with the wonderful Elizabeth Cairns a collection of small business owners and marketing executives joined us in the Flourish studio to plan for success in 2011.

Elizabeth kicked off the day with some fantastic exercises to get us all focused. She got us meditating and visualising where we’d like to be this time next year, the successes that we could look back on and what was important to us about next year. What I hope is that the delegates managed to get a great balance between what was important to them in their personal lives as well as their professional successes.

I know I came away with some major lightbulb moments from that session, with some real clarity around where we’re going next year, what I expect of myself and what I expect of the team and the business. In fact, Elizabeth’s session was so powerful for me that I’ll be booking her in to run something very similar for the team in January…

After coffee and homemade cakes (chocolate peppermint and orange and cranberry for the foodies amongst you) it was my turn. Time to get down to the practicalities of how exactly we were going to achieve our goals. I started by getting them thinking about their niche in the market. And out came some interesting stories. What was key was the point of difference – if you constantly find yourself in competition with one other company then you haven’t differentiated yourself enough: which becomes soul destroying and costly to the business. The message of the morning was point of difference! What do you want to be known for? What are you best at? What do your customers want? And can you deliver what you promise?

We then got on to the nuts and bolts: essentials of running a business: pricing; differentiation; having enough services and so on as well as thinking about setting financial goals over a monthly basis.

Food always plays a big role in my workshops – and so back it was to the breakout room for a delicious lunch: beef and mushroom stroganoff with vegetables; vegetable lasagne with salad and a rhubarb and vanilla cheesecake. Much restored we took to the outdoors.

My plan had been to walk along the river, which I always find restorative and inspirational, but a combination of some very impractical shoes on my behalf (honestly, you’d have thought I’d have known better!) and an ice-rink of a tow-path meant that we strode through Guildford – through the castle grounds and down the high street. It was a great way to refresh, recharge and connect with others. And I always find that walking pulls out some great ideas too.

Back in the studio it was back to marketing: strategies to own your niche and build your expert profile and finally campaign planning.

We had some really positive feedback, and I for one really enjoyed the day. I can’t wait for the next one!

If you’d like to attend a future Flourish workshop you can find full details of our 2011 workshop programme here. Based on your feedback I’ve moved back to the more intimate setting of our Guildford studio, which means more personal attention and less available spaces (absolute max of 10). The last two workshops have sold out 3 weeks early, so if something takes your fancy do book sooner rather than later!

Tagged as in Marketing, Workshops

I’m not normally one to outright plug things on this blog, but Thursday 9th December sees the last marketing workshop of the year so I thought I should let you know . I’ve teamed up with Elizabeth Cairns and it’s going to be a cracker!

Focus and Flourish is designed to help those of you that dread the thought of writing your marketing plan. We’ll help you get focused, and erm, plan how to get your business flourishing for the new year. Elizabeth’s effervescent and inspirational facilitative style will really help you focus on what’s important to you about next year: whether it’s about paying off your mortgage or getting a better work life balance (or something in between!) she’ll use a range of techniques to get you focused.

You’ll be creating a visual mood board before the workshop that we’ll use in the session as an aid, as well as walking along the beautiful River Wey (bring waterproofs and your woolies – we’ll be out whatever the weather) and some group sessions.

Once we’ve got you focused, following some delicious homemade cakes, and probably mince pies since it’ll be nearly Christmas, I’ll help you create a marketing plan that’ll help your business flourish. We’ll explore your niche, and whether it’s relevant for the year ahead and we’ll look at some low cost and no cost marketing activities to help you communicate your brand strategy as well as the activities that require a little investment in exchange for a high return.

We only have 5 spaces left and I would hate for you to miss out! To secure your place simply book online, and if you book before Thursday you’ll save £30. Go on, join us for a fabulous day and get focused and help your business flourish!

Oh and one more thing… we are desperately trying to get our calendar of workshops together for next year and we’d love to know what you want. Would you fill out our two minute questionnaire so that we can make sure we deliver the workshops you want?

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