Doing New Stuff, Meeting New People

We can all get so settled in our roles; doing the same old thing, dealing with the same people it can all get a bit too familiar. Knowing how your next meeting will go, aware of the personalities of your suppliers and project teams. But it's great to meet new people to broaden your horizons, get a fresh take on something or inspiration on a new approach to doing business. It makes for a really fresh injection of energy and ideas to a project or business venture. When I trialled a new supplier on a project, not only was it a breath of fresh air to benefit from some new ideas, but it reinvigorated my own offering. Similarly, since our 'black book' of contacts is the lifeblood of our business; it's great to extend the network to include contacts of contacts.

I am currently midway through a day of meetings with New People and it feels good. Good to be challenged and stimulated away from the status quo. Good to get a fresh take on things. It's always interesting to find out people's backstory - of how they have progressed in business; what were the catalysts for change were in their own stories. It's valuable not just because I find it simulating to meet new contacts; but because it is inspiring for my next book project too.

So stretch your horizons and schedule some meetings with new people. Get your clients and associates to introduce you to their contacts; identify and target business owners and professionals that you might want to work with online. And go and be a pioneer for the day....

The Bit About Being A Safe Pair Of Hands (Again)

Readers of my book will know the importance of being 'A Safe Pair Of Hands', there's a chapter on the very subject and I'm a real believer in 'ASPOH'. It's the criteria for how I recruit people, team members and suppliers and also it's why my clients hire me.

Writer and entrepreneur Mike Southon recently interviewed me for his series of Beermat Radio podcasts sponsored by FT.com. The interview is available for download on the Beermat website or as a podcast on i-tunes. And the interview with me is also the subject of Mike’s ‘My Business’ column in today’s Financial Times.

Mike has a very relaxed approach to his interviews, with little premeditation about the themes we would be discussing. Half way through the interview Mike hit upon the theme for my own story: being that safe paid of hands. Throughout my entire career, whether working for an employer or for myself, my success has been because employers and clients knew they could trust me to do a job well. That I would make 'it' - whatever 'it' is - happen, on time, on budget and on brief. Okay, so it's a bit more complicated than that, but you get the idea. There are so many suppliers and managers out there who consistently DON'T do the job well, everyone loves someone who does.

As Mike Southon says about success at the end of his FT column, "…Above all, you have to deliver on your promises. Happy customers will tell all their friends. The world will then beat a path to your door. Being a 'safe pair of hands" can be very rewarding whether you are in business or politics”.


Read the full article here, online on FT.com or at Mike’s weekly ezine.

Interview on Beermat Radio

Financial Times columnist and author of the Beermat Entrepreneur Mike Southon has interviewed me for his series of Beermat Radio podcasts.

There's a free 13 minute version of the interview HERE
There's a paid-for 31 minute version HERE
or find it on i-tunes, search on ‘Beermat Radio’....

Hunting For New Business

Over the past couple of days in conversations with friends, associates and clients the same subject keeps on coming up: seeking new business.

‘Getting New Business’ is always top of most of our to-do lists and the subject of much effort and agonising. And rightly so; it’s the lifeblood of all we do.

One of my clients asked me recently, ‘how do you get new business?’ as if there were a proven procedure for getting new clients and projects (if only).

However much we strategise and plot sales and biz dev initiatives, you cannot always contrive new business; you cannot create a guaranteed path to picking up new clients. Because so many business wins are about being lucky.

Being in the right place at the right time. Getting an email or voicemail landing in your lap just like that. An approach out of the blue, or a referral. All that is lucky.

But you can’t build a business on luck. So you need to make sure you have a simple and effective communications strategy in place to optimise every opportunity.

Stuff like: be distinctive in how you set out your stall, be smart, be better than the competition AND stay on your targets’ radar at all times.

Sometimes success is just about being local, being available and providing something your targets want. So don’t overcomplicate it.

City A.M. Recommends 'Leap'

London's free daily business paper for The City, "City A.M." recommends 'Leap!' in this morning's feature 'How To Pick The Right Business Book'.

Reviewer Donny Sheldon comments,

".. Leap! tackles the mindset of the entrepreneur and the issues to be faced navigating the modern business world. Through unpretentious, conversational writing, Sanders urges readers to instil independence into their business attitudes, with such aspirational chapters as Don’t Listen To Anyone Who Says No To Your Ambition and Conformity Sucks.

...it’s an honest approach to inspiring entrepreneurs."

Of course, those working in the financial world will be rightly preoccupied with bigger issues this morning, but for those who find themselves victims of an economic downturn, at least 'Leap!' might inspire them to go it alone...

Dan Schawbel: Part II

Personal Branding expert Dan Schawbel has done an online interview with me, where he asked me about the principles behind 'Leap' and we discussed some of the themes in the book.

Read the interview here.

John Attwell

Thank you to John Attwell who's just taken my latest series of publicity photographs, shot on Chalkwell Beach.

Thanks to John and his trusty Leica M8. Check out John's online portfolio