Last week at my The Athena Network meeting (High Wycombe, held at Adams Park, home of Wycombe Wanderers FC), the regional director and owner of Melting Pot Communications (Emma Rundle) told us about the book, the Go Giver. I like to learn and learn tips for me, my business and also for my clients, so I went online and bought a copy. I read it last night in one sitting! It isn’t a long book, but it is one full of value. Its message is simple yet effective. It is about a businessman called Joe and the lessons he learns from a business guru he meets. One of the characters/business gurus is also called Nicole Martin, so it was definately meant to be. And thanks to a RT from one of the book’s author, Bob Burg, he has jokingly named me the “Nicole Martin from across the pond!”

So what did the book teach me that I can share with you? Here are just some of the pearls of wisdom, but I don’t want to give everything away as I urge you to go and buy yourselves a copy.

The book/authors/the story taught me to exceed people’s expectations, give value and serve. I do hope that I do this already with my clients, but I shall endeavour to keep doing so. The story also looks at making an impact on others with passion and having  good balance of serving and receiving.

One area that also resonated with me is that of being a good connector and building a network of personal walking ambassadors. This is where groups like Athena and #SBS that I am a part come into play. And funnily enough, I received a great testimonial on Linkedin at the weekend from The Athena Network founder, Jacqueline Rogers, which eluded to just this. She said “I’ve seen Nicole not only excel at the core elements of her profession, supporting business owners to create and implement effective marketing strategies, but also witnessed how much she supports other women to excel in business. Nicole is exceptional marketer outweighed only by her desire and willingness to refer within The Athena Network. She is always the first to follow up after meetings and is very much appreciated by all members. Everyone loves to work with Nicole and she treats every client as if they were her only client. It is not unusual to find an email, a post on LinkedIn a tag where you are referenced.”

And finally, give yourself! You are your most valuable asset.

I see the marketing services I offer very much like engagement and marriage. Once I have find a client or a client finds me through engaging content and putting myself out there, we then move the relationship on.

So why should you engage a marketing expert like me to support you and your business?

• We are cheaper than a platinum rock
• We don’t leave mess lying around
• We don’t hog the remote control

But we do ask you for

• Your time and involvement
• Your input and action
• Answer our calls and emails
• Commit yourselves to our relationship for the time it lasts

My call to action is to ask you to engage with Pinpoint the website. Go online, look around and see everything that we have to offer. If you see something you like, ask us for a date and we chat all things marketing.

Please also share the love and connect with us on social media.

Thank you.

 

Nicole Martin of Pinpoint Marketing

What is personal branding? Personal branding is what makes you unique, the brand you create for yourself and how others perceive you. Creating the right personal brand for you will maximise your potential and ensure others will see you in the way you wish to be perceived.

So how can you get started?  We judge people within the first few seconds of meeting them The majority of this judgement is based on the way you look and how you behave as we have nothing else to go on.  Therefore your handshake, voice, eye contact, business card and online presence says a lot about you as well as the way your dress.

What are your business corporate brand values? Think of 3-5 adjectives that would represent these values.  How can you interpret these values into the way you portray yourself?

If you work as a designer and want to look “creative, professional and approachable” a black business suit is unlikely to give the creative flair you are hoping for. However, if you are a solicitor wanting to look professional then the black business suit will instil confidence in your clients.

Think about how you can use colour in your dress.  What colours suit you and do you feel comfortable in?  What do those colours mean? For example, red is a dynamic, confident colour but be careful not to wear too much of it as it can come across as aggressive. Whereas blue is a much safer colour and seen as professional & trustworthy. The darker the shade, the stronger the message.

Pick out a few colours that you love to wear and create a theme throughout your clothes to make dressing easy. What shapes suit you? Dress to suit your body shape. If you have a waist, ensure you accentuate it as big and baggy clothing will always make you look bigger than you are. If you have a big bust ensure necklines are not too high, but not too low to be inappropriate for the workplace. To make life easy you could create your own ‘uniform’.  For example, if you are most comfortable in a certain style of dress then buy 5 or 6 dresses in similar styles, but different colours. Then accessorise with a jacket or cardigan, scarf and jewellery with the colour theme running through. Ensure you wear make up, even if it is just lipstick and mascara as it shows you have made an effort.

Use these colours and styles in your marketing. This will create a consistency and a brand that people will trust. Finally, always check yourself in a full length mirror before you go out of the door to ensure that your clothes are shouting those adjectives back at you and are instilling you with confidence.

Niki Hall runs The Style Hall, a Buckinghamshire based Image Consultancy. Helping you to feel great about the way you dress. www.thestylehall.co.uk  If you would like Niki’s help she would love to hear from you, give her a call on 07891 086162.

Commercial photography is an area where images are captured to sell or market a business, product or person. The photographs will be used on websites, for packaging, marketing material, billboards, annual reports and leaflets. The areas a commercial photographer may shoot in are for products, people, aerial, events, architectural, food and fashion photography.

One of the main abilities a commercial photographer needs to undertake is in correctly understanding the brief, the business and the vision, in order to take photographs that promote a business in the right way.

Companies can always turn to photo libraries or attempt to do the photography themselves. However can you always find the appropriate images in photos libraries to convey the right message? Does it show your business in a professional light, by using photos you have done yourselves? There is an initial investment in employing a commercial photographer, but for the reasons below this can be of great benefit to a companies profile and profits.

Strong images go towards creating that important first impression, whether it is to evoke the kind of feelings you need to draw customers in, or to depict your product at its best.

Portraits on a website enable customers to get to know the team who is selling to them or providing a service.

A strong set of photographs really shows customers what you have to offer, rather than just describing in words.

It also creates a professional message for your business which in turn brings in clients and promotes sales. Low quality, unprofessional photos will communicate the same message about your business.

Commissioned photos are important in order to highlight what is unique about your business and to express the right feel which will tie in with brand identity.

Having photographs on your website, provides the opportunity for them to be optimized, which creates a better chance for your website to be found. Also the visual engagement, will hopefully keep customers longer on the web pages.

What better way to show how a company operates or product in use, than to photograph it in action in a dynamic, documentary way.

In conclusion professional commercial photographs will enable personality and individuality to be expressed, as well as creating the kind of impact that will engage customers to buy your products or use your services.

Michaela Greene – Commercial Photographer

www.michaelagreene.co.uk

Article published on the Strong Female Leadership website.

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