10 years back in the UK – this is my story, so far!

10 years today, I had to move back to the UK. I’d spent 4 wonderful years in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. I fell in love with Germany during my year in industry from uni, which I spent in Heidelberg. I say I had to move back because it wasn’t something I really wanted to do, but work was looking to make people redundant, and mum was on her own after dad had died a couple of years earlier and needed me, so it seemed the “right” time to come back.

I’ve made friends in many places throughout my life, but those I am closest to and have regular contact with are still in Frankfurt. Frankfurt isn’t as pretty as Heidelberg, and truth be told it took me a couple of years to like it, but it was the people who made it for me. It was leaving that life that hurt so much; I was in tears as my plane was taking off… and although I already had tickets booked to come back and see my friends, it would be as a visitor to Frankfurt, not as a resident.

After moving back, I knew I needed to make new friends because my friends from my childhood and uni had settled into their own lives with their own friends. So, I began an InterNations community (an international networking community whose parties I attended in Frankfurt) in Manchester. I also jumped into the Latin dance scene. I’d done some salsa classes in the decade before, including a handful of times in Frankfurt, but didn’t stick to it because it meant spending less time with my existing friends. I knew this was my opportunity to really learn something new, meet new people, make new friends, and have fun. Through InterNations and dance, I have made friends, made memories, learned new skills, taken a tonne of photographs, and had enormous fun!

The job I moved back for didn’t last long, and I was made redundant again after just 10 months, however, I did meet the best boss I’ve ever had and who I am still friends with today. It also presented me with the opportunity of having my own business. I’d always wanted to be my own boss, and I had begun thinking about it during my last job. But this really went into overdrive because of potentially commuting 90 minutes each way to where a hub for my industry lay, and moving to that area was not an option since I’d moved back to be with mum, who needed me around.

So, I did my own thing! I started freelancing and was happy doing that for the first 5 years. In that time, I also got into a health and wellness business, which taught me a lot about business, and I took advantage of various free business courses that were being delivered at the local uni and other places. Then another opportunity presented itself for me to grow my business beyond just me, and I went for it! I’ve had my ups and downs, had my wins and losses, but I have developed as a person and a professional. From someone who is still a relative outsider in their industry with no previous relationships with people from big firms, I’ve had to knock on many doors to get to where I am! I somewhat relish the challenge of breaking down barriers, building new relationships, winning new clients, and showing them what my team of talented employees can do!

I miss Germany, I miss my friends, I miss my life with my friends in Germany. Sometimes, we cannot always choose the path we want to, but sometimes an alternative path can also lead us on an amazing journey. I am happy and grateful for everything I currently have, but I am not done yet! I have many big and scary goals that I’ve set myself; a couple I’ve achieved, several I am still hunting down! If you’re at a crossroads in your life, your red or blue pill moment, then whichever way you go, make the most of your choice, because if you do, you won’t be disappointed with where you are or where you are not. Life is in perpetual motion, where you are right now is where you are right now, it isn’t your end stop, because, besides death, there is no end stop. So, head up, eyes forward, and go forth! #YourLifeYourRules

Sales!

If you are earning money, be it from your job or your business, you are in sales! Some people hate sales but we all sell! Ourselves, our services and our products! In the end, the type of selling you want to engage in is one that pays you!

Since getting into business for myself, I have put myself in a position of having to sell. I have had some awesome days and some not so awesome ones, meaning that the results were dependent on my form on the day and some luck with the client being in the market for what I had to offer. Basically, the results weren’t duplicable or repeatable because I didn’t have a defined process in place, i.e. a system.

However, that changed recently when I finally got my hands on a copy of a sales book written by my friend Alistaire Jama, called “Sellology”. I was going to buy some sales books a couple of years ago, until Ali, a highly successful salesman, told us that he was writing a book! Now, I have been in some of his workshops so I was confident that the book would be good, so, I waited for it… and boy was it worth that wait! I read it in 4 hours, on the 2-hour train down to and up from London, and called him from both directions with questions because I was hooked! As soon as I got home, I studied the book, made notes and came up with my own sales scripts based on what Ali wrote in his book, and the results were instantaneous! I began getting more meetings than ever, using old school cold calling over the phone, email, and new school social media! Ali keep this book very simple, and clearly, one is meant to flick back and forth between the chapters, so this quickly becomes your “go-to” manual on “how to sell”!

Ali talks about communication in terms:

  • Words – what you say
  • Music – the tone in which you say them
  • Dance – the body language

Ali dedicates a chapter of being aware of different business styles and how they communicate (words, music and dance):

  • Actor – aka The Player
  • Doer – aka The Pragmatist
  • Friend – aka The Companion
  • Thinker – aka The Analyst

Ali then breaks down his sales system into 6 simple steps he calls “PROCES”:

  • Plan
  • Reach
  • Obtain
  • Connect
  • Elaborate
  • Secure

The book is 180 pages and easy to read, but oh so effective! If you read, understand and apply what Ali teaches, then you should see an improvement in your number of conversions for telephone or face to face meetings, and closing business deals!

Let me know how you get on! If you have any questions, do get in touch with Ali Jama! And as promised, here is the link to where you can buy the book on Amazon!

Client Care!

Building a business is all about client care and customer service. For me, a customer buys from you once in a while, a client is a regular customer; transitioning from customer to client is a big step in building your business. Creating long-lasting relationships with our clients, training and nurturing them so that servicing them is as easy for us as it is for them is absolutely vital because this will ensure that your clients are looked after, and you have a steady stream of work and therefore revenue, month in, month out!

Top 10 Tips!

I like to go the extra mile when I am dealing with my clients across all 3 of my businesses, regularly being in touch with them, because, however you look at it, everyone appreciates being appreciated, valued and made to feel special 🙂 Here are my top 10 tips for taking care of your clients!

  1. Depending on the nature of your business and if you feel comfortable with it, you can add your clients to a Facebook or LinkedIn group so that you can look after them and help and support them as a team in one place.
  2. Depending on the nature of your business, you can train your clients to either place an order for products no more than 2 orders a month, one at the start/end of the month and one in the middle of the month.
  3. If you feel comfortable with it, you can give your clients access to your resource plan via Google Docs for example so they know yours and your team’s availability/capacity for work over the next month(s).
  4. Ensure you deliver your clients orders earlier than you promised if possible; there is no better feeling for you and your client than under-promising and over-delivering!
  5. If you are in the business of delivering products, ensure you take cash BEFORE placing orders, and NEVER bulk buy as you will be placing yourself under unnecessary pressure to sell those products!
  6. Always look for opportunities to help your clients and people in their network with referrals for business; the goodwill this will generate will invariably come back to you in the form of repeat and referral business!
  7. Speak to them regularly, depending on your relationship anything from once a week to once a month, either face-to-face, over the phone, via email or through social media, to check in on them, asking them for honest feedback or anything they feel you could do better/improve upon, it shows you value their opinion.
  8. Show your appreciation for your clients, and thank them with hand-written “Thank You” cards, without any marketing messages or paraphernalia – honest and heartfelt gratitude is everything!
  9. If possible, meet your clients socially for a drink or dinner, and insist on buying, keep that relationship alive, because they may:
    • Become a good friend if they aren’t already, or might need a friend;
    • Have a friend you could help;
    • Give you referrals!
  10. Have it in your schedule to know when to contact which client and to keep on top of your clients and their orders. I have my Client Care table (see image) which has really helped me!

Let me know how you get on 🙂

(If you would like my table that I use to help myself and others, find me on Facebook and I will add you to my special group where you can access this and other awesome business materials!).

Networking Effectively!

Some of you very kindly got in touch with me last week after my previous blog and asked me what exactly I say regarding the open 7 x W questions, how I deliver them, and my body language, so I thought I would answer you via a full blog post on networking effectively!

Mindset

When you go to a networking event, please leave your agenda behind, and go and make friends by making the effort to get to know people! See if you can help them! Remember, if people don’t know you, they won’t like you, if they don’t like you, they won’t trust you, if they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you or refer business with you! People love talking about themselves so let them talk! (If you wish, print off the delegates list or ask for it in advance, and pick out up to 3 people you absolutely want to speak to, research them and then find and speak to them!).

Body Language

Body language accounts for over half of what is perceived about what we are trying to say. When I am at a networking event, I go in looking smart casual (jeans, shirt, shoes), with happy thoughts, smiling, with an open stance, arms relaxed, either clasped in front or behind me, gesticulating when talking. I lean in, shake hands, and make firm but friendly eye-contact when engaging in conversation with people, showing a real interest in what they are saying.

Tone

I am always happy, positive, excited, energetic and genuinely interested in who I am speaking to! When I speak, I never speak in a monotone and make sure that I am enjoying speaking and listening to myself! Your tone is louder than your words and your message, so make it count!

Words

I enjoy making polite conversation, simple small talk, to break the ice and begin getting to know something about the person I am speaking with. I tend to keep most of my questions, open-ended and always deliver them in a relaxed manner, using the Ws when needed. I always introduce myself and then make it about them. My conversations go something like this:

“Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Bilal!”. This invites them to share their name with you. If you want to remember their names (even if they have a name badge on!), you lean forward and say “Nice to meet you, John!”. Then I make small talk to relax things, “So, whereabouts are you from?”, “Cool, are you from there?”, try to relate to them by finding something in common with them, this makes it more relaxed and informal. Then you can ask, “So, what brought you here?”, followed by, “Cool, so what is it that you do?”.

After they have told me what they do, they will be curious about me, so the conversation will switch to me, and it’s my time to shine! However, I prefer to flicker briefly to make them even more curious and ask me more questions about me! So, I share with them very briefly what I do, with my short elevator pitch, and say:

“I have 3 businesses, a consultancy in the pharmaceutical industry, a compliant medical social media agency, and a lifestyle business. Across all my businesses, we aim to help make the lives of our clients and team easier, and help them save and make money”. If they ask me to elaborate a little more on my businesses, I do, but I never ever go into full brain dump mode, even if it is tempting sometimes! Don’t get me wrong, I do talk and share my opinions, but I make sure the person I am speaking to is doing most of the talking, and afterwards, they love having spoken to me! I’m there to make friends, and by pitching everyone I meet, I won’t make any friends! It’s bad for business! At the end of the conversation, if I have enjoyed speaking with them, I will tell them, and say:

“It’s been a pleasure speaking with you John, are you on LinkedIn?”, they usually say yes and we connect using our smartphones. If not, I take their business card and say I will send them an email, and then make sure I do send them an email! I tend not to carry business cards because we have social media! I have a big box of every business card I have ever received which I open rarely, hence why I always tend to contact via LinkedIn or other social media!

For me, networking is second nature, I do it naturally where I am, but it is an art that can be learned! Just take a deep breath, compose yourself, prepare and then DO! Remember, make networking about others, not you!

Let me know how you get on 🙂

Networking Do’s and Dont’s!

Networking comes to me very naturally. Being an only child, I have been putting myself in situations where I had to meet new people from a young age, to develop myself and my skills and meet interesting people. This has helped me make friends with some of the most wonderful people I could have ever imagined meeting!

Networking for your business is vital but people get it so badly wrong its painful to watch and be a part of! When you are out and about at networking events, there are some dos and don’ts, which I feel everybody should learn, because if you don’t, no matter how good you are, or how effective your product or service is, no one will care! Simply put, people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care! So do what I tell you and stop doing the things I tell you not to do!

Top 10 Tips!

Here are my top 10 tips for networking effectively:

  1. If you can, print off the delegates list beforehand and look through it, highlighting who you would want to meet, find interesting or could have a referral for.
  2. Prepare yourself mentally, know what you can do for the other party, make it about them, get to know them, make them do 75% of the talking! People love talking about themselves so give people the confidence to do that, and their barriers will come down, they will relax and you will see the real person behind the business persona!
  3. Know your story, who you are, what the features, advantages and benefits of your business are, and keep your story as short and succinct as possible, because you want other people to do the talking as stipulated in point 2!
  4. Mind your body language! Body language is everything, and people are naturally attracted to and gravitate towards happy people! And that means do NOT fold your arms! Keep an open stance! And smile! Seriously! This makes such a difference when you are talking to people or looking for people to talk to!
  5. Genuinely show interest in other people, their personality and their business! You will never do business with people you don’t like! And vice versa!
  6. Follow Rudyard Kipling’s advice as follows: I keep 6 honest serving-men: (They taught me all I knew), Their names are What and Where and When, And How and Why and Who. I would also add Which, so that makes 7! So prepare some key “W” open questions.
  7. Ask for their business card and then connect with them over LinkedIn and/or other social media platforms on the spot. I rarely carry business cards because I have social media apps on my phone to take care of such things!
  8. Look around for who is speaking to the biggest group. That person has influence. That person is a leader. Go and speak with them!
  9. Do NOT shove your business, business card or simply your agenda down other people’s throats! You will NOT make any friends or win any favours!
  10. Be yourself, be honest, have integrity, live and breathe your values, morals and ethics! If people don’t know you, they won’t like you, if they don’t like you, they won’t trust you, if they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you or recommend others to buy from you!

PLEASE! Do NOT mess this up! It is so easy to get RIGHT but people get it so WRONG! Networking is NOT about you! Make it about others, and your time will come to shine! Trust me!

Let me know how you get on 🙂

Working Environment!

Creating the right working environment for yourself is paramount to helping you succeed. Getting rid of all that crap around you will help clear your mind of crap and enable you to focus on your task at hand! Setting yourself up for success is as easy as setting yourself up for failure, it’s up to you which one you choose!

Top 10 Tips!

Here are 10 very useful tips to get the best out of yourself, your surroundings, and most importantly, your time!

  1. Separate your work and personal life by creating a dedicated working space where and only where you will work and associate with work whenever there!
  1. Keep your workspace clean and tidy – always! Clutter on your desk creates clutter in your mind! De-clutter your desk and you will de-clutter your mind!
  1. Invest in decent hardware such as a laptop and printer if you haven’t already! If you can’t yet afford it, work your business to pay for it!
  1. Stay organised on your PC by creating files specific to your business, and stay organised in your workspace by having folders for your business!
  1. Be comfortable and ergonomic. Get the lighting right for you – natural light is best, get a really good computer chair, set the height of your computer desk, computer and screen, and get wrist pads for your mouse and keyboard.
  1. Have some plants around your workspace and home. They are good on the eye, help your mood and provide you with fresh oxygen!
  1. Invest in a whiteboard and/or pinboard and put up your goals and family photos around your workspace where you will see them regularly. WHY Power!
  1. Put up motivational slogans and quotes all around your workspace. You want to feel inspired and motivated whenever you go into that space!
  1. Listen to and watch whatever motivates you. Download iTunes or Spotify – it is amazing what listening to what you enjoy can do for you! I listen to personal development material such as John C. Maxwell, Darren Hardy, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins and many more!
  1. Be stocked up with food, drink and office supplies. This way you can concentrate on being productive and not makes excuses to go to the shops!

Let me know how you get on 🙂