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Business Leads UK Blog ~ Containing blogs and comments by our members

Check out the latest Business Leads UK blogs and comments by our members. If you would like to have your say on how to generate business leads published here then all you need to do is SIGN UP TODAY for FREE down the left.
Dec 31st

Happy New Year

By AmandaB
End of one year and the beginning of the next and traditionally a time for reflection and planning.
So what have you achieved in 2009?  What went well for you? What are you grateful for?

Spend some time reviewing the year, think back 12 months and come through the year again, noticing new things you've done, new/ enhanced skills, new relationships, .... whatever is significant for you.   Reflect on these things and allow yourself to feel good about it.

Now look forward 12 months, it's 31 Dec 2010, 'where' are you now? What has happened in 2010 to get you here?  What are 3 key actions you took to achieve what you have done in 2010?  What was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?  Allow yourself to really get into where you are now 31 Dec 2010 and enjoy it.

So what were the first 3 actions you took to move towards this outcome?
OK now come Jan 4 2010, what's stopping you doing them?  Get on and take action now! 

Be successful and have a lot of fun in what you're doing.
0 Comments
Dec 28th

What can RSS news feeds do for you?

By Jon Davey

RSS news feeds allow you to distribute your news to other websites like Twitter without you having to take a second action. Once you have the feed connected then all you need to do is add your news to your blog and it will send it out automatically ... marvellous !

Better still ... if other website owners spot your content and like the look of it then they can take your RSS feed and add it to their website without you having to move a muscle ... how great is that??

Checking out sites recently while revisiting our Business in Berkshire membership and it was noticeable how many of the members websites didn’t have RSS as standard. Our BinB site doesn’t allow RSS as the code is from 2004 and that was part of the reason for creating BLUK.

I would encourage you to check your site, see if it has an RSS feed, if not sign up for a FREE Blog on BLUK and get started.

If you find yourself using the site regularly and adding content then you should consider becoming a Group Leader as this allows you to highlight your knowledge in a specialist subject to others who may be interested. This could ultimately see you considered a thought leader in your market and asked to speak at various conferences ... that is the logic behind our Group Leader membership level.

You can pick up the RSS News Feeds on our BLUK site by looking down the right for the these images:

RSS Feed

RSS News Feed

The main feed on this site is for the magazine which is the aggregation of all our blogs:

http://www.businessleadsuk.co.uk/xml/magazine.xml

The smaller RSS feed image can be seen against the members profiles and if you want to take a direct feed from a member then you will end up with something like the link below which relates to Jon Davey:

http://www.businessleadsuk.co.uk/xml/members/profile/1/blog.xml

Go and have a wander around Business Leads UK, better still join in and add your words of wisdom to BLUK Today!

Thank you...

0 Comments
Dec 21st

Take action

By AmandaB
I had a great coaching meeting with a senior manager client recently - we talked through all the fantastic results she was getting from putting the tactics we'd developed into action. 
Her goals at the beginning were to be seen to be delivering good business results and to raise her profile around the organisation.  She'd been struggling with these issues and with building a strong team in her department. 

We addresssed the question of profile first and worked with her mindset and beliefs as well as her influencing skills.  Now she's known and respected by her Board member and her opinion is called for in meetings, which she is able to contribute to with confidence, even if she's feeling a little nervous.

Next we addressed business results and worked on creating a clear expression of the vision and purpose of the team, that she felt really passionate about and was able to talk about with all stakeholders with conviction.  We identified the top priorities and focused her attention of delivering results through her team members, managing her time effectively to develop the capability of her team.  She's so proud of a recent deliverable that she and the team presented and is receiving good feedback and in this meeting we developed tactics to promote this even more. 

She's already seeing positive results from being clear on vision and purpose and in the third session we worked on building the team for business capability and smooth relationships.  The evidence that this is working is tangible - people are fired up about what  they're working on and this positive attitude is spreading to people in other departments they work with. 

A brief summary of how it is easy to turn around a poor situation when you have the right kind of help and you take action to put the ideas into practice.  The next time you're feeling stuck and worried about the impact of this on your business or on your reputation and career, contact me - let's talk about how getting the results you need is easy with abc. 

As it's Christmas, I'm offering 25% off the cost of the coaching programme you book.  This offer is valid until 31 January, 2010.  Contact me for more information: amanda@amandabouchconsulting.co.uk
0 Comments
Dec 19th

Boosting your online and offline profile

By Jon Davey

View our Social Media Director Series

What do you think of this advice? Your feedback is appreciated.

My name is Jon Davey and I have been helping small businesses boost their online profiles for around 10 years. Before that I spent 10 years selling products and services on behalf of corporate employers.

I am actively looking for a meaty project to get my teeth into and this is likely to come from a larger organisation. Setting up your social media takes more than 5 minutes and includes more than technology, it's about profile building both on and offline plus education for the people involved ... if you know of anyone who could use me then please connect me or call 01753 852904 ... thank you.

I decided to produce a bunch of short video clips 60 - 90 seconds in length, that give some key pointers to those interested in boosting their online and offline profiles.

Please watch one or two of the clips below and then do me a favour, rate the content and add a comment to YouTube ... this will boost our profile and also boost yours into the bargain! These videos were shot a couple of days ago and have been loaded up to YouTube in the last few days ... very new, very fresh, your feedback is appreciated.

Because the top few videos always get the most clicks I will re-jig the videos below in order of the most views, with the most popular at the bottom of the list...

Thank you.


1-12 Shoot video clips - 2 views


1-9 Take a walk through your town - 4 views


1-11 Telemarketing smile & dial - 5 views


1-7 Connect with local journalists - 6 views


1-8 Become a thought leader - 7 views


1-5 Join Rotary International - 7 views


1-6 Do you need a blog? - 8 views


1-4 Create a Linkedin profile - 8 views


1-10 Smile both on and offline - 9 views


1-2 Create a single page website - 16 views


1-3 Connect with top networkers - 21 views


1-1 Check out local networking groups - 29 views

 

5 Comments
Dec 17th

ICC: Test cricket developments imminent

By The Isogon Group

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said it expects day-night test cricket within two years and described a world test cricket championship as a "work in progress".

ICC president David Morgan said yesterday: "I'd be be "surprised" if we don't see day-night test cricket within the next two years - surprised and disappointed."

The test cricket world championship is a bit further away from seeing the light of day. "The test championship is best described as a work in progress," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said yesterday.

"We are aspiring to create some sort of test championships model and a working group was set up at the last chief executives' meeting on December 1 in Dubai. They will put together concepts for a test championship and we hope to consider a proposal at our next meeting in February."

Lorgat also said the ICC was aiming to reduce the amount of top level cricket matches played from next year.

0 Comments
Dec 17th

Woods' indiscretions to cost PGA Tour, Nike $220m

By The Isogon Group

News service Bloomberg has put a figure of $220m on the potential cost for the PGA Tour and Nike of the Tiger Woods scandal.

The television advertising figure was estimated by Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiating officer at New York agency Horizon Media. The Nike loss was estimated by Claire Gallacher, analyst at San Diego-based Capstone Investments Inc.

Bloomberg quotes Rick Gentile, a former CBS Sports executive producer who teaches at Seton Hall University, as saying: “It’s not so much a ripple effect as it is a tsunami.

"The aura is gone."

Other metrics the Bloomberg report predicts to fall include television audiences, which could shrink by half based on Nielsen Company data from previous events, and tournament crowds, which could fall 20 per cent according to organisers.

0 Comments
Dec 16th

US court rejects UAE venue for America's Cup

By The Isogon Group

The two-year legal battle over the terms of the 33rd America's Cup sailing competition could be over, after defending champions Alinghi have accepted the latest court ruling on the venue for the event.

Bloomberg reports that the ruling could mark the end of a two-year battle between Alinghi and US challengers BMW Oracle over the terms of the race.

Switzerland-based Alinghi made a statement after the ruling saying that it looked forward to racing in Valencia in February. As the defending champion, Alinghi has the choice of the venue for the race, under the race rules.

"Once again BMW Oracle's strategy to try to win the America's Cup in court instead of on the water has been successful. For the first time in the history of the America's Cup the defender has been stripped of its fundamental right to select the venue," said Fred Meyer of Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), Alinghi's home yacht club.

"Societe Nautique de Geneve accepts this decision and Alinghi is looking forward to racing for the America's Cup on the water in Valencia, Spain, in February 2010."

BMW Oracle, which sails under the colours of California's Golden GateYacht Club and is backed by Oracle Corp chief executive Larry Ellison, had objected to the UAE as a venue because it was already transporting equipment to Valencia.

0 Comments
Dec 16th

'Superbrand' status awarded to Real Madrid

By The Isogon Group

Real Madrid has been declared a 'Superbrand' by the independent branding arbiter Superbrands at a gala award ceremony in Madrid.

The status is awarded by a council made up of branding experts, marketing directors from major Spanish companies and the directors of the marketing departments of Spains three biggest business schools. The winners were chosen out of 1,500 brands considered.

Other European football clubs to have received Superbrand awards in their own countries include Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Benfica.

0 Comments
Dec 16th

Unique Christmas gift BagTV

By Jon Davey
BagTVBagTV is the unique Christmas gift idea, the perfect present for the girl who has almost everything! She does now!! 

As featured in the Daily Mail and GMTV! Bagtv is a totally new concept in bag design, combining bespoke luxury bags with high tech electronic equipment. A beautifully crafted ladies handbag which is integrated with a high quality 7” TV screen combining DVD and Mpeg player! Upload photo’s and use anytime, anywhere! 

BUY YOUR BAGTV RIGHT NOW ... 
0 Comments
Dec 15th

Made in Berkshire Christmas Business BROOSTER

By Jon Davey
Made in BerkshireBinB's Christmas Business BROOSTER is definitely NOT for lily livered turkeys!

Business in Berkshire is looking to work far more closely with a select bunch of pro-active clients in 2010. These clients will select themselves by being part of our BinB website community and taking advantage of our Christmas Business BROOSTER.

This is definitely not for lily livered turkeys who would rather lurk around than face the music! If you are a turkey then know your job and be the best turkey this Christmas, proud to be on someone’s plate.

If you are a business understand that hovering around on social business networks will get you nothing but arm ache ... you need to be at the party, engaged with other businesses by saying I'm here and I have things to say about my specialism that you might find interesting. TALK TO ME.

And the best way you can do that is to join Business in Berkshire as our news is used by Google alerts and indexed immediately ... do you want to be flying in on the latest wave, when people interested and searching for news ... or would you rather wait until tomorrow when it's yesterday's news?

At a recent online marketing conference I heard a speaker from Microsoft talking about how people operate online and she showed:
• 0-3% of people are creators
• 3-10% of those who join in contribute
• 10-20% are opportunists, just waiting to pounce!
• And a massive 80% are what they call Lurkers, just hanging around

When we first developed our BinB website to allow others to join in I found it very disappointing that many would just sit back and watch while a few would engage. And the amount of energy I would put in to try and encourage others to participate was massive! We didn’t have the stats to benchmark our efforts and balance our expectations with the reality of general interaction and contribution of community members.

Now we understand the bigger picture we are refocusing the energy of BinB in 2010 around consultants and businesses that are ready to be more proactive online.

We only want to work with those who appreciate there is no such thing as a free lunch and you need to get engaged and proactive to be successful online!

We have been through the whole of our database and chopped away all the accounts that were not contributing. We can measure this by number of visitors to their web space on BinB. If a micro site generated less than 100 visitors in the last year then the site was removed to allow those who are proactive the room and bandwidth to grow. Rather like pruning roses!!

Our 272 BinB micro sites average just under 1000 visitors per year... and the 80 websites that sit under their owndomainname.co.uk have an average of over 20,000 visitors per year!

Pricing for 2010 will be:

• £16.75 per month for BinB micro site
• £34 per month for BinB micro site + SEO with own domain name
• £50 per month if you want your events featured in our Monday newsletter

Take advantage of our Christmas Business BROOSTER

• 12 months BinB micro site normally £201 for just £150
• 12 months BinB + SEO normally £408 for just £300
• 12 months BinB + SEO + features £600 for just £450

The decision to offer this single payment option is to boost our cash flow for the new year and help us to pay the tax man ... the incentive for you is to save money. It's a business decision that will only ever happen once a year.

Come January 1st and you ask, Jon can you do a deal, the answer will be NO, we only deal in December. So you can wait till next year and miss out on all that search engine traffic or you can find a few hundred quid and get on with the job right here, right now!

Thank you... BUY NOW!!


0 Comments