I’ve had a couple of interesting conversations this week.  The first with my mastermind group, concerned the fact that a few of us enjoy what we do so much that we forget that there’s meant to be a commercial aspect to it.  So busy being busy, doing what we love, that we just never get round to the ‘making money’ bit.

The other was with an old hockey mate of mine, Lara Morgan, as hard-hitting in business as she always was on the hockey field - the sale of her first business for £20 million bears testament to that.  Lara was sharing her frustration with me about the fact that so many of us shy away from selling...”you guys just don’t want to sell’’ she was saying, which to someone who built her business on the back of hard-core selling, was clearly exasperating.  I needed to do a “disproportionate amount of selling” she told me, if I wanted to have real success with my business.

Reflecting on these two conversations, it strikes me that they are two sides of the same coin...whatever the reasons...most of us just aren’t out there selling enough.   Some of us might hate it with a passion; some of us are terrified by it; and some of us just bury our head in the sand, telling ourselves that our product isn’t quite ready yet...our pitch not quite perfect.
The truth about selling is that it’s all about building relationships...but with a punchline!

If we do our jobs right...if we know WHY we are in business, what we believe, and what our cause is; if we start a conversation with like-minded people, give them heaps of valuable free content, show them that we have the solution to their pain; and if we understand our own value, what our skills, expertise and experience are worth...then the punchline is easy.

People buy into us.  Whether they are employees or customers, they will choose to buy what we’re selling based on whether they like us, and how much they trust us to give them what they need.  Build the trust, have what the customer needs...and they will often deliver the punchline for us.

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk

A facebook friend of mine posted this yesterday... ‘You get what you give.... Give everything you got!’. Quite an inspiring challenge, and it really made me think.
The recent publication of my book (sorry, I had to mention it) revealed the very generous nature of both people I haven’t spoken to in years, and people I really don’t yet even know on Social Media.
People genuinely want you to do well, and I got a real sense from the messages of congratulation and support I received, that some were also recognising the possibility for themselves. Here was somebody, just like them, who had done something, not extraordinary, but not everyday...and maybe a little unexpected; had put themselves out there to be shot down; had collected their thoughts and ideas, and got them down on paper. And while some will have thought, ‘not me...not in a million years’, I could tell others were thinking, ‘I could do that...I have something to say...let’s go!’
Giving is a powerful business ‘tool’ and can often be inspiring.
I am fortunate to be part of a broad small business community, full of business owners who are united by their willingness to give. Every day on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, in Linked In and Facebook Groups, they give...generously; their reports, how to videos, tips and tricks, lessons they’ve learned. Many of you reading this are amongst their number. And you don’t just give rubbish either...it’s often the very best of your intellectual property.
Yes of course, ultimately it’s all about making money. But the people who post their good stuff, who contribute to discussions and helpfully answer questions, are building relationships...they’re helping people to know, like and trust them. These people recognise that the most valuable gift they have to offer is themselves.
And because their motivation is to build strong trusted relationships...to give, to serve, to make things better for people and solve their problems...their business will be successful.
One of my favourite books ‘The Go Giver’ puts it like this...’what makes people attractive, magnetic even, is that they love to give. Givers attract, and have an army of personal ambassadors, who then want to see them succeed.’
The most valuable gift you have to give is you...your passion, your beliefs, your ideas and opinions...the unique, warts n all, genuine YOU.
You get what you give...how much have you given today?
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For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk

Every small business that has ever been formed, has been done so by someone full of passion.  The odds are stacked against them, but they believe that they will be one of the 4% that makes it past year 3 and goes on to huge success.

But passion can fade - even when a degree of success is achieved - and once-passionate individuals can find themselves presiding over a business, that’s driving them into the ground, and going nowhere.

So what happens to the passion? And what can we do to keep it burning bright?

Passion fades for a number of reasons - maybe you set up your business in one area, and now realise that you’re really not that passionate about it after all; or perhaps you’ve had to compromise to make money, taking on work that simply doesn’t rock your boat; or it could be that everything has just got too damn hard...you’re working every hour God sends, you’ve got people to manage and they keep getting things wrong, your customers are increasingly demanding...sometimes you just wish you had a job...simple, straightforward...less stressful.

Everyone hits a dip, it’s inevitable...but if you lose your passion, if you can’t see a way out of that dip, it could signal the death-knell for your business.

So how do we keep our passion perky?  Here are my 5 top tips...

1. Take a day out to think. Assess your situation; revisit why you set up your business, and if that ‘cause’ is still alive for you; think about what you loved doing as a child and whether you are fulfilling your childhood passions with what you’re doing now.
2. Invest the time to systemise your business.  Create processes and procedures in every area of your business that will ensure that everyone is working consistently, and to the standard you expect.  Then train your team, however small, in how to use them.  This will require time, you may even need to invest in bringing in someone to help you, but having simple, logical and repeatable processes and systems in your business will take a huge amount of pressure off you and give you more time and more control of your business.
3. Invest in yourself.  Reading books, going to seminars, networking, being part of a mastermind group will invigorate you and help you to do things better, faster, more efficiently, more effectively.
4. Collaborate.  Find a way to work with others who have different skills and strengths to you, and whose business offer complements your own.  Working alongside those who share our values and beliefs will reawaken our passion and drive our business growth.
5. Take your holidays.  Never underestimate the power of a holiday in relighting your fire and regaining your mojo.  Holidays allow your brain to relax, they give you time to think...to see the big picture...to have ideas.

Passion is the cornerstone of a successful business.

How passionate are you?

For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk

I was disappointed to read a blog post the other day about BRM, (business relationship management), and how it compared to CRM, (customer relationship management). Why is it that we have this need to label and box up and reduce to an acronym, such important concepts?

Even worse, in a lengthy blog that claimed to list all the important business relationships that needed to be 'managed', there was no mention of the people in the business. Not one...and it was a long post.

For me those who try to 'manage' their BRM and CRM, are completely missing the point.

While at times it may feel like you're having to manage certain relationships, and there are always some you have to work at...good relationships are always the bi-product of how you act...the result of your behaviour over the course of time.

Relationships, be they personal or professional, are built on trust. And trust cannot be ‘managed’.

Trust can be built though...through consistency, through keeping your promises...doing what you say you’re going to do, caring. And that all starts with you. In a growing business, you are the heart and soul of your culture; you set the tone, you make the rules, you lead the way for your team to follow. The example you set, the standards you work to and insist upon, the processes and systems you put in place to support your people and manage your business effectively...these are the foundations of strong trusted business relationships.

...With your customers, who want to have their problem solved by knowledgeable, friendly people who are reliable and easy to do business with.

...With your team, who want to work with someone who inspires them, who cares for them as people, and who shows them on a daily basis that the consistency of their performance and their treatment of customers is important and valued.

...between your team and your customers, who learn to respect and value one another and who become loyal advocates of your brand.

Trust is huge in business - it can be the difference between success and failure, between pleasure and pain, between having strong relationships or those based purely on an exchange of money.

Build your trusted relationships...nurture them...but please, don’t try to manage them.
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For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk

I’ve been pondering this question all week, since someone challenged my assertion that I work with ‘ambitious start-ups’ who are feeling stuck.  Knowing a little about my business, they believe that my clients have gone beyond start-up because they have been operating for more than 2 years, and in one particular case, for more than 10.

In asking around, it’s pretty clear that everyone has their own definition of when you cease to be a start-up...

For some it’s all about numbers...’if you’ve got a team of 30 people and you turn over more than £1m a year, there’s no way you’re still a start-up’

For others it’s about your attitude and culture...‘when you’ve got a small creative team, working round the clock to get stuff done, and there’s still that buzz and excitement, you’re still a start-up.’

For still more, it’s about a state of mind...‘when you stop thinking of yourself and referring to yourself as a start-up, and begin following the norms of your sector, you’ve moved on to being a regular business.’

All of these definitions have merit and logic...there is no right or wrong here, and you could argue the case of any one of them.

But for me, it’s all about sustainability.  If a business is still searching for a sustainable business model, and hasn't worked out how to be efficient...they’re still a start-up.

During the start-up phase you’re working things out...which customers? what products? what features and benefits? How best to market and communicate? What works and what doesn’t?  What’s the most effective business model?  Over time, if you're successful,  you're working harder and harder as the business owner; you don't have the time to think about how to grow your business because you're too busy 'doing the doing' to look up and look forward.  Many businesses get stuck here forever.

It’s when you know what you’re doing and you start to think about how you can make what you’re doing more efficient that you take the first steps out of start-up...
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When you recognise that to be consistent and reliable you’re going to need processes and systems in every area of your business; that you’re going to have to develop strong, trusted relationships with your customers and your people; and that you’re going to need to underpin your passion with efficiency.  You get that you need more control, more time and more profit, and you do what you have to do to achieve that.

Your business may have a team of 30 or 3000 people, it may have a turnover of £100,000 or £10,000,000, it may have been going for 2 years or 10...but for me if it doesn’t have consistent and reliable process and systems...if you are still running round like the proverbial blue-bottomed fly just to keep things working the way you want them too...you are stuck in start-up...and you may need a hand to get out.

That’s my view anyway...

But what’s yours?
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For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk