“Don't let's ask for the moon! We have the stars!” ― Olive Higgins Prouty, Now, Voyager

Last week, our training team had some fresh professional photos taken by our lovely friends at VERVATE in Brighton.

The original plan was to use the seafront as our stage and create some rather wacky shots but as the heavens opened, Plan B came into operation: we used the theatre and stage setting at 88 London Road, an independent CIC (community interest company) where the current performance is Peter Pan, a musical adventure. We're strategic PR partners with the 88 team, so we have very special access.

Having professional images means projecting a professional image and with our quirky company, only quirky images would do. Effective branding means always being consistent and cohesive, and that includes business photography. We're vibrant personalities, our offering is strategic and business-like, so having us stand dumbly in a straight line just wouldn't be appropriate.

So here are some of the images we created, thanks to the wonderful Susi Doherty and Simon Dack of VERVATE. "Do something funky" I said and that's just what we got. Where else would I get the chance to lift up the moon?!

We can't get you to the moon but we can help your business fly!

So here we have from left to right, back row: Pete Jenkins (Gamification+), Jill Woolf, Chris Cummings (OGC Solutions); front row: Eleanor Dobing, Susi Doherty (VERVATE), Sheryl Tipton and Samantha Wilding. Missing from the trainers' line-up is Barney Durrant (Bluebell Digital). 

This unique team of industry experts is collaborating to bring small business owners and their teams a range of PR, sales and marketing-related training workshops designed to create better performance, enhance skills and improve profits.

It's no good waiting in the wings, dreaming you'll get to Neverland, wishing you could fly and hoping the business spotlight will fall on you, centre stage. Enough with the Peter Pan theatre puns! You need to invest in your people so your business can experience return on investment.

We can't get our clients to the moon but our selection of perfectly crafted topics, from content marketing through gamification, social media, photography, getting your business story in the media, plus tons of other sessions, can certainly make you superstars in your own right.

All of our trainers have real experience in the topics about which they're coaching, and have worked with every type of organisation from start-ups, social enterprises, SMEs, multinational conglomerates and everything in between. Between us, we have around 200 years' experience. This unique mix isn't replicated anywhere else.

Go on, book an Early Bird ticket now and say 'Curtains up' for business growth.

Each and every one of them a training superstar!

 To book, go to Chimera Courses - practical skills for practical businesses.

We all sell – some better than others!

Guest blog by Chris Cummings, OGC Solutions

In every organisation, large or small, everyone is involved with the sales process. Whether it’s selling an idea internally, as a leader galvanising your workforce, or developing new business by selling to clients direct.

The word ‘sales’ can conjure up traditional images of bashing the phone or knocking on doors, pushing a product or service in an aggressive way. However, the process has developed significantly in recent years and buyers have become more savvy and knowledgeable. So as individuals looking to develop our businesses, we have to become more sophisticated.

It’s not rocket science to become an effective sales person but there are some simple pointers that can help you achieve your goals.

Learn how to target and aim high

Social media has given sales people a huge opportunity to research buyers and companies more effectively to enable a more tailored approach. Technology has given us the tools to communicate in different ways, identifying decision-makers more easily without having to rely on traditional cold-calling and door knocking.

A lot of people think they can sell, but it is an art; however, it can be taught and perfected. Having a toolbox of tricks you can use will undoubtedly make you a more effective and successful organisation both internally and externally. 

Traditional methods are getting tired and produce average results – choose to be successful and learn a new way to develop your business. 

Come along to my Chimera Courses on Achieving Sales Success and Improving Profitability to find out more. Book here.

Epic photography for business

People engage more through a powerful image than text. That’s why you should use the best possible photography for business. It’s a no-brainer yet it’s amazing how many people use out-of-focus, badly lit and unclear images.

Oops!

Impactful photography is crucial to promoting your business especially with the power and immediacy of social media. That means using relevant images.

It’s also essential to have an approachable, professional-looking photograph of yourself so your potential customers can see the face behind the business, making it more personal. People are more likely to do business with someone they know and trust which is why you should have an image as your avatar on social media, rather than the default ‘egg’.

Your products and services should have fantastic professional-looking photography too although sometimes you might not have sufficient budget to hire a photographer.  Well taken photos will enhance your organisation’s PR whether it’s online or on printed media. Flyers, exhibition material and leaflets are much more likely to be read if they are covered with eye-catching imagery.

With the advent of mobile devices with good camera facilities, you can create good photos yourself although for high-level corporate work, you should still try to find budget for a professional photographer if you can.

You can get stock images from the internet but beware copyright and licensing laws.

If you decide to take your own photos, you need to consider subject, lighting, composition, quality etc and be aware your brand reputation might be tarnished if you don’t do it well.

Please don’t assume images you find on Google are free to use. From the time an image is created it is automatically protected by copyright, which is protection provided by the law applying to all images. To use an image without having permission or purchasing a licence is known as infringement. 

Infringement of copyright can be very costly and result in lawsuits, legal fees and even criminal charges. There are ways you can be found out if you think your use of an image from the internet can’t be tracked, so beware!

Now that local papers particularly have fewer staff photographers, they’re on the look-out for creative images to be sent in … but only if they’re good quality, in the right format and size, and tell a story.

To find out lots more about this subject, check out our #ChimeraCourse photography session: www.chimeracomms.co.uk/courses.php

Think of the damage limitation involved if you get it wrong!

Training? Bah humbug!

Giving your teams the skills to do their jobs properly is good for your business and good for everyone.

Training and development improves your business through performance, profit and staff morale. 

Naturally anyone who’s tasked with doing a job needs to know how to do it, yet firms often give people an additional remit but don’t train them. It’s as if there’s an expectation they’ll suddenly know how, which means that probably the job will get done badly or not at all. Wasted time, possibly damaged organisational reputation and certainly a frustrated team member.

Key benefits of giving your teams the training they need:

·         better customer service through better communication

·         improved productivity and profit

·         people who feel up-to-date on latest technology or industry best practice 

·         better loyalty and retention as people feel you’ve invested in them

·         retention saves you money

In addition, your people will have valuable new skills, increasing their contribution to the business and building their self-esteem. The training they do can take them into other positions within the organisation, positions with better prospects and/or better pay and which help your business. And they have fresh skills to do new and different tasks, which keeps them motivated and fresh.

So if you think training is a waste of time or resources when people should be at their desks, think again. If you don’t train your teams to communicate better, your key messages won’t be getting to the right customers or potential customers. That could be wasting the money you might already be spending on PR and marketing, and damaging your organisational reputation.

What if they take the training then disappear to a competitor, you ask. That's life. As I always say, it's the real world. Stuff happens. Deal with it but don't dwell on it.

If you’re using so-so photography to promote your business, you’re wasting time and money, and giving your competitors the edge.

If your personal brand doesn’t match that of your organisation or business, you’re potentially damaging your chances of success.

And if you want to know how to use social media to promote your organisation effectively, don’t just assume everyone can do it. It could all go horribly wrong!

Check out #ChimeraCourses – a range of training sessions with skilled, experienced and knowledgeable industry experts not copycats or wannabes www.chimeracomms.co.uk/courses.php

Don’t be a training humbug. Skills are for life, not just a sweetener!