Blog Tag Results for "Database Building"

Apprenticeship Schemes - Are they worth it?

Maddie Hollis | 13th Oct 2010 at 14:50 | 4734 views |  0 comments(s)

Apprenticeship Schemes – Are they worth it?  In September, after being an Apprentice at The Swan Company for 6 months I found myself not only standing in front of a full room of strangers but I was the centre of attention! This was possibly the last thing I thought I would be doing when I first joined the company back in March. Well it just goes to show how so much can change over such a short time. So on September 14th Margaret MacKenzie (my boss at The Swan Company) and I presented our story at an Apprenticeship Information and Networking Event.  As I said I have only been an Apprentice and with The Swan Company for 6 months. However because I have fitted in so well we were asked to tell everyone else about our experience and why the Apprenticeship Scheme has worked so well. So we jumped at the opportunity to tell local businesses in the Dorset area a bit more about us, and what we do.  The first thing we wanted to demonstrate to everyone is what a... more

Category: Tales of an Apprentice

'Bish Bash Bosh'

Maddie Hollis | 27th May 2010 at 13:49 | 996 views |  6 comments(s)

Bish, Bash, Bosh! Now, as you may or may not remember, I wrote a Blog a couple of weeks ago about networking… Well, this very morning I went to my first ever networking event! It was the Dorset BusinessXchange breakfast in Kingston Maurwood, near Dorchester. Laura, the group leader, was keen to emphasise that it is a business support networking group and not a lead generating one. However, I swear that Margaret could find a lead in the Gobi desert… So I’m now going to tell you all about it… I don’t think that I’ve ever had so much fun… In a business, boring-to-your-average-17-year-old kind of way. If you know what I mean.  (Chuckles…). Everybody who went to this event was just so lovely and kind…I swear it has nothing to do with the free full English breakfast that they receive beforehand.… Well maybe a little. But can I just add when eating this breakfast you are sitting next to potential clients, so I ... more

Category: Tales of an Apprentice

Do you need to change your attitude?

Victoria Moffatt | 06th Apr 2010 at 14:36 | 341 views |  1 comments(s)

Cold Calling - Do you need to change your attitude? Believe in what you are selling. Believe you have a right to make that call. If you think that the person you are calling is going to see you as a nuisance caller, the chances are that they will. If you believe in your product or service and can identify the problem that it can solve for your potential customer, then the message conveyed to the customer is that you can provide the solution. The only way you can do this is by using your listening skills. A conversation is a two-way process, and it is as important that you ask the right questions to find out what your prospect needs as it is that you listen carefully to the answers. This can mean that you actually help your prospect to identify the problem, and are then ideally placed to recommend your solution. The more you know about your prospect before you make the call, the more targeted your questions can be. Many people hate making sales calls, as they think that all p... more

Fear of Rejection

Margaret MacKenzie | 24th Jun 2010 at 14:29 | 434 views |  1 comments(s)

Cold Calling - Fear of Rejection “A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success”. Bo Bennett The main obstacle to making sales calls for oneself is fear. Fear of rejection. From the first school disco onwards, the thought of being left out and not wanted haunts all but the most self-assured amongst us. Do you remember how the school dances started? All the boys on one side of the hall, looking at their shoes or watches; all the girls on the other pretending not to look. Every one too scared to make the first move, for fear of being rejected. It is exactly this fear that drives you away from the telephone and to clean behind the office fridge, (or whatever your favourite displacement activity is). It is not an easy thing to overcome. So how can we change how you look at rejection? How can we make it a good thing? Bo Bennett has the right idea. Given that you cannot hope to make a hundred appointments from a hundred calls, you ... more

Monday Mornings...

Victoria Moffatt | 19th Apr 2010 at 11:12 | 6766 views |  0 comments(s)

Monday Mornings ... Mmmmmm…don’t you just love Monday mornings?… The whole dead and droopy feeling when you shuffle into work?……… Yeah me too……. I am currently sat here with a cup of green tea (yummy) thinking about what it is I should actually be writing about, I suppose I should really try to be intelligent and interesting.... so here goes.. You may or may not be aware of the fact that people who do an Apprentice scheme also get to a do an NVQ. Now this can be a good or a bad thing…Good if you like doing extra sort of project work, and bad if you don’t. I’m doing a level 2 NVQ in business and a level 3 in sales, the funny thing is though I have never seen anything so easy in my whole entire life! To be honest the majority of it is complete common sense…sort of like.. Q – ‘why did Anna burn her hand when she touched the hot kettle’… …..Mmmmmm I don&... more

Category: Tales of an Apprentice

Networking

Maddie Hollis | 12th May 2010 at 14:59 | 272 views |  1 comments(s)

Networking This blog is all about the Dos and the Don’ts of Networking…. Now some of you may be wondering what exactly is Networking, well the dictionary definition is: A supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest: e.g. Working mothers in the community use networking to help them manage successfully. However in business terms, (well, especially with The Swan Company), the definition seems to be: Meeting up with all your business associates for breakfast in a big hall somewhere and having a good old chin wag about what everyone has been up to. Having the opportunity to meet new business people, get to know and to build relationships with them. I personally think that this is a big difference… Networking cannot really be defined as it is completely different for every single person and company, depending on what they are hoping to achieve. It is not a platform to sell, sell... more

Category: Tales of an Apprentice