Nick has worked in the major sports event industry for over 30 years. He started at The European Tour Golf where he was responsible for the staging of the Tourโs key events including the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship before setting up an independent event management company, working as Tournament Manager for the Scottish Open in Loch Lomond.
This was followed by 4 years working as Head of Production at TEAM Marketing in Switzerland responsible for the delivery of UEFA Champions League branding programme and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.ย He returned to the UK to launch the original fabric frame display system in partnership with CSM Live (formerly Icon) before joining them full time in 2010 to head up their international football division. During this time, he directed multiple branding and signage projects, including 4 FIFA World Cups.
Having worked as both client and supplier, the importance of understanding and appreciating both perspectives has been central to how he works and a key to his success. First and foremost though, he is a passionate believer in the critical importance of rigorous and detailed planning and processes in successfully delivering projects on time and on budget.
Rupert Gather
Rupert Gather is the founder and Executive Chairman of InvestUK, a specialist advisory firm helping international entrepreneurs and innovators establish successful companies into Britain. Services cover access to relevant visas, investment capital and relocation support.
He has had a distinguished career in venture capital managing investments into innovative and scalable early-stage companies that he has built following active service in the British Army. To date InvestUK has facilitated 400 investments valued at ยฃ250m across multiple sectors and created 4,000 jobs in the process.
Rupert is a regular speaker and panelist at international conferences, a TEDx speaker with 750,000 views and a global evangelist for the UK enterprise economy.
He is passionate about education and works closely with the UK Department for Education as an independent trustee focused on improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. He founded the IUK Academy to combine his interests in business and education.
In nearly 40 years of working in the events industry there are very few mistakes I havenโt made or problems I havenโt come across.
Unlike many business advisors, often far more technically qualified than me, I have actually been there, in the mud, up ladders, chasing my tail, trying to make a success of my events business despite what felt like constant setbacks.
Itโs why, whenever we start with a new client, we begin the process with our 2 Day Business Review, taking a proper, informed view on where you are now, analysing every element of your company to ensure we understand exactly what needs to be done to get you where you want to go
There is nothing that we havenโt seen before when it comes to an event business. We know that every issue has a solution and weโre here to help you find it.
And he had a LinkedIn profile, with even a few โ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐ต ๐๐ฆโ posts.
๐๐จ๐ง
It did get me thinking ๐ค ๐ค ๐ค
๐๐ you think Marketing is a waste of time and money, then what do you do to generate new business?
Do you rely of doing such a good job for your existing customers that they suddenly want to spend more money with you each year?
Absolutely!ย Maximising customer Value is vital, but be wary of putting all your eggs in one basket.ย What happens when the personnel or ownership changes?
Orโฆ
Do you do such a good job for your existing customers that they refer you to their friends and colleagues?
Of course, referral business is always the best, but it is ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ hard to come by.
Orโฆ
Do you go to endless networking events like Confex, The Production Show and Event Tech Live hoping to meet people who might want to buy what you sell.
Possibly, although from experience itโs tough to meet the right people and even tougher to get them to concentrate on what you do.
But the point is you could do ๐๐๐ of the aboveโฆ
And you would probably grow your business, albeit quite slowly. ๐ ๐ ๐
I was approached through LinkedIn by a companyย ๐ก๐ข๐ง involved with Events, who wanted to know if I could take the principles ofย ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ and come and run their Marketing.
They were happy to pay for the one to one training, and promised loads of bonuses based on new clients.
And I am not going to lie, I was tempted.
๐๐จ๐ง
It meant I was going to have to take my eye off myย ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ง clients to work with this company.
So I said no.
It’s actually not the first time I have said no to a prospect โ and thatโs ok.
I have spent nearly four years developing ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ, and although the principles will work for any type of business…
It is designed specifically for Event Businesses, and that is who it is marketed to.
So I know, as Steve says, I need to stay focused on my business and what works for me.
Doing the things that work and…
๐ก๐ข๐ง getting excited by theย โ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ดโฆโ ย (I hate the NBT!!)
Andย ๐ก๐ข๐ง getting off track.
I know to grow and scaleย MY business I need to keep my focus on:
ย Iโm sorry, and I know marketing people wonโt like this, but I just hate it when Event businesses start talking about โ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐โ as something that they are aiming for in their marketing.
โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ดโฆโ, they say when putting out another bland post or advert with anther photo of an event that looks exactly like all the other photos of events that every other โbrandโ puts out there.
No ๐ข๐๐๐๐ฅ, no ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ, no ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ข๐ and often not even a ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก.
Really?
โBrand awarenessโ????
You think anyone actually recognises your brand, or cares about your brand if they donโt already know you?
Brand Awareness is good if you are Coca-Cola or Mercedes or Nike โ they spend millions of dollars each year on Brand Awareness and it works for them, but absolutely, unequivocally it doesnโt for โAce Adventure Eventsโ or โDaisyโs Party Planningโ from Peterborough.
No-one not looking for you is going to become aware of your brand from some a โBrand Awarenessโ campaign โ it is just not possible.
The average person gets something like 3000 attempts ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ to get their attention for some brand or another, what is the chance that they are going to become aware of you just because you post a nice picture of an event you have done once a fortnight?
๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ช๐ข๐ก’๐ง.
Anyway, as an SME you arenโt really interested in people being aware of your existence, you are interested in people wanting to actually buy something from you. You want leads, enquiries and briefs for events that are actually going to happen.
So forget โBrand Awarenessโ, never ever mention it again in your marketing conversations, it means nothing.
Build your campaigns to hit your Target Market with actual stuff that you know they are interested in buying, make it interesting, make it relevant to them, make it clear.
I was listening to a podcast with Simon Sinek the other day and he said he was brought up to believe the following:
โThe secret to a happy life, is always having something to look forward to.โ
So true, but I thought to myself that this also applies to owning a business.
I am so lucky to get opportunities to meet and chat with event business owners, and to get to understand their pains, problems and desires.
Normally, I discover that actually their biggest pain point, without them realising it, is not knowing what they actually want to achieve.
So in a way they have nothing to look forward to.
And if they donโt have a goal, then they canโt make a plan.
And without a plan, you canโt form a strategy.
I asked a new client the other day what he wanted to achieve from working with me using the TABS Lead Generation Framework, and his answer was,
โI want more sales!โ ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ
Well, yes, but how many do you want or need?
What is the Lifetime Customer Value of a new client?
What number of new sales is sustainable for the business?
In other words, whatโs the goal?
Setting up your marketing to develop more leads and create more sales is not that difficult, providing that you know your Target Market.
And so long as you are realistic about what is achievable then you can set a goal which you will hit.
And that IS something to look forward to.
So hereโs to a Happy Life! ๐
The Wrong Answer!
We were working the other day with a new Event client on a 2 Day Diagnostic Business Review
It is always such an interesting process for both Kershaw Partners and the client.
Helps Event Business owners take a step back and look at their business from a different perspective.
Anywayโฆ..
We started talking about their marketing and lead generation strategy โ what they did to fill their pipeline
The Marketing Manager was talking through what they did with Google and Social Media ads, all the great email campaigns they were doing, and how much they focused in on SEO
And I looked at what they had spent and looked at their pipeline and asked the questionโฆ.
Donโt get me wrong, I completely get making a change is sometimes difficult, but when you sit down with your senior management team once a month (hopefully!) then you need to be asking โฆ.
โWHY do we always do it this way?โ
If no one can give you an answer, then maybe it is time for a change!
Event Business owners have more options to promote their business than at any time in history.
The Internet and Social Media is awash with the โnext big thingโ that is โguaranteedโ to get you more sales.
And some might even work.
But you need to understand what it is you are trying to achieve before spending thousands on marketing
And then choose the right option or options that are right for your event business.
Why Does Nobody Want To Talk To Me?
Well, nobody is going to speak to strangers,
Unless there is a good reason to do so.
The Internet and social media have made targeting potential customers easier than ever.
But they are not going to engage with you unless they believe it is worth their while.
You must front load credibility.
Position yourself as the expert that solves the pain problem or desire that they have.
Create messaging and content that backs up your expertise and creates belief.
Give them a reason to talk to you.
Why You Should Never Be Afraid To Say No To A Client
Sometimes it might just be easier to walk away.
The clients you want to work with must share a chemistry.
Your visions, values and cultures should be aligned,
And above all you should get on.
Aspire to create fun, long-term relationships as this is where true value lies.