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Obviously you've tried to sell something and felt like you were hitting your head against a brick wall? It happens. Think about this: if I tried to sell you a slice of chocolate cake for R50, you'd probably tell me it's too expensive. But what if, instead, I told you the story behind it? Like how it's made with 70% pure cocoa and baked by my grandmother? Then, you might just be tempted. See, the way many entrepreneurs approach sales is all wrong. Their "recipe" often looks something like this: 0% brand 30% marketing 70% sales And the result? Usually a flop or a constant struggle. But there's a better way, a better recipe: 50% brand 40% marketing 10% sales You can only use this recipe if you know what goes into it. So, let's break down the difference between brand, marketing, and sales. Brand Your brand is what makes you different. It's what sets you apart from the crowd. Without it, you're just another "me-too" busine...

Running a workshop can be a rewarding experience, both personally and professionally. As a solo consultant, I've had the opportunity to design and deliver workshops on a variety of topics. Along the way, I've learned a lot about what it takes to create a successful and engaging learning experience. In this blog post, I'll share some of my key learnings and insights. Start with a clear problem statement Before you even begin to design your workshop, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of the problem you're trying to solve. This will help you to focus your content and ensure that your workshop is relevant and impactful. Design your workshop to address the problem statement Once you have a problem statement, you can begin to design your workshop. I've found that it's helpful to have a few standard models that I can customise to fit the specific needs of each client. Create an agenda A well-structured agenda is essential for keeping your workshop on track...

I spend my December holidays doing two things: Stress—I wait for the new year to start because I find it nearly impossible to relax when the whole world is unavailable, and the economy is at a standstill. I’m at my most relaxed when I work. Read—I catch up on the numerous podcasts, videos, and articles I have bookmarked throughout the year but haven’t had time to read or listen. One of the things I laboured through, not because it is so long but because it is so dense—is a video by the celebrity-ex-professor Mark Ritson on the history and future of brand management. I’ll spare you the details, but here’s the key part for me, seven minutes from the end: That’s right. According to Mr Ritson, in about ten years from now, AI will do all your marketing, from devising a marketing strategy to conducting market research, defining a communications plan, designing ads, and managing the roll-out—the whole shebang. Granted, we see a lot of fancy - and fanciful - predictions, especially when it co...

Y ou can replace the word "strategy" with "focus". Where are you going to focus? Understandably, entrepreneurial businesses prefer to refrain from concentrating their efforts because they aggressively explore every possible opportunity. Yet, they have the most to gain from targeting their limited resources instead of following a spray-and-pray approach. The Consequences of a Lack of Focus  The problem with not putting enough effort behind a single point is that many ideas remain sub-critical - they never receive enough support to either work or fail entirely. In our experience at Firejuice , doing more of one thing allows the business to get a clear sense of whether it works or doesn't. Unfortunately, in too many cases, a chronic lack of focus often leads to murky decision-making and companies that end up chasing their tails. Structured Opportunity Exploration Entrepreneurial businesses will always search for opportunities, but exploration should not be unrestra...

The biggest challenge for small/medium companies is reaching their intended audience. This problem becomes even more pronounced in business markets where key decision-makers often hide behind an email firewall and a receptionist. "Reach" is the crucial reason SMEs do marketing: "help me announce myself to my target market".  Interestingly, with established brands and larger companies, the reason for doing marketing is different. Awareness has already been achieved, and it becomes a case of encouraging existing customers to remain loyal. It is this reason why a company like Coca-Cola continues to advertise. Small brands advertise to become known; large brands stay relevant. Same activity; different objectives. The problem smaller companies have is how to achieve reach with limited resources. Small budgets mean that certain heavy-hitting, mass-marketing tools are unavailable, and so too highly targeted ones that require a substantial investment in upfront research. Ev...

I see many owner-managed businesses on the verge of collapsing. It isn't so much the economy that is bad, but rather that a bad economy exposes poor management practices. The fact is that without the cushioning of a strong economy, most owner-businesses are exposed as badly managed. They simply aren't competitive.  As I consult on business development, I see nepotism to the point of incompetence, zero evident succession planning, owners being treated as gods, and no healthy debate to challenge the thinking. Things become stale.  To be fair, this is the natural path of all owner-managed businesses unless intentional countermeasures are taken. All owners are treated like gods - they often started the business from scratch and now provide a livelihood to staff. No wonder they are revered. Nepotism is standard practice and an accepted, effective tool to manage risk - it's not all bad. The problem isn't so much the existence of these factors, but that left unchecked, they b...

Something they don't tell you when you start on your own as a consultant: there are no rules to it - you make it up as you go and as you gain confidence. It's up to you how you want to do it. It's more art than science. I find it quite amazing. There's no right or wrong way to consult, especially as an independent. Take, for example, the near cast-in-stone rule that diagnosis should precede strategy. Although true, I'm finding that I often do diagnosis and strategy almost at the same time as I interact with business owners and marketing directors. Since I only focus on small and midsized clients, I tend to work with organisations with flat structures where decision-makers still have front-end contact with the market. Information is often already in the room - it just needs to be sorted.  One could argue that this is taking shortcuts, but I've found delaying the strategy discussion "till next time" ignores the reality of the moment where a certain insig...