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Giving the gift of Christmas in 2017

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Making a difference with Manchester

I hate knowing that children will not have a Christmas! At MID Communications and alongside Cash For Kids, work tirelessly to improve Christmas every year, with an amazing bunch of people to help reduce poverty right across Greater Manchester and the North West.

We have built this over the years to be the biggest toy appeal in the UK!

Why do we support Mission Christmas with Cash for Kids?

Because we always want to help more children every single year, as 1 in 4 children live in poverty.

Christmas is all about spending time with friends and families and sharing experiences full of laughs, smiles and enjoyment. A quarter of our children across Greater Manchester and throughout the North West do not get to enjoy the festive period like the majority. At MID Communications, we love to put smiles on the faces of these children and will continue to support this fast growing cause that is doing everything to try and remove poverty from our communities.

The Mission Christmas VR Experience

As part of Cash for Kids Mission Christmas, we visited the children’s hospice Francis House in Didsbury, Manchester along with Key 103 to surprise kids under their care and their siblings in the run up to Christmas. Francis House helps families of children with life limited conditions. Christmas is a special time for all the families to create amazing memories together however it can sometimes be interrupted by unexpected visits to the hospital. Key 103 Cash for Kids Mission Christmas asks you to buy one extra present this Christmas for a disadvantaged child living in Greater Manchester and help put a smiles on their face this Christmas.

A quick message from Key 103:

Huge THANK YOU to O2 Franshise, MID Communications for help making this possible by providing all the latest virtual reality technology. More information about Mission Christmas can be found at key103.co.uk/mission.

How do we contribute to helping this fantastic cause?

  1. Helping to raise money and donate by hosting events across all of our communities, fundraising and working tirelessly with our partners.
  2. We also encourage shoppers buy an extra gift and drop it off at any of any one our stores or any other drop off point.
  3. Volunteer your time, become a drop-off point.

Make it simple and inspiring others to help. An easier way is sending a text to donate.

I tried to inspire people on the night by saying ” Helping this cause doesn’t have to cost anything, but YOUR TIME. We know time is the most expensive currency, that’s why we value you and yours…”

Please help myself and our teamsat MID Communications give a little more this Christmas and help make a difference with us and the rest of Manchester.

MID Supports Rochdale Business Awards 2017

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The 7th Year of Rochdale Business Awards

This year, we supported the business awards by putting an award together to celebrate local retailers, that are independent within the Rochdale borough.

It was a great process, as we teamed up with local entrepreneur Gregory Couzens. Greg’s hair salon, Gregory Couzens, has been in operation for years in Rochdale and is possibly one of the longest trading retailers in the town.

Our second partner was with Chris who is the Regional Sales Director for Shoppers Anonymous, a customer service delivery business who are experts in helping businesses deliver excellence in sales and customer services.

Above is Rochdale Council CEO, Steve Rumbelow, kicking the event off.

We Were Overwhelmed with the Positive Response

We were blown away by the response from the Rochdale borough, and applications, for the awards first year out. From all these amazing businesses, we did manage to make the cut of applications down to three finalists based on their applications and business history plus a series of face-to-face meetings and interviews and, of course, encounters with our mystery shoppers.

Rochdale Business Awards 2017: High Street Retailer of the Year
Top Three Finalists

  1. Nailz by Olive
  2. Chantilly
  3. Blue Rose Gifts and Balloons

All three finalists were amazing but there could only be one winner! A huge congratulations to Chantilly.

Such an amazing business that’s delivered exactly what they said they did. They are a great bunch of Passionate, people that go always above and beyond at every point they do.

A shining example of not just great retailers in Rochdale but an excellent example of British retailing and what retail experiences should be. I am proud to have presented the award to them.

Furthermore doing this was amazing to allow smaller independent retailers to step up and show how great they are,and have a voice amongst the larger retailers, who in my opinion could learn so much from the smaller passionate retailers, who aspire to be the next big retailer.

Putting passion back into Retail

I am passionate about wanting to get retailers working better together in 2018.  My conclusion is we have become so comfortable with online shopping and trading and that we are neglecting our best part of any business… the part that involves people.

Consequently, we must work together to improve the standard in retail to inspire people to start online and finish in store, because they get amazing experience in store, from the people in those stores!

After all, people buy people… let’s not forget or overlook this.

Watch this space next year, as I try and inspire more retailers to seek WORLD CLASS SERVICE, just like Chantilly does, and our teams do every single day.

Why supporting local charities is part of our CSR

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Supporting our charities

Friday was a great day for the business as we supported two of our great charity partners and helped towards making a difference in the community that we operate and do business in.

Charity days, if you do them right, can be amazing for you, your people and your business.

Let me tell you how and why we do our charity days

The people in your teams may already be helping and supporting a charity, so ask them and find out which ones so you to determine which one to support as business. You could even let your people choose a charity as they will help towards making it a success, they will also make encourage any new team members get involved as the passion is in your team.

Four years ago, we decided to support Cash for Kids and our team love it. I am now fortunate to be trustee for Cash for KidsS both locally and nationally, for our support as a business, and our contributions to them. Really, I represent all our team as it’s them that drive me and the charity.

Cash for Kids – Charity Golf Day & Gala Dinner

Let me tell you how the day started… some people think taking a full day out of their business is crazy, but trust me, you need to step out and this is great way to do it.

Stepping out with your team and doing charity days, allowing you to still remain effective, can be very rewarding and you get sooooo much for the day if you do them right.

Friday morning started with a quick visit in the office to recognise a team member that delivered great service, as I always make sure we promote, recognise and praise great service. Our business account manger, Teresa, definitely showcased this.

I was on the way to a charity golf day that we support every year with Darren Proctor for Cash for Kids. I am not by any means a good player. I am more of an all the gear and no idea kind of player. It was defiantly a hack and wack session for me.

The day was brilliant for me, the business and the team member that came with me for the day. We had a lot of fun and had a great opportunity to give back and support something amazing. We also got to network with some amazing people. We reflected and discussed our businesses and set new plans and goals, all while supporting and helping a great charity.

I spent the day with Martyn Barrow and Thomas Clough from our business team, who are both great golfers, and Jennifer Hulme, our Head of HR. Jenn was the only female golfer on the day, which was surprising and left me thinking, again, why more females don’t get involved in golf days, charity or corporate events.

While playing the 18 holes we had time to have a huge amount of fun, mainly at my miss hits.

It was great to discuss business objectives to find out how people are doing in their role, listen to ideas on how we can improve and do things different, especially as Martyn is now starting to head up and lead our Business Team going forwards. I got to speak to him about how he was feeling, understand his ideas for the new role and it was great to see Tom supporting him.

The day came to a close, I left the event and the team invited their partners to the evening Gala Dinner. Again, this allowed them to bond and get to know each other’s family members. We really take the opportunity to make sure, where possible, we bring team and partners together.

Time for Charity Event No. 2

After finishing up the Charity Golf Day, I headed home to get changed and collect my beautiful wife and set off out the door to support our good friend, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins, as he hosted his curry night to raise money for Retrak and Police Memorial UK – two more great causes.

I met with our Operations Manager, John Harvey (pictured above in the red tie), as he used to be a Special Constable before he worked for MID Comms 5 years ago, so there was some great commonality for him also. Ian is a great friend of mine and the event saw plenty of support to help raise over £26k on it’s 2nd year out as a charity night.

Getting to know your people, outside of the office

Again, it was great to meet new people and great for me to be able to speak to John about his new role and get some ideas from him for the charity support going forward, and also about his department. He made some great connections on the night that he took some ideas from and wants to do business with back at the ranch. Both charities are amazing and I love that we support them, it is great to find the time to give something back.

Where do you invest your time?

Both events cost only a little to support in comparison to the difference you can make to the charity and your team. I believe the money spent can be made back, but time is one commodity and currency that can NOT be replaced, refunded or created after it is spent. Make sure you make the most of your time, invest it well, and invest it on the right things and with the right people.

People have so many different views on supporting charity, but I hope I have given you some ideas that it doesn’t just have to be about giving money. When people ask, you can use the events to help spend time with your team in a social environment that helps them see the value of giving back. It also helps them see what the charities are doing and what they support. Your time supporting charity will help a multiple people, don’t underestimate YOURSELF and the difference you can make. Taking time to give back and do it with your team is an amazing opportunity so go and take yours!

Supporting a charity you are passionate about

Your team will love to drive the charity and it’s message both inside and outside of the business, it’s a win-win situation. So, why would you not look at what local charities are in your are for you your team engage with? Never underestimate the many ways you can support your local charities, just make sure you pick the right one for you and your people. As I always say, if your not passionate about what you or your team are doing then don’t do it.

Go find that charity and do something special with your team, you will be surprised at what difference it can make for your team, your business and it’s great to show your customers. You are a business that gives back the community that you do business in. By them your customers doing business with you, they’re helping a local charity also.

The digital landscape claims another local business. Are you ready?

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Businesses are still not fully aware of the external digital landscapes.

This week started with saddened news, that the Oldham Evening Chronicle has gone into administration. The question is were they aware of the changes in the digital media landscape?

This is a huge loss to the local town of Oldham as the news and media business has played such a big part in the growth and heritage of the local town over the past 163 years.

The Oldham Chronicle tweeted the news 6 days ago, and the town reacted to the sad news, along with local MP Jim McMahon, adding a personal saddened goodbye message.

Read the full artcile here, published by the Manchester Evening News.

The Oldham Chronicle was one of our Business customers at MID Communications and have been for several years, it is never easy to see this happen to businesses and it is even tougher when you have worked with the business.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all the staff the very best for the future and we hope we can support some of them in sourcing new employment during these difficult times.

How does this digital landscape happen?

It is always difficult to fully understand why a business has failed, however, in my opinion, a major reason to consider is that they ignored and delayed to adapt to the changes in the digital and media landscape.

We live in a fast paced life now with our mobile devices and this means that print has declined over the past several years. As we become more impatient we want the information on our devices when we want, instantly. Living this fast-paced world with access to the internet from almost anywhere has seen a huge decline both in news paper form and in many other forms, like leaflets and magazines. This is due to the fact we become more and more impatient as human beings, we want the information on our devices and we want it when we want, at an instant click or tap.

It’s a change that can affect so many businesses, not just media and news.  If your business is ignoring the external landscape changes and you are not being made aware of landscape changes, you are going to struggle. Is your business adapting to it’s environment and also it’s customers and audience.

Collaborate with your audience, tell your own stories.

In today’s world of online, digital and social media, we are now empowering more people to become food critics, news reporters, and many other roles, due to mobile device’s. For example, having the ability to stream live footage from anywhere has become huge now.

Is your business adapting to the environment and to your customers and audience needs? You need to collaborate with your audience in today’s world of digital and social media.

We are now empowering more people to become a multi-expert, such as food critics, news reporters, customer service critics, and so many other roles, all due to mobile device’s linked with our ability to have an opinion with our need to want and share.

Look at the current tragedy of the Manchester Bombing, it was a cruel evening for Manchester but, we, the great British public, became reporters, and emergency services supporters, and many other roles as we shared our videos and images with the press, the police and many other sources like social media.

This plays a huge part in today’s digital world and shows how fast news can be reported, and how messages can be pushed out, whether they are good or bad messages and stories.

This is one example of how huge digital changes and evolvement play a part in today’s digital world, that demonstrates how fast news is being reported when business and people collaborate.  Messages are pushed out, whether they are good or bad.

Is your business digitally ready?

A person can express themselves and showcase many parts of their own and other peoples lifes on social media or other channels.
This emphasizes the need to embrace both Digital and social media along with other sources, to ensure you are not getting left behind.

This example is one of a few, where I feel The Oldham Chronicle may not have seen the impact of digital media coming down the business influences channel.  When they saw the changes it was too late to try and catch the rest.
No app, not enough social media presence and they didn’t work with the power of local reporters and news reporters, we the general public to catch the news fast enough and report it back to the massess with quick succession.

In our business, I am watching and working on how 5G has been coming down the line, for a number of years. How will it affect us but, more importantly, how will affect you, the customer?

 

Improve your sales – Pride. Passion. Persistence.

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Are you selling or creating relationships?

Over the last 12 months, I have worked with all our sales teams, in MID Communications, but it’s our business team that I want to concentrate on for this quick blog.

Helping and mentoring our B2B team to evolve into different sales people. The takeaway for the team on reflection was quoted by our lead business development manager, Martin Barrow.

Are you trying to create a sale or are you creating value, service and building relationships.

I was so proud to hear him and the team take this approach.  Over the last 12 months, I have seen them grow, to become a team of creators that master and value relationship building that they deliver today.

So many sales people, react to the sales targets that they have and they react to the pressure they put themselves under.

The 3 pillar approach to improving your sales.

Over the last 14 years of my sales career, I have learned some valuable sales lessons, to which I have listed a couple below.

These points I have put into a summary and created a sales ethos of PRIDE, PASSION and PERSISTENCE.  I love to teach and showcase this 3 pillar approach to our people today.

  1. People buy people, not a product.
  2. Story’s help the product, your business and your brand come alive which helps the customer understand more.
  3. Showcase your product and have plenty of knowledge about it.
  4. Don’t expect to make a sale on the first couple of meetings. Build a relationship that is based on trust. You won’t do business if you don’t trust each other.
  5. Be honest and don’t lie – people appreciate the honesty even if this means sometimes not selling or recommending an additional product. If you don’t believe in the product, neither will your customer.
  6. Business needs to be reciprocal – if they do something for you, you need to return the favour.
  7. Make sure the product you sell is needed, discover what peoples needs are. What are benefits, what are the aspirations? Listen to your customer and understand them and their business, don’t jump into a solution/selling.
  8. Make people feel good about themselves, ask lots of questions.
  9. Try to think of a win-win for you and your client/prospect
  10. Last but not least and possibly the most important deliver on your promises. Offer great service, serve every customer like you would serve your own business or even your own parents.

You can put them into the ethos and values of pride, passion and persistence. I’ll show you how these 10 fit.

PRIDE

People buy people, not a product – take pride in your appearance and pride in yourself. Be proud of who you are and where you come from, be the best you can be and don’t try and be someone else.
Be proud of the brand you are selling and the brand you work for, be a brand ambassador all the time. As a friend of mine says

Walk tall!

PASSION

Be passionate about what you are selling and passionate about business. Be passionate about them and their business, know about them and their business, have a genuine interest in wanting to help them and always think win-win. No passion, no sale, no relationship. Be excited about what you’re selling and what you do. Knowledge drives confidence and confidence drives sales.

PERSISTENCE

Don’t give up, stay persistent. Disciplined structure with good plans mixed with good behaviours will get you there eventually. You will get some no’s and that’s fine, with every no take time to think and ask yourself what can you do differently? Now get up and do it again. Remember if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

Keep the confidence, stay positive and remember, winner’s win because of mindset. Give your self ten reasons why you can… over 80% of calls will go to voicemail, and 90% of first-time voice mails are never returned, so be persistent, call back and leave another if needed, give them a reason to call you back, don’t sell on VM. If they are not in the buying cycle they won’t buy and therefore won’t call you back.

Only 2% of cold calls result in an appointment so why do it, build conversations and relationships, stop wasting time hammering the phones cold calling, 50% of sales time is wasted on productive prospecting. Start going to meet people, and ask for referrals, and create more relationships on LinkedIn, these are called conversation leads.

All top sales people utilise LinkedIn and other business social media platforms. If you can get a date on tinder you can find a business relationship online. 91% of people would refer you but we only ask 11% of people from them.

I hope this helps article helps you get better at business and improves or changes the sales process you are currently doing. PRIDE, PASSION and PERSISTENCE. Live it, eat it, sleep it and breathe it…

Good luck and see you next time, or tweet me your sales tips @dannymidsimpson. I look forward to hearing your tips and techniques from your lessons in sales.

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