BT Tradespace blog

Our blog gives you the latest updates and news on BT Tradespace plus news and comment on social media. Enjoy!

Back to the About BT Tradespace homepage

Dee Blick: Speak up… Is it time you took to the stage?

Posted by Amy Cutbill

29 Jul 2010 in Announcements

In the last year my services as a public speaker have been called upon extensively and although I still do the occasional freebie, I do now get paid for my efforts. If you follow me on twitter, then you’ll know that I tweet with unrelenting monotony about constantly having to push out of my comfort zone, and public speaking was certainly not something that I took to like a natural from the start. With the benefit of much practice and a little training, I’m now told that I make public speaking look pretty relaxed and effortless. Rest assured it was not always that way. I was the archetypal trembling critter, fumbling with my cue cards and struggling to control my erratic breathing. However, like many business people, I recognised that public speaking was an exceptionally powerful PR tool. Let’s face it, most business people would rather visit the dentist than stand on a stage and be expected to captivate an audience with their erudite wit and charm. Of those of us brave or indeed mad enough to embrace the challenge, only a small handful actually manage to inspire the audience. The remainder either lull them into a soft and gentle sleep or leave them feeling cheated at having been on the receiving end of a lengthy sales pitch.

There are three things that I believe define me as a half decent public speaker (based on the feedback from my audiences that is):

1. I focus on sharing knowledge, information and tips that my audience can take and use unreservedly. They are not there to hear me talk about how wonderful I am (even though I would like them to think that!) They want to be entertained, informed and inspired. A sales pitch interjected with the odd tip just will not do.

2. I explain things in clear and simple terms. Occasionally, my ego gets the better of me and I am tempted to inject a few fabulous sounding marketing terms into the speech just to show how clever I really am, but I refrain and focus instead on making the information accessible and straightforward.

3. I’m passionate when sharing – if I can’t be enthused about a profession that I have been in for 26 years then something is wrong. As Henry Ford said when describing enthusiasm. “With it there is accomplishment, without it only abilities.”

What defines you as a public speaker and what do you see as are your biggest challenges as a public speaker? Tell me, I want to know.

About the Author

Dee Blick of The Marketing Gym is a multi-award winning Chartered Marketer with 26 years marketing experience gained working with blue chips and home-based businesses.  Dee is also the author of the bestseller Powerful Marketing on a Shoestring Budget for Small Businesses (currently there are 22 5 star reader reviews on Amazon!)  In addition to being an active blogger and twitter, Dee is the weekly marketing columnist for the Financial Mail

If you’ve missed any of  Dee’s previous blogs for BT Tradespace, we’ve added them below for you:

Great News! You Don’t Have To Be Unique to Be Brilliantly Successful

So Just What is Marketing?

Prawn sandwich or pierced earrings?

Hook, Line & Sinker

Inspire me and I’m yours!

Is traditional marketing on its knees?

No Comments »

Dee Blick: Is traditional marketing on its knees?

Posted by Amy Cutbill

22 Jul 2010 in Announcements

 

Last week while on holiday, I read an on-line article that, had it been printed, would have ended up in the swimming pool.

Face down.

I should have known from the introductory paragraph that it was going to raise my hackles.  In it, the author forcibly asserted that “traditional marketing such as direct mail and advertising is dead.  The only way forward is social media, online advertising and blogs.”

Nonsense I tell you, nonsense!

If we agree that the role of marketing is to communicate our products and services effectively to the people who have a deep underlying need to buy from us and to encourage these people to buy in sufficient quantities for us to be profitable, then we can immediately see the flaw in this article.  The clue lies in the word communicate.  We have to identify the communication channels that we can use effectively to reach our potential buyers.  This may or may not include social networking, direct mail, online advertising and so on.  Even then, one particular channel, although effective, may not in itself be the only route to riches. A blended approach (unless the evidence to the contrary is compelling) offers the potential of a higher return with a lower risk.

Let me illustrate this with the example of one of my retained clients. He sells motor repair products through 1500 car accessory shops and motor factors, many of which are not especially Internet savvy.  Getting their e-mail addresses is like pulling teeth. Yet in the last five years we have increased sales by a staggering £800,000. How have we achieved this? Through a blend of  ‘traditional marketing’, i.e. direct mail, trade press advertising, product offers, PR and point of sale promotions. If I were to suggest to my client that traditional marketing was dead, he would probably eject me from the building and have me sectioned.

What concerns me with this particular article is the risk of a small business owner taking the advice at face value and plunging totally into social networking and online advertising. Abandoning tried and tested marketing communications simply because the Emperor’s new clothes are, on the face of it, more appealing than his existing wardrobe would be a dreadful mistake in my opinion.

Or do you disagree? You may want to get on your soapbox too and tell me what you think.

About the Author

 Dee Blick of The Marketing Gym is a multi-award winning Chartered Marketer with 26 years marketing experience gained working with blue chips and home-based businesses.  Dee is also the author of the bestseller Powerful Marketing on a Shoestring Budget for Small Businesses (currently there are 22 5 star reader reviews on Amazon!)  In addition to being an active blogger and twitter, Dee is the weekly marketing columnist for the Financial Mail

If you’ve missed any of  Dee’s previous blogs for BT Tradespace, we’ve added them below for you:

Great News! You Don’t Have To Be Unique to Be Brilliantly Successful

So Just What is Marketing?

Prawn sandwich or pierced earrings?

Hook, Line & Sinker

Inspire me and I’m yours!

1 Comment »

Nita Joy Craft Design working with My Kitchen Store

Posted by Amy Cutbill

13 Jul 2010 in Announcements

I have often mentioned in blog posts what BT Tradespace means to me, and my business. I am privileged to say that I also met Elaine from My Kitchen Store, through BT Tradespace.

Back in 2008 I saw Elaine posting on the community boards and joined in some of the conversations, which is a great way to meet new people – offering advice where you can, and asking questions that others may be able to help with, learning from their experience.

Elaine bought some Christmas cards from me that year and gradually through connecting through BT Tradespace and Twitter, we were in regular contact, re-tweeting each other’s links and blog posts. There’s a great selection of BT Tradespacers on Twitter, and combining this and the community lounge on BT Tradespace, helps to keep in touch with what other businesses are doing.

I have a lovely group of friends who I have met this way, and not only is it great for business but also wonderful personally. As a Sole Trader working from home, it’s lovely to connect online, to see how everyone is doing.

Elaine has been of huge encouragement to me, not only for my flower photography, available as cards and gifts, but she has also been a wonderful supporter of my anti-bullying campaign.

Elaine has a wonderful array of kitchen fittings and accessories on www.mykitchenstore.co.uk. This year they have been branching out to include more bespoke items, and I was delighted to be asked if I could provide them with a poppy image for their floral kitchen glass splashback range. I have been looking at broadening my gift collection for my flower photography, so I jumped at the chance to not only be a part of their range, but also to work with Elaine.

After the great comments received about the Poppy glass splashback, I designed a special range of floral splashbacks and I also offer the service of designing a bespoke floral splashback, to meet the customers’ requirements. It’s early days, but as floral images are very in fashion right now in the kitchen and interior design, I am hoping to build my collection.

“I love Anita’s enthusiasm for her work and she has a range of beautiful products. When we decided to launch our new splashback design service, which is the first in the UK, it seemed a natural fit to ask Anita to develop some designs based around her fabulous photography – and I’m delighted to say that even though we’ve only had the service live for a few weeks, Anita’s floral images are already generating sales and lots of attention. Working with other BT Tradespace companies is a great way to expand mutual business interests – and because you have already developed relationships through the communities, the understanding you develop of each other’s company makes the process very easy and smooth – and also fun.”

I now have a gallery of glass splashback designs on My Kitchen Store and both the Poppy Design and the Spring Blossom have been sold successfully already.

                                                 

With the Chelsea and the Hampton Court Flower shows as well as other regional flower shows, it is easy to be inspired by the planting schemes for our gardens and, by also bringing a touch of nature into our living space. With this in mind, I have co-ordinated a range from the floral glass splashbacks collection, to also be available as framed / canvas prints, to carry the chosen design into a lounge, dining room or bedroom.

My collection can also be seen on my website – www.sendaflowercard.com, the range includes bluebells, blossom, anemone, tulips and so on. For any questions relating to the glass splashbacks, please contact Elaine through My Kitchen Store. For any information about my collection or a bespoke flower design, please feel free to contact me. We look forward to hearing from you

I am also working with a couple of other BT Tradespacers for my Anti-bullying Campaign, our  T-shirt designs are printed by Pauline from Tees Online (PPJ Banners N Quality Shirts) and Kate from Kate Murray Soft Toys, is making a mini Percy the Pigeon toy which is currently being developed.

I highly recommend connecting and teaming up with other tradespacers relevant to your chosen business network. BT Tradespace offers this wonderful opportunity to network with other businesses, to help grow your business, and also offer other services which ordinarily you may not have the chance to do, by teaming up with other businesses on BT Tradespace.

Ref:

Nita Joy Craft Design Tradespace – http://nitajoycraftdesign.bttradespace.com

Website – www.sendaflowercard.com

Twitter: – www.twitter.com/NitaJoy

My Kitchen Store

Tradespace: http://mykitchenstore.bttradespace.com

Website: www.mykitchenstore.co.uk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mykitchenstore

Percy the Pigeon Anti-bullying Campaign Tradespace – http://percythepigeon.bttradespace.com

Website – www.areyoubeingbullied.com

Twitter:- www.twitter.com/percythepigeon

Personalised greeting cards for all occasions -

Bespoke Floral Kitchen Glass Splashback Collection -

RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows – http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events

PPJ Banners N Quality Shirts – http://qualiteet-shirts.bttradespace.com/

Kate Murray Soft Toys – http://katemurray.bttradespace.com/

No Comments »

Get the most from your translation service provider

Posted by Amy Cutbill

12 Jul 2010 in Announcements

How to get the most from your translation service provider?

Increasingly SMEs are looking to produce multilingual websites and marketing materials in order to increase their overseas sales revenue. Following the recent recession, the weakness of the Pound has created an ideal opportunity to expand into international markets. The 2010 Federation of Small Businesses survey found that 80% of the 500 SMEs that took part were trading internationally, 62% believed that the UK was well-placed to take advantage of trading internationally in the current climate, and 84% stated that international trade is important for the long-term survival of their business.

Expanding your business overseas may well be the next step for your company but how do you go about reaching the new agents, distributors and consumers?

Well once you’ve established the languages of your target audiences, the translation of your marketing material, and more importantly, your website (most prospective clients’ first port of call), should be at the top of your agenda.

Be concise

Before you get in touch with any agencies, it is best to take the time to establish what it is that you actually require, how you want to achieve this, and within what timeframe. With regards to the first point, there are the obvious issues to consider, such as which languages you require your text to be translated into and if that language is spoken in more than one country, which variant do you require? For example, do you require French or Canadian French; Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese; Spanish or Mexican Spanish?

Also, your contact at your chosen translation agency will need to know the subject matter and the purpose of the translation. Should your service or product be very specialised, they will need to find a translator with experience in that area. It may be wise to create a list of preferred or proprietary terminology specific to your product or service. Furthermore, if the translation is for publication on a website, it may be worth asking if they have a translator for that language with copywriting experience.

It is advisable to know the approximate word count. Stating the number of pages will not be very helpful from the agency’s perspective as it is impossible to estimate how many words may appear on each page. Translation agency charges are normally based on rates per 1,000 words. However, before an agency will be able to provide you with a definite quote, they will need to see the original text or document. It should be noted that layout, the localisation of graphics (the editing of images or the text that appears within them for the target culture), and the complexity of the subject matter will all be taken into account.

Be aware

Secondly, you should consider the logistics of the project. Is the text you want to be translated already in existence? Do you know how to extract the text for translation from your website or would you prefer the files making up the website itself be translated? How large are the files? Will you be able to email them or will you need to give FTP (file transfer protocol) access, so that the agency can download the whole site? All of these issues will need to be addressed at some point before the translation process can begin, but from the outset you need to make the following clear: the format you will provide the text in, and the format in which you need it back. Even if you are simply requesting a quote, for both convenience and speed it is best to provide the text in an editable format such as Microsoft Word and if it is a website translation, provide the URL of your current site for reference. Un-editable file types such as PDFs, while convenient for emailing etc., can be problematic at this stage of a project, as they will need to be converted to editable formats in order to establish word counts and to analyse and translate the text.

If you require a large-scale translation project or a multilingual project, be conscious of the fact that a team of translators will be working on the project, rather than one individual. If you are dubious about using a translation agency, projects such are these are not the time to try to cut corners – using an agency will ensure you only have to answer the same query once, you will only have to deal with a limited number, if not a single contact, and you won’t have to take into consideration the logistics of the project such as time zone differences or different working practices.

Be realistic

Thirdly, with regards to your deadline, be specific but realistic. If it took you three days to write an industry-specific presentation, don’t expect a translation to take one. Timescales can vary significantly, especially for more specialised texts. When you request a quote, ask for an approximate turnaround time, but bear in mind that you will need to be available to answer any queries should they arise. It is normally realistic to assume that 1,500-2,500 words can be translated in a day. However, you will need to take into consideration the time needed for proofreading the translation, resolving any final queries and for the collation of the project should you have requested more than one language.

If you are able to break the translation project down into stages, by staggering the delivery of the project over three separate deadlines for example, this can be beneficial both for you and for the translation agency. The latter will not be dealing with the simultaneous delivery of all sections, and you will be able to check and approve the project as it progresses.

Be available

Translation agencies are not mind readers; nor are translators. If you want to get what is in your eyes ‘the best possible translation’ you need to be available. No doubt there will be queries: about terminology, company policy or stylistic issues. Don’t be put off, queries demonstrate that the translator is doing a thorough job and that the agency is eager to produce a translation in keeping with your business vision.

Check your emails regularly. If you are going to be away or out of the office, it is sensible and courteous to advise your project manager. If the project is urgent, it may be best to provide your mobile, or even home contact details, as translators can work around the clock so the quicker the agency is able to contact you with a query, the quicker the translation can progress.

However, there is a sensible number of questions and then there is a senseless number of questions. If you are being pestered night and day regarding the translation of trivial parts of the text, it might be best to ask the project manager why; is the terminology too complicated? In which case you could provide a glossary of terms or recommend a website dealing with industry-specific vocabulary. Is the quality of the source text a problem? In which case, you may need to explain ambiguous sections of the original. If the queries are arising from a lack of confidence, this may denote a lack of experience. It might be wise to suggest the agency send you a sample of the translation they have produced so far so you can check that the work is in keeping with your expectations.

Be nice

It may sound obvious, but it works wonders. Translation agencies are intermediaries; they are likely to be dealing with several other clients as well as numerous translators. Being polite but firm will ensure that the project manager sees the project in a positive light, ultimately improving your relationship resulting in a translation which meets, if not exceeds, your expectations.

At TransAction Translators we pride ourselves on being friendly, approachable and professional so if you are unsure about your translation requirements or how to proceed with a translation project, we will be happy to be of assistance. Contact us or visit our website through our Tradespace profile.

BT Tradespace: http://transactiontranslators.bttradespace.com/

Website: http://www.transaction.co.uk/

1 Comment »

Dee Blick: Inspire me and I’m yours!

Posted by Amy Cutbill

1 Jul 2010 in Announcements

One of the many privileges of being an author and a marketer is that I get invited to speak at a fair number of interesting events and I get to meet some really inspirational people.

Occasionally, (usually when I am chatting to said inspirational people) I find myself interrupted by a business card being pressed firmly into my hand and the person it belongs to delivering their one minute elevator pitch.  It’s at this point that I either resort to being blunt or, if feeling more spiritual, smiling weakly and making a mental note to recycle the business card as soon as I get home.

Bad manners aside, what is invariably missing from an elevator pitch is a generous helping of inspiration.  It’s not enough to be informative, we have to inspire if we want to win an army of advocates and turn cold prospects into warm customers. And the need to inspire is not only important during face-to-face contact.  What we write online, on our website, in our brochures and our newsletters has to inspire too.

When we stand up and speak at an event, it’s not enough to drench the audience in a bucket load of tips. If we want to deliver an impact, we have to make the hairs stand up at the back of their necks.  Personally, I tell stories rather than simply regurgitating the details of what I do.  I try to use words that evoke emotions and share examples that people can identify with or aspire to.  And of course, when face-to-face, it’s about being genuinely interested in someone and letting them speak first.  (I’m still a work in progress on that last point by the way!)

About the Author

 Dee Blick of The Marketing Gym is a multi-award winning Chartered Marketer with 26 years marketing experience gained working with blue chips and home-based businesses.  Dee is also the author of the bestseller Powerful Marketing on a Shoestring Budget for Small Businesses (currently there are 22 5 star reader reviews on Amazon!)  In addition to being an active blogger and twitter, Dee is the weekly marketing columnist for the Financial Mail

If you’ve missed any of  Dee’s previous blogs for BT Tradespace, we’ve added them below for you:

Great News! You Don’t Have To Be Unique to Be Brilliantly Successful

So Just What is Marketing?

Prawn sandwich or pierced earrings?

Hook, Line & Sinker

2 Comments »

Has the current political uncertainty made you

View the results of this poll

Previous polls

Archived articles