Paul Roetzer is a striking, energetic man.  We met after I’d read his first book, the Marketing Agency Blueprint which explains how he has founded a PR agency in a 21st century mould. You worked in a traditional agency – how did they view biz dev? They didn’t really have it – they were reliant [...]








Creativity in business is a good thing. The idea is brought home to us every day: creativity will benefit our careers and personal goals. We all have to think outside that box. Those of us who are not ˜creative by trade, whether visually or in the written word, will all see and recognise this, wherever [...]








How big does your company need to be before you use marketing professionals? For brands who are growing  and becoming profitable there comes a time when you choose to professionalise your marketing.  Many businesses decide at this point that they have two choices: to hire a staffer or to buy in expertise from an agency. [...]








A guest post by Jason Falls The RFP must die. Or at least the way the process has evolved in today’s marketing world should. On the surface, it seems innocuous. A company or organization issues an request for proposal (sometimes masked as a ‘request for quote’) to several agencies, consultants for firms. They sometimes include [...]








Imagine you have launched your business and the brand is up and running.  You are receiving enquiries but not enough are converting to paying customers. Even though you may be the genius behind the business idea, you have no idea how to successfully pitch your business to potential clients and convert them. Why not hire [...]








Pitching is a very important tool for generating new business, but certain aspects of a successful pitch can sometimes be overlooked.  When approaching a pitch with a prospective client, try to imagine you are pitching yourself to someone you would like to have a long relationship with. How can you come across as the kind [...]








Sometimes one thing just seems to turn into a flood of similar complaints.  This week it is website fails.  Places where statements are made, things are promised and nothing happens or the process is clearly broken. Three examples of website failures Careerzone A helpful site advertising high level marketing and business development jobs. Failure to [...]








Image by _Zahira_ via Flickr If you work in a niche environment and want to do some “trend spotting” for the next year, here’s a great idea on how to engage your prospects, clients, staff and key influencers. Start by finding a hot topic of the moment as the focus for your trend spotting.  You [...]








We all need to keep an eye on what is being said online about us and our brands / companies.  The public relations industry has seen this as a 21st Century version of scanning for press cuttings and tried to claim it as their natural territory.  And yet it's just not as clearcut as that. [...]








There's hype and then there's the reality of a true step-change in the way we live and do business.  The language of conversations in business are now real and happening. Already companies that speak the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show are no longer speaking to anyone. That was written 10, yes TEN years [...]