Sometimes because of the way her clients try and dig their heels in to avoid change. And sometimes because you can’t believe that people are just ignoring what she says when they’d have to pay a fortune to get such advice from anywhere else!

Over the last few weeks her programs have been a departure from the go into a shop, motivate the owner(s) and revive the shop.

Mary Portas Does It For Charity

In this series we’ve had a concerted campaign to improve the profits of a charity shop. And it proves more awkward than you might expect as volunteers who run it are perfectly capable of saying “forget it, I’m off!” which doesn’t really make for a stable work force.

However, despite the difficulties of working in the charity sector Mary duly helps the shop to double their profits, and at the same time justify employing a full time manager.

And the result is that Mary’s way of handling a charity shop is rolled out to the rest of the charity’s chain of shops across the UK.

Mary also helped other charities by putting on a retailing boot camp where shop managers and volunteers could learn how to sell and position their shops for their customers.

And during the screening I’m sure other charities have taken notes to apply in their own shops.

Mary Portas Saves Tewkesbury Town Centre

The Tewkesbury townsfolk get together and invite Mary Portas to help them “Save Our Shops.”

First she makes sure that she gets thoroughly despondent by checking out how another town is even worse off and how landlords don’t really help themselves by allowing vast swathes of town centres to lie fallow. Unfortunately shops that are not used reduces the footfall to the remaining shops. Some of those shops close which reduces footfall to those that are left and it becomes a vicious circle.

The Mary Portas solution at Tewkesbury is to get as many of the retailers as possible involved in working out possible solutions, rather than simply listening to them whining about what wont work.

This is quite a creative thing to do. However, Mary makes the point during this show that department stores run events all the time. It’s something none of the retailers seemed to latch onto.

A town centre event every month would really help the shopkeepers by increasing footfall into the town centre.

Examples would be: Country fair (which to be fair Tewkesbury ran and the retailers attended); Easter parade; a Tewkesbury raft building weekend; what about a German market, or a Christmas market?; vintage car rally, fun run, run for charity, fashion show or fashion parade…

The list goes on. Anyone can see that there’s a wide variety of inexpensive but interesting events they can hold. 

Table of contents for H1N1 Swine Flu - 2009

1. Pandemic Virus = Business Loss

The Swine Flu Pandemic, also known as H1N1 is a virus.

As a virus it is thought to spread by those infected coughing or sneezing, others touching something with the H1N1 flu virus on it, then touching their eyes, mouth, or nose so the virus has access through the mucus membranes.

handle the pandemic wrongly and your business can effectively close down and in extreme cases cease trading.

Preventing H1N1 Swine Flu Spread Amongst Employees

1. Ensure sick workers stay at home
2. Continually remind workers about hygiene
3. Make sure everyone washes their hands
4. Make sure all
5. Get all handles, switches, chairs and desktops disinfected everyday
6. Don’t allow sharing of equipment: PCs, phones, staplers
7. Ideally have a shallow footbath of disinfectant at each external door so people can put the soles of their feet in the bath to remove virus brought in off the street
8. Stand more than 6 feet from someone who is infected
9. workers with lower immunity (asthma, eczema, reduced lung function problems, cardiac, pregnant women, diabetics and others) should be encouraged to work from home or have reduced public contact

Also the UK government has a short, useful pandemic checklist for business!

H1N1 Swine Flu Symptoms

Briefly the symptoms for H1N1 are a fever with a cough or sore throat. There can be other symptoms too. These can range from headaches, extreme tiredness, muscle aches and pains, sickness and diarrhoea.

The video, below, explains the detailed symptoms of H1N1 swine flu.

If An Employee Gets H1N1 Swine Flu

The best thing to do is to ask them to stay at home until they are symptom free, or have been off 7 days – whichever is longer.  The Centre For Disease Control has recommendations for dealing with sick people that may be useful reviewed.

In addition, according to the UK Government guidelines you should recommend they take medicines such as aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen and that they keep hydrated.

If the pandemic becomes virulent and more aggressive these drugs will be harder to find so it would be wise to suggest that your staff buy a packet a week over the next few weeks so they’ve enough in case everyone in the family contracts the illness.

Also, ensure that they know to have a 2 week stock of food in place, just in case.

Preventing H1N1 Infections With Face Masks And Respirators

As a virus is much smaller than a bacteria a normal surgical facemask is simply unable to act as an effective barrier to it.

The Centre For Disease Control recommends an N95 respirator for people who are caring for those who have the H1N1 virus – for example at home. So if you’ve key people it may be appropriate to suggest that if they need to look after someone in their home that they use such a respirator.

There are several respirators on the market, including:

These N95 respirators are not intended for “occupational use” and are only single use.

Also be aware that anyone with facial hair is unlikely to get protection when using one.

As time progresses I will continue to update this series on the H1N1 pandemic. If there’s any question you think I’ve not covered yet please leave me a comment.

The UK government has a business related H1N1 Pandemic handbook that also provides extra information, such as the safe wearing and disposal of masks and respirators.

Good health!

Now, we all know that there are not vast rafts of people dropping dead, or even becoming ill at the moment. Certainly nothing like the deaths there were in Mexico.

However, the experts are also aware of this and have still signalled that this is a pandemic.

”Now is the time to panic”, you think to yourself. After all if you run a business think about how many staff you’re going to be down when the pandemic really bites and employees start dropping like flies. So rather than letting the flu get in to do something about it now.

We don’t know whether this flu will cause people to die or not. However, it’s likely to mean that a significant proportion of your staff (possibly 25% or more) are going to be off work recovering from flu.

In a previous incarnation of the flu people in their 20s and 30s were the main victims so if this H1N1 virus does that the healthier parts of the population will be affected more severely than the older and younger people.

And before you get to complacent see this swine flu article that explains how on current projections and based on the WHO reported mortality rate of about 0.4 per cent and a not unusual infection of 10 million Brits you’d expect to see 40,000 people die. And in the preparedness video, below, you can watch experts tell you what you need to be doing personally, and how your business may be affected.

Plan For A Pandemic

You want your business to survive? Plan for a pandemic.

If it turns out to be nothing you’ve “wasted” a small amount of time planning for something that didn’t happen. If it does you’re planning to help you and your business survive.

Think about ways of removing contact between employees, suppliers and customers. That does sound draconian but it massively reduces the risk of infection for everyone: employees, suppliers and your customers. Publicise it and everyone will be happy you’re doing your best to prevent then getting the flu too

Explain The Pandemic

Do a home video to explain the pandemic to all the  your staff. Show them the video, use YouTube, videos like these, to make the points about protecting themselves.

Get Pandemic Protection

The Daily Mail (UK) had a useful article on face masks to help reduce the risk of infection. It turns out that the normal surgical masks you see are a complete waste of time. In fact their suggestion is that out of the masks they looked at only a respirator would be able to significantly reduce your risk of infection.

The video, above, explain some of the ways to ensure you reduce infection risk at home and in your business.

Work out how employees can work from home. How many you need to protect, which suppliers you can ask to simply deliver, or even drop ship, which customers you can deliver to without contact and what prospects you can convert without meeting, or minimising meetings, and your key employees.

Make Office Workers Homeworkers During A Pandemic

Identify staff who can work from home. Try and make almost every admin employee work from home. It needs management. It also needs setting up before its needed. Trying to set it up when a full blown pandemic is operating is going to be worse than useless as key staff will not be available.

1) Make sure they’ve broadband and access to your internal email and the admin systems they need

2) Provide a phone line for them. The best way to do this very cheaply is to use Skype and buy them a very cheap headset from one of the larger supermarkets.

3) Make sure that they all have a fully detailed contact list for each employee, supplier and customer and prospect as you don’t which employee may contract the virus.

Remember an emergency will reduce public transport and allowing your workforce to come into work may infect your other key employees and completely disrupt your business.

How A Pandemic Affects Your Sales Force

Salespeople are a business’ life force. Often sales people still need to meet others.

You must impress on these staff the importance of good hygiene and to ensure they wash hands, don’t visit public toilets, including supermarkets and restaurants and most of all only set-up and attend meetings with as few people as possible. Preferably make much more use of the phone to contact prospects and current clients.

Contracts still need signing, think about sending contracts by email and then having them signed and sent through the normal mail.

As one of the highest risk employees, because of their extended contact with other people, sales staff should be kept apart from your other staff. You need to institute a procedure now that will enable them to do their job by contacting and using other staff through the phone, Internet and email.

Shops Face More Exposure

If you’re in retail face the fact that you’re probably going to have to close so look at ways of ensuring your property is less of a target (such as signs saying “valuables removed during emergency”). Remember if you plan to shut down (as a last resort) take your valuables with you, and that includes contracts, orders and invoices, not just computer kit!

Make sure all your staff follow a hygiene routine when dealing with customers so that you’re not responsible for cross-infection and your employees are less at risk.

If you intend having one or two employees in to “caretake” the shop on a rota make sure that you have plans if the rota is disrupted by illness.

What About Banks During A Pandemic?

Banks are likely to be just as affected, possibly more with all their customer facing staff. That means there’s the possibility of branches having to close. Leaving you with little or no cash, unless you plan ahead.

So, again plan ahead and set-up extended payment terms with suppliers. Set-up cash payment with customers, or draw the money out as soon as its been deposited in your bank. That way you’ll remain liquid and able to pay bills.

Is This Pandemic Just A Storm in a Teacup?

Unfortunately we just don’t know/ In fact we wont know until much later this year. But to me it makes much more sense to plan now when you ahve everyone with brains still working and not worrying about sick or dying relatives.

Then if it happens you’re prepared your plan can swing into action. You, your employees and your business stand a much better chance of surviving, all because you planned!

Then, as I said before, if the pandemic isn’t as awful as some are saying it doesn’t matter – you were prepared, in case it was much worse.

Rachel is remembered as the one of the founding members of BBC TV’s Dragon’s Den.

She’s also remembered for creating, growing and then over-extending her Red Letter Days company that sold extra special and unusual experiences as gifts.

Rachel continues to help other entrepreneurs through her public speaking at events and through mentoring and consultancy.

Like so many entrepreneurs Rachel’s days are never the same twice.

Broadly speaking her days are best summarised as a

1. working at home type day
2. a celeb-entrepreneur day

Working At Home Day

On finally waking up in the morning Rachel’s brain is buzzing with ideas and she often goes to work in her Bakewell study still in her pyjamas.

There she sifts through the piles of emails that she gets about every topic under the sun and including hundreds on the free entrepreneurs profile test that she’s developed and put on her site at www.rachelelnaugh.com. The questions she uses are interesting and the result claims to tell you exactly what type of entrepreneur you are.

Rachel tries to answer a lot of the emails she gets personally, but the sheer volume can make the task highly time consuming. She doesn’t believe in giving an automated response and tries to point her fellow entrepreneurs in the right direction.

During the day Rachel mentors and provides consultancy to businesses across the UK. And having left the team culture of The Red Letter Days company she’s found it quite liberating to handle projects herself without having to get it all done through a team.

She has written a book called “Business Nightmares”, which I may review in due course. It’s a book on lessons learnt from entrepreneurs. Rachel has interviewed a variety of fascinating people to draw these lessons from, including, Jeffrey Archer (author), Emma Harrison (A4e founder) Simon Woodruffe (fellow ex-Dragon and Yo Sushi!) and many others.

The Celeb Entrepreneur Day

Whenever Rachel goes on a public outing she puts on the full costume, make-up and hair of the celeb entrepreneur. She feels the public expects if of her.

When she was at the height of Dragon’s Den fame she had so little time she used to arrive just before a speaking engagement and leave just after.

Now when she goes on a speaking engagement she arrives at the event the night before to attend the breakfast networking the following day.

For about an hour before her talk Rachel loses the ability to speak in coherent sentences because her brain is so fixed on being in front of an audience and what she intends saying. Then afterwards she likes to meet up with people and talk business as she finds what small businesses are doing and going through fascinating.

Unlike when she was with Red Letter Days and Dragon’s Den Rachel now has the time to listen to the other speakers at the conference and learn from them too. Then feeling revitalised from being outside the home office and talking with people face to face she can go home refreshed and ready to face that email inbox!

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We were discussing a combined project with another business I’ve dealt with before.

Both the MD and the managing partner were amazed at how incredibly cheap the other company was offering to provide a product to them. Their concern was that the company must only be dealing with small organisations and therefore didn’t charge “big company” prices.

What’s more their obvious concern was that the company might not be able to deliver or support a big company. Yet they decided to go with them because the price was almost loose change to them and if things went wrong it was only a “test.”

After the meeting I realised that the company in question hadn’t increased their prices in all the time I’d dealt with them - about 5 years.

Suddenly I realised that my prices hadn’t gone up in that time either. 

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I was doing my clients a disservice.

How would they know that I could deal with their issues if I didn’t charge the right price to ensure they felt it was real value for money and not just some cheap tat?

After all I’ve been coaching businesses all over the world for over 5 years full-time now. I’d written for several prestigious magazines, I’ve maintained this blog, in one form or another, for nearly 5 years and I’ve done it all for the same rate.

So as from the 4th July my prices are going up.

What about you? Do you think maybe your market sees you as too cheap? Would your clients actually be ok with you putting your prices up?

The teams are asked to select two baby products and then sell them at a major baby show in Earls Court.

This is the point when I wonder why the candidates don’t check the events happening at Earls Court during the time they’re filming, before they get to the Apprentice.

And of course the team with the most money wins.

The Baby Products

The teams are sent to look at the following products:

1. Baby Headguard - “Thudguard”
2. Up-market Rocking Horse
3. Super Fold-up Buggy - Takeoff
4. High-heeled baby shoes - “Heelarious”
5. Birthing Pool
6. Cardboard cot

And of course the things to look out for here are:

1. Has the item sold well at other shows
2. How big is the market for the item
3. Can they get a special show only offer
4. Will competitors have the same deal they do and be at the show
5. Do the items they choose complement one another

Ignite Takeoff with Thudguard

Lorraine is made project manager, because as a mum she has some experience of the market the team is targeting.

And Lorraine’s instinct tells her to choose the Takeoff buggy as one item to sell. Come on! She already knows the number of women choosing home births is 2.2% so the number of people interested in a birthing pool is miniscule and they’re not likely to sell that many at the show.

Kate and Howard are the other members of the team and they recommend Thudguard,  the baby helmet, as the other item for their team to sell.

Well done to Kate and Lorraine in asking for a special show discount to give the show visitors an incentive to buy on the day.

Unfortunately, on show day the team discover that an independent buggy seller has brought the same buggy along. Worse, a little later they discover that the buggy is being sold for £100 elsewhere compared to the team’s price of £135.

Plus Lorraine hadn’t paid enough attention to the demonstration to confidentially put up and take down the buggy, so it took quite some time before the team learnt how to demonstrate it properly.

Eventually the buggy starts to sell, despite the competition from the cheaper one elsewhere.

Empire Swayed By Rocking Horse And Birth Pool

James is Empire’s team leader, because he’s a dad.

Debra wants the rocking horse and is quite happy to allow Ben to suggest the risky strategy of using the rocking horse because with one sale they’re likely to smash Ignite’s sales.

Unlike Ignite neither Ben or Debra request a special show price. Plus on show day they leave the price tags on the three horses they display.

In the end Debra does suggest taking the tags off so that it doesn’t shock people too much. Why aren’t they on the rocking horse showing how strong the horses are? They should be asking people if they’d like to have a go, recreate their childhood!

And Ben who would probably like you to think must be the best salesman in the whole world comes up with that tired old sale line for the rocking horse: “would you be interested in…” and the obvious answer to that is “no!”

One exhibitor expresses an interest in buying a discounted rocking horse, however as the team didn’t negotiate a lower show price they’re completely unable to sell it to them. 

Back To The Boardroom

Back in the boardroom Empire sales figures were £722 and Ignite made £1,669.89.

The problem was that Empire didn’t concentrate on selling the birth pools, or getting a special price for the show for the rocking horse. As Sir Alan says what would make the visitor buy it now? Ben complacently points out that the difference in price between the discounted price and the normal price for the rocking horse is nothing.

Debra had pushed through the rocking horse. And she suggested that she’d told her project manager that there was no other product.

When Ben was asked why he shouldn’t be fired. He then talked absolute drivel about how conceptually he was great and how he grafted and the fact that he had potential because he had been offered a scholarship to Sandhurst.

Sir Alan points out that Debra is alienating people on the teams she works with. 

In the end Ben gets fired.

Was The Apprentice Firing Fair?

It was a toss-up between Debra and Ben. Debra because she comes across as being very overbearing and not really listening to anything anyone else says. Meanwhile Ben seemed to have lost heart by the time he went into the boardroom, despite being a good and assertive talker.

During the boardroom discussion Sir Alan noted that neither Nick or Margaret were fans of Debra. I suspect that if she gets into a losing team again she’s at a major risk of being fired.

So I didn’t mind whether it was Ben or Debra that went this time. It’s surely only a matter of time before James goes, either quickly followed or preceded by Debra.

Who’s The Favourite To Win At The Moment?

Kate Walsh is still holding her own as my favourite to win The Apprentice.

At the current stage in The Apprentice the people who I could see winning are (In descending order ):

1. Kate Walsh
2. Howard Ebison
3. Yasmina Siadatan
4. James McQuillan
5. Lorraine Tighe
6. Debra Barr

 

That’s what you hear people say all the time.

However, if they read the research from the Journal Of Applied Psychology they might discover that, actually, they don’t.

For example how many of us have taken part in panel interviews where candidates are asked questions by different people on the panel?

Research has shown that employing staff after a panel interview is much less successful than employing them on the basis of a one on one interview.

What About Recruiting Key Staff Members?

Key staff include sales people, project managers, accountants, directors and the like.

For these sorts of jobs it’s vital to ask candidates to take a personality test.  After all you really don’t want an accountant who’d rather not be doing figures. Similarly you want to avoid sales people that either hate meeting people or are so full of themselves that they alienate staff and customers.

Don’t Ignore Qualifications But…

Don’t recruit anyone purely on their qualifications or achievements. You need to check whether they’d fit in and work in your organisation. And I don’t know whether you’ve noticed but a lot of successful entrepreneurs have not done too well at school!

Back To The Interview

When you do an interview create a deep rapport with the “victim” by talking about their life before school, what things interested them and then they’re more likely to tell you the truth about the project that went belly up,  the sale that went down the tubes or the stupid decision that cost the company money!.

Attitude And Aptitude Are Key

Finally, once you’ve checked their aptitude recruit for attitude. Yes you can recruit super effective techy people, but if they don’t document “because why should they” and you need stuff to be documented don’t assume they’ll change - they wont. If you need staff to be pleasant to your users - don’t assume that can be trained in - it can’t.

Attitude can be checked during interview. For example if you’re looking for a customer services rep. do they smile at you, do they hold your eye and yet do they have the backbone to politely say ‘No?’

Table of contents for The Apprentice - series 5

1. The Apprentice: A North South Battle!
2. The Apprentice: The Girls Fight Dirty
3. The Apprentice: The Food In-Fighting
4. The Apprentice Is A Form Of Abuse
5. The Apprentice: Empire is a Wash-up, Ignite Cleans Up
6. The Apprentice - Floored By The Carpet
7. The Apprentices Avoid Selling
8. The Apprentice: The Cereal Killers
9. The Apprentice: The Empire Strikes Out!
10. 7 Top Traits Of Under-Achieving Apprentice Fodder
11. The Apprentice Are All At The Seaside

The Apprentices meet Sir Alan at The 02 Arena in Greenwich, aka the Millennium Dome. There the teams are told that they’re going to re-brand Margate, within 2 days

Debra nominates herself very firmly as project manager for one team, telling Howard who suggests he’d quite like to be a project manager that he can be a sub-team manager!

Meanwhile over in the other team Yasmina suggests she is the best candidate for project manager as re-branding requires a multitude of skills and she has them!

Re-Branding Margate Is No Picnic

Margate already has an established brand in the eyes of the people who visit. And the BBC camera angles don’t paint a particularly nice picture of Margate as a pleasant place to say. Although the sea and the sands look marvelous.

The teams re-branding need to produce a set o posters and a leaflet.

They then have to present to VIP residents of Margate, including the mayor and another presentation to industry experts. The winning team being the one which impresses both groups the most.

Margate Recreated As A Gay Holiday Destination

Immediately Debra hears the suggestion that they should re-brand Margate as a gay holiday destination she bulldozes on with that thought. Looks like she’s taken over from Phillip as the Bulldozer.

Anyone, other than The Apprentices, would have considered who they were selling the concept to: Margate residents and industry experts.

Debra And Howard Make A Casting Call

Debra and Howard get the bit firmly between their teeth and stay in London to cast people for same sex couples for the leaflet and poster. Cue plenty of shots of Nick looking bemused as models are asked to hold hands and drape arms over shoulders.

Meanwhile James and Mona go down to Margate and search out the gay scene. Mona spending time in what looks like a very quiet club.

Debra Turns A Deaf Ear

Debra tries to cram a lot of text into the team poster. Howard says that too many words is a bad thing as people wont be able to read a lot of text. Debra, of course,doesn’t listen.

And because she and Howard spend so long on the posters it leaves them with a miniscule amount of time to write the leaflet. The final leaflet is pathetic as they run out of time.

Margate Goes Gay

Howard presents Margayte to the local people and to the industry experts. It’s immediately obvious that there was a lack off planning in the production of everything.  The posters looked very amateurish for the following reasons:

• The posters looked like adverts for a very poor restaurant
• The photos were too busy
• The photos could have been for anywhere - not just Margate
• There was too much text (the experts suggest 10 words at most)
• The rainbow UK logo was too big
• There was no use of blue skies and sea - Margate is besides the sea

And just when you think the Apprentices can’t get any worse they manage to pull the rabbit out of the hat and show the awful unfinished leaflet that Howard and Debra claim isn’t unfinished, it’s just to give local business the opportunity to advertise on it.

Don’t make me laugh! You don’t leave 3 pages of a six page leaflet blank, and certainly not the back of it!

A very poor attempt at re-branding that wasn’t managed well. In addition, it looked as though the teams had not agreed (and written down) the photos to go for or what should go into the leaflet.

Margate’s For Families

Over in Yasmina’s team Lorraine puts a compelling case for a family resort and the team agree to go with that.

So Ben and Lorraine hurry down to Margate with Ben eager to demonstrate that he can hold two fingers on each hand to make a “photo frame” in such a way that he looks like a complete pillock. Rather than letting an expert  like a professional photographer set up the shot Ben gets involved, and misses out on getting a child into the beach shots.

The pair get busy setting up models with the various activities that Margate has to offer. And their catchy slogan is, “Margate through children’s eyes.” Actually quite a reasonable slogan although they completely fail to capitalise on it throughout their eventual pitches and in the posters and the leaflet.

Yasmina Doesn’t Quite Get Posters

Yasmina and Kate look a bit worried when Ben’s photos come through as they’d wanted to use large expanses of background for the text.

The main problem that Yasmina and Kate have is that they haven’t taken even a little look at other posters at other resorts. If they had they’d have seen that actually there’s not much text on them. And of course Lorraine points this out, correctly, to Yasmina who isn’t happy with what she says.

Yasmina’s background in producing leaflets and menus for her restaurant pays off and she produces a reasonable leaflet.

Family Resort Margate Re-brands As… A Family Resort

Kate presents the poster and leaflet to the experts and Ben defends his pictures.  The leaflet actually looks pretty good. Certainly far ahead of Debra’s team.

Back To The Boardroom

Yasmina’s team Ignite score 7 from the experts and 7 from the Margate residents and win against Empire who score 4 from each group.

This particular task failure can easily be placed completely at Debra’s door due to pathetic time management and inadequate planning of the task before running off and doing stuff.

However, as Sir Alan says we’ve now reached a point where he can look at past performance and take it into account for the firing decision.

He decides that Mona and James have been back seat passengers and fires Mona.

Was The Apprentice Firing Fair?

I wanted Debra to go because she was so completely rubbish at helping the team work out what to do, managing the team and actually working out what to do. After all wen you’re project manager you can’t be an expert in everything and you need to listen to opinion and expert help. Specially Howards suggestion about the text on the posters.

I do agree with Sir Alan’s summing up and I’ve thought that Mona has been a complete waste of time during the tasks and her defence of herself so this firing is fair.

Who’s The Favourite To Win At The Moment?

Kate didn’t particularly cover herself with glory this time. However, she still remains the front runner as far as I can see.

 

We’re all told what a great tool it is for business.

And yet, could it be the Emperor’s Clothes of Internet Marketing?

I really have lost count of the number of business owners who tell me they’re on Twitter and they just don’t see the point.

In earlier times I feel sure they would have been the asking why I thought a web site, or a blog was a “good thing.”

There are lots of people on Twitter who really still don’t get it. They don’t appreciate the possibilities that Twitter opens up to them.

Forget Celeb Watching

We can all twitter about and follow the stars as they tweet their latest adventure or lunch. However, that’s not the real aim of Twitter for business.

Getting More And More Followers Is Distracting

Contrary to some advice getting more followers is a good thing as it increases the likelihood of your tweets being seen and maybe even acted upon.

However, followers should arrive organically drawn by your content. That way there is a reason for you to talk to them.

Finding The Right People Is Key

Twittering is like online networking and it’s important at you engage in the conversations going on a round you, help when you can, comment and add value to the community.

The most important tactic you have is to follow the key people in the industry you’re in. You need to see what experts are talking about. You need to know what your suppliers, customers and ideal prospects are saying.

Knowledge really is power and positions your company as an expert in your field. And expertise brings rewards in the form of customers who are looking for the experts.

Everyone I know Is Way Too Important For Twitter

Maybe you don’t think it’s important to follow some lowly worker who is in your ideal prospects company? That worker could be the source of useful intelligence that puts you ahead of your competition.

Maybe no one you deal with is on Twitter. However, not being on Twitter is like saying that you don’t need a web site because no one else has one.

Having a web site, like being on Twitter, enables you to be ready when people want to check your web site. Having Twitter allows you to help mould the conversation your industry is having.

Plus, did you know that Google indexes Twitter conversations? Do your prospects use Google? Then having keyword-rich (and useful) Tweets are going to show up in Google search pages.

Note: Check out my FREE Twitter For Business handbook. Plus get updates on tools and ways to use Twitter more successfully as it develops and matures.

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Table of contents for The Apprentice - series 5

1. The Apprentice: A North South Battle!
2. The Apprentice: The Girls Fight Dirty
3. The Apprentice: The Food In-Fighting
4. The Apprentice Is A Form Of Abuse
5. The Apprentice: Empire is a Wash-up, Ignite Cleans Up
6. The Apprentice - Floored By The Carpet
7. The Apprentices Avoid Selling
8. The Apprentice: The Cereal Killers
9. The Apprentice: The Empire Strikes Out!
10. 7 Top Traits Of Under-Achieving Apprentice Fodder
11. The Apprentice Are All At The Seaside

The apprentices confuse themselves in this task.

As Sir Alan puts it this is a straight forward sales job. Although once Ignite and Empire get started on it it’s obvious they’re clueless. And they’re in the Manchester Hilton which is a very nice place to stay! But not the best I hasten to add.

The Sales Task

The task is broken down into 3 parts:

1. Choose 2 inventions from a list of 10 to sell in Manchester, Liverpool and other bits of the Northwest.
2. Try to sell the chosen items to the 2 firms (Liverpool hardware store and Heal’s: a Manchester designer furniture store) that Sir Alan has picked for them
3. Try to make other sales on the following day

The team who makes the most sales wins, of course!

Naturally the teams ignore the hint that Sir Alan gives of a hardware store - think what does it stock, or could usefully stock. And also Heal’s - what would a designer furniture shop stock? Well one item would have OBVIOUSLY been the designer coat rack that one inventor brought along!

Another obvious item for the hardware store was the drill dust catcher or more likely the stability legs for a ladder. Still the teams don’t think  to take hints do they?

A Tiger is Chosen as Ignite’s Project Manager

Lorraine Tighe canvases opinion strongly to take the project leadership role. Everyone seems keen to let her dig herself a hole, so she gets her wish and is the PM.

The thing that always continues to amaze me is how some of these supposed high-flying managers and business people have abysmal people skills. Which Lorraine amply demonstrates when she talks down to Yasmina because Lorraine wants to get business by doing a pitch. Then Lorraine tells Yasmina that. “I’m your boss.” Of course the only problem with that approach is that it puts Yasmina’s back up.

Lorraine and her team choose The Cat Fire Engine and the Expandable bike bag.

Expandable Bike Bag

The expandable bike bag looks quite snazzy. It’s meant to carry shopping home from the supermarket. However, I can’t believe that someone who is that serious about using a bike wouldn’t splash out on a pair of panniers. Plus how many people would be able to cycle with a weeks worth of shopping on their bike?!

The Liverpool hardware firm is underwhelmed, however, Heal’s over in Manchester give it a cautious welcome.

Cat Fire Engine

This is a cardboard cat toy.  And when Lorraine and Yasmina present it to the hardware store set-up by Sir Alan the buyers are astonished to find that Lorraine suggests they can sell 400 of them per week! When questioned Lorraine glibly says, “I believe you would do!” What she bases that assertion on we are given no clue.

The team goes around trying to sell this cardboard box (fairly unsuccessfully).  Lorraine and Yasmina do manage to sell 50 to a very dubious Pets Superstore buyer.

The following day when one small shop suggests that he has no need for them the tired twosome decide that it must just be because wages are that bit lower up North! Do all apprentices have the sensitivity of a brick wall? Can’t they see that the retailer is genuinely at a loss as to why he should buy when he already chucks out loads of cardboard boxes every week?

Meanwhile Phillip, Kate and Ben are unable to convince anyone at all that they need the cat toy, in any form. So no sales there!

Mona Wrests Project Management for Empire

Over at Empire Mona makes an impassioned demand to be project manager. And she also is allowed to take the position.

The two items that Empire choose are The Silk Bag and The Lover’s Lead.

The Silk Bag

The silk bag is basically a sleeping bag with arms and legs.  Or as Howard says it has, “individual leg items.”

Neither store lined up by Sir Alan is impressed by the Silk Bag, particularly as it doesn’t fit with their product lines!

The Lover’s Lead

The Lover’s Lead lets two people walk the same dog at the same time. And in its favour Battersea Dogs home has endorsed it and 10% of the earnings go to the home.

The Lover’s lead isn’t much use for the two stores either. however, the following day Empire do sell a large number of them to smaller retailers.

Back To The Boardroom

Finally the teams return to the boardroom. The two stores chosen by Sir Alan bought nothing from Empire, whereas Ignite do manage to get some orders from them.

However Empire make £4,501 on their second day’s sales. Meanwhile Ignite make just £1,302 overall.

As Sir Alan points out Ben, Kate and Phillip sold nothing.  And Sir Alan reiterates that he was looking at individual sales figures - a clue was that each Apprentice had an order book with their name on it.

And just to check Sir Alan had some of his own staff ring up and made appointments, something that the Captain Squawk sub-team couldn’t manage. Even though Phillip vocally points out that he and Kate are so much better at sales than Lorraine.

Lorraine chooses Kate and Phillip to accompany her into the boardroom. Where Phillip gripes about Lorraine, and then chips in sniping at Lorraine at every opportunity.

Lorraine’s “Slow burner in the thought process” comment concerns Sir Alan. I suspect that will be a comment that comes back to haunt her in another task. Also he notes that she seems to alienate people - and he hasn’t heard about the argument she had with Yasmina about pitching.

In the end Sir Alan tells Phillip he’s fired because he suspects such an opinionated, arrogant and fiery character won’t it into his organisation.

Was The Apprentice Firing Fair?

I was willing Sir Alan to fire Lorraine because she demonstrated how completely rubbish she is at handling people. I’m sure she’ll have another opportunity to demonstrate it.

However, Sir Alan has got Phillip right and on balance it was better for the Bulldozer to go. He certainly did himself no favours in the way he taunted Lorraine during the boardroom threesome.

Who’s The Favourite To Win At The Moment?

Kate Walsh held her dignity when Lorraine attempted to bring up the fact that Kate and Phillip were an item which she suggested meant they hadn’t really committed themselves to the project.

Sir Alan commented that Kate has done well in the other tasks and she’s still looking the most likely of the current crop.