Gary Courtenay's Marketing Tips BLOG

How to conduct a great survey and have people complete and return them

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:21:00 GMT

Have you harnessed the power of surveys in your business? If not then I really think you should consider doing so. Surveys are a marvellous and powerful business tool which when properly executed have the power to take the brakes off your business ......

We fight the same demons!

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:56:00 GMT

If you have ever had anything to do with sales in your life you have probably had it rammed down your throat that it is essential that you have .......

That which you appreciate is frequently repeated!

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:48:00 GMT

We’ve talked about this a little in a previous blog entry and now I want to flesh this out a bit for you so that you fully understand how you can use the simple dynamic of appreciation in a positive way and especially as a means to having people repeat actions and ....

"I simply will not tolerate this any longer"!!….

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:21:00 GMT

So what are you putting up with right now?
I'm sure at some time in your life you were in a situation where you had a small stone or something else hard in your shoe that wasn’t meant to be there,

"Gratitude has a shelf life"!!

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:11:00 GMT

So should we go about doing favours and other stuff for free when ever we get chance and expecting nothing in return?

No! Absolutely not ….

Great Expectations!!

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:52:00 GMT

Are you the type of person who feels hurt when people seem to have forgotten the favours you’ve done for them or when they simply fail to appreciate when you’ve gone out on a limb to help them?

“When I want your advice I’ll ask you for it!!"

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:47:00 GMT

My rather shocking and recent discovery is that in general, no matter how good or how well intentioned your advice, people don’t want it and won’t take it even if you give it.

In fact in many cases people dislike the process of receiving unsolicited advice and consequently become resistant to it even before it’s been fully explained.

Post Holiday Blues? Here’s how to get going again …

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:27:00 GMT

For most us coming back to work after a highly enjoyable family holiday is neither a welcome or pleasurable experience. Isn’t it ironic that we take our holidays so that we can have a rest from work and hopefully return invigorated and refreshed and yet often what we achieve is the absolute opposite. However the truth for many of us is that coming back to work really can be quite depressing.

The Magic of Momentum

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:41:00 GMT

Most people will agree that often the most difficult part of a task or project is simply making a start, but why is this? Well, I eluded to the answer in my last blog entry and it’s simply because the mind sees the work ahead in its entirety and usually quite vaguely.

Next Step Thinking (NST)

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:48:00 GMT

The above is one of the most powerful tools I know of getting things done and in actual fact it is something we all use naturally prior to taking considered action.

Using ‘Necessary Thinking’ to Replicate Your Successes

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:32:00 GMT

I often see it happen in business that when a good result (or even fantastic result) has been created the people involved often don’t really understand how they achieved it and what where the conditions that brought about this great result.

Making the most of what you’ve got

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:54:00 GMT

So often in life we fail to move forward, make progress and take action because either at a conscious or subconscious level we convince ourselves that we have not got what we need to enable us to achieve a big goal, important project or sometimes even a simple task.

The Acres Of Diamonds Principle

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:50:00 GMT

I have written a lot in recent blogs about my latest attempts to buy wrought iron balcony railings at the best possible price. Amazingly, this small episode in my life (which has been very small component part of a greater goal) has had within it numerous lessons and universal principles of success

How to powerfully set goals (and why they work)

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:21:00 GMT

In my last blog entry I spoke about how I ended up buying some wrought iron balcony railings from a supplier half a mile from where I live. Prior to this I had been trawling the web and had almost bought at much higher prices from suppliers at various locations up and down the UK. When I eventually placed my order with the local supplier I asked them if they had just put the sign up by the roadside which advertises what they do. The vendor replied: "No, that sign’s been there six and a half years".

He who turns up wins the most

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:10:00 GMT

In a recent blog I wrote about how I managed to get a price reduction of 1/3 for some balcony rails I need for a building project I am working on by phoning a company I’d found on the web, talking to them direct and asking them: “Can you do any better?”. You may recall that they most definitely could do better and after trawling through a few vendors I eventually ended up with a new best price of about £800, which beat the previous best price I had been able to find on the web of £1200.

Aptitude Test Versus Interviews

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:00:00 GMT

I was recently lecturing to a group of seasoned entrepreneurs at the University of Warwick who were there as part of a special program that coaches them through the process of creating a finite business plan together with a strategy with which to execute it. One common problem I spotted amongst many of the delegates was with recruitment.

When you speak, do you make people feel valuable or do you make them feel worthless?

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:48:00 GMT

The chances are you are probably not aware of it but every word you utter and in general, the way you treat the people you come into contact with will either increase or decrease their sense of self worth.

The simple truth is that we are magnetically drawn towards people that make us feel valuable and in many cases we despise those that make us feel the opposite.

Does the web really provide the best price? I think not!

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:38:00 GMT

I have lost count of the number of times now that I have been able to successfully negotiate a better price with the vendor than their price he/she is advertising on the web.

So how does this work and how can you do it too?

The Law of Comparison

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:57:00 GMT

..... Of course there are hundreds of adjectives like ‘the best’, ‘the worst’, ‘the most fantastic’ but what is interesting is they are actually so vague they are meaningless unless we know what we are comparing them to when we use them. .......

Hello Stranger!!

gary.courtenay@nutri.co.uk — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:04:00 GMT

Are you alienating customers who haven’t bought from you for a short while? In the village where I live there is a bistro café that serves the most excellent cappuccino. When I am in the village doing my errands I always pop in for a cuppa. However for various .....