the best of norwich september 2013 printed newsletter

Take a look at your Business

The people behind the business

New members this month

Tip of the monthand More...

www.thebestof.co.uk/norwich

Tirelessly working to make your business the best it can be...

Update2013September

the

Confidence

trick

he simply found another one. Someone with less self belief may well have given up.

There are many examples of this in the sporting world. Usain Bolt does not start a race believing he will come second. When interviewed before the 2012 Olympics he said “You’re not going to catch me. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing.” It is that inner confidence that frees him from fear and allows him to focus on the things he needs to do to win the race.

Now I don’t for one moment believe that an unshakable inner confidence will win through every time. After all, Usain has come second on a couple of occasions. However, it is that freedom from fear

I caught the tail end of a discussion programme on the radio. It was just after the semi-finals of The Apprentice and they were talking about the 3rd candidate that had been fired. What was interesting was that the panellists all agreed that it was self belief that had carried these finalists through each task, even the candidate that didn’t actually own any part of the business he was putting forward for investment.

Self belief is an extremely powerful thing. When I asked a friend of mine, who has built a highly successful business over the last decade, what had carried him through the numerous trials and tribulations of starting and running an independent business he replied, ‘Well nobody told me I couldn’t do it so I just assumed I could.’ Whatever problem was thrown at him he always believed he could find a solution. The very fact that he believed he could solve any problem opened up so many opportunities for him. If his first solution didn’t work,

Bestof-Norwich-September 2013.indd 1 16/08/2013 14:18

www.thebestof.co.uk/norwich Update September 2013

Offer of the Month25% off Domestic and Commercial CleaningLooking for a reliable cleaner in Norwich? Spring Clean offer a range of commercial and domestic cleaning services.

For new clients they are offering 25% off commercial or domestic cleaning for the first month.

Hollie Robinson, the owner, has implemented innovative business systems and online reporting, including a colour coding system to avoid cross contamination along with a system for her staff to check in using a PIN number, to ensure consistent quality of service.

Call 07792 562834 quoting “The Best of Norwich” to redeem this offer.

Chris & Sara

of failure that allows certain businesses to grasp opportunities that others may shy away from.

“It really is all about believing in yourself: 80 per cent mental, 20 per cent physical.” - Victoria Pendleton

Strangely enough it’s the little things that help us maintain our inner confidence.

Celebrate the Good StuffWe’ve become so busy in our working lives we often forget to take a moment to celebrate the good things that happen; the happy customer, the new client, the perfect solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem. The simple act of writing down the good stuff that happened in our day will remind us how successful we actually are. It also allows us to review these successes at a later date.

Focus on What You Can Do For OthersSelf doubt tends to make us turn our focus inwards and we are always harder on ourselves than we are on others. If we shift our attention to what we can do for the people around us we start to concentrate on positives rather than negatives, successful outcomes rather than failures.

Take a Moment to be GratefulWhen I was a child my grandmother constantly told me to count my blessings. I found this infuriating as it was invariably said just after I’d been told that I couldn’t do or have something. I now realise how important it is. It’s so easy to forget that as business owners we are masters of our own destiny and free to make our own choices. Just that freedom is a blessing in itself, before we even start on our home, our families, our friends, bbqs in the sun (ok so that’s only this year), the list goes on.

Walk Like You Mean ItNow this is a strange one, but none the less fact. It’s difficult to experience self doubt when your head is held high and your shoulders are back. Seriously…. try it!

Self belief on its own won’t turn your businessinto an overnight, worldwide success, but what itwill do is allow you to grasp opportunities as theyappear.


The People Behind The BusinessSteve Bradley – Serenity CharterLuxury Cruises on the Norfolk BroadsWhat is it like to set up your dream business? Today we talk to Steve Bradley about his move from TV and radio presenter to owning a luxury sports cruiser, Serenity Charter, to offer days out on the Norfolk Broads.

Steve has spent the vast majority of his life in Norfolk, with his first taste of boats coming at the tender age of 7 when he learnt to water-ski. The lovely smell of a 1980’s outboard petrol engine and water immediately hooked him.

Radio and Television:Steve’s other main passion was music. His dream was to be on the radio or television. At the age of 16 Steve set up his own mobile disco business and then got involved with hospital radio.

Eventually, Steve got the break he’d dreamed of - a full time job hosting the Evening Show on KLFM 96.7, moving quickly on to present the flagship Breakfast Show. Steve remained on the Breakfast Show pulling in record high listening figures for almost 10 years.

Then came an opportunity host a weekly, 2 hour live Saturday morning children’s TV Show, followed by the hosting programmes on ‘Carlton Kids. At this point Steve almost achieved a life time’s ambition - to be a Blue Peter Presenter. He was spotted and called for an interview/screen test by the BBC. Sadly it wasn’t to be, although he made it down to the last 6.

When Steve’s daughter, Emily, was born, it was clear that juggling fatherhood, a Breakfast Show in King’s Lynn and TV work in London was just too much. It was at this point that Steve helped launch 99.9 Radio Norwich, hosting the flagship Breakfast Show.

Eureka Moment!Steve’s passion for boats has never left and, one sunny day, whilst Steve was out on his boat the idea for his new career was born. He passed a small day-hire boat with birthday balloons blowing

in the wind. That was his eureka moment. Whilst the small day-hire boats are great, he believed there must be a nicer, more luxurious way to celebrate a special occasion on the Norfolk Broads for a day with family, friends or business.

It was time to take the plunge. After a tearful farewell on the radio it was time to focus on his new idea. Steve sold his smaller boat and invested in a large, sleek sports cruiser ... Serenity Charter was born.

Steve launched Serenity Charter in May 2012 and offers his clients a first class champagne cruise experience on his stunning 35 foot luxury sports cruiser. Clients can choose

from a short one hour cruise to a full day on the water.

Steve can be contacted on 01603 908182

It could

be you!


Sometimes it is the subtle things that work well for our clients.Yes, we get clients telling us they have received business through the website: “Just to let you know I have had 3 phone calls which have led to 3 booked appointments from the Best of Norwich website since Thursday - each of them said it was the blurb about me and the amount of and quality of the reviews that stood out.”But The Best of Norwich is about much more than that. It is about getting your name seen in lots of places and also about the contacts that we make.

Take, for example, Dyllis Faife of DF Coaching.Dyllis didn’t initially get any tangible results, but appreciated the time we took to meet up with her and brainstorm ideas.Then the following week, Dyllis emailed me to say that a journalist had found her via The Best of website and asked her to contribute to an article that is due to be printed in a national magazine. The magazine has a readership of 86,000. Then Dyllis asked if I could help her find someone to take part in an MBTI assessment as part of her accreditation to deliver Myers Briggs Personality profiling.

I sent an email to our clients and within 4 minutes, Dyllis had someone contact her, with more on the waiting list.This not only helped Dyllis deal with a time-sensitive issue to achieve her accreditation, it also got her name in front of all of our clients. Following a meeting with Dyllis, we have introduced her to one of our other clients, with a proposition that can help both client businesses. And yesterday, via a contact from our website, Dyllis managed to get her leaflets into the premises of one of her target markets.As you can see, Dyllis has contributed to these results by working with us and discussing ways in which we can help her.

Member-Only EventsOur member-only networking events are also working well, not only because they give our clients the chance to show their expertise, and a chance to get to know each other, but also because they provide some excellent information.

Oliver Lawer from Curveball Media, for example, gave a fantastic talk on how to get your video seen by more people. Lots of people pay for a video to be produced, but that money is wasted if no one actually sees the video. Olly gave us some great tips.Here is some feedback from Louis Hilldrup-Boorman of Quality Solicitors Clapham & Collinge:“The Youtube Seminar presented by Oliver Lawer at Curveball Media was fantastic, it really emphasised the power of corporate video production. Olly explained the importance of marketing through corporate video, how to engage

with your audience, increase brand exposure and drive traffic to your website. This is something I’d highly recommend to businesses who’d like to know more about video marketing.”We’re looking forward to the next quarter of events.

Working Well...“Share your

successes and let

Chris & Sara know

what bits of thebestof

are working

for you.”

At thebestof Norwich we are on the lookout for other great members. This month we are looking for....

• Golf Course

• Chinese Restaurants

• Plumbers

• Garden Centres

If you know a business that fits the bill please contact the team...

01953 600534


We’re consistently uncovering hidden gems. Say a big hello to this months stars.

Meet some of our members

Give them a call and say Hello

GiftedThis gift shop in Castle Mall is the perfect place to get stocking fillers and gifts for all the family, at reasonable prices. It’s particularly good if you’re stuck for gift ideas for the man in your life.

Call: 01603 628228

The Zap Experience Laser Teeth WhiteningThe Zap Experience offers gentle laser teeth whitening in Norwich. Their professional team are fully trained and use a procedure that involves no bleach, just a gentle teeth whitening solution.

Call: 07792 253009

Renewing Member: Quality Solicitors Clapham & CollingeFriendly and approachable, Quality Solicitors Clapham & Collinge are an established firm based in the centre of Norwich, advising individuals, businesses and charities on all aspects of the law, from commercial law to family law, conveyancing to disputes. What’s more, they are open on weekends and offer free coffee mornings for those needing help with relationship issues.

Call: 01603 603986

Spring CleanFriendly cleaners you can trust – for your home or office. All cleaners are uniformed and CRB checked and this dynamic business uses cutting edge systems to ensure that there is no cross-contamination, to keep track of employees’ time-keeping and to ensure that regular inspections take place. Excellence at an affordable price.

Call: 01508 578838

Adept IT SolutionsWe are delighted to welcome back one of our original clients – Adept IT. Reliable and approachable, Adept IT Solutions provide Microsoft-certified IT support to home users and businesses in Norwich and the wider Norfolk area. Flexible, affordable support contracts available to businesses of all sizes. Need IT support? Give Adept IT a call.

Call: 01603 451810

Tastebuds WineThe Artisan Collecton from Tastebuds Wines offers high quality wine sourced exclusively from French vineyards. Order Online, with free delivery, or pop into Tastebuds Wines at Strumpshaw. Norwich wine tasting events and free membership of the Wine Club are also available.

Call: 01603 713925



Fix It or Fire ThemNow don’t get me wrong. There are some unreasonable customers out there that nothing and no-one can please. Often their complaints seem ingenuous. However, until we can truly understand the problems these customers experience there is no way to tell whether they are unreasonable, misinformed or struggling with problems they don’t have solutions for. Often the advice is to pass them to a competitor; let the difficult customer stretch their resources and try their patience instead. In some cases that is the right thing to do, but are we missing a trick here?

Adversary to AdvocateThe thing with the difficult customer is conversations are often fraught with emotion. We start to dread the call or the visit from them and often we have assumed the worst before they’ve even said a word. These assumptions then colour the conversation we have. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Breaking that cycle however, can start a very loyal and long standing, working relationship. They can become your biggest advocate purely because you have tackled the issues in a different way. A friend of mine used to say ‘Kill ‘em with kindness’ and ask yourself ‘Is this how I would want to be treated if I was a customer.’

ONEThere’s Always

We all have them; the difficult customer that we never seem to satisfy. If we have it blue, they want green. If it comes in small or medium they want large. Even exceeding their expectations seems to annoy them. It seems that whatever we try to do is just not good enough. So what do we do with them?


So next time you’re struggling with a difficult customer;

Listen. Let them say everything they need to say before you offer solutions. In the first instance, irate people want to be heard, they don’t want a solution.

Tell them you hear what they’re saying. It’s almost impossible to argue with, which reduces the emotion in the call. If they keep shouting, keep telling them.

Once they are calmer, ask them what they what they want or need to achieve, it is often not what they originally called for so solutions you offer before you have asked will probably be wrong.

Don’t take it personally. You are unlikely to be the cause of all this customers problems. Remembering it’s the situation not the person ensures you can remain calm and objective. Once the emotion is removed, it’s easier to tell if the customer has a genuine issue

Focus on what you both agree on first. This gives you an insight into where they are coming from and starts to build empathy on both sides.

You never know, that could just be the start

of an amazing relationship.



Coming Soon

Our aim is to provide the best businesses in Norwich with aworld classmarketing service.We’ll raise your profile, connect you to new contacts and customers - and maxim-ise your business potential.

We really do care about every one of our Business Members and we are there every step of the way to ensure that thebestof works for you.

Our 17 marketing tools

thebestof Norwich is run by Chris and Sara Greenfield

Enthusiasm – that’s what Chris and Sara bring to thebestof. They work with businesses which they are genuinely enthusiastic about, backed up by recommendation from happy customers. If you are enthusiastic and passionate about your business, give them a call.

Call Us: 01603 605530Email: [email protected]

Norfolk Food & Drink Festival 2013:The Maids Head Hotel will be taking part in this Festival which is running from

Saturday 31st August to Sunday 6th October

The Maids Head Hotel believe in using the best locally sourced meats, fish, fruits and vegetables as well as wine from our fine county.

Throughout the festival they will be running a 3 course wine and dine menu.

Each course will be matched with a wine from the local Winbirri Vineyards.

Only £35 per person

To make your reservation contact their events team on

01603 272008 or email [email protected]

1. Testimonials

2. Dual-branded postcards

3. Mix and match

4. Commercial photos

5. Certificates

6. Brand Awareness

7. Campaigns

8. Call Tracking

9. An Evening with

10. Social Media

11. Blog

12. Events

13. Video

14. Special offers for members

15. Quote me

16. Mobile Website and App

17. Website feature
