A wise man once said.

Well, indeed, wise men are always saying something or other. But it’s the wiser person still, who makes and takes time to listen.

Words spoken are meant to be heard.

But what about words written?

Logically they’re intended to be read. That is asking a lot of your audience. People read in different ways – that’s if they bother reading at all. Some start at the top left and hang on every word, guided by articulate punctuation all the way down to the end.

Actually no. Not many, if any bother reading it at all – certainly not all of it.

Now, if you write, articulate, pitch your message knowing, understanding and respecting the readers’ limitations, then it really is possible to wrap your proposition in a sensible handful of words and deliver it in such a way that your clients and prospects will know:

What you do

Why you do it

And the benefits they’ll derive by embracing the relationship you are trying to develop.

 

By breaking the text into bite-sized portions of interest and fact, they’ll practically h e a r  the words they read and listen to the message in digestible mouthfuls.

Click on the image (left) and even at its original size, a page of blocked text with no paragraph breaks has no chance.

The words themselves need to be the right ones and all in the right order. But their delivery and presentation needs to be right too.

Little paragraphs.

Short sentences. With occasional rolling sequences of sensually sparkling alliteration bouncing across the page as a butterfly bobs along a border of asters on a balmy late summer’s eve.

But. Do please make sure the balmy’s not barmy and your apostrophe’s in the right place. And yes, if it helps get the message across, then start a paragraph with a ‘but’ and the odd sentence with an ‘and’.

A wise man once wrote ... so the wiser man could read, understand and know what to do next.

What I would now like you to do is ‘phone or e-mail me; invite me to meet you; let me listen to your own wise words; then allow me to cost-effectively re-package them to an articulate corporate presentation of you and your what, how and why.

 

www.aspiruscopy.com

www.intimeprofit.com

02476 609 104

Rodney Bashford

rodneybashford@btinternet.com

Ladders, Snakes and Perseverance.

Business can be something of a roller coaster, or in this scenario a game of Snakes & Ladders.

The climbs can be tough at times, needing investment of funds, time and resources. For small / medium sized businesses the Managing Director is so often the owner, operations officer, sales director and marketing director. Are you taking on too much?

If you recognise this picture, you’ll know that each rung of that ladder is a brow sweating (or glowing - PC) effort. Then, when you hit that snake, you’re back where you started if not further down the competitive board. Ladders are the product of all our own efforts and combined with the prudence to bring in the support of others when we feel the goals of clarity and success merit the help.

Snakes are either operational mistakes or the effects of external forces – political, competitive, climatic, economic … the list can be endless. But snakes are all too often the result of the business leader taking on too much and dropping the ball at that oh so crucial moment.

What’s the point?

The point is that the ladder is always steadier / easier to climb if someone else is holding it. That supporting resource could be someone like us – ASPIRUS.

ASPIRUS Words is now proudly in partnership with intime PROFIT.

Between us we have the skills and experience to take a firm hold of our clients' corporate ladders.

Because the wobble is now steadied by professional support, you are better placed to climb with renewed confidence. Our combined services equip business owners and managers better to take on each new rung whilst keeping those snakes at bay.

But what of Perseverance?

Of perseverance, according to Henry Ward Beecher:

“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.”

Beecher was a highly regarded American Congregationalist, clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist and speaker of the mid-19^th century. If nothing else, his legacy is a collection of wise words and heart felt wisdom…

“It is easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better from the top.”

If you want to bring clarity to your communications and to grow your business - use  a strong will, not a strong won't - the view really is better from the top.

 

www.aspiruscopy.com

www.intimeprofit.com

 

02476 609 104

Rodney Bashford

 

Fly – the power of a three letter word:

I don’t know if your phone, like mine, beeps at eight o’clock every weekday morning to announce the arrival of a ‘Daily Tickler’ from intime PROFIT – if not, you should make sure it does.

Why?

Firstly because they’re regular as prunes and porridge and set the pace for the day. Mainly though, because they offer those occasional flashes of amazing inspiration.

Yesterday the quote was: Fly.

“Come to the edge” he said,

“We are afraid”.

“Come to the edge” he said.

They came.

He pushed them and they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire was the French poet, writer and art critic whose words this Daily Tickler recounted.

As the managing owner of a small business helping like-minded managing owners of small / medium businesses this struck a chord – sometimes subtlety suits the hand-holding management and business development style but often you need to be pushed over the edge … step out of your comfort zone, jump over the edge and see if you fly too.

Thanks to Mr Wiki I discovered that Guillaume Apollinaire was born 26^th August 1880 and died 9^th November 1918 and is considered one of the most important literary figures of the early twentieth century. His brief career influenced the development of such artistic movements as Futurism, Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism and the legend of his personality - bohemian artist, raconteur, gourmand, soldier - became the model for avant-garde deportment.

A portrait of Guillaume Apollinaire by Maurice de Vlaminck.

Vlaminck's compositions show familiarity with the Impressionists, several of whom had painted in the same area in the 1870s and 1880s. After visiting a van Gogh exhibition, Vlaminck declared that he "loved van Gogh that day more than my own father".

Well, I’ve been a soldier and my girth betrays 'mes passions gourmandise' but I covet the man, the life, the environment and the skill.

I had to look further and found this:

La géométrie est aux arts plastiques ce que

la grammaire est à l'art de l'écrivain.

“…geometry is to the plastic arts what

grammar is to the art of the writer.”

Wow – how right. How true.

As you know, words are my tool and making them work harder for businesses is my service. So often overlooked - the structure of a web page, brochure or advertisement is as important as the structure of the written message – not just the physical structure but the geometry of the message that the words impart.

I was working with a client recently to help structure some key elements of his corporate message. It wasn’t working. The message was there but tripped over itself as one read the words … and, hello … words are there to be read. And, readers read aloud, even in their heads. So, if the message can’t be read aloud, with ease – it just won’t work.

To make this client understand, the revelation was the introduction of a metronome.

Tick tock, tick tock – dee daaa dee daaa, dee dum dum dee daaa.

The rhythm was given, the structure was set and the words began dancing to the corporate tune.

If you want your corporate message to fly,

                                          step over the edge.

Call me on 02476 609 104 or e-mail me: rodneybashford@btinternet.com .

To get your own Daily Ticklers email intime@intimeprofit.com and ask for your 8 o'clock wake up beep.

 

www.aspiruscopy.com

call for a FREE SPRING CLEAN today

02476 609 104

Rodney Bashford

New Year - new words – FREE Spring Clean

Every business starts a New Year with good intentions, fresh thoughts and a magic dust to sprinkle over colleagues, staff, clients and prospects.

I’ve been participating in a series of business development seminars with colleagues running SMEs in Kent (see: http://www.intimeprofit.blogspot.co.uk/). One of the recent exercises that caused much furrowing of brow was for each of us to refine our ‘elevator pitches’. The clash of benefits prevailing over values threw all into disarray as we tried to think on the part of our clients and customers, considering their views and needs as opposed to our intentions.

All positive stuff - as indeed are the benefits, thought provocation and pearls of wisdom derived from each monthly gathering.

So here we find ourselves starting yet another New Year with yet more fresh and invigorating ideas to carry us towards Easter.

But:

How are we applying these sparks and how are we articulating our inspiration to others – staff and clients alike.

How fresh is your website – not the expensive side of its structure and functionality but the simple side of its message – THE WORDS … is it still singing from the same business hymn sheet?

So often the answer is NO.

The same goes for the packaging of your key and unique selling points; your standard mailings and responses to inbound enquiries … are your clients and prospective clients hearing (reading) the story as you wish to tell it now, today, in 2013?

Again, possibly not.

ASPIRUS Words is offering an EARLY SPRING CLEAN - FREE.

Put us to the test by meeting; you talk, we’ll listen and leave you; then we’ll give you a written assessment of your written presentation, your verbal summary and how we might re-articulate the proposition to fit your New Year glitter and goals.

This will cost you nothing and – you don’t have to do anything with the thoughts we then share.

But you never know … you just might use ASPIRUS to make accost effective difference to your business – now.

www.aspiruscopy.com

call for a FREE SPRING CLEAN today

02476 609 104

Rodney Bashford

Orla Boylan (soprano) rehearses; Mo Farah (athlete) trains; Rodney Bashford (commercial writer) goes to business development seminars

Orla Boylan (soprano) rehearses; Mo Farah (athlete) trains; Rodney Bashford (commercial writer) goes to business development seminars including topics such as … copywriting.

Magic Moments:

Well, why not. My fellow delegates and I enjoyed the second of six Business Development Seminars from intime PROFIT. About twelve of us gathered around the boardroom table of a hosting company. Reeves of Chatham, Kent hosted the last one.

They are a firm of Accountants who themselves have a positive and innovative slant on Business Development. Their strap line is simply – business, tax, wealth. Probably one of the best Accountancy strap lines I’ve ever encountered and no, I didn’t write it.

For a long time I, like so many of you and so many of my clients, have had trouble summarising what it is I do and shoving it in the proverbial nutshell – the illusive elevator pitch or networkers’ 60 second intro can be so hard to define.

I came away from last week’s seminar with three or four inspired changing moments. Some came from the Seminar Leader David Mack. Equal value came from the comments and observation that punctuate the day, enthusiastic contributions from our colleagues around the table.

To come away with four or five ‘must do’s’ a month is perfect – that’s one a week, sufficient to make a difference because just the right number for a busy business to actually do something about.

Today, for me, the 60 second service summary. It looks a little like this:

I help businesses and organisations to identify – what it is they actually do – to identify their features and bottle their values.

I then articulate the message through the web, blogs, brochures, advertising and general correspondence – letters, e-mails and even tweets.

These are all written to deliver, not just the product / service values, but the core personality of the people and ethos behind the business - the ‘WHY’ that makes them different.

ASPIRUS Words is a commercial writing service that makes words work harder and businesses look sharper. Google  ASPIRUS Words  and you’ll see … it’s not just the right words that make the difference, it’s the wisdom behind them.

Hmmm … I like these Seminars.

Life is not all about blogging (though ther are a great CRM vehicle) but I would like to share some of the other blogsites currently written by ASPIRUS Words:

http://blissbeatitudes.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.intimeprofit.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.greycoat-ifa.blogspot.co.uk/

Plain English, plain speaking, pure correspondence. Words that work.

 

02476 609 104

www.aspiruscopy.com

 

Say it with an S not a Zeeeeeeee

If you are involved in the Financial Services industry, perhaps a busy IFA (Independent Financial Adviser), you will have your sleeves rolled up preparing for RDR (Retail Distribution Review). Perhaps you are set already or possibly one of the rather too many who have yet to effectively respond to the FSA's calls to change.

We have been working with Greycoat Financial Services who, like many, have taken RDR by the horns and used it as a positive marketing opportunity.

It has been an excuse to use someone like me to sit across the desk and totally re-evaluate the business.

What is it?

What could it be?

And how do we move it from here to there?

Whether you are several in partnership operating joint and severally, or whether you are one or two independents fighting the business prevention hurdle of Compliance and the FSA (Financial Services Authority), there is still an awful lot you can achieve to face 2013 with ambition and drive. Long sentence, sorry.

Fortunately, thanks to organisations like Tax Briefs and Three Sixty workshops – there’s a lot of material out there to help you write your own RDR changed business and service propositions.

Whichever route you choose to take, please ‘say it with an S not a Zeeeeeee'.

Too much ‘off the shelf’ solution and text is available to cut and paste where the language is over-Americanized. Some comes from across the pond, but much is simply written by folks relying on MS Word spell-check … set to English (USA) rather than (UK).

RDR is providing the British consumer with a more professional, fee-based Financial Services market. The gloves are off. Commissions have gone. Competition is endemic.

Now is the opportunity to review what you say and how you say it.

Personalise your proposition and lift your game.

Your clients now have to pay up front for advice, pensions, investments, retirement planning, estate planning etc etc. As discussed in Money Box a couple of weeks ago, consumers are used to paying fees for legal and accounting advice and service, so may not be too averse to paying for financial advice – as long as it lives up to its heightened status of ‘professional’.  

If promotional materials presenting your corporate proposition looks and says the same as 70% of your neighbouring IFAs, then competition will simply come down to price. Build individuality and substance into your image and you’ll stand out - justifiably professional.

It’s time to lift your game.

Doable?

Yes.

Greycoat have their core services and procedures re-structured and presentational / fulfilment materials written ready to go. The database has been re-structured to support the new service levels and client status. And we are putting the finishing touches to investment services, service pricing and product / value segmentation.

How?

Clarity, vision, creative support from ASPIRUS and not one single Zeee.

Plain English, plain speaking, pure correspondence. Words that work.

02476 609 104

www.aspiruscopy.com

Words written to deliver message A to audience W, can not be tampered with to convey B to a bunch of Zeds.

I’m excited to have finally made time to join Stephen Fry’s forum @ http://www.stephenfry.com/clubfry/invitation/.

This is a man who knows the value of words and the power of literal dexterity by which they can be shaped and delivered. Quality doesn’t have to be ‘posh’ unless one is writing for ‘the posh’ whose eyes and ears understand no less.

When writing for an audience, the writer wants that group of people to understand the message being delivered. It should pass via the eyes and literally heard, orally, as it passes to the brain. Hence the importance of writing in a style that sings as if your market is sitting before you listening to you speak.

Words and language evolved as an oral tool – a vehicle to communicate from mouth to the brain via the listener’s ear. Vocabulary gives language depth. Intonation gives it life.

So why shouldn’t the written word have life?  Well, it most certainly should.

Putting personality and intonation down on paper or up on the screen, in a blog, on a tweet needs a good understanding of what you need to say and who you want to say it to.

Then, you can play with the tools available to you – 26 letters and a bag full of syntax.

Don’t waste words – superfluity is a communications crime.

But, equally don’t compromise the message.

So how do we square these two points. The answer is easier these days than it once was. We have different communications platforms each with sensible and accessible messaging criteria, from 140 characters in a tweet; through blogging; on to a web site; via an e-mail; plus an attachment – and that‘s just the electronic media.

Hanging the style and expression to fit the audience is an art form on the one hand and an essential tool to apply to business / sales communication on the other.

Once written, it is very difficult to use one style of message to convey your meaning to a different audience.

But you don’t have to.

Identify your audiences; understand their language; consider what they might want to hear to motivate them; write the core message to that language and medium / platform – and Bob will once again be your proverbial…

In a blog / article called Take me to your Lieder in which Stephen Fry was writing (at some length) about the sad death of Dietrich Fischer Dieskau (a truly great Lieder tenor), he wrote of a task given him to try to translate Schikaneder’s original Magic Flute libretto from German into English.

He writes: “That experience, taking out the words that Mozart had set to music and trying to replace them with English equivalents, taught me one thing that I am anxious to share with an expectant world. Mozart knew what he was doing. Ho, yes. The man, as Control or Smiley might say, was Good, George. Damned good. He knew his tradecraft.

Words written to deliver A to audience W can not be tampered with to convey B to a bunch of Zeds.

 Life is not all about blogging (though ther are a great CRM vehicle) but I would like to share some of the other blogsites currently written by ASPIRUS Words:

http://blissbeatitudes.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.intimeprofit.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.greycoat-ifa.blogspot.co.uk/

Plain English, plain speaking, pure correspondence. Words that work.

 

02476 609 104

www.aspiruscopy.com