What makes a good salesperson in 2024? And what skills should they have to generate successful leads and boost results for the business? Steve Harlow, Chief Sales Officer at Sopro, comments on the skills every successful salesperson should have and how to implement them: “A good salesperson must be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to be productive. There are various skills a salesperson needs and different tactics they can adopt to engage with customers effectively and drive sales. Here are some of the most important ones: Social prospecting: “Using social networks as a strategic tool, social prospecting allows sellers to…

With recent figures revealing SME lending levels rose by 15% during the first quarter of this year, Kyle Eaton, money.co.uk business credit cards expert, shares his tips on choosing the right financial products for your business: There are plenty of financial products available that cater to small business owners and their specific needs, with business credit cards being one of the most popular choices. It can be difficult to know where to start when choosing a business credit card provider and a specific card. “Every business needs cash to get off the ground and pay the bills, from establishing a workplace to buying…

Roger Jackson, Founder &  CEO of SenseCheck, a leader in marketing consultancy explores the critical role of feedback in marketing and identifies four major barriers that often hinder its effectiveness. He offers actionable strategies to overcome these obstacles, aiming to transform the way businesses approach feedback to drive significant improvements in their marketing efforts. Feedback in marketing is fundamental and can be the difference between campaign success or failure. No one has a monopoly of wisdom, yet so many of us struggle to give and receive opinions in ways that genuinely drive improvement. Various psychological, social, and cognitive barriers can…

An artificial intelligence coding workshop for youngsters scheduled for late July, has been so overwhelmed with bookings that its organisers, Glasgow-based British Youth International College (BYITC) Supermaths, have been forced to arrange multiple sessions to accommodate demand. “The interest in artificial intelligence coding has been phenomenal, so much so that we have been obliged to create further sessions to meet demand since the summer break is a perfect time to learn,” said BYITC Supermaths founder and computer scientist Dr Rashmi Mantri.     “We know from our previous coding AI workshops that the young people start out a little uncertain and with a limited understanding…

St Luke’s – Sheffield’s Hospice is set to launch its most ambitious retail project to date…the city’s first charity department store! Last summer saw the opening of the hugely successful St Luke’s city centre store on The Moor, bringing the total number of St Luke’s shops throughout the city to 14, extending from Stocksbridge in the north to Crystal Peaks in the south. Now the charity is proud to unveil plans for an 8,500 sq ft department store at the Kilner Way Retail Park in Wadsley Bridge. Opening this autumn, the shop will offer a wide variety of pre-loved goods…

Vodafone Business’ Director of Small, Medium & Enterprise Business, Claire Harris, comments on how 5G is transforming the UK’s summer of sport. The Summer of 2024 is fast becoming a sporting blockbuster, and vendors have been catering around-the-clock for Wimbledon, The Euros, The Olympics, The British grand Prix at Silverstone and many more. Amidst the excitement, a technological revolution is unfolding, poised to redefine the fan experience and transform how vendors deliver services. 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT) promise to create smarter, more interactive, and personalised experiences for fans, while enabling vendors to operate with unprecedented efficiency. A stadium’s food and drink sales account for a huge part of the match day economy but, with…

IT support staff have been inundated with calls from businesses and individuals who have seen their laptops, servers and other devices reach critical temperatures as a result of the heatwave. Technology services provider, Probrand, has seen an influx of calls to its service desk in the last 24 hours, with people recording critically high temperatures and servers reaching in excess of 42 degrees, as offices and data centres struggle to cope with the conditions.  They are now sharing practical tips on how to guard against overheating. With many workplaces advising staff to work from home, there is an added risk…

Well known Swindon entrepreneurs Carl McCulloch and Jeff Tucker, who run recruitment business Trak Employment Solutions, have helped raised £30,000 to support individuals in the Swindon community facing difficult times. They raised the money by cycling from London to Paris along with a group of other committed business owners. The funds will be used by their new charity, Best Mates, to provide crucial support and guidance to those in need. Launched in November 2023, Best Mates operates under the heartfelt strapline ‘We Got Ya’. The charity’s mission is to offer a unique service by matching individuals encountering tough situations with…

Since the first film was launched in 2015, the Inside Out franchise has become a global phenomenon that has fuelled conversations around mental health, parenting and how our bodies and minds adapt to change. Released just last month, Inside Out 2 is now the highest grossing film of 2024 so far, and has become the first film to take in $1bn worldwide. The franchise focuses on Riley, a now 13-year-old girl who faces new emotional challenges as she enters puberty. Riley’s emotions, which include Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust, Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui (boredom) are personified, and they oversee…

If you ask any SEO professional what the first half of 2024 has been like for them, there’s a 50/50 chance they’ll start crying. Google’s updates have come thick and fast recently – but why? And what effect have they had on the results we’re presented with when searching? In this article, integrated marketing and communications agency, Liquid, explores the most significant shifts of 2024, focusing on the rise of user-generated content platforms and what this means for your SEO approach. What are the latest Google updates? There’s certainly plenty to be keeping up with in the SEO world nowadays –…

The modern workforce is a unique blend of four different generations. In this article, Kerri Mee, Clinical Lead at Onebright , provides strategies that can help you navigate the needs and perspectives of each generation, to create a supportive and open workplace culture.  Today’s workforce consists of a breadth of generations: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, as well as the introduction of Gen Alpha. Most HR professionals are tasked with balancing the needs of four vastly different generations whilst also creating a conducive workplace environment that can support this unique blend effectively. Understanding mental health’s importance is…

A technology expert is urging businesses to ensure they have a secure internet connection – or they could see operations grind to a halt. Juliet Moran, technical director of TelephoneSystems.Cloud, claims the importance of robust infrastructure is often overlooked, especially in a cloud based environment. And she says businesses should have a disaster recovery plan if systems fail or they could lose access to essential services they rely on. Juliet warns many business owners fail to take into account the impact if connectivity fails and relying on a cheap internet connection is insufficient to guarantee an undisrupted service. She advises there…

DeepL, a leading global Language AI company, has today unveiled two new languages in its AI writing assistant, DeepL Write. Initially released with support for English and German, Write now offers Spanish and French—bolstering its service with two more lingua francas critical to global business. The addition of Spanish and French is an exciting opportunity for global businesses to elevate their teams’ writing and communication—remaining consistent and on-brand, all while retaining their unique voice in the marketplace. “We hear time and time again that clear and effective written communication can be a problem for our customers in business, even in…

OnHand founder Sanjay Lobo MBE will be the keynote speaker at an inaugural event at The Shard where emerging social enterprises will pitch to esteemed industry experts for a share of a £50,000 prize fund.  University students and recent graduates need to enter funding competition Ignite by 31st July to be in with a chance of securing not only cash but expert mentoring, networking opportunities and a bespoke post event support package. It’s been announced that the accomplished panel of judges overseeing the grand final on 3rd October will include:  Jack Ford of the Ford Family Foundation, which is launching Ignite in partnership with…

Author: Tanya Channing, Chief People & Culture Officer at Pipedrive Diversity is of paramount importance to growing businesses. Ambitious SMEs are resource-hungry, leaning on the skills and engagement of a dedicated workforce to scale and beat market headwinds. With a people-first strategy, prioritising the drive and determination of a core team building the product or service, there needs to be real company cohesion backing them. However big the team is, both those on the ground floor in sales or product engineering, in the engine room of the business, and those leading at the top, need to collaborate effectively. Coding diversity…

In the past week in the UK, there has been a +200% rise in people searching for ‘brain rot test’, according to Google Trends, a way to find out if they are suffering from a severe “state of mental fogginess and cognitive decline that results from excessive screen engagement” (as defined by the Newport Institute). It is unsurprising, as brain rot has become the go-to term for feeling digitally burnt out. In no other industry is this more apparent than digital marketing, which can drain professional performance and creativity at the best of times. What are the signs of brain…