RUTH’S BLOG
Female Entrepreneurs
Taking The Entrepreneurial Leap
My most recent book, ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ was written to encourage every woman who...
Setting your business up for success
I wrote ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ to help every woman who has dreamt of being an...
Scaling up your business successfully
I co-wrote my latest book ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ to encourage every woman who has set...
Staying sane along the entrepreneurial journey
Ruth Saunders co-wrote the book ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ to help every woman who has set...
Overcoming the challenges of building a business
‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ was written to help every woman who has set up their own...
Changing the corporate world for the better
I wrote ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ with co-author John Smythe, to encourage the Government, the corporate world, particularly investors, and society as a whole to recognise and embrace the huge value that female entrepreneurs bring…
Changing society for the better
John Smythe and Ruth Saunders have written ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success’ to encourage society...
Embracing women’s natural advantages and overcoming their natural challenges
Many of the 52 female entrepreneurs I interviewed for my latest book, ‘Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of...
Leadership
Eye On The Bulls-Eye – Handling Presentation Nerves
I am by nature an introvert, someone who is both shy and thus anxious about saying the wrong thing, and who hates being the star of the show – I have presentation nerves. In the past, I have tried to overcome my presentation nerves by writing and learning a tight script.
Power of 3 – When One Is Not Enough
In business, we’re trained to make decisions logically, rationalising the benefits of a business proposal using a compelling recommendation supported by a robust business case. Often a single business meeting to review a commercial, credible, concise and clear-cut presentation is enough to get feedback and buy-in.…
Dealing With Aggressive Senior Managers
Being aggressively challenged by a senior manager can be a highly uncomfortable, disconcerting and demotivating experience, particularly if it happens in front of others. It can be tough to handle at the time and can leave us cold afterwards. Learn from my experience and insights..
Dealing With Challenging Senior Managers
Some senior managers can be quick to give their agreement when presented to, whilst others can be slow to be convinced. They might overtly challenge the recommendations and supporting fact base, or ask new questions that haven’t been raised before, or they might just be elusive…
Answering Challenging Questions
How can you prepare to answer those challenging questions that some senior managers throw at you during your presentation meetings? When they start to quetsion your rationale, financials or business case, do you get defensive or waffle? The answer is to help them engage and problem-solve ..
Dealing With Senior Manager Ego
In some presentation meetings, senior managers act aggressively, asking challenging questions. They overtly challenge the findings and recommendations, and making it clear that they are not in agreement with what is being proposed…
Qualitative Research Robust Enough to Trust
When I worked in consumer goods companies, any major brand decisions were supported by robust quantitative...
Marketing Strategy
Choosing ‘where’ to play
Marketing is vital to helping companies deliver the innovation and compelling brand positionings needed for growth. For the Board to invest, they need to demonstrate where to focus and how to build shareholder value and profitable returns.
Choosing ‘who’ to target
When thinking about which customers to target, companies should not try to please everyone. Instead, they should focus their scarce resources on attracting and retaining those customers who will deliver the greatest return for the company
Choosing ‘what’ to support
To be successful, companies should choose which brands and products to support – and importantly which not to support – with the aim of focusing their scarce resources on those that will deliver the greatest return for the company today,
Choosing ‘why’ to be in business
Getting people’s attention can be tough. Getting them to convert their attention into action can be even tougher. A strong brand purpose helps companies define what business they’re in, which customers they are targeting and what they are offering them to better meet their needs.
Choosing ‘where’ to market
When it comes to ‘where’ to market a brand, it’s important to sell through sales channels that make the brand both visible and accessible to people in a way that is easy to engage with and purchase. Otherwise, it’s likely to get lost in today’s market clutter…
Choosing ‘when’ to engage people
When choosing “when” to talk with people, marketers should optimize their marketing ROI by focusing their spend on those high-impact touch points and messages that have the greatest influence…
Qualitative Research Robust Enough to Trust
When I worked in consumer goods companies, any major brand decisions were supported by robust quantitative...