The Smart Revolution will impact on every household and every business. Peter Franklin has spent the last three years working in this arena in the UK and internationally. He will brief us on:

• What it is all about
• The benfits to society
• The Consulting opportunities

Mike Sargeant, Managing Director of Pharon IFA, will review the state of financial services and discuss the issues that could affect us personally during 2010. Mike has over 40 years experience in the financial services industry covering banking, building societies, insurance brokers, independent financial advisers and fund management.

Agenda

Before the Coffee Break:

Helen will introduce you to techniques that can halve the time you take to go through your daily workload. You'll learn methods to pick out key points from reports and improve your ability to recall facts and figures - and even enjoy it all at the same time!

Agenda

The effects of the credit crunch on small business and the public sector; relationships with major businesses both as customers of banks and as suppliers to major business; anticipated long term effect. Progressive action they can take for themselves and the support they need? The effect on their exports and imports in the face of the weak pound.

Before the Coffee Break

Many large organisations in the UK exist with a bidding win rate of less than 20% and these organisations usually have similar symptoms:-

• Lack of, or lack of vigour in the bid/no bid decision process
• Poor customer focus in the bid
• Lack of discipline in the sales team
• Stovepipe between sales and bid team
• Limited understanding of the customer
• Little competitive knowledge
• Reactive approach to bidding
• Inflexible bidding systems
• Lack of a clear bid strategy
  

Yet organisations who understand the bidding process can achieve win rates in excess of 85%. Their cost of bidding goes down, whilst they win more business. Extensive studies have shown that the organisations that bid less, win more.

Bidding is not a black art, and there are a number of simple tools and techniques that can be employed to drastically improve your win rate.

Chris will examine the seven indicators of a good proposal, and will also provide some easy to use tools and techniques that can be deployed when planning and writing a bid.

Chris Milburn

Chris started his career as a scientist, and spent his formative years working for a small oil exploration company, before moving to a government research laboratory to design communication systems for the Royal Navy. Chris was responsible for designing and trialling the world’s first secure IP network working over existing ship radios.

Chris changed careers into Business Development, and started his own consultancy providing free-lance sales and business development activities to a number of organisations.

One of Chris’s major clients is Shipley Limited (www.shipleywins.co.uk). Over the last 10 years, Shipley Limited has trained some 13,000 people in the UK alone, and provides training and consultancy to many of the UK’s leading companies, both in the defence and civil sectors. As well as finding Shipley new clients, Chris is also qualified as a Shipley Trainer.

Flyer available

Before the Coffee Break

The Business of Fund Raising - Mike Clargo

A short presentation by an RG Member

AGM - THE RICHMOND GROUP

All members and guests welcome, although guests unable to contribute or vote during that part of the meeting.

THE FOLLOWING TOPIC HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL THE NOVEMBER MEETING

Futuristic Insights - What worked no longer works

Speaker: Alan Whittaker

Rachel is Managing Director of Cornish WebServices Ltd. she summarises her services under the following headings:

• Internet Marketing - advise businesses on using the Internet for increased ROI
• Qualified Google AdWords Professional and experience in handling PPC (pay per click) and SEO (search engine optimisation) campaigns for businesses.
• Web 2.0 social network marketing
• Search Engine Marketing
• Email marketing
• Accessible website design and maintenance
• Database driven websites / Intranets
• Web-based database systems
• E commerce
• International Marketing

Rachel has a BSc and MA in Natural Science (Physics, Metallurgy) from the University of Cambridge. She also has an MBA from Warwick Business School, where she is currently the MBA tutor for Information Management, International Marketing, Project Management, Modelling and Analysis for Management and Online tutor for International Marketing and Project Management.

Before the Coffee Break

Martin Goddard, Lushani Kodituwakku - Grant Thornton

Martin Goddard and his colleague, Lushani Kodituwakku, will present on Grant Thornton's requirements for, and interest in, working with consultants in a number of sectors including:

• Business Services
• Food and Consumer Markets
• Property & Construction
• Industrials, Energy & Extractive
• Not for profit
• Technology, Media & Communications
• Government and Public Sector
• Health Services
• Financial Services
• Tourism & Leisure

This will be of particular interest to all RG members who work with major consultancy and other organisations in the provision of a broad range of services related to business support and due diligence.

Flyer and Agenda available

Neil Farmer is a leading business change consultant. He is a Strategy Implementation and change management specialist and has worked both as a consultant and as an interim change manager in numerous change programmes for leading organisations. He has developed practical insights into a comprehensive method for making business change happen and achieving key change objectives. This method – based on new leadership approaches

Before coffee: Enhance your performance

Speaker: Caroline Lumb Head of Professional Development for the Institute of

Business Consulting

Hear how the Institute of Business Consulting's, on-line Body of Knowledge can support you and hear about the launch of the on line Continuing Professional Development, together with an update on other Professional Developments that are in the pipeline.

PDF Flyer available

The session will cover:

• What is Networking? When and Where
• Why Network? Dos and Don'ts - Practical Sessions
• How to Network - The Bottom Line

The workshop will be very participative and provide the opportunity to practice your networking skills, have fun and forge some new contacts. It should prove a very worthwhile and enjoyable evening for us all. Bring your business cards.

PDF Flyer available