Unique Client Solutions: Are We Wired for Success?

Unique Client Solutions looks into research suggesting that our brains are designed to thrived off success. Can we use this to our advantage?

At customer acquisitions company Unique Client Solutions we’re pretty fascinated by the science behind success. So research suggesting that we respond better to success than to failure and that we’re biologically wired for success is like music to our ears!

A team of scientists from MIT and Harvard have found evidence that there are biological factors that create mental momentum. They found that our neurons retain memory and become more finely tuned when we succeed, but they don’t when success isn’t present. Unique Client Solutions works in the competitive world of direct marketing and success is key to our businesses, so we’re naturally intrigued to see if environment and learning come into play.

The study found that when we learn something new and have a success, even if it is only a very small one, the brain gets a hit of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure. Dopamine is also needed to thicken the neural pathways which allow you to learn a new skill. Your brain is drawn to activities that give you that hit of pleasure. So you can actually become addicted to success and the more you succeed the longer your brain retains the information to help you succeed again.

What can we do at Unique Client Solutions to use this to our advantage in business? Firstly it’s important to aim for success rather getting comfortable with learning from our failures. We’re told from a young age that learning from our mistakes is a useful tool, however, this research suggests that we should focus more on getting it right first time.

Next, keeping a positive attitude is essential. Negativity causes the stress hormone cortisol to block access to the part of the brain that breeds success. It then becomes a repeating cycle of negativity and failure.

Finally it’s important to allow yourself to celebrate! When you’re teaching someone a new skill celebrate their successes first and foremost. Where possible ignore their mistakes, only bring them up if they’re going to cause long-term damage.

At Unique Client Solutions we’re delighted with any excuse to celebrate. A spokesperson for the company said, “This actually makes a lot of sense, the more we try to remain positive and aim for success the more likely we are to do so. At Unique Client Solutions we always try to have a positive environment, now we have scientific proof that it’s the reason for our success!”

Unique Client Solutions on Sir Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson might not be everyone’s cup of tea but there is one thing that you cannot doubt, his incredible passion for both business and life. Unique Client Solutions studies the success of an icon.

If there is one thing that we’re proud of at customer acquisitions company, Unique Client Solutions, it’s our ability to motivate ourselves. If you’re looking for role-models then we don't think there's much better than Sir Richard Branson. By way of a short biography Richard Branson was born in 1950 and set up Student magazine when he was 16. In 1970 at 20 years old he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer but quickly opened a shop in Oxford Street. It began as a record company in 1972 and they ended up signing the Sex Pistols, Culture Club and the Rolling Stones to make it one of the biggest record companies in the world. Virgin Group now has over 200 companies in over 30 countries which work in the leisure, travel, tourism, TV and finance industries amongst others.

Unique Client Solutions believes that as a business leader Branson epitomises the true meaning of an entrepreneur. A spokesperson for the company said, “Branson never tires of trying something new and pushing the boundaries. The money he makes is immaterial now. With a $4.2 billion worth there is no need to work anymore, he does it because he loves it. Passion is key to success in our eyes.”

Branson has also set up Virgin Unite which is a non-profit entrepreneurial foundation which looks for entrepreneurial approaches to social and environmental issues. Quite aside from his business ventures Branson also is a keen explorer and has made many world record attempts. He held a fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing record, the fastest crossing from Japan to Arctic Canada in a balloon. He crossed the English Channel in the fastest ever time in an amphibious vehicle. Last year he broke a record for the oldest person to kite-surf across the English Channel.

So why does Unique Client Solutions think Sir Richard Branson is so successful? “Quite aside from pushing business boundaries Branson is always on the look out to push physical, mental and environmental barriers. He has actually failed in many of his attempts first, second and even third time around. The fact that he tries again and again until he succeeds is the very reason he is so successful in life, that steely determination is something that we really value at Unique Client Solutions. He is a real inspiration who we’re quite sure won’t stop until he’s forced to.”

Branson writes regularly on LinkedIn, to follow him visit http://linkd.in/ZpeVWZ

Unique Client Solutions on How to Close a Sale

Nottingham-based customer acquisitions company Unique Client Solutions shares their secrets on how to close a sale.

In the competitive world of customer acquisitions and direct marketing that Unique Client Solutions operates in, closing a sale is the deciding factor. You might have a great pitch, you might build great relationships with your customers, but unless you can close it’s all been a bit pointless.  Here are our top 5 tips to ensure a successful close.

Communicate clearly

Every pitch and every customer is going to be slightly different but you must get all your key details in there every time. Unless the customer can remember all the details you’re not going to have much success. Unique Client Solutions recommends that you practice changing up your pitch as much as possible but make sure that the main features remain the same. Try using a voice recorder to check up on yourself and to make sure that you’re coming across as you hoped.

Make eye contact

Eye contact shows confidence in your product and confidence in yourself. Don’t look down at your feet or stare off into the distance, it makes people think that you’re not telling the truth. At the same time don’t stare, that will definitely put them off!

Use humour

Being relaxed and funny is definitely no bad thing, no matter how serious the product you're selling. People feel better when they’re laughing as it puts them at ease. You’re far more likely to close a sale when you and your customer are happy and relaxed. Unique Client Solutions suggests making your ice-breakers funny or sharing amusing (short!) anecdotes.

Remain positive

No matter how difficult a customer, or how badly you think the sale is going, you must remain positive. Keep the atmosphere light and maintain a can-do attitude at all times. They might simply be testing you. Also Unique Client Solutions is certain that the moment you become negative about the sale and think that it’s not going to go through, is the moment you’ll lose the sale. Negativity always falls to positivity in our experience!

Always ask one more time

At Unique Client Solutions we don’t think it’s rude to persist, we think it shows success and confidence in what we do. Asking for the all important ‘yes’ one more time simply shows the customer that you’re more sold on your view than you are on theirs. Go on, ask one more time, you never know...

Unique Client Solutions on Mastering Public Speaking

Unique Client Solutions shares their tips for leaders on how to perfect your public speaking.

As an up-and-coming leader, public speaking is going to be required of you at one time or another. Whether it’s to your team of salespeople or to a large meeting, the basic skills are the same. Unique Client Solutions offers four tips that will help you overcome any nerves.

Rehearse.

At Unique Client Solutions we recommend that you ignore people who say that they can just step on stage and deliver a speech without practice, they’re almost certainly not telling the truth. Practicing is the easiest way to get rid of nerves because the more comfortable you are with what you’ve got to say, the less likely you are to get tripped up by it and the better you’ll deliver it.

Redefine fear

When someone says that their adrenaline is pumping, we view it as a positive thing. When someone says they’re nervous, it’s a negative. Actually the physical effect is much the same. When your heart starts pounding before a speech stop thinking of it as nerves, instead think of it as adrenaline racing around your body to prepare it for the task in hand. It’s not going to hinder you, it’s going to give you an edge. 

Breathing

The way you breathe can have a huge effect on your public speaking. Unique Client Solutions has looked at the advice from experts and they recommend to breath slowly, frequently and deeply by drawing your breath from your stomach. This will immediately relax your body and the nerves will wash away. You need to do this just before you’re about to speak, perhaps when you’re being announced.

Forget about yourself

Public speaking isn't about you, it’s about your audience. At Unique Client Solutions we like to put on a great show and we believe public speaking is about delivering something to others. The separation that comes with changing the focus of your attention from yourself to your audience will give you the detachment that you need to reduce some of your nerves.

Whatever industry you work in, and whatever the reason you’re delivering a speech, these skills will help you to relax and enjoy public speaking. Within our team at Unique Client Solutions we have some fantastic public speakers and we ensure that they share their skills as much as possible. Find someone at your company with experience of public speaking and ask them how they prepare. They’re bound to have some helpful ideas that you can use.

Unique Client Solutions Will Mix Business With Pleasure in Jobs Biopic

Unique Client Solutions are thrilled to mix business with film pleasure in the form of the Steve Jobs biopic which has been confirmed to close the Sundance Film Festival 2013.

As a customer acquisitions company to the entertainment industry the team at Unique Client Solutions have their finger on the button when it comes to film industry news. We're thankful that we've got plenty of fingers because we've got another one firmly in a business development pie as well! It's not very often that we get to mix the two together but when we heard that Joshua Michael Stern was directing a biopic on the Apple founder Steve Jobs, starring Aston Kutcher in the title role, we got pretty excited!

At Unique Client Solutions we've always been admirers of Steve Jobs, for us he is the epitome of an entrepreneur and his unique management style has been commented on over and over in the period following his death. Very little has been released about the film so far, apart from some stills of Kutcher as the Apple mastermind which show an uncanny resemblance between him and the younger Steve Jobs. So what can we expect from the film?

Simon Tomlinson, managing director of Unique Client Solutions, thinks that we are in for a treat. "The fact that it's been chosen to close Sundance is testament to how eagerly anticipated this film is. I read the book on Steve Jobs and it was a fascinating read so I'm exited to see how the film turns out and whether it will shed any new light on this complex man. Jobs was one of the greatest innovators of our time and I think as business leaders we can learn from him. It's such a treat to be able to mix business with pleasure!"

This isn't the only film about Steve Jobs that we can expect to see on the big screen. Aaron Sorkin is also set to release an authorised biography of Jobs, the rights to which are owned by Sony Pictures. He recently revealed that he plans to take an unusual "real-time" approach to the script and said that he intended to write three scenes only for the film, each set backstage immediately before a product launch. No details of cast or release date have been revealed yet. Unique Client Solutions will be interested to compare the two films when they are released.

The Sundance Film Festival 2013 will run from 17-27th January.  At Unique Client Solutions we'll be watching out for the reviews eagerly.

Unique Client Solutions Disappointed at Back-to-Work Scheme Failures

Unique Client Solutions understands that the government's back-to-work scheme has failed to meet its main target.

A year ago Unique Client Solutions expressed their approval at a back-to-work scheme which would see companies and charities paid to help find jobs for the long-term unemployed. The Sheffield-based customer acquisitions company reported on the new scheme, which had an ambitious target of getting 5.5% of the people on the programme into jobs of six months or more.  It now seems that this target has been missed after only 3.53% of people were matched with long-term employment.

The figures were measured from June 2011 to July 2012  and showed that despite the popularity of the scheme, some 878,000 people signed up, only 31,000 had found a job for 6 months or more to date. The scheme has become a political battleground with employment minister Mark Hoban saying, “It’s still early days, but already thousands of lives are being transformed.” However shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne has believes that the scheme has “comprehensively failed to get in place a back-to-work programme that actually works.”

Unique Client Solutions however were surprised to learn that as the scheme has missed its target, it means that as many unemployed people are finding long-term jobs as if the scheme had never been introduced in the first place.

Simon Tomlinson, managing director of Unique Client Solutions believes that more needs to be done to ensure the success of the scheme. “We’ve discussed a lot at Unique Client Solutions the problems faced by people trying to find employment. Consequently, we were initially encouraged by the direction of this scheme. I still believe that a scheme like this can work but there needs to be much stricter controls on the companies taking part, to ensure that they are doing their bit. Underperforming businesses must be removed from the scheme.”

Mr Tomlinson continued, “This scheme is working with some of the most difficult people to employ in the UK and it’s vital that they are offered support that helps them stay in their placements, not just to get them into jobs in the first place. We believe this is where the scheme is failing. It’s easy to get someone into a short-term job, it’s much harder to keep them there long-term.”

Unique Client Solutions is hopeful that this scheme will improve over the coming months. With the economy starting to move in the right direction the customer acquisitions company predicts that the job market will begin to move in the same direction. 

Unique Client Solutions Confident Growth 100 Will Make a Difference

Unique Client Solutions, a customer acquisitions company with offices in Nottingham, is confident that the city’s new Growth 100 plan will be a huge help to new businesses.

The managing director of Unique Client Solutions, Simon Tomlinson, knows only too well how difficult starting a new business can be. Therefore he was delighted when he learnt that Nottingham was leading the way in helping new business owners to develop their skills. The new scheme, called Growth 100, has been set up by the city council to allow experienced business leaders to give management coaching and share practical skills with newcomers.

The council is currently inviting businesses, both new and established, to sign up to the scheme and the programme is set to start in early 2013. Along with local business leaders, academic experts will also be on hand to give out advice.  What does Mr Tomlinson of Unique Client Solutions think of the scheme? “Quite frankly I’m very impressed. This is exactly the sort of thing that helps businesses to survive and grow in an uncertain economic climate. Within our own company we have a strong business development programme and we find that guidance from those with more experience gives newcomers much more confidence and the practical skills to succeed.”

Nick McDonald from Nottingham City Councils Jobs, Skills and Business office has big plans for the scheme. He said, “We believe our Growth Plan has the potential to completely restructure this city’s economy.” The plan for the scheme is to equip business owners and leaders with the skills to help create more jobs in the city and Mr Tomlinson agrees that this must be a priority.

“At Unique Client Solutions we’ve seen the difficulties that people face in finding a job, particularly young graduates or school leavers. New businesses are far more likely to have entry-level positions available so I think that this scheme will help this group particularly.”

Businesses who are interested in applying to the scheme should email businessgrowth@nottinghamcity.gov.uk, or visit www.mynottingham.gov.uk/growth100 the scheme is free and open to businesses of any size.

Unique Client Solutions and Mr Tomlinson in particular, will be following the scheme carefully, “We’re delighted to have such a forward-thinking scheme going on in our city, at Unique Client Solutions we’re confident it’s going to be a success.”

Unique Client Solutions Impressed at Nottingham Business School

Unique Client Solutions were delighted to learn that The University of Nottingham Business School is climbing the latest world rankings.

Customer acquisitions company Unique Client Solutions places a heavy interest on business development programmes and consequently they were impressed to learn that an educational institution in their city is providing world-class qualifications to business students. The Economist top 100 includes institutes from around the world and The University of Nottingham’s MBA is ranked 86^th in the world.

The University of Nottingham should be proud of their achievements as the rankings focus on whether programmes are able to offer their students opportunities like personal development, career opportunities and the potential to network. The school has risen up the ranks from last year and will be looking to do the same in the years to come through their forward thinking approach.

Dr John Colley, director of MBA programmes said, “We believe that creativity and entrepreneurial thinking can be taught. Our students benefit from our worldwide reputation for research in this area and our close links with entrepreneurs who contribute extensively to our teaching.”

The director of Unique Client Solutions Nottingham, Simon Tomlinson, thinks that this approach to business education is important. “Since the recession started we’ve seen more and more people starting their own businesses. It’s been an effective way for many people to take their careers into their own hands. We try and foster an entrepreneurial mindset in our team at Unique Client Solutions and we believe that education institutions must do the same.”

Mr. Tomlinson continued, “Nottingham has proven time and time again that it is able to thrive as a city and there are exciting business prospects for entrepreneurs. There is a fantastic support network for businesses as well and with The University of Nottingham providing a world-class business education, at Unique Client Solutions we’re confident of the future of this wonderful city.”

Unique Client Solutions on Networking

Looking to improve your business contacts or find new people to mentor and inspire you? Unique Client Solutions specialises in customer acquisitions and marketing and whether we’re learning from people in our industry, or looking to make new business contacts we love to network! Here are a few tips to become the best networker in the room.

1. Pick your venue

Firstly make sure you’re going to the right events. If you’re looking to get to know people beyond your office or company then pick a larger meeting or networking event. If you're looking for a more intimate setting where you'll get to spend quality time with people then find something more suitable.

2. Dress appropriately

That doesn’t mean necessarily mean dress flashily. You want to come across as smart and professional. You should wear the same thing to networking events that you would wear to an interview.

3. Arrive early and stay late!

Unique Client Solutions recommends that you prepare yourself for a long day. It’s never easy to get chatting during meetings so you’re going to have to allocate time before or after the meeting. Don’t plan your return travel for immediately after the meeting is scheduled to end!

4. Pinpoint who you want to approach

Are you looking to find a support network at your own level, or are you looking to make an impression on someone more senior? Is there someone who you know is having a fantastic year and you want to learn from them? At Unique Client Solutions we like to do our research before we go and have a few specific people in mind that we want to spend time with.

5. Make contact with key figures before events

If at all possible, particularly with more senior people, it’s worth getting in contact with them beforehand. You can mention that you’d love to chat to them for a few minutes to discuss some specific points. That way you put yourself ahead of the crowd before the meeting even starts.

6. Plan what you’re going to say

At networking events time is tight so it’s always a good idea to have an idea of what you want to say. It’s easy to waste the few precious minutes with idle chit-chat and before you know it they’ve moved onto someone else. Unique Client Solutions would suggest that you jot down a few questions you want to ask.

7. Don’t forget your business card!

You’re definitely going to want to keep in touch with people you meet so make life easy for them and you. Have plenty of business cards with you to hand out.