Will Smith Inspiration

The company that I work with part-time has partnered with Chris Gardner who was the inspiration behind the Will Smith blockbuster - "The Pursuit of Happyness". This amazing 10minute video demonstrates how Will Smith has made it to the top of his game and how anyone can achieve what they want if they put their mind to it. Let me know what you think........

Something to Think About

Les Brown, a noted inspirational speaker, and author of the DVD Step Into Your Greatness, tells the story of one of his friends, a salesman, who was in financial trouble because sales were down. Les asked him, "How many phone calls are you making a day?" His friend answered, "Twenty five."


Les didn't hesitate with his advice. "Double them," he said. "Make fifty. Or seventy-five. Or one hundred."
The salesman answered, "Aw, man. that's too much."

"Too much!" replied Les. "You tell me that you are behind on your bills and then you say it's too much. You know, one way to get back on your feet real quick is to miss two car payments. How can you say anything is too much when you have everything at stake?"

The advice Les Brown gave his friend needs to be heard by people everywhere. It's amazing what we can do when we're "hungry" for success. Most people who say "I've tried," haven't scratched the surface of their potential.

Saying "I'll try" really means " I'm not really committed "

Today, why not make a commitment to achieve your personal best?

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Certainly thought provoking

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.


Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you agree, pass it on..


If you don't agree stick your head in the sand and take a deep breath!


If you can read this -Thank a teacher!

Networking Tips For Business

As a member of Business 4 Breakfast in Rochdale for 4 years I have made plenty of great contacts and probably scared a good few off as well! By learning some amazing phrases I can now network without rejection or the FEAR of rejection.

Here is my learning point which I passed to my colleagues at Springhill Hospice this morning.

What do you think...........................?

The power of language in networking, and rejection free networking.
Todays learning point:


“Which means that…………..”
Qualify what you do by tagging this on to your introduction. So when someone asks what you do
“I work in vehicle leasing which means that I save businesses loads of time and money on their fleet"

A recap from last week:

Ever mentioned what you do for a living and people back-off, or tried to get your B4B buddy in with a contact and they think you take bribes for bolting on other people’s services “what else are you going to try and sell me!!”

Here’s a recap of the last 2 meetings:

When people moan and groan about something you instinctively want to help them out, why not try “would you like to do something about it?” if they say no then you should back off and assume they are just happy moaners. If they say YES – jackpot, they have asked for your help or for you to recommend your b4b contacts – or even your own services!

When you say “There’s an old story that says……” your contact will lean forward excitedly wanting to hear what comes next!
When you say “I just found out……….” The same will happen

So here goes:
Contact: “business is rubbish I have no customers, I hate my suppliers and the dog-eats my dinner
You “Would you like to do something about it?”
Contact: "well of course I do"
You: “Great I’ll pick you up at 6.30 on Thursday morning so you can meet loads of great new people to help your business”

OR

“I just found out about a way of meeting 20 or so director level people before your competitors are even out of bed”

“There’s an old story that says you are your most productive first thing in the morning”

Use these few words just a few times and it will all fall in to place, everyone you speak to will want to know who you know and how you know them. Pass this to your colleagues and your networking group and business will flourish.

Express Day 2010

Hello Team!

Express Day is the biggest event in the Telecom plus calendar. And as the company grows, Express Day gets even bigger! We now have over 34,000 Distributors - an increase of over 50% since our last Express Day. So this year's event is going to be massive!

To make sure that we have enough seats for everyone who wants to come, this year, we're giving you the choice to come on either the Saturday or the Sunday of our Express Day weekend.

There is nothing like Express Day. Thousands of Distributors come together in an electric atmosphere to hear key announcements from Chief Executive Charles Wigoder and company Directors, to be inspired by senior leaders from the Network, and to recognise the achievements of everyone who has been striding up the "Stairway to Success".

We’re also delighted to announce that, following the success of previous years, we will be running three Seminars before the main event on each day, hosted by some of our most successful leaders (details below).

It's simple: if you want to grow your business, you have to be at Express Day.

How to book

Contact me ASAP to find out how you can also benefit from this great event.  If you have not yet joined our amazing business and realised your earning potential, you might wish to watch this short DVD and see what you think.

All tickets include:

•a place at a pre-event seminar (subject to availability)

•a guaranteed seat in the block of your choice (subject to availability)

•tea/coffee on arrival

•a hot buffet lunch

•a free pack of special Express Day materials which will be available for you to take away after the event.

Tickets range in price from £20 to £30, depending on where you’d like to sit:

Let It Snow, Let It Snow.................

Here's a picture of Rochdale Golf Course one night last week after the snowfall we had over Christmas......doesn't it look amazing?

If you’re anything like me, all this cold weather has encouraged you to turn up the thermostat by a degree or three! I’m sure you welcome the extra heat, but you probably don’t welcome the bigger energy bill that comes with it.
 Never fear… I know a way you can warm your extremities without that chilly feeling in your wallet. And it’s not just your heating I can save you money on – it’s all your household utilities!

I’m a member of the Utility Warehouse Discount Club. They provide electricity, gas, home phone, broadband and mobile phone.


You probably haven’t heard of them before because they don’t advertise – that’s their secret to saving their customers lots of money! They rely on people like me to recommend them, and avoid the huge advertising costs other companies pay. Then they pass the money they save on to their customers by charging less for their services.

Here are some of the benefits:

• free calls to UK and international numbers

• best value broadband and phone package
• savings of around £50 on your line rental
• cheaper gas and electricity

• the UK’s best value mobile services

• 5% CashBack on your petrol and shopping
• unique customer discount plan
• exclusive membership discounts
• everything comes on one convenient monthly bill!

• and... you can benefit from a special introductory £100 discount off your bill – for a limited period only!

There’s no minimum contract on most of the services they provide. So if
you’re not totally happy with the money you save and their award-winning UK based customer service team... you can go back to your current supplier’s higher prices at any time!


If you’d like to save as much money as I am, email me at robnugent@telecomplus.org.uk and book your appointment


I look forward to hearing from you – and saving you money!


www.telecomplus.org.uk/robnugent

What Do You Think

Hello, thanks for coming back over to have a look at the ongoing developments.

We've added Facebook applications for the Leasing Business and plenty of links and graphics to support the Utility Warehouse side of things.

Have a flick through the blog, the main interests are:

Vehicle Leasing
Saving Money At Home
Running A Small Business
The Sport of Lacrosse.
Fitting in all of the above!

How to Find A Good Utilities Company

Taken from Manchester Evening News 20/04/2009

Martyn Hocking (Editor, Which? Money)
April 20, 2009

ENERGY bills may finally be coming down but, as the economy shrinks, we are all looking for better service at reasonable prices. And energy suppliers need to take note.Our brand new Which? customer satisfaction survey of energy suppliers reveals an average score of just 43 per cent, making this the lowest performing of all industries covered by our satisfaction surveys in the past 12 months. Only two energy suppliers do well in the survey, and the big suppliers such as Npower and British Gas appear to be failing our members across the board, particularly when it comes to value for money.

PRICES STILL HIGH

The current annual gas and electricity bill for the average household on a direct debit 'dual fuel' (gas and electricity from the same supplier) tariff now stands at £1,195 – more than double what it was in early 2004.And, although prices are now decreasing, since we carried out our last energy supplier satisfaction survey (visit www.which.co.uk/utilitycompanies2008), the average cost of gas has risen by almost 29 per cent and electricity by 14 per cent.However, the good news is that poor customer service and high bills can be beaten.

If you're not happy with your current supplier (and, according to our survey, unless you are with Utility Warehouse or Ebico, that's likely to be the case), it easy to switch suppliers. The same applies if you are looking for a cheaper tariff.And there are a range of cost-effective – or even free – ways to shelter your household from the impact of high energy charges. Becoming more energy efficient and cutting the amount you use in the first place isn't hard.

OUR SURVEY

As with our last survey, it's the smaller suppliers that rule in terms of customer satisfaction. Scores for the big six suppliers (everyone in our table except Utility Warehouse and Ebico) that dominate the market remain low, with none improving on last year's scores. Ups and downs Indeed, three suppliers – Scottish & Southern (SSE), ScottishPower and Eon – did worse. And despite saying that it had recruited extra staff and invested £200m in its customer service systems since our last survey, Npower remains rooted to the bottom, with British Gas – the country's biggest supplier – not too far behind.Yet the performance of Utility Warehouse, which actually improved on its top score last time round, suggests that where energy customer satisfaction is concerned, price isn't the only issue.





Newcomer Ebico, previously known as the Equitable Billing Company, also did well. Ebico is a not-for-profit energy supplier and has only one tariff, so – unlike other suppliers – there is no price difference if you pay quarterly, by monthly direct debit or with a prepayment meter.In its recent investigation into the energy market, the industry regulator Ofgem found that customers with prepayment meters paid around £120 a year more than a direct debit customer using the same amount of energy.Ebico says that its core aim is to 'put people before profits and provide affordable energy for every home'.Our survey proves that high-quality customer service and strong value for money can be just as important as low prices – something the 'big six' can learn from the 'top two'.

BEST SUPPLIER

For the second year running, Utility Warehouse is our top-rated supplier. It scored top marks in all areas where we were able to rate it. Alongside gas and electricity, Utility Warehouse also offers home and mobile phone and ISP services and sends customers a monthly statement covering all the services they take from it.Utility Warehouse's gas and electricity prices aren't the cheapest around – for direct debit dual fuel, Utility Warehouse is around £100 a year more expensive than the cheapest big six supplier in each region. However, its customers don't seem to mind and gave it full marks for value for money.



WORST SUPPLIER

“The worst company I have come across,” was the opinion of one Which? member. Another told felt that: “Npower is useless at sorting out problems.” And yet another member summed up the service that they received from our lowest-rated provider as 'obtuse and inefficient'. This is the second year in a row that Npower has taken the wooden spoon. Although its scores have improved slightly in some aspects of its service, and in spite of its additional investment since last year, it still does poorly in all areas and its overall score has dropped by two per cent since last year.Perhaps most damaging of all, is the fact that, in these tough economic times, Npower got the lowest rating for value for money – an aspect that is more important than ever now.

ONE-STOP SHOP UTILITY WAREHOUSE IS THE BUSINESS




GETTING everything from the same supplier certainly makes things simpler, and the monthly bills are a good way to keep tabs on energy use,” says Mike Smith, a Utility Warehouse gas, electricity, landline and broadband customer. “

But that's not the main reason I've stuck with Utility Warehouse. What I like is its customer service – if you email or call, it is amazingly good.“ They are intelligent, knowledgeable people, who answer questions very well and put you at ease – certainly not the usual call centre experience.”

Mike said that he hasn't had to call Utility Warehouse with any gas or electricity problems in the five years he's been a customer, but explained that he did have some problems with his landline and felt that the company 'bent over backwards' to help him.

On price, Mike said: “It doesn't claim to be the cheapest, and I'm not sure I've saved that much money, but it's good to know that if I need to contact the company about anything then I'll be dealing with good people who know how to treat their customers.”

Could you see yourself associated with the kind of company that gets reviews like this from the independent consumer magazine Which? click here to see how just a few hours a week of recommending these top class services can earn you a good living and more!

TTFN - what a great day!

Company of The Year 2009

By any measure, a FTSE 250 business that is doubling revenues annually is remarkable; to be doing so in the utility sector, by definition mature, is all the more astonishing.
Clearly, Telecom Plus winner of the Company of the Year award, has found an original and effective business model.

The company, where Charles Wigoder, the chief executive, and his family and friends acquired control in 1998, six months after its foundation, is unique in the UK market in offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband and gas and electricity services to its customers on a single bill.
It does not advertise. Rather, new households are recruited to its Utility Warehouse Discount Club by a network of more than 4,000 distributors who are existing users. These word-of-mouth customer ambassadors receive a tiny percentage of the bills paid by every new customer they recruit, in perpetuity, so retain a strong interest in ensuring ongoing customer satisfaction.
Their task is facilitated by a string of plaudits from consumer watchdog magazine Which? which says Telecom Plus is the best household provider of broadband, fixed telephony and energy in the UK.

It buys bulk telecoms capacity at wholesale prices in an oversupplied market and gets its energy from producer Npower, under a deal that transfers the risk of price fluctuations to the provider. In addition, the company supplies businesses, mainly small companies, brought in by its distributors.

It benefits from a tougher economic climate in several ways, says Mr Wigoder. “Many casual jobs no longer exist, overtime opportunities are no longer there, work hours are reduced, so we are seeing record numbers of new distributors” looking to top up their income. Meantime, consumers are keener to grasp opportunities to shave household bills, and improve visibility over their outgoings.

In the year to March 2008, Telecom Plus, which is debt-free, achieved revenues of £186m ($ and net profits of £11.9m. By September last year, it had 227,384 household customers, up 19,000 since end-March, and trends have since accelerated.

The latest spur comes from its CashBack MasterCard, a chargeable payment card which helps households economise. Using the card for purchases at retail chains such as J Sainsbury and Boots gives household a 5 per cent discount offset against their Telecom Plus bills.

Mr Wigoder says the biggest challenge is managing the pace of growth and underpinning it with flawless IT systems. But he has experience. He previously founded the Peoples Phone Company, a virtual operator, which he built from 100,000 customers to 400,000 within 18 months before selling it to Vodafone in 1996.

Since Mr Wigoder and associates control a majority of the equity, “we are looking to create long-term shareholder value rather than near-term management bonuses,” he says. “There is a clear alignment between management and shareholder interests.”

Kindly taken from www.ft.com