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Thursday 31 October 2013

4 Selling lessons of Halloween for 2016


Halloween  now supersedes November the 5th Guy Fawkes Night as the third most popular festival after Christmas and Easter in the UK.

 For many, any spiritual or religious origins of festival are ignored. It is just a time of dressing up and having fun as the dark evenings close in.

Perhaps though, Halloween introduces to small children some of their first experiences of selling to the adult world - The craft of persuasive communication against resistance (albeit compliant resistance)

For example it may be the first time they have actually proactively engaged in a conversation of sorts with strangers beyond their comfort zone; to learn as it were to prospect in life and increase their customer base not just account manage the safety of  close existing friends.

 I guess the night is for some of today’s kids an early introduction to trying out a caution laced alternative close even if the underlying ethics of the of the negotiation are questionable !

“Trick or Treat”

[Trick or treating your buyer in ‘real’  adult life is not advisable but for more ethical closing techniques click here   Dressing up as a ghost or ghoul to visit your buyer  is not advised either ! ]

Maybe from the night they will learn that not every door is opened and you need to persevere when you’re prospecting

As parents and guardians who have spent serious amounts of money on costumes, sweet forfeits, and other paraphernalia recover from the Halloween treks perhaps they can reflect on the selling lessons the children have taken out of the evening.


Tuesday 29 October 2013

7 tips for successful sampling

"Advertising loads the gun but sampling pulls the trigger " so the old saying goes.


Sampling is one of the most effective ways to market.

The principles appear to work as well in Hungary as they do in UK.

 I have illustrated this post with photos of sampling from a recent course I ran in Budapest .

 I observed for the RISKA candy bar.

 For the UK I took photos of a sampling project by Chobani real taste yoghurt I came across near  Clapham Junction , London


Note how the national colours of the Hungarian flag
 are Incorporated into the design
 in the promotional point of sale
and the lovable one person  'pantomime' cow























81 % of consumers say that if they received a sample and liked the product, they would buy it according to a study by Opinion Research Group (ORC) .
        
     1. Sample to prospects rather than existing customers. Rewarding customers who already love your brand will not impact consumption or change brand loyalty. Many companies hunt in their captive market  -such as  their own Facebook pages or websites. Consumers who seek out brands on line are already likely to be buying that brand.


Sampling UK style
Clapham Junction ASDA Car Park
Portable store and Range Rover in Company Colours










       2. Sampling is best employed to generate a trial, so focus on ways to drive prospects to your product.

     
Sampling Hungarian Style RISKA confection bar
Maybe not the right target or the time for this lady !
3. Sample in a relevant environment at the appropriate time .Even though people love free stuff, they may not take your free stuff when you want to give it to them. They would much rather receive it when it makes sense to them. That means anticipating when they will need you and welcome the experience.







Better target here young man with sunglasses in hair with RISKA bar
behind the pantomime cow




 4. Sample as close as possible to the point of use or need. Focus on your target  audience versus trialling for trialling’s sake. Handing people a hand cream as they are walking into their office building could create multiple resistance to trial. Build your campaign approach to encourage trial.


   
     
Sampling cabin for RISKA at Buda Castle, Budapest




Key benefits can be put across in the
conversations with the sampler
   5. Sample and start a conversation.                                                                                               If you want earned media, give someone something for free and an easy way to share his or her opinions with friends on social networks e.g Twitter handles and facebook links , QR code or comments section on your website . 









      For brands still anxious about negative social posts, the law of reciprocity  will come into play. People are much more likely to say something nice when you give them something for free.





  
The Chobani Real had sold out on the shelf 
competitor brands below are left on shelf


       6. Sample and measure. Just getting your product ‘out there’ is merely distribution, not measurement. Measure your sampling effectiveness by looking at the investment you're putting into sampling and the purchase conversion that results.

      7. Sampling doesn't just have to mean handing someone a snack bar to eat; it can mean having your customer experience the essence of your brand
      Visit to part of a training course, a test drive, free software trial, product samples


Result :Pretty much Sold out !
















Sampling September 2014 on the South Bank of London's River Thames  Foster's Radler
















Monday 28 October 2013

Rise of the Ottoman Empire ? Browsing by lounging about (BLA)

Perhaps the Ottoman Empire is set to rise again in 2013. 

Not the Ottoman Empire fronted by Rageh Omaar on the BBC’s recent series  but perhaps the sales of Ottomans ? (settees or sofas).

Customers are moving to more comfortable furniture to make their purchases. Apparently consumers are abandoning their chair and PC set up to the comfort of their sofa/ottoman/settee/couch.


Part of the HSBC poster campaign that greets visitors
 to UK in Gatwick North Terminal

Apparently the word 'sofa' is from Turkish derived from the Arabic word suffa for 'carpet' or 'divan', originating in the Aramaic word sippa for 'mat'.

 The word settee comes from the Old English word, 'setl', which was used to describe long benches with high backs and arms, but is now generally used to describe an upholstered seat.

The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium in collaboration with Google searches for desktop computers were down by 10% in the last quarter compared to the previous year.



More customers are turning to the web to browse  from the comfort of their settee.

Source :BRITISH RETAIL CONSORTIUM
Total on line retail searches up 12%
Tablet searches up 100%
Smart phone searches 58%
On line sales up 13.4% in September
Searches for Overseas companies up 33%
Overseas consumers search for UK retailers up 23%

Apple has  launch its new Tablet offerings  World tablet sales are predicted to explode this year with shipments increasing by over 40 %. Tesco have their new new tablet offering called the Hudl


Related Links

The Ottomans: BBC Series  with Rageh Omaar


Thursday 24 October 2013

Does disloyalty ever Sell? The Universal badge of honour in Selling




You may still wear a conference lapel badge with your company name, you still carry your company business card but gone are the days for many in Selling of wearing company uniforms, company ties, company lapel badges yet there is one universal badge of honour for  all Salespeople:-

LOYALTY

But what happens to loyalty in business when you become a ‘gossip’, a ‘tell tale’, a ‘snitch’, a ‘grass’, a ‘sneak’ or grumbler ?

In our social media selling age , our loyalty is  tested daily  in our posts ‘on  facebook/ Linked In   and  tweets on twitter.

Yet divided loyalties can act as an irresistible pull in us to want to ‘put the record straight ‘.

Captains of Industry often choose to do this by writing or co/writing an autobiography.

Sir Alex won 38 major trophies for Manchester United including

1 Club World Cup
2 Champions Leagues
13 premier leagues
5 FA Cups

One would have thought that Sir Alec Ferguson’s track record  – let alone a Knighthood would be enough of a great record.

 Yet he feels called upon to justify past decisions.

Now that Sir Alex has retired from Manchester United ( he still serves as a director), the final whistle has be blown as a manager. He feels entitled to exchange his infamous verbal hair-dryer to the script of a  ‘whistle-blower.’

“It’s not about settling scores; it’s explaining why we took certain decisions.”

Sir Alex in answer to a question at the launch event of his book.

Sir Alex is respected outside the world of soccer. His experiences of man management will be eagerly read by many in business. His latest autobiography will no doubt be in the Christmas stocking filler of many business executives this year.

His chapter (18) on Psychology I suspect will be read and quoted by many leaders who read his book.

Managing today's sales talents have many parallels with those talents he developed such as Beckham, Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes, Giggs, Cantona and Nistelrooy

He made the front page with a large photograph on the Financial Times of 23/10/13 no less, which no doubt will further help sales of his book for the Christmas season.

He may well headline the lucrative business conference circuit.

Posterity of Business Quotes:

Similar to the American Football coach Vince Lombardi, quotes of Sir Alex will enter business quotations books.( and quite possibly  may have wise words attributed to him that he never actually said !)

Apparently in his latest autobiography he criticises a former captain of Manchester United, Roy Keane which has led to the former Irish star to say

“ I remember having conversations with the manager ( Ferguson) when I was at the club about loyalty, and, in my opinion I don’t think he knows the meaning of the word… To criticise players who brought him a lot of success I find very, very strange.”

Loyalty in business is an especially important quality in selling.

Professional Salespeople need to be loyal and seen to be loyal.

There will be times where your feelings are torn between divided loyalties of you, your boss, your company, and your customer.

 It is not easy when there is such conflict within the various parties.

I came across an old pocket notebook of mine the other day.  I used to record quotes in my little black book which I felt might come in handy for articles and courses. This quote still resonates.

(For younger readers the old imperial weight measurements referred are an ounce = 28.3495 g    and a pound = 453.592 g )

If you work for a boss, for heaven’s sake work for them
Speak well of them and stand by the institution they represent.

Remember an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness

If you must growl, condemn and eternally find fault - why – resign your position, and when you are on the outside, damn to your hearts content, but as long as you are party to the institution , do not condemn it.
Anon



It applies in your loyalty in a  buyer’s office, your company boardroom , a Government Cabinet as much as the changing rooms of professional soccer clubs but maybe not for promoting book sales it seems.

Related Information

My Autobiography by Alex Ferguson is published by Hodder and Stoughton  ISBN 978-0-340-91939-2

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Education the Sales suicide - the dangers of driving a coach and horses through the customer's opinions

Unlike USA Presidents ,Professional Salespeople put themselves up for election every call not  once before the presidency of a second term.

The current unedifying scenes of 'kicking the can down the streets' of Washington in the public/ private negotiations on  Capitol Hill over president Obama’s budget is an excellent example of how business negotiations should not emulate.

 Verbal fiscal fisticuffs such as these are a very high stakes game.

The gamble and the risk to the global economy have significance well beyond the borders of the USA herself.

How you argue matters is  often seen as a measure of  the educated person to some.

Yet Mark Twain viewed  education a cauliflower as merely a 

"cabbage with a college education."

A college education is a wonderful thing .

Learning to argue is a rigorous and robust way to study and test academic  notions.

However it maybe  worth remembering  the American nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis Prager who is quoted as saying

“ One of the great mind destroyers of college education is the belief that if it's very complex, it's very profound.”

 Sometimes such an education is hugely detrimental to otherwise talented sales professionals.

How as well as when you use that education in a sales conversation is critically important.

The customer may not be correct commercially. 

They may not be correct technically but never forget they are the customer .

 They pay for your goods, they pay for your services.  They ‘buy into’ you and me

Coach and horses giving rides at the "Apple Day" at Fulham Palace , London
When handling sales resistance such as price , bad past experience, minor technical objection, resistance to change, ‘happy with present supplier’ avoid the temptation to drive a coach and horses through the client’s opinions.

When you over emphasise the large size of the holes or gaps in their argument as you see them it can feed your competitive spirit

 You may win an argument but likely as not lose the business .

If you really need to expose weak points or "holes" in an argument of a buyer, figuratively drive the horses and carriage very gently through them like the pace of the video link below. Or best of all avoid them altogether

( Click)   Driving a coach and horses


  
Years ago on the Children’s TV programme on the BBC called "Cracker-Jack they held a quiz where children accumulated prizes which they had to hold onto. If they dropped a prize they were out of the game.

If they got a question wrong they were given a cabbage to hold. Three cabbages and you were out.

Will the Republicans drop their cabbages or the President his cauliflowers ? Their educated people on both sides of this argument but maybe some skill-full selling is needed and some prayers.


I guess we will find out this comingThursday


Related links








Saturday 5 October 2013

7 ways to keep your audience interested in your selling speech plus the power of threes


A  “Keep with the plan and battle on team-mates ”  is a tough kind of speech to deliver to your sales team. 

Yet it will be the very  theme for many sales leaders for the next year. We are not out of the woods yet even if there are signs of green shoots.

To those business leaders, managing directors and sales directors who have to give such conference speeches maybe at the end of this year or at kick off events next January  know they may have little new to say in their speech beyond " keep battling on team "and   "the next year will still be tough."

The drive for cost cutting continues , the appeal to continue to dig out new business continues ….

Perhaps  you are looking for ideas for your conference speech or team talks in these times.

To save you some money let alone many hours of preparation time perhaps  the Conference speech 2013 David Cameron at Manchester might prove a useful model to study.

Your drive for profitable business continues whether protecting existing business ,  further cross selling in existing customers or where possible seeking out new prospective business  - a similar challenge for the incumbent PM at his party conference at Manchester at a time when recovery is only just about showing itself.

The structure of the speech was a classic  an  opening – central theme- close format  peppered with the 7 ways to keep up audience interest namely:-anecdotes, analogies, examples, facts and figures, some humour ( wit and a little self deprecation) definitions and quotes.

The speech also employed rhetoric techniques such the rhythmic pattern of threes and parallelism. I have identified their use in the script of the speech to illustrate their effectiveness. Hope you find it helpful.

How you adapt your speech is up to you but this speech but its techniques will perhaps give you some inspiration for your next visit to the podium, lectern or stage.

To ease your study, scroll to the highlighted and bracketed comments – I have used the whole speech !!
This week in Manchester we’ve shown this Party is on the side of hardworking people. (Mention your  conference theme at the outset)
( Use a series of enabling verbs to illustrate the theme  with words ending in –ing)
Helping young people buy their own home.
Getting the long-term unemployed back to work.
Freezing fuel duty.
Backing marriage
Cutting the deficit.
Creating jobs.
Creating wealth.
( first use of many patterns of three)
Make no mistake: it is this Party with the (1) verve, (2) energy and (3) ideas to take our country forward … and I want to thank everyone here for the great week we’ve had. ( Telegraph your thanks to the conference attendees)
( Link attention getter e.g. back in…) When we came to office, we faced a clear and daunting task: to turn our country around.
In May 2010, the needle on the gauge was at crisis point.( use a word picture to make abstract concepts more concrete)
People were talking about this country in a way they had not done for decades.
( Illustrate signs of hope/ progress by –ing words) But three and a half years later, we are beginning to turn the corner.
The deficit is falling.
Our economy is growing.
The numbers of our fellow countrymen and women in work are rising.
(Be optimistic but realistic)
We are not there yet, not by a long way.
But, my friends, we are on our way.
I want to thank the people who have done the most to get us this far.
You. The British people.
( Your audience may not just be in the room  if the speech is being recorded or broadcast so relate to audience both in and beyond the room in this speech 1 The British people and 2 British Business)
( use –ing words to resonate with their experience of what they have been going through- it’s shows you ‘get them’) )Never giving up. Working those extra hours. Coping with those necessary cuts.
You. British business. You kept people on in the hard times. Invested before you knew for certain that things were getting better.
Together – we are clearing up the mess that Labour left.
(Use of telegraphed  rhetorical question as attention getter – note how the question is unravelled in stages- first in its simplest form  and then expanded forms)
But I have a simple question, to the people in this hall and beyond it.
Is that enough? (First part iteration of question – simplest and basic from)
Is it enough that we just clear up Labour’s mess and think ‘job done’? ( Fuller version of question) Is it enough to just fix what went wrong? ( Extended question)
I say – no. Not for me. ( Answering your own rhetorical question)
This isn’t job done ; it is job begun.
 ( It  isn’t ‘x’ ; is ‘y’)
I didn’t come into politics just to fix what went wrong, but to build something right.
(I didn’t come into politics /business to do just do ‘x’ but ‘y’.  Telegraph your values and dreams as their leader)
We in this party – we don’t dream of deficits and decimal points and dry fiscal plans … our dreams are about helping people get on in life … aspiration, opportunity … these are our words, our dreams.
( Share your mission)
So today I want to talk about our one, abiding mission … I believe it is the great Conservative mission … that as our economy starts to recover … we build a land of opportunity in our country today.
Now, I know, it’ll be tough.
( Share your faith in your team)
But I know we’ve got what it takes in this Party.
(Share your positive mental attitude)
Some people say “can’t be done” – Conservatives say “what’s to stop us?”
(Illustrations and proofs name your team – give examples of their great work)
They said we couldn’t get terrorists out of our own country.
Well – Theresa knew otherwise ... and that’s why Abu Qatada had his very own May Day this year ... didn’t it feel good seeing him get on that plane?
Some people said the NHS wasn’t safe in our hands.
Well – we knew otherwise.
Who protected spending on the NHS? Not Labour – us.
Who started the Cancer Drugs Fund? Not Labour – us.
And by the way – who presided over Mid Staffs … patients left for so long without water, they were drinking out of dirty vases ... people’s grandparents lying filthy and unwashed for days.
Who allowed that to happen? Yes, it was Labour ... and don’t you dare lecture anyone on the NHS again.
And some people say a lot of things on Europe.
(Patterns of three)
(1)You’ll never be able to veto an EU treaty.
(2)You’ll never cut the Budget.
And if you did these things –  (3) you’d have no allies in Europe.
Well we’ve proved them wrong.
(Balancing pattern of three)
(1). I vetoed that treaty …(2.) I got Britain out of the EU bail-out scheme … and yes –(3. )cut that budget.
And in doing all this, we haven’t lost respect – we’ve won allies to get powers back from Europe.
That is what we will do ... and at the end of it – yes – we will give the British people their say in a referendum.
That is our pledge. It will be your choice: in or out.
BRITAIN IN THE WORLD
And friends, you know what someone said about us recently?
Apparently some Russian official said: Britain is “just a small island that no one pays any attention to.”
Really?
Let me just get this off my chest.
 ( List of proof answers to rhetorical questions)
When the world wanted rights, who wrote Magna Carta?
When they wanted representation, who built the first Parliament?
When they looked for compassion, who led the abolition of slavery?
When they searched for equality, who gave women the vote? (The Russian revolution may have given women voting rights I think – anyhow the point here is check with people you know who have the facts!)
( Use phrases of the good and great e.g. Winston Churchill “We will never surrender” from World War 2 blood soil and sweat)
When their freedom was in peril, who offered blood, toil, tears and sweat?
And today – whose music do they dance to?
Whose universities do they flock to?
Whose football league do they watch?
Whose example of tolerance … of people living together from every nation, every religion, young and old, straight and gay … whose example do they aspire to?
( Double punchline)
I haven’t even got on to the fact that this small island beat Russia (1st punch line) in the Olympics last year … or that the biggest-selling vodka brand in the world isn’t Russian, it’s British – Smirnoff – made in Fife (2nd punch line) … so yes, we may be a small island … but I tell you what, we’re a great country.
(After laugh get serious straightaway to maintain leader image)
But I want to make a serious point about our place in the world.
Following that vote on Syria in the House of Commons, some people said it was time for Britain to rethink our role.
I’m sorry – but I don’t agree.
If we shrunk from the world we would be less safe and less prosperous.
(Patterns of three)
 (1) The role we play,  (2) the organisations we belong to ... and yes – (3) the fact our defence budget remains the 4th largest in the world ... all this is not about national vanity – it’s about our national interest.
(Patterns of three)
When British citizens – our (1)fathers, (2)mothers, (3)daughters – are in danger ... whether that’s in the deserts of Algeria or the city of Nairobi … then combating international terrorism – it matters to us.
When five of the world’s fastest growing economies are African … then trading with Africa – and yes helping Africa to develop with aid – that matters to us.
And at the heart of all this work – the finest Foreign Secretary I could ask for: William Hague.
Around the world, we really do matter as a United KingdomEngland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The date of the referendum has been set. The decision is for Scotland to make.
(Patterns of three)
All the arguments about our (1) economy,(2) jobs, (3)currency – I believe they make an unanswerable case for the UK.
But today I want a more simple message to go out to all the people of Scotland.
From us here in this hall, from me, from this party, from this country, from England, Wales, Northern Ireland … and it’s this:
We want you to stay.
We want to stick together.
Think of all we’ve achieved together – the things we can do together.
The nations – as one.
Our Kingdom – United.
For 12 years now, men and women from all parts of these islands have been serving their country in Afghanistan.
Next year, the last of our combat troops will be coming home ... having trained up the Afghans to look after their own country.
More than a decade of war.
Sacrifice beyond measure – from the finest and bravest armed forces in the world.
And I want us to stand, to raise the roof in here, to show just how proud of those men and women we are.
( Use of link back – Thatcher times)
THATCHER
We in this room are a team.
And this year, we said goodbye to one of our team.
Margaret Thatcher made our country stand tall again, at home and abroad.
Rescuing our economy. Giving power to our people. Spreading home ownership. Creating work. Winning the Cold War. Saving the Falklands.
I asked her about her record once.
I was sitting next to her at a dinner – and I was really nervous.
As ever she was totally charming, she put me at ease ... but after a while I said: “Margaret, if you had your time in Government again, is there anything you’d do differently?”
And she turned to me and said: “You know, I think I did pretty well the first time around.”
Well we can all agree with that – and we can all agree on this ... she was the greatest peacetime Prime Minister our country has ever had.
LABOUR’S MESS
Margaret Thatcher had an almighty mess to clear up when she came to office … and so did we.
We will never forget what we found.
The biggest Budget deficit in our peacetime history.
The deepest recession since the Second World War.
But it wasn’t just the debt and deficit Labour left … it was who got hurt. 
( Mix in emotional triggers with the ‘drier’ factual material)
Millions coming here from overseas while millions of British people were left on welfare.
The richest paying lower tax rates than their cleaners.
Unsustainable, debt-fuelled banks booming – while manufacturing withered away.
The North falling further behind.
Towns where a quarter of people lived on benefits.
Schools where 8 out of 10 children didn’t get five decent GCSEs.
Yes, they were famously “intensely relaxed” about people getting filthy rich … but tragically, they were also “intensely relaxed” about people staying stuck on welfare year after year ... “intensely relaxed” about children leaving school without proper qualifications so they couldn’t hope to get a job at the end of it.
That was it.
That was what they left.
(Pattern of threes)
The (1) casino economy meets the (2) welfare society meets the (3) broken education system ... a country for the few built by the so-called party of the many … and Labour: we will never let you forget it.
OUR MISSION
These past few years have been a real struggle.
But what people want to know now is: was the struggle worth it?
And here’s the honest answer.
The struggle will only be worth it if we as a country finish the job we’ve started.
Finishing the job means understanding this.
Our economy may be turning the corner – and of course that’s great.
But we still haven’t finished paying for Labour’s Debt Crisis.
If anyone thinks that’s over, done, dealt with – they’re living in a fantasy land.
This country’s debt crisis, created by Labour, is not over.
After three years of cuts, we still have one of the biggest deficits in the world.
We are still spending more than we earn.
We still need to earn more and yes, our Government still needs to spend less.
I see that Labour have stopped talking about the debt crisis and now they talk about the cost of living crisis.
As if one wasn’t directly related to the other.
If you want to know what happens if you don’t deal with a debt crisis ... and how it affects the cost of living ... just go and ask the Greeks.
(Confirming the point)
So finishing the job means sticking to our course until we’ve paid off all of Labour’s deficit, not just some of it.
And yes – let’s run a surplus so that this time we fix the roof when the sun is shining ( allude to commonsense proverb and link to previous speaker’s points) ... as George said in that brilliant speech on Monday.
To abandon deficit reduction now would throw away all the progress we’ve made.
It would put us back to square one.
Unbelievably, that’s exactly what Labour now want to do.
How did they get us into this mess?
(Patterns of three)
(1)Too much spending, (2) too much borrowing, (3) too much debt.
And what did they propose last week?
(Balancing pattern of three )
(1)More spending,(2) more borrowing,(3) more debt.
They have learned nothing – literally nothing – from the crisis they created.
But finishing the job is about more than clearing up the mess we were left.
It means building something better in its place.
(Pattern of three)
(1)In place of the casino economy, one where people who work hard can actually get on.
(2)In place of the welfare society, one where no individual is written off.
(3)In place of the broken education system, one that gives every child the chance to rise up and succeed.
Our economy, our society, welfare, schools … all reformed, all rebuilt – with one aim, one mission in mind:
To make this country, at long last and for the first time ever, a land of opportunity for all.
For all.
So it makes no difference whether you live in the North or in the South, whether you’re black or you’re white, a man or a woman, the school you went to, the background you have, who your parents were … what matters is the effort you put in, and if you put the effort in you’ll have the chance to make it.
That’s what the land of opportunity means. ( Repeat the vision)
That’s what finishing the job means.
Of course I know that others in politics may talk about these things.
But wishing for something, caring about something – that’s not enough.
You can’t conjure up a dynamic economy, a strong society, fantastic schools all with the stroke of a minister’s pen.
(Pattern of three)
It takes a mixture of (1) hard work, (2) common sense and – above all – (3)the right values.
When the left say: you can’t expect too much from the poorest kids; don’t ask too much from people on welfare; business is the problem, not the solution … Here in this party we say: that’s just wrong.
If you expect nothing of people that does nothing for them.
Yes, you must help people – but you help people by putting up ladders that they can climb through their own efforts.
(Use of parallelism e.g. you don’t do this …but you dodo this))
(1)You don’t help children succeed by dumbing down education … you help them by pushing them hard.
Good education is not about equality of outcomes but bringing the best out of every single child.
(2)You don’t help people by leaving them stuck on welfare … but by helping them stand on their own two feet.
Why? Because the best way out of poverty is work – and the dignity that brings.
We know that profit, wealth creation, tax cuts, enterprise ... these are not dirty, elitist words – they’re not the problem ... they really are the solution because it’s not government that creates jobs, it’s businesses … it’s businesses that get wages in people’s pockets, food on their tables, hope for their families and success for our country.
( Repeating the Mission)
There is no shortcut to a land of opportunity. No quick fix. No easy way to do it.
(Pattern of three)
You build it (1) business by business,(2) school by school,(3) person by person …
 [Alliterative threes]
(1) patiently, (2)practically, (3) painstakingly.
And underpinning it all is that deep, instinctive belief that if you trust people and give them the tools, they will succeed.
( Pattern of three followed by  a parallel This fact not that fact)
This party at its heart is about big people, strong communities, responsible businesses, a bigger society – not a bigger state.

It’s how we’ve been clearing up the mess.
And it’s how we’re going to build something better in its place.
So let’s stick with it and finish the job we’ve started.
ECONOMY
(Mission repeated)
 A land of opportunity starts in our economy.
(Pattern of three)
The chance  (1)to get a decent job. (2)To start a business. (3)To own a home.
And at the end of it all – more money in your pocket.
To get decent jobs for people, you’ve got to recognise some fundamental economic facts.
We are in a global race today. No one owes us a living.
Last week, our ambition to compete in the global race was airily dismissed as a race to the bottom ... that it means competing with China on sweatshops and India on low wages.
(pattern of three)
No – those countries are becoming our customers … and we’ve got to compete with (1) California on innovation; (2) Germany on high-end manufacturing; (3) Asia on finance and technology.
And here’s something else you need to recognise about this race.
The plain fact is this.
All those global companies that employ lots of people – they can set up anywhere in the world.
(Pattern of three)
They could go to (1) Silicon Valley. To  (2)Berlin.
And yes, here in (3) Manchester.
And these companies base their decisions on some simple things: like the tax rates in each country.
So if those taxes are higher here than elsewhere, they don’t come here.
And if they don’t come here, we don’t get those jobs.
Do you get that, Labour?
British people don’t get those jobs.
Last week Labour proposed to put up corporation tax on our biggest and most successful employers.
(Pattern of three)
That is just about the (1)most damaging, (2)nonsensical, (3) twisted economic policy you could possibly come up with.
I get to visit some amazing factories in my job.
( Shared experience story)
One of my favourites is Jaguar Land Rover ... not just because they actually let me get in a car and drive it around on my own ... but really because I get to meet people there who are incredibly proud of their work and their craftsmanship ... the fact that what they’re making sells around the world – the best of British design and engineering.
So when Ed Miliband talks about the face of big business, I think about the faces of these hardworking people.
Labour is saying to their employers: “we want to put up your taxes … don’t come here – stick your jobs and take them elsewhere”.
I know that bashing business might play to a Labour audience.
But it’s crazy for our country.
So if Labour’s plan for jobs is to attack business – ours is to back business.
Regulation – down. Taxes – cut for businesses large and small. A new industrial policy that looks to the future –
(Pattern of three)
(1)     green jobs,(2) aerospace jobs,(3) life science jobs.
(Factual attention getter)
We’ve made a good start: 1.4 million new jobs created in our private sector since we came to office ... and that is 1.4 million reasons to finish the job we’ve started.
( Mission repeated)
 In a land of opportunity, it’s easier to start your own business.
To all those people who strike out on their own, who sit there night after night ... checking and double checking whether the numbers stack up ... I say I have so much respect for you – you are national heroes.
( personal / human story)
I’ll never forget watching Samantha do just that – winning her first customer, sorting out the cash flow, that magic moment when she got her first business cards printed.
I was incredibly proud of her then – and I am incredibly proud of her now.
People setting up new businesses need finance – that’s why we’ve brought in Start-up Loans.
( Factual attention getters numbers, percentages, dimensions etc)
They need their taxes cut – and we’re doing it   up to £2000 off your National Insurance bill for every small business.
And it’s working.
Let me tell you how many businesses have started up in Britain since the election: over 300,000 … that is 300,000 more reasons to finish the job we’ve started.
In a land of opportunity, more people must be able to own a home of their own.
( Familiar Quotes / sayings)
You know that old saying, your home is your castle?
Well for most young people today, their home is their landlord’s.
( Pun on the letter ‘Y’  and Why  This could be adapted to customer  / user segments  Gen X Gen Y etc)
 Generation Y is starting to become Generation Why Do We Bother?
Millions of them stuck renting when they’re desperate to buy.
( Use of story to illustrate a point)
I met a couple on Sunday – Emily and James.
They’d both had decent jobs, but because they didn’t have rich parents, they couldn’t get a big enough deposit to buy a house.
And let me tell you where I met them.
In their new home, bought with our Help to Buy mortgage scheme.
It was still half built … but they showed me where the kitchen would be.
Outside there was rubble all over the ground, but they’d already bought a lawnmower.
And they talked about how excited they were to be spending a first Christmas in a home of their own.
That is what we’re about … and this, the party of aspiration is going to finish the job we’ve started.
In a land of opportunity there’s another thing people need … the most important thing of all … more money in their pockets.
These have been difficult years.
People have found it hard to make ends meet.
That’s why we’ve frozen council tax … and why we are freezing fuel duty.
But we need to do more. I know that.
We’ve heard Labour’s ideas to help with the cost of living.
Taxes on banks they want to spend ten times over.
Promising free childcare – then saying that actually, you’ve got to pay for it.
An energy promise they admitted 24 hours later they might not be able to keep.
It’s all sticking plasters and quick fixes ... cobbled together for the TV cameras.
Red Ed and his Blue Peter economy.
To raise living standards in the long-term, you need to do some major things: you need to cut the deficit to keep mortgage rates low ... you need to grow your economy, get people jobs ... and yes – cut people’s taxes.
I want people to keep more of their money.
(Facts and figures)
We’ve already cut the taxes of 25 million hardworking people ... and yes – that is 25 million more reasons to finish the job we’ve started.
We’re Tories. We believe in low taxes. And believe me – we will keep on cutting the taxes of hardworking people. (reiterate your conference theme)
NORTH SOUTH
And here in Manchester let me say this: when I say a land of opportunity for all I mean everyone – North and South.
This country has been too London-centric for far too long.
That’s why we need a new North-South railway line.
The fact is this.
The West Coast mainline is almost full.
We have to build a new railway … and the choice is between another old-style Victorian one – or a high speed one.
Just imagine if someone had said, no, we can’t build the M1, or the Severn Bridge, imagine how that would be hobbling our economy today.
HS2 is about bringing North and South together in our national endeavour.
Because think of what more we could do with the pistons firing in all parts of our country.
(Patterns of three)
With its wind and wave power, let’s make the Humber the centre of clean energy.
With its resources under the ground, let’s make Blackpool the centre of Europe for the shale gas industry.
With its brains and research centres, let’s make Manchester the world leader in advanced materials.
We’re building an economy for the North and South, embracing new technologies, producing things and selling them to the world.
So make no mistake who’s looking forward in British politics ... we’ll leave the 1970s-style socialism to others ... we are the party of the future.
We’re making progress.
( Intriguing rhetorical question)
You know how I know that?
 It’s every week, at Prime Minister’s Questions.
There was a time when I’d look across to Ed Balls, and there he was, shouting his head off, and doing this with his hands – screaming out the economy was flat-lining … and all with such glee.
But recently, it’s gone a bit quiet.
Could it be because there was no double dip and the economy’s now growing?
Well, I’ve got a gesture of my own for Ed Balls … and don’t worry – it’s not a rude one …
(Pattern of three)
..(1) jobs are up … (2)construction is up …(3) manufacturing is up ... inward investment … retail sales … homebuilding ... business confidence … consumer confidence – all these things are up.
And to anyone who wants to talk our economy down, let me tell you this.
Since this conference began, over 100,000 jet planes have soared into the sky on wings made in Britain.
Every single day in this country, over 4,000 cars are coming off the production line – ready to be exported around the globe.
(Factual attention grabber)
Last year, Britain overtook France as Germany's top trading partner ... not bad for a nation of shopkeepers.
 ( Historical reference quote to Napoleon – Britain a nation of shopkeepers)
And that’s the point.
( Examples a plenty and repetition of positive e.g. Up repeated three times!)
Exports to China are up … Exports to Brazil are up … exports to India, Russia, Thailand, South Korea, Australia – all up.
So let us never forget the cast-iron law of British politics ... Yes – the oceans can rise … and empires can fall … but one thing will never, ever change … it’s Labour who wreck our economy and it’s we Conservatives who clear it up.
EDUCATION
A land of opportunity means educating our children – and I mean all our children.
It’s OK for the children who have parents reading them stories every night – and that’s great … but what about the ones at the back of the class, in the chaotic home, in the home of the drug addict or alcoholic?
We need these children – and frankly they need us.
That’s why three and a half years ago, one man came into the Department of Education … Michael Gove, there he is ... with a belief in excellence and massive energy ... like a cross between Mr Chips and the Duracell bunny.
( analogy traditional educational values and endurance)
Let’s look at the results.
More students studying proper science.
More children learning a foreign language.
We’ve ended the dumbing down in exams.
For the first time – children in our schools will learn the new language of computer coding.
And we’re sending a clear message to children: if you fail English and maths GCSE, you’re going to have to take and retake them again until you pass.
Because as I tell my own children – there’s not a job in the world where you don’t need to spell and add up properly.
But ultimately – really raising standards means innovation, choice … it means giving passionate people the freedom to run our schools.
That’s what Free Schools are all about.
( Story to illustrate)
I’ll never forget sitting in the classroom at Perry Beeches III in Birmingham, on the first day of term this year.
I met a mum there who said to me – this is what I’ve dreamed of for my child ... proper uniforms, high standards ... this is going to give my child a good start in life.
When Michael Howard asked me what job I wanted in the Shadow cabinet I said education ... because this is the kind of thing I came into politics to bring about.
You want to know something totally extraordinary about free schools?
Labour’s official policy is to be against them ... but – get this – Labour MPs are backing them in their local area.
And not just any Labour MPs.
I promise I’m not making this up ... the Shadow Education Secretary – Stephen Twigg – has backed one in his own city.
Unbelievable.
And isn’t that always the way with the Left?
They don’t like privilege – unless of course it’s for their own children.
Well we in this Party are ambitious for all our children ... and we’ve got to finish the job we started.
We’ve already got technical colleges run by great companies like JCB ... I say: let’s have one of those colleges in every single major town.
( Facts and figures)
We’ve had a million apprenticeships start with this Government ... now we want a new expectation: as you leave school you have a choice – go to university or do an apprenticeship.
And while we’ve still got children leaving primary school not reading, writing and adding up properly ... let us set this ambition for our country: let’s eliminate illiteracy and give every one of those children a chance.
And friends as we do all this, we’re remembering the most vulnerable children of all.
There are thousands of children every year who grow up in homes where nappies – and bedclothes – go unchanged ... and where their cries of pain go unheard.
These children just need the most basic opportunity of all: a loving family.
Two years ago I told you about our determination to speed up adoption ... and this past year, we saw record numbers finding permanent, loving homes.
4000 children adopted ... that is 4000 more reasons to finish the job we’ve started.
And as we keep on with this, we remember who is on the front line.
I have to make some tough decisions in my job ... but none as tough as whether to break up a family and rescue a child ... or try and stitch that family back together.
Social work is a noble and vital calling.
(Personal story – evidence of real experience)
I’ll never forget how after my son Ivan was born, a social worker sat patiently in our kitchen and told us about the sort of help we might need.
This Government has helped get some of the brightest graduates into teaching ... and we have pledged to do the same for social work ... now let us, in this hall, hear it for Britain’s social workers who are doing such an important job in our country today.
WELFARE
( reiterate mission)
The land of opportunity needs one final thing: welfare that works.
We know how badly things went wrong.
Our fellow citizens working every hour of every day to put food on the table ask this: why should my taxes go to
(Patterns of three)
(1)people who could work but don’t?
Or to  (2)those who live in homes that hardworking people could never afford?
Or to (3) people who have no right to be here in the first place?
I say this to the British people: you have every right to be angry about a system that is unfair and unjust – and that’s why we are sorting it out.
(Patterns of three)
(1)We’ve capped welfare. (2) We’ve capped housing benefit. (3)We’ve insisted on new rules so that if you reject work, you lose benefits.
And let’s be absolutely clear.
As Boris said in that great speech yesterday, the problems in our welfare system and the problems in our immigration system are inextricably linked.
If we don’t get our people back to work – we shouldn’t be surprised if millions want to come here to work.
But we must act on immigration directly too – and we are.
Capping immigration. Clamping down on the bogus colleges.
And when the Immigration Bill comes before Parliament, we will make sure some simple and fair things, that should have always been the case, are now set in stone.
( If …then parallelism)
If you are not entitled to our free National Health Service, (If…then – implied)you should pay for it.
If you have no right to be here, (If…then – implied)you cannot rent a flat or a house. Not off the council, not off anyone else.
(When…then parallelism)
When you are a foreign prisoner fighting deportation,  (When…then  implied)you should pay your own legal bills.
If you appeal – you must do it from your own country, after you’ve been deported, not from here.
And on these huge, national problems we are making progress.
Immigration has come down.
On welfare: not only are there more people in work than ever before … the number of households where no one works is at its lowest rate since records began … and I want to thank the most determined champion for social justice this Party has ever had: Iain Duncan Smith.
Iain understands that this isn’t about fixing systems, it’s about saving lives … and that’s why we’ve got to finish the job we’ve started.
( Facts and Figures to maintain attention)
There are still over a million young people not in education, employment, or training.
Today it is still possible to leave school, sign on, find a flat, start claiming housing benefit and opt for a life on benefits.
It’s time for bold action here.
We should ask, as we write our next manifesto, if that option should really exist at all.
(Keep it Simple Salesman KISS principle Go, Go, Do and Get)
Instead we should give young people a clear, positive choice: Go to school. Go to college. Do an apprenticeship. Get a job.
But just choose the dole? We’ve got to offer them something better than that.
And let no one paint ideas like this as callous.
Think about it: with your children, would you dream of just leaving them to their own devices, not getting a job, not training, nothing?
No – you’d nag and push and guide and do anything to get them on their way … and so must we.
So this is what we want to see: everyone under 25 – earning or learning. ( rhyming slogan and phrases)
And you know – on this, as on everything else, Labour will fight us … but remember: we are giving people real opportunities.
(Use of quotes)
I’ve had people say to me “I’m back on my feet” ... “I feel worthwhile.”
One wrote to me saying: now I can tell my son his Dad really does something.
This is what our Party is all about.
We don’t patronise people, put a benefit cheque in their hand and pat them on the head.
We look people in the eye as equals and say: yes, you’ve been down – but you’re not out … you can do it, you have it in you, we will give you that chance.
And that’s why we can say today that it’s this Party that is fighting for all those who were written off by Labour … it’s this Party that’s for the many not the few … Yes – the land of despair was Labour … but the land of hope is Tory.
We have done some big things to transform Britain.
But we need to finish the job we’ve started.
We need to go further, do more for hardworking people ... give more children a chance, back more businesses, help create more jobs.
And I’m clear about how that job will best get done.
( Use of pattern of threes plus telegraphed extra one – note the ‘and yes’ helps to spotlight the killer point – in this case delivery ( Government) rather than promisises ( opposition)
It requires a strong Government, with a clear mandate, that is accountable for what it promises and yes, what it delivers. And let me tell everyone here what that means.
When the election comes, we won’t be campaigning for a coalition ... we will be fighting heart and soul for a majority Conservative Government – because that is what our country needs.
CONCLUSION
You don’t do this job to be popular.
You do it because you love your country.
I do the best I can. And for me, it comes back to some simple things.
(“ it comes back to me “ is the signposting of the summary close of critical arguments of the speech. This is more powerful than saying “ to conclude or to summarise” when audiences tend to switch off)
( Pattern of threes)
(1)Country first. (2) Do what’s decent. (3)Think long-term.
( Illustration of long term thinking proverb ‘ from Little acorns mighty oaks grow’
Also resonates party oak tree symbol and oak tree modified union flag )
( Story to illustrate the proverb to get across the importance of planning and long term thinking)
 There’s an old story that’s told about a great hall in Oxford, near my constituency.
For hundreds of years it’s stood there – held up with vast oak beams.
In the 19th century, those beams needed replacing.
And you know what they found?
500 years before, someone had thought … those beams will need replacing one day … so they planted some oak trees.
( Telegraph to audience to reflect on the point by ‘think about that”)
Just think about that.
(patterns of three then link to reflection point)
1.        Centuries had passed …
2.        Columbus had reached America
3.        Gravity had been discovered … and when those oaks were needed, they were ready.
( Use of quotation and link back )
Margaret Thatcher once said: “We are in the business of planting trees for our children and grandchildren or we have no business being in politics at all.”
That is what we are doing today.
( Use of proverb making do and mending and then extending it to be contemporary)
Not just making do and mending … but making something better.
Since I got to my feet, almost a hundred children have been born across this country.
(A fact relating to time and emotional – babies born particularly appeals to family and home makers)
Children of wealth – and children of none.
Children of parents in work – and children of parents out of work.
For every single one of those newborn babies let us pledge today that we will build something better … a land of opportunity. ( reiteration of mission)
A country built on that enduring principle, seared in our hearts, that if you work hard, save, play by the rules and do your fair share – then nothing should stand in your way.
(patterns of three)
(1) A new economy.
(2) A new welfare system.
(3) A new set of values in our schools.
Not just fixing the mess we inherited – but building something better.
We’ve got a year and a half ‘til that election ... a year and a half until Britain makes a choice: move forward to something better or go back to something worse … but I believe that if this party fights with all we have, then this country will make the right choice.
Because we always have before.
Whenever we’ve had the choice of giving in to some shabby compromise or pushing forward to something better we’ve said: this is Great Britain … the improbable hero of history …
(Patterns of three)
(1) the country that doesn’t give in, (2) that doesn’t give up … (3) that knows there’s no such thing as destiny – only our determination to succeed.
So I look to our future and I’m confident.

There are battles to fight but beyond this hall are the millions of hardworking people who renew the great in Great Britain every day … in the way
(patterns of three)
(1)     they work and (2)the way they give and (3)raise their families.
(Final pattern of threes preceding final repetition of mission )
These are the people we have alongside us ... together we've made it this far ... together we’ll finish the job we’ve started ... together we’ll build that land of opportunity.