Selling speeches David Cameron’s Aspiration Nation , Milliband's One nation

Following the speeches from the London 2012 Olympics ,this autumn's  party political conference season has also coincided with the USA Presidential race with their speeches.

WE have a wonderful speech resource library available on You tube to study.
 


The "S" word was even mentioned !

The Prime Minister  stressed

“….We are selling to the world again….

Last year the rate of new business creation was greater than any period over the last 40 years...

Trade surplus in Cars...

"...When I became Prime Minister I said to the Foreign Office 'Those embassies you’ve got,turn them into

showrooms for our cars,

department stores for our fashion,  

technology hubs for our start ups

Yes you are diplomats the best on the globe but you also need to be our country’s sales force."

Exports are up

25% to Brazil        40% to China          80% to Russia ..............."



Channel 4 use word cloud to scrutinise speeches
 e.g. above Chancellor George Osborne's speech
 at Conservative Party Conference 2012
In checking the content and balance of a business presentation
 you could check the balance of words using a word cloud program.
Are the key words emphasised enough to your audience
 in your business presentation content

The TV news programmes both sides of the Atlantic have also given us their analysis, scrutinising the speeches and  offered expert body language interpretation etc..

For the purposes of study these speeches are useful learning to hone our own business presentations and sales conference contributions.

Sales leaders will have models to study which could well help them with speeches to their company sales conferences, trade bodies and ideas for team 'pep' talks.
 
Our political biases and prejudices will of course come into play as to how effective we feel one politician has been compared to another but putting that aside (which I accept is difficult)  we have seen a wide array of different styles , speech construction , delivery and content to study.

In the UK political party conference season we have seen speeches given to a particular audience ( the party members and activists) but directed also to audiences beyond the hall  e.g. the markets, the floating voters, the political correspondents etc.

Similarly in the USA the speeches during the race to the White House were delivered in different  locations ( 'Hello Massachusetts / Ohio ' etc.) and beyond through TV to appeal to the swing states through to the TV audience in the gladiatorial debates.

In Brighton, UK Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal leader Nick Clegg chose to finish his conference by speaking in the round  amongst his audience.  (Scroll down for Video clip)

His tricky objective was to communicate strategy of his party

The Labour Party  leader Ed Milliband chose to speak with no notes  for an hour  for his  informal "Benjamin Disraeli One nation" speech  (Scroll down for video clip)

His objective to establish what his values were -his credentials  were and that he is a heavyweight - an intellectual.

We have seen President Barak Obama in his eloquent delivery  making his confident entrances , fluid use of teleprompter, the fixed eye 4 second contact , followed by the re-direction of eye sweep plus using pauses. Then at the first TV debate becoming unstuck.

 

Mit Romney's business  administrator executive style and executive language and then a change of presentation tactics at the first TV debate.

 

We have seen different styles of personal appearance  from  formal neck ties and dark suits to casual  no ties and chinos , from behind lecterns to  walk around with no notes  .

Prime Minister David Cameron chose to present  the statesman style - at the lectern battling with the realities and responsibilities of Government and the country's debt but with the message of inspired striving.

So what does this all have to do with selling ?

Sometimes the objective of your business presentation as for the political leaders will be to ‘PERSUADE’ your audience . For this you'll need to be aware of the factors that persuade your audience to take action.

The motivating forces which influence your audiences can be broadly grouped under two headings which are:-

Business Motivators (Rational)	Personal Motivators (Emotional)
Gain	Pleasure
Saving	Loyalty
Utility	Ego
Safety	Envy
Security Functionality	Fear Sentiment

MOTIVATION

These persuasive or ‘motivational’ factors can be classified as either rational or emotional.

Your Audience ‘Wants’

Whatever the nature of your presentation, you will increase your chances of success if you appeal to both the rational and emotional motivators of your audience.

All audiences want something from a presentation, though they may not even be aware of what it is they want.

Here are some of the most common ‘Audience Wants’:

·         to learn something e.g. Who is Ed / Dave/ Nick/ Boris !

·         to gain or save money    e.g. There will /will not be a mansion tax

·         to feel pleased or proud -  e.g.the London 2012 Olympic kudos

·         to improve their health or lifestyle e.g. The NHS is safe/or not in our/their hands

·         to increase their security e.g Armed forces, Police,  defending your home and family...

An important part of the preparation of your presentation is to find out what the ‘wants’ of your audience are.  Then you must prepare a presentation which satisfies those ‘wants’.

This is not as simple as it seems because every audience will consist of individuals, or groups of individuals, who each have different ‘wants’ and sometime different agendas.

  Your challenge is to persuade the whole of your audience and you will only do this if you address the differing ‘wants’ of everybody in that audience.
 

For example if you were to present your reorganisation proposals to a Board of Directors, the Managing Director will want to know its effect on profitability; the HR Director will want to know its effect on the staff; whereas the individuals concerned may need to be reassured that their jobs are safe.

Tell your audience what your proposal, service or product does, rather than just describe it in detail.

‘YOU APPEAL’

There is one extra ingredient which can make the difference between success and failure.  In many presentations bland statements are made which sound impressive but have little impact on the audience:

“We are a multi-national company”

“We are a small, flexible company”

For some in audience will be thinking so what ?! what does that mean to me (us)?!

These statements above must be taken further to show how the facts benefit your audience.  One way to ensure you do this is to add the words “..which means that ...”

Your statements then become:

          “We are a multi-national company which means that you can get immediate service no matter where in the world your factories are situated.”

          “We are a small, flexible company which means that you can have a quick reaction to orders and you do not lose production waiting for delivery.

Whatever the presentation, ensure it is geared towards the interests of your audience.  TACK International refer to this as ‘You Appeal’ and you must constantly seek to increase the amount of ‘You Appeal’ in the presentations you give.

Whatever your subject, try to involve the audience by making them part of the situation rather than outsiders.  Change as many of the ‘I’s’ and ‘We’s’ in your presentations to ‘You’ and ‘Yours’.  It will not come naturally; you will have to work at it.

Remember that in any presentation:

YOU we i

‘You’ is the most important word

· ‘We’ (the presenter and their audience) is the next most important word

· ‘I’ is the least important word.

Incorporate as many audience ‘wants’ and benefits, and as much ‘You Appeal’ as you can into your presentations and you will be guaranteed more successful business presentations.
 

INSPIRATION

Some business presentations will be made with the objective of inspiring your audience.

If you wish to inspire your audience in your presentation you must show that you feel strongly about your subject. Your enthusiasm and excitement must be clear to your audience.
 

At the close of your presentation, don’t lose sight of your objective - to get your audience to do something because they have been inspired. Tell them what they must do and give them a clear direction as to the action required.


Related Links on Presentations

Tips to control nerves  at business presentations

http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/6-ways-to-converting-nervousness-into.html

Use of VOICE in Effective Business Presentations

http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/effective-use-of-your-voice-in-your.html

Tips on resenting with PowerPoint in business

http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/crafty-tips-for-better-powerpoint.html

Presentation Skills

Video Clips of the Politicians and their varied style and content

Ed Milliband speech clip with no ‘No notes’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2012/oct/02/ed-miliband-speech-labour-conference-video   David Cameron 's speech within the BBC report by Brian Wheeler http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19890459      Nick Clegg  speaking in the round surrounded by the audience  http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2012/sep/26/nick-clegg-speech-conference-video

The art of the Thank you speech Boris Johnson Style

Boris Johnson’s Thank you speech to Team GB microphone in one hand , rough notes in the other http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEckABF_V_A  inside a conference room

Boris Johnson  in the open air to large crowd in front of Buckingham Palace at the final thank you to Team GB Paralympics GB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57gg2sinGK0

Disconnected Leadership Costs



I was in Brighton couple of week's ago and met up with friend and colleague Anushka ( Nushi) Stach.

We had agreed to ‘do lunch’ as they say, and catch up on each other’s news. ( by the way Don't forget to vote on the poll on the right hand side thanks)

 We went to one of my favourite restaurants in Brighton , CÔTE Brasserie in Church Street.  It has great food with attentive but relaxed service that make for a lovely atmosphere.

Amongst other things I wanted to hear Nushi's take on the Global Workforce Study produced recently by Tower Watson. http://www.towerswatson.com/

I came across this study reported in the Thursday 13^th September edition of the London Evening Standard mentioned  in Niki Chesworth’s ‘ ES Jobs’  column.  

Source : Tower Watson – Global  Workforce study  sample : 2,600 employees 2012

·         One in four had such a bad relationship with their boss that they said they would consider leaving their job.

·         Less than half the survey had ‘faith’ in the senior leadership team at work.

·         Only a third think management have a sincere interest in the well-being of employees.

·         60% have been working longer hours in the past three years.

·         Only 60% agree that they are assigned tasks  to their skills and abilities

·         25% feel that their boss does not help to remove obstacles to doing their job well.

·         50 % believe the information they receive from management

As a Management Training specialist  Nushi’s reaction to these findings is interesting

(FOSWH = Fruits of Success with Hugh       AS = Anushka (Nushi) Stach)

FOSWH : This survey seems to indicate quite a lack of  employee trust and  loss of employee engagement, what do you consider could be  the main reasons Nushi ?



Anushka ( Nushi) Stach
Management Specialist

AS:   “This is an age old problem due to two issues firstly the lack of communication and secondly the lack of interpersonal skills at two levels a.  C suite/ board level to First line and b. First line to functional team reports.

The recession has led managers to more self -protection, less risk and sticking to what is safe.

The result is a team that ticks over rather than a high performance team. Yet the recession requires high performance teams ”

FOSWH :  What are the implications of this disconnect between senior leadership and the workforce this data suggests?

AS :  “ The question in my mind is it indicative of a loss of connection as the highest level? More often than not delegates on my programmes will say ' My manager should go on this programme.'

The implications of this  disconnection is that it is costing some Companies a lot of money !”

FOSWH:  What could leaders do to improve the situation ?

AS: “Reports need to feel that what they do matters and fits in with the company’s strategy.

Part of the disconnection is a matter of perception. A leadership out of sight pawing over the numbers can come across a leadership remote from the shop floor

It’s time for a resurrection of LBWA (Leadership by walking about.)

FOSWH: “ What can staff  actively do  themselves if they have lost faith in the leadership in order to feel more engaged?

AS:   “Candidly if the company’s culture is  a toxic ‘blame culture’ – not much!

One fact worth remembering though is that people leave their job leave because of their former boss  and they seldom leave because of the company.”

FOSWH :  In terms of time management of leaders, what proportion of their time should they spend  focusing on customers, on employees and on the numbers?

AS :  “ For most operations at the moment in the UK the focus is on profitability gained through minimising cost and maximising revenues.

A common rule of thumb is 40% Customers 40%  20 % figures but these balances may be skewed  depending on different circumstances. For instance whether the leadership is strategic or more line management for example with a new report time  investing now saves time spent later.

A true line manager should be 50 % with the team. It could well be good to delegate certain coaching and training tasks for development of reports. For top teams managers need to create opportunities for risk within certain limits ”

FOSWH : Many of the readers of this blog ask about further reading what would you recommend that is a hot read at the moment?

AS:  The Department of Business Development issued a great report in July this year – Leadership and Management in the UK – the key to Sustainable Growth. ( see related links at end of this post )The six key facts of the report should read and enacted by every leader in the land”

It was time for pudding.

 Nushi chose the crème caramel and I had a chocolate pot and crème fraiche  ("to die for!")

Thanks CÔTE Brasserie Brighton  and thanks Nushi


Related Links and further information

BIS report -Leadership management in the UK - key to sustainable growth (July 2012)

Management Courses

  Management Essentials

 Motivational Leadership

Anushka Stach

B.Ed., NLP Master Practitioner Operating with organisations of all sizes to help them strengthen and grow, Anushka’s approach works by helping people to develop from the “inside out” as well as the “outside in”, always keeping in sight the ultimate goal – producing results both at a personal and business level.

Anushka believes that success is rooted in establishing rapport, with other people and with oneself and this is at the core of what she does. 

History of the World by Andrew Marr - is selling a mar to historians ?

I confess I am a fan of Andrew Marr.

His latest project Andrew Marr's history of the world is an amazing if not  an impossible task .  He has had to be very selective and leave out many things but has also brought to my attention lots I never knew. 

 His task is to condense 70,000 years of history of man's ingenuity and the great forces of nature shaping our world of today in just six BBC TV programmes.

So far 'Selling' has not been much mentioned in any direct sense.

Of course words like 'trading' , 'merchants'  'silk routes' and 'markets' have been alluded to but only as  passing references of the artifacts found or records made  of transactions by fledgling conventional professions like scribes or accountants, lawyers etc.

But then last night in episode 3 ,Andrew Marr described Paul of Tarsus as a travelling salesman ( amongst other labels).

It got me thinking.

I had not noticed the significance before, that as a tent maker,  St. Paul  supported his travelling missions to spread the Christian Gospel across the Mediterranean through selling his work and  using the network of tent makers who provided a product and service for the travelling populations in those days - there being no Holiday Inns, Marriotts and Hiltons at the time!

Reading elsewhere about Paul, apparently he was in Corinth for 18 months which means he would have been present for at least one Isthmian Games.

Like the recent London 2012 Olympic Games there are commercial opportunities presented by such an influx of competitors and spectators.

Perhaps St Paul managed some great sales during that time to support his ministry of the word.

Has anyone  produced a History of the World with Selling as the central  focus point I wonder?

Inspired by Andrew Marr  let's make a start.

Selling - its part in the History of the World

Selling is a mark of civilisation because man sells not only goods and services but ideas even dreams.

Nearly every culture shares a heritage of selling.

Man has a basic need to communicate the exchange  of goods  and services.

Instincts from human nature and common sense drive some to make a living through selling.

As the seller established economic ties with their neighbours, they travelled extensively despite geographical barriers of deserts, mountains, rivers and oceans.

The importance of Infrastructure

The development and use of roads and or water routes rivers, lakes and oceans for commercial activity were critical in the history of selling.

Early man had the option of either battling with geographical barriers like mountains and foothills, or refining the surroundings that hindered trade movements.

In prehistoric times trade followed naturally-defined routes.

 Transport of goods between neighbouring peoples of eastern Europe, for instance, was hampered by a patchwork of densely and sparsely inhabited areas covered with ridges, foothills and valley floors.

Early traders developed easily accessible routes to travel more effectively..

 Along such constructed roads the early seller  travelled with their goods.

 Even before the invention of  the wheel, the early  seller exchanged pottery, stone weapons, tools, agricultural products and raw materials with people from other lands.

 Barter, the direct exchange of goods for goods, was his principal means of trade.

Among the early civilisations, Egypt, Syria, Babylonia and India were  involved in trade.

I visited the British Museum in London to seek out some examples of artifacts that record early selling activity.

 Villages in Mesopotamia (modern day Northern Iraq and Syria) show evidence that as mankind became settled, communities developed distinctive styles of pottery and show them status through traded goods and possession.

Rare items as obsidian – volcanic glass from Turkey was traded over long distances for pottery, for blades even for mirrors.

The first cities appear in Mesopotamia around 3,500 BCE for example Uruk.

Under the governance of temples, irrigation was organised, trade networks were established and writing was invented .

An Early sales receipt

Among the clay tablets on display in the various glass cases, I came across on cabinet with a small perforated clay tablet not much bigger than a lozenge. On it was inscribed an animal.  To me it looked like a sheep. The case card described that such labels record commodities or the officials involved in a single transaction. This tablet 3,300 – 3100 BCE  Late Uruk period.

Early example of a sales enquiry

Another lager tablet is a letter of Burna –Banresh II to Amenhotep III of Egypt requesting more gold c. 1350 BC from El- Ammanei

Sales enquiry -A request for more Gold

 A complaint about the wrong grade of copper about 1750 BCE Old Babylonian Period from Ur

An early example of a customer complaint

In the Museum's gallery about ‘Money’, there was a section covering the period in Europe 2000-800 BCE. Trade and exchanges of goods took place over long distances in items of flint, bronze and livestock.

 We do not however know what they value system was but there is evidence of bulk trading.

In the case of Amphora some were marked with official stamps. Such items have been found at both ancient sites but also from shipwrecks that tell us of the development of trade and economy

Ivory and ebony were exchanged for pottery and stone vessels. Indian beads and vases, believed to have originated in remote localities, were found in Babylonia.

In Greece, the caravan trade that connected the Greek world with Asia, prospered.

Everyday articles, domestic tools, metal kitchenware and ordinary clothes were exchanged.

Markets, in their fundamental stages, were meeting places for customers and sellers.

Frequently, the  seller used the market as one of his stopping points before continuing his village-to-village journey.

Anatolia, ( Turkey), was an area in which  sellers, travelling by donkey, sold cloth to people they encountered along the way.

The purchase price was generally higher than at trading centres because of the length of the haul and the hazards of the expedition.

The early  seller seized all opportunities to trade their goods when travelling.

Fairs connected with religious feasts brought them to the armies stationed in the fields.

Crowds of salesmen procured for the troops all the goods they needed.

The  seller’s activities were influenced by the cultures from which they emerged.

As early as 2000 B.C., the Code of Hammurabi,  (Babylonian law), protected the general welfare and integrity of the Babylonian seller, who was then referred to as the “peddler.”

An example of the code is held in the collection in the Louvre , Paris.

from Case display at British Museum

 

 The Code stated that “the peddler shall swear the oath of God” if any enemy caused him trouble in the travels.

Votive monument figure of King Hammurabi
at British Museum, London

 

It also said that the merchant who sells the goods must be aptly compensated.

 

A good note to end this post and end the story of selling so far......


Related Links and further reading

BBC IplayerClick for  Episode 3 War and the Word

A history of the World  by Andrew Marr  ISBN 978-0-230-75595-6  PUBLISHED BY Macmillan
 8th October  Cover price £25  , Waterstones £5 off  and Tesco sells at £15 where I bought my copy. 

The British Museum Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DG 

 Direct Selling 411 USA

Christie's Auction "Posters with a purpose" London Transport Museum archive sale auction

One of the oldest closes in selling is :-

“Buy now while stocks last”

For Auction House Christie’s ( founded in 1766) the promotion of the sale No 6,934 was duplicate  posters from the London Transport Museum  archives  werebeing sold in aid of this not for Profit organisation at South Kensington.

The copy in the mini publicity card promoting the sale read

 

"A train every 90  seconds"
A lot sold every 90 seconds at the
Posters with Purpose Auction
at Christies , South Kensington

“… never to be repeated opportunity to acquire iconic Underground Posters from the archives of the London Transport museum.”  ( buy now while etc.…in other words)

The Coleridge gallery in their South Kensington Rooms on the Brompton Road was the venue for the sale.

The pulpit-like rostrum was placed centrally at the far end.

To the right was a desk ‘manned’ by a row of beautiful ladies managing the telephone bids.
 
Nearest to the rostrum was the on line bidding desk although the auctioneer mainly used the monitor mid way above the audience.

This enables the auctioneer to maintain more eye contact with bidders in the room.

To the left of the rostrum was a desk where the confirmation paperwork was received and entered on a pc.

Usually on line auctions are rather remote and lacking in personality but in this auction  it was subtly orchestrated by the auctioneer to the four different bidding audiences i.e. The absent bidders who had left bids with her, bidders via the internet, bidders placing bids via the telephone and those in the room itself.

The auction was a little delayed due to a queue at reception registering .

So a little after 11 o’clock wearing a stunning purple dress the auctioneer mounted the steps to the rostrum set up her radio mike and welcomed everybody in the room plus the over one hundred  on-line bidders.

“ Christies are proud to be entrusted with running the auction for the museum....”

To the front above the rostrum either side were TV monitors. To the right the 'lots' were displayed and to the left were the prices of the bids in pounds sterling, US dollars, Euros, Swiss Francs and Roubles.

The selling job of an auctioneer requires many skills. She was like an orchestral conductor multi tasking like crazy. A confident, friendly and clear and authoritative voice is key.

Although never making bidders feel hassled she needed to keep things pacey. On average each lot took around 90 seconds on average to sell. Yet there were 300 lots to sell so she did not hang about.

Ironically Lot No  5  “90 seconds per train” by Abram Games 1914-96 was sold in a little over that time  for £3,200 to an on-line bidder.

She noted in the summary  of each sale the final bid and recorded  winning bid details by sum and the bidder’s paddle number.

Bidder in the room had paddle numbers. Some on made for the job - ones presumably by regulars and others written on show cards.

The ladies on the telephone desk raised numbered paddles but the  numbers used by the online bidders were referred to as their paddle number although here we were in virtual reality domain.

The auctioneer also needs to build rapport with the various bidding audiences. Here are some of her calls..

“ On the telephone at..”

“I have on line …”

“ I have interest here with me my absent bidder”

“ My interest on the book for this lot”

“In the room…”

She would encourage those in the room with

“ I have two bids here at ..”

“ Shall we go up/on

“Bid here in the front / aisle/ at the back”

“One more might do it”

“ You look unsure… we can wait there’s no hurry..”

“I’ll take whatever you’ll give me”

“Bid with the Lady here”

“Bid with my gentleman”

“ With Nicolette then ( telephone bidding representative)”

“ Against you in the room/ on line “

 Click here for  Video Clip of one of the early lots being sold at Chrsities

“Any  advance on..?”

“in the room at .. it’s not yours on –line”

“There it is then at..”

“Are we all done ?"

“ I am selling at.. (hammer)"

“It’s yours / Sold to you – Thank you"

“Paddle number…

Her role is obviously to do well for all concerned to get the primary client 0in this case the museum) a good price but also  for the various bidders. In particular when she had a reserve limit by an absent bidder she would start at a lower price.

Clear use of body language communicated to the room where the bids lay.

Her eye contact in the room had to fix with bidders as well as look around the room and the on-bidders screen bids.

Her eyebrows were also effectively and expressively used.

Although you might think that a set of Underground Poster from London’s tube would interest mainly Londoners- bids came across the country from London e.g. Ringwood, Stratford upon Avon but also from France, from the USA - New York , Illinois, Massachusetts  and Abu Dhabi  in the time I was in the room.

Courtesy was given to all in the room with thank-yous for winning bidders.

I was not able to stay beyond the first 100 lots but I guess the sale would have finished mid afternoon  when a call of “ come in Sale No 6934- your time is up!”

Passing through the gallery on the way out on the forthcoming James Bond  auction ( 50 years) the theme - "Nobody does it better " came into my head.


Nobody has done it better than Christies since 1766.!

Robust Flawed or Inadequate Railway Franchise Processes RFIs RFPs and ITTs

Few of us outside the Rail Industry know the details of what has  really happened in the troubled franchise process for West Coast mainline.

The media will be focusing on the huge compensation bills. The Labour opposition will no doubt enjoy the discomfort of the Coalition Government with the story  fortuitously blowing up during their Party Conference in Manchester. No doubt past awards under Labour Governments will  be raked up etc.

For  those  in  Professional Selling and Procurement though ,there could well be important lessons for Procurement Processes and Supply Chain Management in the Private sector as well.

 Taking a look at the guide to Rail Franchises issued by the Department for Transport the language and structure of the process is pretty similar to the due diligence language and approach of Private Sector Procurement and the growing Procurement Outsourcing World.

 

Click here for link to Department for Transport Gideines for ITT for Railway franchise

More and more in Sales have to compete in beauty parade presentations to qualify for approved supplier status and then jump through the hoops of Tendering processes in response to RFI, RFP and ITT. These are time consuming and expensive activities. Even after being awarded a bid further negotiation can still take place.

Those familiar with the rigorous procedures such as ARIBA system, or the request from Outsourcing Giants like Accenture will know the experience all too well.

 

 

The rise in outsourcing procurement has also led to process driven procurement systems driven by the continual drive for Year on Year savings.

The power is weighted heavily on the buying side whose final decision is seldom challenged in the Private sector. They are the 'customer' after all.

I guess one of the interesting differences in the public procurement field is that decisions are occasionally challenged and the process is more transparent.  Of course the decision to challenge is a brave thing to do. It is also an expensive action to take.

Sir Richard Branson’s initial challenges to the Department for Trade Dft came to nothing. The challenges fell on deaf ears ( no responses given) until he decided to go to court. The e petition  gathered 173,994 + votes helped garner Parliament and the broader customer public to take an interest in the case.

Take a look at the Video clip of Sir Richard speaking at the House of Commons  Transport Committee  on 10th of September Click here for BBC video clip

The Department for Transport  has dropped their plans to remove Virgin Trains of its right to run the main London to Glasgow rail route.  The Daily Mail’s Ray Massy and Hanah Roberts reported October 3^rd 2012 Transport  Secretary Patrick McLoughlin

“I have had to cancel the competition for the running of the West Coast franchise because of deeply regrettable and completely unacceptable mistakes made by my department in the way it managed the process.”

“A detailed examination by my officials into what happened has revealed these flaws and means it is no longer possible to award a new franchise on the basis of the competition that was held.”

“I have ordered two independent reviews to look urgently and thoroughly into the matter so that we know what exactly happened and how we can make sure our rail franchise programme is fit for purpose.”

The issues  apparently are around inflation calculations, risk measurements and Quality assurance . Reports suggest these have been found wanting in the Procurement Processes of the Rail Franchises . Another question many of us will be asking is

 "Are there similar issues in Private Procurement Processes and Systems ?"

 Suppliers want a level playing field. Procurement  wants the best suppliers.

from some notes I took at a CIPS presentation

Related Links

  Public Procurement Articles

 

Posters with a Purpose London Underground Art Sale

London’s beloved transport system stood up to the challenge of the visitors to the London 2012 Olympic Games remarkably well this summer. 

 It even awarded itself with a poster with medals! - a clever use of station interchange symbols in a similar formation  to the Olympic rings and the ribbons of the 'medals' with the colours of London Overground, Central, Docklands Light Railway, Jubilee and District lines that conveyed the world's sports fans to the various  Olympic venues across the city.

But for regulars and visitors alike the London Transport system is so much more than just a transport system.

It is arguably the world’s longest art gallery.
 

This is due largely to the vision of a marketing guru called Frank Pick.

In 1908 the then six independent underground railway operators agreed to promote their services jointly as ‘the Underground’

Pick was responsible for branding and initiated a modern poster campaign to encourage off peak travel.

The Design Museum's biography on Frank Pick

Christie's own mini poster for the auction
The underground's nick name was once
 London's Umbrella

300 Vintage posters from 1913- 1955 are being auctioned at Christie's October 4th 2012.

Estimates for individual lots range from £800 - £15,000 with the total collection valued in excess of half a million pounds.

The proceeds  will help  the London Transport Museum  sustain its collections for future generations.

Click here for Christies Auction: Posters with a Purpose

Artists over the years have used the Underground's roundel in clever ways as a ' story link' within a series of posters - here- to look like wrist watches- for a couple on their way to a date?

I paid  quick visit to the Christie's South Kensington Auction Rooms to see the posters in their Coleridge and Coyle Galleries.

The lessons for those of us in Selling are the principles of attention grabbing and communication  that these posters from the last century still teach us today.

They are also great art.

Principles such as:-

Keep it simple salesperson (KISS). 

 To grab your audiences attention employ a factual statement / a question / an eye catching visual / a reference or a link.

Click here for more on grabbing the attention of customers

Posters with Purpose -The Coleridge Gallery ,
 Christies, South Kensington London

Posters with Purpose
 in the basement gallery of Christie's , South Kensington

 

 

Notice brand icon characters still around  today
like the Michelin Man and Johnny Walker on this Underground poster from 1920 

 

 

Selling advertising space

 

 

By the 1920s the status of winning an Underground Commission became one of the most coveted prizes in the design world.

Fred Taylor, Austin Cooper, Man Ray , Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, Julius Klinger, Edward McNight Kauffer are just some of the artists whose work is being sold in the Christie's Auction.

The Tube’s commitment to art continues today with Transport for London’s Art on the underground commissioning programme.

Currently on show on the walls of the vestigial platform at Gloucester Road Tube Station is the series Big Ben 2012 by Sarah Morris. It is worth alighting from an eastbound circle or district line to have a look at the series before continuing your journey.

Big Ben 2012 by Sarah Morris , at Gloucester Road Tube Station

 

One of he panels - Big Ben 2012

Pick's original philosophy on design was that
 

"the test of the goodness of a thing is its fitness for use.

If it fails on this first test,

 

no amount of ornamentation

 

 or finish will make it any better;

it will only make it more expensive, more foolish”

Whether the ‘goodness of a thing’, it's 'fitness', 'expense' or 'foolishnes's are among the criteria for the judges in this year’s   2012 Turner Prize  I know not, but maybe we will see or experience the work of  Spartacus Chetwynd, Paul Noble ,Elisabeth Price and Luke Fowler on the Tube Poster walls or at Christies Art Auctions in years to come.

(For those of us on a more modest budget there is always the on line poster shop for the Transport Museum with reproduction posters .

Click here for Posters on line at the Transport Museum)