EventCity, Manchester
12-13 October 2011

Speaker Blog

Check out the latest from our speakers!

Geoff Ramm

Sage World 2010 was without doubt one of the highlights of my UK speaking calendar last year. The event was totally focused on giving as much help, advice and support to SME's as possible in just 48 hours.

A year on and I am delighted to have been asked to deliver a further 2 'Now That's What I Call Marketing' keynotes. But for all of you who saw me last year, fear not for I will be sharing completely different ideas, techniques and stories from my Observational Marketing World which will include;

'Now That's What I Call Marketing' Volume 1

'Now That's What I Call Marketing' Volume 1

And of course for everyone who attends these two keynotes you will have the opportunity to win some amazing marketing prizes - so start swotting up on your marketing music, brands and logos!!!

Best wishes and happy marketing,

Geoff Ramm, International Marketing Speaker

Sarah and Kat

Last year, we at WildFire Digital Media attended the very first Sage World, held in Telford. It promised to be a very enlightening event, held over two days, focused on aiding SME's with their marketing, networking, helping them get financing and much more. Alongside this it provided their customers the opportunity to meet their support staff face to face and ask any questions they may have.

We are a web design company in Manchester, with a lot of competitors, so we needed advice on how to reach our customers and stand out from the crowd. We got that, and more!

Sage made use of SpotMe devices, which was a great tool given to each attendee at the event to allow them to see who was in the vicinity, send messages to people whose business was of interest and provided a map, event schedule and a nudge when a talk was due to begin so that you didn't miss anything.

Each of the days was filled with very interesting speakers, plenty of time for networking with a coffee and a free packed lunch which went down a treat.

It was such a valuable event to attend, both from a business and a personal perspective. We were able to meet up with like minded people who were also looking to inject some inspiration into their business, and the speakers were able to offer sound business advice gleaned from their own personal experience.

Among the speakers last year were notably Will King, the founder of King of Shaves and Karren Brady formerly the managing director of Birmingham City FC, and more recently Alan Sugars aide in The Apprentice. They both spoke about their experiences and the challenges they had faced along the way, and their delivery was both charismatic and informative.

I will also mention Geoff Ramm and Andy Lopata, who really stood out to us as experts in their field. Geoff Ramm is a marketing expert who gave a very energetic talk and was full of ideas on how businesses can reach their potential customers. He spoke about businesses who were struggling against competitors and couldn't reach their customers, and then showed us some of his ingenious marketing ideas that had then put that business on the map. We were even lucky enough to have a one to one chat with him, which was obviously an invaluable opportunity for our business.

Andy Lopata is a business networking strategist who offered sound advice on how to network successfully and gain not just leads, but referrals, to help your business grow. We were able to make practical use of this advice and our business has improved as a result of it. We have held competitions, had referrals, and used networking to our advantage and as a result of being able to get our name out a little more, we were able to have an interview on Business Talk FM.

And guess what? They are both back this year! We're looking forward to hearing what they have both been up to in the past year, and what information and advice they have in store for us.

Sage World 2011 is being held at EventCity in Manchester in October and looks to have another incredible line up of speakers. We are looking forward to seeing how Simon Calver, the CEO of LOVEFiLM got to where he is today. Among the diverse speakers are Jo Malone the entrepreneur and Benedict Allen, the explorer. The diversity really enables you to see business, and life, from many perspectives and inspiration isn't far behind.

To anyone who is thinking of attending Sage World 2011, reserve your place now. The conference really helped to steer our business in the right direction, and made us realise that although setting up a business is hard work, we are not alone! We were able to see, first hand, that you don't necessarily need money to build up your business, just a good idea.

Who said, there's no such thing as a free lunch?

Andy Lopata

I was privileged to speak on both days at last year's inaugural Sage World and was determined to get an invitation back this year. The simple reason for my determination was the sheer enjoyment of the two days.

It's rare to get a two day event for small businesses where you feel that everyone is so genuinely focused on supporting the people who come along, rather than selling to them. The energy, enthusiasm and engagement shown by the team from Sage was remarked upon time and time again by people I met at the event and I know that many who came last year are coming back again.

What struck me most of all was the way everyone from Sage mucked in without pretention, or concern about seniority. Everyone played a role in making the event go like clockwork....and it did.

So I was delighted to be asked to present at both days of Sage World 2011. As many people are returning for a second year, what can you look forward to from my presentations? In each talk I'm planning to take you on the next stage of the journey from the talks I gave last time out.

Last year I finished the event in the main auditorium giving some simple steps to developing a proactive and successful referrals strategy. I'm following this up on Wednesday 12th October with a seminar on how to use LinkedIn as a referral tool. So many people are signed up to LinkedIn but don't know how to make it work for them, I'll give you four simple steps to seek out the connections you need for your business in the most efficient way possible.

My second presentation, on Thursday 13th October, follows last year's presentation on why networking is so important for small businesses with more practical advice on how to network with confidence. After this talk, where I'll share some simple tips and tool to enhance your skills at networking events, you won't worry about how to work the room; you'll be able to make the room work for you.

I'll then leave you to use those skills over lunch and connect with more people at Sage World than you've ever done before.....and enjoy it!

So, I look forward to seeing you in October. Please find the time and come for both days, it will be a great investment in your business. Come along to my sessions and please come up and say 'Hi'!

Let's all enjoy the SageWorld experience once more.

Benedict Allen

I'm really excited about this year's Sage World event. The speakers and sessions look every bit as inspiring, informative and thought-provoking as last year, and if you are in business - whether just starting up, or looking to go global or indeed to consolidate your hold on the world - this looks like the place to be in October. Personally, my interest is in battling against the odds. By profession, and by nature, perhaps, I'm an explorer - someone who likes mental and physical challenges.

I'm someone known to have almost died nine times - I've been shot at by local drug barons, robbed by guides and left to die, even had to eat my own dog to survive - and I'll be sharing with the delegates how I learnt to survive alone in some of the harshest terrain on the planet. One of these is tropical jungle, an environment of extraordinary competitiveness where you must quickly learn to adapt to its terms. By tuning into local conditions, by having a clear sense of mission, and by being ready to take calculated risks, I managed to survive to cross the whole of the Amazon Basin, a distance of 4500 miles over seven and half months.

Exciting and entertaining and inspiring, I hope - but the manin point is that we ALL have our own jungles. The world is a highly competitive place, just like the Amazon - who are your friends, who are your enemies? It makes no sense to FIGHT the jungle - it's too big. You must work within the resources available to you, accordingly set yourself a clear goal, and stride through all the obstacles which will inevitably come your way with the confidence gained from having had the best preparation possible. Sometimes you have to be ready to go it alone, sometimes take advantage of the talents and skills and resources of others: either way, it makes no sense at all not to get involved, not to take up the challenge - what will achieve otherwise?

Neil Mackay

The end of the summer is in sight and as we move into autumn it is time for a few animal spirits to kick in and start countering the pessimism we have seen over the summer.

Conferences are a great way to invigorate a market. New ideas; new products and people talking about their hopes and plans for the future all help to build confidence.

My feeling is that confidence is even more than extra bank lending at the moment.

I am delighted to have been invited to talk at the Sage World conference on 12th and 13th October 201.

Sage World is back for a second year. The unique two day event for anyone looking to start or grow a business will take place at EventCity in Manchester. Located next to The Trafford Centre, EventCity is surrounded by free-parking and immediate access to major motorway networks.

Come and immerse yourself with new ideas, advice and inspiration to take your business to the next level. Entry is free, as is parking and a lunch.

I hope to see you there.

Neil Mackay