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Lasting ImpressionsInspirational"He raised lots of questions; gave only a few answers; and left us to achieve." Barry Urquhart is a truly inspirational conference speaker. He delivers authoritative, well-researched and customised presentations aimed primarily at enlightening, encouraging and enthusing his audience to embrace and implement fundamental, practical and inexpensive concepts and ideas.
Different"His knowledge of my industry was astounding. He named every business in the audience." Perhaps the one thing that sets Barry Urquhart apart from the rest of the world's motivational speakers is his ability and willingness to tailor each presentation to the specific needs of his clients. Barry does not simply regurgitate the same old speech; he proposes specific solutions to particular problems in a way which audiences can relate to. Challenging"It was original, creative and innovative. I left the presentation feeling challenged." Barry is a challenging facilitator of strategic planning workshops and a supportive consultant whose one-on-one diagnostic sessions really do impact on the bottom line. He assists in the setting of achievable goals that extends organisations and people.
Dynamic"We had never thought of that. He came right out of left field." Barry Urquhart has been at the forefront of the customer service revolution for over a decade. His on-going schedule of original research into differing aspects of consumer behaviour and business development results in a totally relevant, highly interactive and very rewarding experience.
Testimonial Statements
MONEY3
I'm just writing this email to you all to share with you an experience I had while I was on Annual Leave.
I'll be honest, I wasn't keen, as it meant I had to get up at 5:30am on a Thursday morning, while on holidays, two days before my wedding! However, I'm bloody glad I chose to get up early and go along to the breakfast.
It was an opportunity to be inspired that would have been missed if I hadn't gone, and as a result I left the breakfast with my eyes wide open.
The man who everyone was turning up to hear was a gentleman by the name of Barry Urquhart. Barry is a business analyst and keynote speaker, and is invited to hundreds of conferences a year, to talk about Marketing Focus, which funnily enough, is the name of his business.
A larger than life character, it's hard not to walk out feeling as though you've just shared a ‘moment' with a number of other people, and that you've been given key insights which your competitors don't have!
The key points that I took out of the talk were: • The marketplace has changed. The sooner companies embrace the change, and stop resisting, the quicker the results will come. This doesn't mean retracting and laying off staff, cutting back on budgets, it just means adjusting the angle that is taken. To steal the yachting term, it's called ‘tacking', changing direction to still move forward when there's no wind in your sails! • Barry discussed ‘devaluing' brands. He mentioned three big stores that you normally wouldn't think had devalued their brands over the last 3 years or so, but Target, Big W, and K-Mart were the three. He pointed out that you no longer get any value from the stores, as their ‘sales' are no longer exclusive, these sales are taking place between the three all year round. If you like something, it will be on sale within a month or two, so you'll hold out. They're making ‘price' their selling point, and this devalues the product, as subconsciously quality is being questioned. I personally know that I do this frequently. He also discussed “installing” your product. That is, making sure that the customer knows fully how to use your product or service. How many LOC customers do we have that don't fully know how to use the product? • The three big factors when a customer is looking to identify with a service or product are: Convenience, Range, Brand. It doesn't matter how big your range is, all that matters is that people can align themselves with your company values. If they can see you acting with integrity and are told they are making the right decision, they'll be happy with your range, and your price points. In these financial times, it's about making sure the customer knows that they've made the right decision, and taking away the doubt in the situation. • The BIGGEST point that I took away was this quote: “It's better to be DIFFERENT, than it is to be better”. The great companies are famous for ONE thing. What you make that is up to you, but whether it be Time, Quality, An Ambassador (think Nike with Michael Jordan), or charitable donations/community positioning; one thing has to make you famous. • Another quality point brought to the fore by Barry was regarding Emotionalising the Message, which I touched on earlier. I we can make sure that the customer is told “You've made the right decision”, and we do it with consistency and continuity, it will go a long way towards building a tight, positive relationship with our customers. By doing this, we will be going a long way towards maintaining a level of excellence that can't be matched by anyone else in our industry. I can say this with great pride and passion, as none of our competitors have the same values as us, and none act with the same level of integrity. • If we all take P.R.I.D.E. (Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence), and we install our products with our customers then I believe we can come out on top, in ANY situation.
If
you'd like to discuss any of these points, or just chat, please
give me a buzz J
Paul Direen
IGA DISTRIBUTION
“Barry's presentation at the IGA Queensland/Northern New South Wales 2011 State Conference was outstanding. His knowledge of the Australian and International retail market is excellent. Using this knowledge and adapting it to relevant, real life examples for IGA retailers made his presentation one of the best we've had and was the highlight of our conference. I would recommend Barry Urquhart to any retail organisation that wants to engage their stakeholders to drive change and get results.”
Nick Vincent – Merchandise and Marketing Manager, IGA Distribution Queensland
LIVESTOCK AND RURAL TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION
“I heard Barry speak at a function and was struck by his enthusiasm and knack of presenting two or three sharp messages that I remembered long after the presentation was over. When one of my clients, the Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA was looking for a guest speaker for the annual conference I immediately thought of Barry. Unlike many professional speakers who deliver the same presentation no matter who the audience is, Barry took the time to research the industry and speak with a number of representatives to really understand the key issues. The result was an energised presentation that was customised to the people in the room. It was an hour long but many people commented that 60 minutes went very quickly. I know several of them are planning on seeking him out for further consulting.”
Jan Cooper , Director, Cooper Piesse & Associates
BUNDABERG BROADCASTERS
“On behalf of Bundaberg Broadcasters I wanted to thank you for an outstanding evening of the Moncrieff Theatre in Bundaberg on March l5th 2011.
Your warm and affable presentation style made each and every one us feel welcome.
The information you were able to import in just over 90 minutes was informative, entertaining and hopefully rewarding for everyone in attendance.
We have already received some great feedback from our clients who feel they will be able to put your ideas and suggestions into place quickly with a view to giving their businesses a tremendous kick start and also momentum towards long term success.
David Stretton , General Manager, Bundaberg Broadcasters Pty Ltd
LIQUOR LEGENDS
“We engaged Barry Urquhart and Marketing Focus for our National Conference in March 2010 and International Conference in Macau & Hong Kong in October 2010.
Mr Urquhart delivered a Marketing and Retail focused keynote speech and helped facilitate Retail workshops for the Liquor Legends group.
Mr Urquhart's execution and delivery was sharp and relevant to our members. Mr Urquhart made himself available throughout our International Conference for one-on-one meetings with our members, giving them valuable insight into their business and assistance developing a Marketing Plan.
Mr Urquhart was able to capture the audience with his professional delivery and drive home our objectives to the members utilizing his professional knowledge and insights. Mr Urquhart delivered everything we asked and exceeded my expectations.
The Liquor Legends member network as a whole found Mr Urquhart to be insightful and his presentation relevant to growing their business. Mr Urquhart is an outstanding academic in Marketing and Retail strategies and this was prevalent upon his delivery.
Liquor Legends would highly recommend Mr Urquhart to any customer focussed business.”
John Carmody, Hotel & Tourism Management, Liquor Legends
RETIREMENT VILLAGE ASSOCIATION “Thank you for your insightful keynote delivered at our regional conference.
It is clear that you have reflected at some length on the subject matter and delivered a thought provoking, interesting and more importantly, user friendly address which provided useful solutions and suggestions to all delegates to take away and implement in their own businesses.
My first order of business today was to meet with my marketing coordinator to revisit the message used in our advertising. My second was to place a call to the eastern states to discuss Independent Living Communities!
I thank you for your efforts and congratulate you on the manner in which you engaged each and every delegate.”
Angus Kukura, Regional Chairman, Retirement Village Association
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