The man behind the marketing...

• Don't set out for the high-ticket sale. Look after your bread and butter and you'll get more of them. Lots more. And that will far outweigh the occasional big spender. In other words, don't chase revenue for the sake of revenue!

• Never underestimate the future potential of a customer. One chap in particular hardly spent a penny, and was miserable at spending it. Still, we treated him warmly, just the same as everyone else. What we didn't know at the time was that he cared for his wife who was unable to do anything for herself. His 1 hour a week on the canal bank was his only respite. One day, having barely spoken in 10 years, he thanked us for always treating him with kindness, even though he probably didn't deserve it. He explained how he couldn't bear to talk to anyone about his situation but was touched that we always made him feel welcome. When his wife sadly passed, he spent an awful lot of money on his passion that he now had the freedom to pursue more seriously.

• You're not selling a product, you're selling a solution to a customer's problem. One chap always lamented that he never caught any fish. He thought he was rubbish, his equipment was rubbish, and it was probably about time he gave up the hobby and try something else. Of course, there was nothing wrong with his equipment; it was a problem of confidence. So, having spent a while talking to this guy, Dad sold him a small bottle of water that he'd laced with red food colouring, told him it was a new secret bait additive that no one else knew about yet, and charged him 50p. Now, that might seem like a snake oil salesman tactic, but when the guy returned the following week - pumped full of confidence - he gleefully told us the tale of the 1 small fish he'd managed to catch and returned every week with ever greater stories of his catches. In other words, we didn't sell him a 50p bottle of red water, we sold him the confidence to enjoy his hobby and gained a lifetime value that far exceeded the initial sale.

In 1998, I left the dusty cobbles of Wigan bound for university to study Law and soon got involved with running events at the Students' Union. Firstly as a sound/lights technician (my Dad was also a professional singer in the 60's, so I had a penchant for guitars and recording music), and then increasingly more in creating event brands and promoting them. Realising I didn't want to go into the legal profession, after graduating, I started working full time, first at Keele University and latterly Warwick University. I always winced at the common assumption of colleagues that we were there to "educate" students in the latest music trends; we weren't there to educate, we were there to entertain our paying customers whilst they took a break from their studies! And if that meant cheesy discos, then we should dish up the fromage with so much added value that they would never think about going elsewhere! Some of those event brands are still going strong over 20 years later, whilst the "cool stuff" obviously fell by the wayside. We established all sorts of brands and live music programmes that belied the small status of backwater university venues; it was always a good sign when you ordered a cab and the driver said, "ah, you always put great gigs on there." Mental availability and salience 101!

The entertainment venue scene starts to take its toll once you reach your 30's, so I moved more towards the corporate events world. As Head of Marketing & Brand for Imago Venues - one of the UK's leading independent venue brands - I looked after all brand and marketing for a portfolio of six properties including 4-star and 3-star hotels, restaurants, conferencing venues and meetings/events spaces. Fast forward to 2020 and the hospitality world was decimated by the global pandemic where, in the UK, it became illegal for us to operate! Putting all my experience and training from the world-renowned Professor Mark Ritson to the test, my marketing strategy helped super-charge the pandemic recovery with 11% like-for-like growth in 2022, and further like-for-like growth in every subsequent year. I won 14 awards including Best UK Conference Centre, Best UK Training Venue, Best UK Academic Venue, Visit England's Best UK Business Events Venue, and Best Business Events Venue in Leicestershire.

I now work with brands as a consultant, helping to shape successful brand strategies that help them win and grow their market share. I also provide training for marketers within the hospitality world and beyond to be better at marketing, grow in confidence, and elevate their roles - which I guess is why you're here!

I also own far too many guitars, far too much recording equipment, and from time-to-time, still dabble in a spot of fishing (minus the red water I hasten to add)!