I was many moons ago promoting a new CRM course at Manchester Business School.

My brief was if you can half fill it, we will give the king’s shilling to staff in the canteen to make it full.

I only had 4 weeks and I was sure that we could do better than the marketing professor thought because for high quality courses you by and large had to go to London.  There was a ready made market – indeed I managed to sell the course two and a half times over and then we ran a 75 place e-commerce course on the back of that success.

Well, enough of my many minor triumphs, such as they are, because the Innovate with Confidence course offers a really high quality experience in Manchester, and within the budget of almost everyone as it is heavily sponsored by The Manchester Innovation Investment Fund.

The course offers four days of high level training:

• Innovate with Confidence – developing a model of your business and how it wins
• Grow customer value in a changing world – the tools to get and keep the right customers and give these clients what they want
• Make technology work for you – develop the tools and thinking to create an advantage
• Create your future – an action plan to translate your strategy into success

The course is delivered by high quality trainers including Mike Ryan who runs the much admired digital agency Idaho, which has worked with BBC News Media, the NHS, Peel Holdings and the University of Manchester.

I have seen Mike speak and he is well-worth listening to, especially as I am sure it will give particapants the opportunity to engage with him at close quarters.

The Innovate with Confidence course is open to any business in Greater Manchester that thinks it can benefit.

The course dates are: Wednesday 14th April, Tuesday 18th May, Wednesday 19th May and Tuesday 25th May.

The thing about this course is that it sounds too good to be true as it only costs £99.  But it is really down to the very generous subsidy given by  The Manchester Innovation Investment Fund – it will after this course is filled be marketed at around £1,800.

The course is already half full with only 12 places left (11 as I am taking one) and these should go quickly.  So if you want to profit from a real steal – and that doesn’t happen every day – go to the Innovate with Confidence site to register.

Today’s Manchester Evening News covered the iPhone application course being run by agency the White Room.

So if you are between 18-24 (older candidates can be considered), live in Manchester and are interested in the creative industries, go on the link above for more details.  Open to all except full-time students.

I was flicking through the South Manchester Reporter when I caught sight of my old chum Phil Birchenall.

Phill was part of Creative Industries Development Service and was helpful and supportive to me and many other creative companies while he was with the organisation.

The last time I spoke to Phil he told me he had gone freelance and had a number of interests – that was some time ago.

So I was pleased and interested to find out that Phil is now part of The White Room, a digital media and technology consultancy.

The Reporter focused on Phil’s new course to help 18-24 year olds gain some really interesting skills, experience and confidence through a course centred on designing iPhone applications.  The best designs will be sold online.

It sounds like a wonderful way to get a start in the creative media sector.

Supported by Manchester Metropolitan University and the council it is sure to be popular and with only 10 places it would be wise to make inquiries now if interested: 0161 446 2991

Criteria

• 18-24 years old (but this is a flexible rule if the candidates are enthusiastic and show potential)
• Must live in Manchester City boundaries
• Can be recent graduates / self-employed /part-time / full-time if you can take the time off to attend although this is about a day a week during the duration of the course
• No full-time students
• Must be enthusiastic and really want to do the course

Oasis Academy, a specialist media school, is holding a career fair for companies and agencies interested in talking to its Year 11 (fifth year in my day, I think) and sixth form.

I am sure there are opportunities for creative media and marketing organisations to take on students for placements as well.

Oasis Academy has strong links with the new Media City and the students are schooled in IT as well as media skills, so they are better equipped to enter a creative media opportunity than my generation.

The fair is on Wednesday 3rd February 6.30pm-8.30pm at the school (formerly Hope High School), Prestwood Road, Salford, M6 8GG

If you are interested in attending or learning more please contact Paul Andrews: paul.andrews@oasismediacityuk.org

Please also contact Paul if you are interested in the free digital photography courses starting on the 28th January; other courses include yoga and Spanish (some are free others carry a small fee).

On Saturday I secured an in-depth interview for Jane Pye from headhunting and executive recruitment practice Ashley Hoyle.

But the perennial PR question that comes up is: “What is the value of such coverage?”

The Guardian boasts:

• A circulation of near 350,000
• A readership of 1.2m
• A very high percentage of ABC1s – not sure what I come under, if indeed I do register as an ABC.  I could be a “q” or “r” if such demarcations exist.

Advertising rates hover around the £50 per square cm, but can go as high as £90.

I would assume that to advertise on a full page is about £20,000 – £25,000, perhaps.

Then as a PR I could argue that editorial is much more valuable than advertising, so times by….

But then again what really counts is how it raises and improves the profile of Ashley Hoyle – very hard to determine.

And then there is the bottom line question: “Did the client get any inquiries or did it make there job easier when approaching a candidate?”

Then, I pitch, show my work and get asked, after a “very impressive” response:  “What was the benefit to the client?”

Thanks to Leo Benedictus for a great article though – intelligent and witty.

Manchester Junior Chamber of Commerce ran a fantastic seminar this week.

Entitled “Effective Negotiating” the presentation was given by Bill Doherty of Persuasion. He gave some fantastic insights on how to get the most out of sales and negotiating.

I feel we only touched on his knowledge but it kept the audience gripped for more than an hour and a half.

So here are some techniques to consider when you have that important pitch or contract talks:

Decide you entry price, exit price and cannot agree point before entering the room

Start big on price then go smaller

If you present yourself as an expert price disappears from the negotiations as the driving force

Body language is key! We have all heard that the majority of communication is through body language, but there are dos and don’ts:

Never touch your body during negotiations
Never put your hands together
Turn out palms outwards
Stand on the right of the person you are negotiating with
Be interested: eye contact vital

Glancing to the left indicates truth and to the right lies

Formal dress will be taken more seriously, even if you are in a creative industry- in fact it is three times more effective in terms of the attention you will be paid (I trust Bill has some statistical evidence for this)

A clean desk is also advisable.

There are three types of negotiator: visuals (60%), auditory (30%) and Feeling (10%) and this changes the nature of the dynamic.

There are seven decision patterns that can be predicted before you enter the room. So the majority of CEOs “want the facts.” If you can show a quantitative return on investment you have a real chance of winning the business. So, if you know the position of the negotiating partner you have a chance to present the right pitch.

Bill has written about his experiences and can be contacted should you wish to find out more: it should be worth the expense