Customer service training specialist, Marie Cross ofMaidstone, was named National Entrepreneur of the Month in August 2013 by Nigel Botterill, Founder of theEntrepreneurs Circle, after enjoying her two most profitable months in 12 years of trading.
Marie launched First Impression Training in 2001, following a lifelong ambition to set up her own business on the back of a ten year freelance career, training and coaching customer service and telesales staff in call & contact centres across theUK.
In response to the downturn in the training industry, Marie took huge steps to stay in the minds of her prospects and customers and make her company stand out from the competition during those challenging economic times.
First Impression Training saw immediate results within the first week of implementing a dynamic marketing strategy, including a company re-brand and the launch of a new website, offering a vast range of free download tools and techniques for frontline staff and a complimentary copy of Marie’s hard-back guide “7 Super Secrets of Remarkable Customer Service – How to Develop True Brand Ambassadors on Your Frontline” to all visitors of the site.
Marie is convinced it’s the offer of this free practical, useful training support that has set her apart from the crowd these last few years – and having just secured a major contract with a leading general insurance company to train 150 frontline staff over the next 12 months, she feels it’s been well worth the effort and investment she’s made!
Speaking about the award, Marie said: “I’ve done an enormous amount of work on myself and by myself since the recession hit our industry, but for fear of sounding a little sycophantic, my greatest learning in this journey began in June 2011 when I joined the Entrepreneur’s Circle.
“I’ve learned that I was right to stay true to my values and beliefs about First Impression Training and all that it stands for, because when you love something with every fibre of your being, the impossible suddenly becomes possible.
“One of the most important things I’ve learned from Nigel Botterill and his team at the Entrepreneurs Circleis that it is not your customer’s job to remember to do business with you, it’s your job to remember to do business with your customers!”
Take the website tour and you’ll also have the opportunity to download a series of Success Blueprints and Bonus Videos, designed to help frontline teams and leaders stay FIT for business in today’s competitive marketplace!