The Mayflower Fintech Show, Conferences and other news from Mayflower Consulting

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The Mayflower Fintech Show, Conferences and other news from Mayflower Consulting

Well February is almost done and for Mayflower it’s been a month of interesting conversations. One of the exciting reasons for that is because we’ve started recording interviews for a new podcast – the Mayflower Fintech Show.
 
Yes, the buzzword of the decade, fintech! But we’re going to get behind the hype of robo-advice and ‘lean start-ups’, to look at what fintech really is, what’s working and how it’s going to change the world for advisers, accountants and of course the general public.

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Roll up, roll up - $560 billion in SMSF for the taking!

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Roll up, roll up - $560 billion in SMSF for the taking!

OK, so that’s taking the mickey a bit, but let’s be honest with ourselves, that half a trillion dollars is the main reason that most product providers are interested in self managed super funds.

But as countless product and service providers have discovered, getting your dirty mits on all that caaaaaaaash is way harder than it first appears. There are a couple of reasons for this.

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4 post-conference activities that you can’t ignore

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4 post-conference activities that you can’t ignore

This week, we look at the often forgotten, but vital, post conference follow-up. Yes, conference attendance is exhausting and there’s always a mountain of work piled on your desk waiting for your return, but failing to follow-up means failing to capitalise on all your hard work so far. Here’s what you should be doing:

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Social media isn’t as new as we think – it’s kind of like telemarketing

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Social media isn’t as new as we think – it’s kind of like telemarketing

Most of what’s written about social media focuses on the power of it, marveling at this brand new way of communicating and how it’s changed the world!  To be fair it’s a powerful force, but approaching your social media from this perspective will simply provide you with frustration at best or, at worst, outright failure.

We all need to step back, take a deep breath and remember that we’ve seen it all before - social media is a tool, like any other communication method that’s come before it.

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Conferences stands and sponsorship (or, how to REALLY waste mega bucks)

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Conferences stands and sponsorship (or, how to REALLY waste mega bucks)

Last week, I spoke about wasting money going to conferences if you’re not clear about WHY you’re going.But let’s be clear, to REALLY waste the mega bucks, you need a corporate sponsorship and stand.

A decent sized conference stand/sponsorship can set you back $50k on the space alone, and then you need to fit it out (easily another $20k) and staff it. It’s easy to blow $100,000, so you want to make damn sure that money is working for you. 

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Making the most of conferences (or, how to blow thousands of dollars and waste lots of time and effort for not much return)

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Making the most of conferences (or, how to blow thousands of dollars and waste lots of time and effort for not much return)

Conferences are both a blessing and a curse. I love a good shin-dig as much as the next person, but without some careful planning and quite a bit of work, it’s very easy to not see any benefit at all.

This is quite a big topic, so I’ll cover all the details over four articles. Today – ‘before the conference – personal edition’. Over the next 3 weeks, we will also cover ‘stands and sponsorship’, ‘at the conference’ and ‘post conference follow-up'.

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Want to be a better communicator? Get to know your business and the people in it.

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Want to be a better communicator? Get to know your business and the people in it.

When it comes to communicating effectively, most of the advice focuses on technique – write concisely, proof read (and proof read again!), avoid jargon etc. All good advice, but unless you truly know what you’re talking about, you’re likely to say things that don’t make sense or, worse yet, are blatantly wrong.

Whether you’re embarking on a marketing campaign, building a new website, communicating with stakeholders or your own staff, having a deep understanding of your own business environment will give you the edge. Your communication will be clear, honest, consistent and accurate. What’s more if people come back to you with questions, you’ll have the answers.

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Stop, start, keep... repeat

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Stop, start, keep... repeat

January is a time of new years resolutions – stop enjoying wine so much, work harder on the business, go to the gym, spend more time with the family, etc, etc. And also a time for planning the coming year (or maybe just thinking that you should do some planning before shelving that idea and just jumping in boots and all!)

Before you jump into this year, it’s really worth spending a few minutes (OK an hour or two) reflecting on 2015 so that you have a good starting base for 2016. One way to do this, of which I’m quite a fan, is ‘start, stop, keep’. It goes like...

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2015 in review – where did the time go?

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2015 in review – where did the time go?

So, it’s nearly 2016. I have no idea where 2015 went, I’m sure its still October! It’s been a solid first full year for Mayflower Consulting; we’ve worked on some great projects, and expanded the team, with Cameron Woods, Senior Communications Consultant joining us in July.

As many people do, I’ve been reviewing what’s worked and what hasn’t in 2015 and thinking about what I’d like for the business and for me personally in 2016.

On the SMSF front, I’ve learnt that lunacy still reigns when it comes the facts and figures.

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