Mark Fanthorpe, Owner

Alex doesn’t do PR. Not in the traditional sense. We knew that we needed to raise our own profile if we wanted to grow but didn’t feel we had the content to satisfy the media in the long-term. Most of our work comes from a handful of clients and so it’s rare that we have the kind of new projects that fill news pages.

We spoke to a number of PR companies, all of whom wanted to take us down the news route. We didn’t feel that they understood us or what we wanted to achieve. Rather than concentrate on news, Alex got under the skin of Umbrella and enabled us to see our company through the eyes of our customers. He helped me to realise that my experience had value and that people would be interested in what I had to say.

Every month we get coverage in a key media and I’m asked to take part in roundtables and speak at conferences attended by our prospects.

He has also helped us to create a new website, which I believe truly differentiates us from our competition. Rather than a window into the work we do, it helps us to connect with our customers by communicating our personality, how we think and how we work. Like the PR, it doesn’t try to sell. Instead it gives us a chance to build the common ground between us and our prospects that is essential for creating the emotional connection that will make us attractive to them.

www.umbrelladesign.co.uk

Nikki De Kretser, VP Marketing Europe

Alex and his team revolutionised our public relations programme. By working hand-in-hand with our sales and marketing teams his company has generated the communications collateral and media coverage that is playing a vital role in driving new customers to the business.

www.pgi.com/uk/en/

Leigh Nissim, Managing Director

It wasn’t St Minver’s first priority to have a public facing brand. It is important however, that we make a name for ourselves in our industry as well as have the right kind of presence to attract more brands to our business model. Alex and his team understood this need and has been instrumental in helping to shape the perception of our company as one of the key players in the UK gaming market.

www.stminverltd.com

Daniel Simmons, Owner

“As someone who is skilled in helping enable others to professionally articulate what their goals, intuition and ambitions are, I was surprised to find that when it came to articulating my own vision from a sales perspective, I was hitting roadblocks and hurdles. I was also wary about asking for help, let alone engaging another person.

After one session with Alex all those doubts were erased. He has the rare gift of listening and yet still processing, translating what you think you are saying about your business to what the customer understands and experiences as actually being said. He does this without diluting the substance or potential impact of your messaging. On the contrary he allows your messaging to reach its higher aspirational goals whilst still ‘selling’ your key bullet points.

I come away from the sessions with Alex, feeling listened to, heard and understood and equipped with the tools to take my sales messaging to the next level. Most importantly I come away feeling more energised, excited and most importantly clearer about my business. A rare feat to achieve!”

www.beyondeureka.com

Marcus Cauchi, Owner

Alex and his team are easy to work with. I’m not. Yet they have managed to find a way that works for both of us. They set clear agreements up front and makes sure you understand what’s expected on both sides.

We book a time and date to meet, They ask me good questions and keep me on topic and we get the job done every time, on time. They did excellent groundwork upfront and ensured I invested the time they needed to really understand my business and what I’ve planned to achieve.

They took time to understand my writing style, my delivery style and my objectives; naturally, by understanding from so many angles, why I needed help, often before and better than I did, they learned thoroughly and fast. We reached an understanding of how to communicate efficiently much faster than with other advisors I’ve asked to help.

Cleverly, they have protected both of us from wasting our time and when I was holding things up I appreciated that they told me while keeping my dignity intact.

They are perceptive and systematic and move seamlessly between strategy and tactics. They ask good challenging questions and their questions naturally encourage you to give good answers. I value their ability to translate my answers into relevant messages that engage your target audience and catch the eye of journalists and editors.

http://london1.sandler.com/

Gillian Nissim, Founder

One of our greatest successes was the media coverage resulting from our annual survey. Thanks to Alex’s teams great planning and execution, coverage ranged from BBC online and BBC News 24 to key HR and recruitment titles as well as relevant consumer press both online and offline. This has resulted in a significant and ongoing increase in traffic to our website, but most importantly in a significant rise in the number of employers and candidates actively using our service. I am delighted with our success.

www.workingmums.co.uk

Iain Gray, Owner

Before I worked with 9mm, I knew what I wanted to write. I knew how I wanted it to sound. And I knew how often I wanted to write it. It just didn’t seem to be happening.

I regularly sat down in front of a PC completely stuck for what I was supposed to do next, despite having plenty of things to say, once I got started. I also often looked at pieces once I’d written them and felt they didn’t do me justice – but I couldn’t say why.

Thanks to Alex’s coaching and support, I have seen great progress on these in just a few short weeks. My writing has improved massively, I’m starting to find a voice I’m happy with and I’m really enjoying writing every day.

A good thing really as it’s a critical skill for someone in my role! Alex has been great to work with because he has a wealth of experience of what does and doesn’t work when it comes to writing compelling pieces that your audience will read, enjoy and take action on.

He also gets the balance between encouragement and critical feedback spot on. If you have a lot of ideas you want to share with the world, but you just don’t seem to be able to get them “out on paper” (particularly if you secretly find the idea of writing for publication to be an intimidating prospect), get in touch with Alex now!

www.tenmoreclients.com

Melanie Grant, Owner

“The guys at 9mm took my online concept and refined it beautifully.  They understood my aims and added the missing piece of the puzzle.  A must for any online business seeking to wow its clients.”

www.cre8photo.com

Roop Chandwani, Owner

“Alex and his team were a genuine surprise. When we engaged him to help us with messaging and profiling, he grasped our business and industry sector (pharmaceuticals, healthcare) with ease. He helped us refine our target markets and the profile of the people we are targeting and put together press releases that had immense positive feedback.”

www.aggiopartners.com