Sales & Marketing

You don’t have to have everything sorted before you start trading, but there are a few things you can do as you set up that will help with credibility and focus attention on what you’re building.

Business name
Don’t underestimate the power of the name. Whether you make your own name part or all of it, or whether you create a brand new name is up to you and there are benefits to each. The type of business and sector you’ll be working in will have a bearing on this too.

Your own name
Using your own name is a good idea if you have a previous professional reputation and/or in a service-based business. This is usually professional or trades-based e.g. Milly Evans Accounting or Dave Downing Decorating. This works well when it’s only you in the business or if you are trading as a consultant. But if you wanted to expand at a later date or take on staff or a partner/investor, it may not be so ideal.

A fictitious or combination of words to make a name

  • Do a brainstorm of names and words that appeal to you. Do they also have a relevance or association with your business sector or product? It is a good idea if you business name does in some way as it will help potential customers understand what you do or sell.
  • Once you have a short-list, ask some people what they think of them and what they make them think of. You may be surprised as some of the responses, but bear in mind that people will often make different or unexpected associations with words than what you do. It’s better to know this before you register your company name.
  • Check your preferred business names or short-list with people who don’t speak English as a first or only language. Again you may be surprised at the meanings of your business name when it’s heard or spoken in non-English speaking communities or audiences.
  • If your short-list is still looking good, your next step is to head to the internet and use your favourite search engine to check that there aren’t other companies already trading or websites using any of your preferred names already. You can also check with Companies House for UK-based company registrations
  • By now you should be down to one or two possible names. This is the time to contact a Domain Registry company to find out whether you preferred names are available as web addresses for registration. Again your favourite search engine will be useful for this.
  • You may not be in a position to be thinking about building a website yet, but securing and registering your preferred web addresses is a prudent thing to do at this point. Your domain registration provider will also be able to advise you on how to set up an email address against your new web address, even if you don’t have an active website e.g. dave@downingdecorating.co.uk. This gives a more professional impression than using one of the free email clients such as yahoo or gmail, which are more appropriate for personal communications.

Meet the team

Chris George<br />
Growth Hub Manager

Chris George

Growth Hub Manager

Chris is an experienced professional with over 30 years knowledge and experience in sales and marketing in the public sector along with 15 years working for two mainstream automotive manufacturers in the sub 10,000 fleet. Delivered sustainable change in a vast range of industries, whilst constantly updating and developing core competencies and knowledge.

Working in the Local Authority sector for the last 15 years has resulted in Chris turning around failing territories to becoming some of the best performing areas in the country, with excellent stakeholder engagement and a passion for premium delivery. Outside of work, Chris is a keen gardener, and also likes property restoration and reading.

Ashleigh Jackson<br />
Growth Hub Business Advisor

Ashleigh Jackson

Growth Hub Business Advisor

A proven senior influencer and sales professional with more than 25 years’ experience in brand building and driving category growth within the private sector.

“I have a strong research background, alongside vast experience in sponsorship and corporate events management.

My work has initiated good working partnerships with many Local Authorities across Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire and London. I have also worked with many multi-national brands including KPMG, Barclays, EasyJet, Kingston Smith LLP, London Stansted Airport, Morgan Sindall and Heineken. I’m proud to be able to enhance on the work we do here at the CPCA Growth Hub and build on many success stories.

Away from the business, health and fitness is important to me, being in the great outdoors, and enjoying fun times and relaxation with family and friends”.

Stuart Thomas<br />
Growth Hub Business Advisor

Stuart Thomas

Growth Hub Business Advisor

Stuart is a former small business owner and former Business Link Advisor and has also worked as a project manager for an international IT company, overseeing a large number of IT projects for large corporate enterprises, as well as large public sector organisations.

Stuart has served as a director for an international timber trading company and has also been a director of a local independent radio station, where he mentored a number of new staff. Prior to this he spent time as a secondary school teacher, teaching IT and business studies at both GCSE and A level.

Liana Sannah Growth Hub Business Analyst

Liana Sannah

Growth Hub Business Analyst

Liana is an experienced professional with over 15 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant. Liana has previously been employed by Warner bros, Daily Mirror, Aviva and AXA. These roles have given her a wide range of skills and in a vast range of industries.

Liana has been working in the Local Authority sector for almost three years, as a Growth hub advisor and producing the Monthly BEIS report. In her leisure time, Liana enjoys cooking, interior design and watching movies.