The Amber Group today introduced AmberGo, a cutting-edge digital communications training platform designed to equip professionals with essential communication skills to drive business success. The first training module, Communicating for Business Impact, is now available, setting the stage for a comprehensive suite of courses that will revolutionise how businesses approach communication training.
AmberGo’s first module, Communicating for Business Impact, is essential foundational training. Ideal for Heads of Departments or L&D managers looking to enhance the skills of their team, individuals in client-facing roles or new graduates, account executives and managers at agencies.
This first interactive online training session enables individuals to learn at their pace and then put into action new communication skills covering:
✅ Defining goals for every business interaction
✅ Using different questioning styles
✅ Mastering active listening
✅ Improving vocal impact
✅ Closing conversations effectively
The Course Features:
▶ Self-Assessment: Initial evaluation to identify current communication style.
▶ Structured Learning: A 35-minute module with 32 key points and expert tips.
▶ Downloadable Infographics: Handy reference guides for all tips & techniques.
▶ Interactive Assignments: Built-in follow-up exercises to practise skills.
▶ A Final Assessment: Evaluation of progress and understanding.
▶ Certification: Official recognition of course completion.
“Priced at just £100 per head, this first training module underlines our ambition to bring the conscious communication skills of the most successful business people to a much wider audience,” explained Paul Smith, a founder and director at The Amber Group. “We have taken many of the learnings from our years in journalism and PR and from training some of the most successful organisations in the world, to package up a series of powerful, interactive learning modules. For those unable to take advantage of our face-to-face training and coaching because of high numbers or challenging budgets, this is a great alternative.”
Comments Off on Part Four: Embracing the Clash! The Benefits of Working with Your Opposite Discovery Type and How to Do It
Richard Baines
July 31, 2024
Let’s face it, working with someone who has an opposite personality type can be challenging. It can in fact be infuriating or, as a recent attendee at one of our Insights Discovery workshops put it, even terrifying! However, it can also be incredibly beneficial if we just approach it correctly.
Welcome to part four in our Insights Discovery series where we look at how to use Discovery to build self-awareness; increase our understanding of others and develop the skills to adapt our interactions for greater success. This week we are looking at working with our opposite type; why it can be both challenging and rewarding and how it can unlock a range of benefits you might not have considered!
Why a clash?
As we saw in part one of this series, the four colour energies (Red, Yellow, Green and Blue) have very different behavioural preferences. These differences are most apparent when comparing opposite colour types (Fiery Red v Earth Green and Sunshine Yellow v Cool Blue). The more different the preferences, the greater the potential for friction.
If we’re honest, in the workplace these might be people we gravitate away from rather than towards. But the truth is, if we can understand, value and embrace (not literally) our opposite type, the benefits can be huge.
When opposites attract
I’ve worked with many teams over the years that have faced exactly this challenge. Frictions within the team that lead to a lack of cohesion and collaboration or in worst cases, confrontation and resignations. However, with a little training, I have seen those same teams change their perspective and seek to understand their opposite type; value their differences and most importantly, leverage them for greater success.
So, what are the benefits?
Actively engaging with our opposite colour energy (and encouraging your teams to do the same), has a range of benefits:
Balanced Decision-Making: Opposite types bring complementary strengths to the table. For example, a Fiery Red (decisive, action-oriented) working with an Earth Green (measured, empathetic) can result in decisions that are both bold and well-considered.
Enhanced Creativity: Diverse viewpoints stimulate creative thinking. Sunshine Yellow (enthusiastic, creative) combined with Cool Blue (realistic, analytical) can generate innovative ideas that are seamlessly executed.
Higher Performance: As the mantra goes, ‘play to your strengths, outsource your weaknesses’. Aligning the colours to what they do best can significantly improve team performance and success. Fiery Red goal-setting matched with Sunshine Yellow innovation, further coupled with the collaboration skills of the Earth Green and the planning-prowess of the Cool Blue can be quite the winning formula.
Personal Growth: Engaging with someone different from yourself requires self-awareness, understanding and adaptability. It challenges you to step out of your comfort zone and develop new skills. The more we do this, the broader our comfort zone becomes!
So how do we do it?
Here are some essential ingredients for success:
Self-awareness is the starting point: As we saw in part two of this series, our weaknesses tend to stem from our strengths overplayed. Being aware of this ‘tipping point’ and able to control it means we are more likely to add value to any given interaction than derail it.
Recognise and respect differences: Acknowledge the value that your opposite type brings. Understand their strengths and how they complement your own. Respect their approach even if it differs from yours.
Effective Communication: Adapt your communication style to bridge the gap (see article one in this series). For instance, when a Cool Blue interacts with a Fiery Red, they should aim to be concise and action-oriented, while the Fiery Red should appreciate the need for thoroughness and detail.
Play to strengths: As highlighted above, allowing the colours to apply their natural talents where they have the greatest impact will make any project less arduous, shorten the timeframe for delivery and yield better results.
Seek Common Ground: Focus on shared goals and objectives. This common ground can help smooth over differences and keep the team aligned.
Does it work?
Yes! And here’s a genuine example from a recent Insights Discovery workshop we delivered for a creative agency.
Kath, a Sunshine Yellow company director, had been planning to introduce a client engagement survey for her business to support client retention and growth.
During the Insights Discovery workshop, Kath realised the reason she hadn’t progressed the project was partly down to the inevitable planning, design and logistical elements involved (not Kath’s forte by her own admission) and partly because she traditionally found working with someone who would bring these skills to the mix, quite challenging.
Both reasons meant Kath hadn’t moved the project forward and as a result was missing out on the benefits the survey would deliver.
So the following week, Kath engaged Tom, a fellow Director with dominant Cool Blue energy.
Kath introduced Tom to the Discovery model to show why their respective strengths would make them a good team. Tom’s planning, analytical and design skills together with his methodical approach blended with Kath’s passion for innovation, communication and client engagement.
Importantly, they also used the Discovery model to understand how to adapt to each other’s working styles. Kath recognised that Tom would require a clear set of S.M.A.R.T. objectives for the programme; a timeline to launch; milestones to reach along the way; diarised meetings and autonomy to select the best platform for the survey.
Likewise, Tom recognised the need for Kath to work collaboratively; brainstorm ideas; make the odd change along the way and receive ‘headline updates’ rather than detailed reports.
One month later the system had been launched, results returned and a series of corresponding initiatives introduced to act on the findings!
Conclusion: Embrace your differences
Working with your opposite type can be challenging but also incredibly rewarding. By recognising and valuing differences, communicating effectively and leveraging each other’s strengths, you might just be able to unlock some dynamic and productive partnerships within your team!
If you’d like to know more, visit our dedicated Insights Discovery web page
Comments Off on Part Three: Sell Differently to Sell More…
Richard Baines
July 3, 2024
Although most of us are not trained sales people, many of us have to sell. It might be formal new business pitching or perhaps the more organic ‘up-sell’ of products or services to existing clients. Either way, the process can be time intensive and the results, unpredictable.
But what if you could increase your success rate for little or no extra effort?
Welcome to episode three in our Insights Discovery series where we look at how to use the Insights Discovery methodology to achieve success in the workplace. This week, we focus on selling and how adjusting our approach to meet buyer preferences can significantly increase our chances of winning business.
The fact is, most of us have a particular ‘selling style’. Unsurprisingly, this is directly linked to our preferred ‘buying style’.
For example, when selling or buying, someone with lots of Cool Blue energy will likely have undertaken thorough research and follow a methodical process. They will also probably request proof of value or go to great lengths to demonstrate their competence and have a detailed set of questions at the ready.
These traits are important because they go a long way to establishing the trust and confidence required for Cool Blue energy to feel comfortable making a high value purchase.
All good so far… Except, what if that same Cool Blue energy is selling to a buyer with high levels of Sunshine Yellow energy? The result is likely to be quite different. This is because the Sunshine Yellow buyer looks for a different set of traits to establish the same level of trust and confidence when buying.
For them, an element of ‘chemistry’ with the seller will be important. In addition, good story-telling around previous successes; connecting the purchase with recognition for them and a simplified, painless procurement process are likely to help you clinch the deal. Different indeed to our Cool Blue buyer.
Now imagine how much more successful we could be if we match our selling style to the buyer’s preferences each time rather than simply selling in our own style!
So how do we do it?
Try this two-step process:
Step One: Identify the buyer’s preferences. This is done right from the start of the relationship by listening and observing. From the outset, the buyer will give clues to their dominant colour energies. The graphic below matches the four Discovery colours with their typical buying preferences.
Step Two: Adapt your selling approach to reflect buyer preferences. Simple but effective adjustments help you connect with the buyer; put them at ease and make them more likely to buy from you. The graphic below provides tips on how to adjust your sales approach for each colour energy:
Give it a try…
As the saying goes, the best way to learn is to do. Over the coming weeks, follow this two-step process with a range of new and organic sales opportunities. Don’t forget to consider the top two colour energies in play for each buyer and select prompts from the corresponding lists.
Keep a record of the results and compare them to your previous win-rate over the same period. I’m confident you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Of course, there are multiple factors at play when selling. However, adapting your selling style to match the preferences of the buyer will make you more successful, more often. Now that’s a compelling sales pitch!
Comments Off on Part Two: Weakness Can Be Our Strength Overplayed
Richard Baines
June 18, 2024
Have you ever experienced the manager who is lightning fast at decision-making but sometimes fails to collaborate and take others with them on the journey? Or perhaps the colleague with exceptional powers of empathy and collaboration, who may struggle to make a decision at all?
We all know it’s important to recognise and use our strengths in order to succeed. However, overplaying our strengths can be counterproductive and actually make us less effective. This is something that can be easy to see in others but not so easy to see (and manage) in ourselves.
Welcome to part two in our Insights Discovery Series where we look at how to use Insights Discovery to build self-awareness; increase our understanding of others and develop the skills to adapt our interactions for greater success. This week we are looking at the vital link between our strengths and weaknesses and how to avoid one becoming the other!
Understanding the relationship between our strengths and weaknesses AND developing the skills to avoid one overplaying into the other is key to personal effectiveness, no matter what your role.
So how does it work and how can Insights Discovery help?
The starting point is self-awareness, quickly followed by self-control. Coincidently, these are the first two ingredients of emotional intelligence (EQ). Let me explain…
We can use the Insights Discovery colour model to better understand our likely strengths and possible weaknesses based on our preferred mix of the colour energies as shown below:
The key here is to notice the relationship between the strengths and the weaknesses of each colour. The weaknesses all tend to relate to the strengths being overplayed!
For example:
Fiery Red confidence may be seen as arrogance.
Sunshine Yellow flexibility may lack discipline and focus.
Earth Green democracy may result in indecision.
Cool Blue analysis may turn to action paralysis.
So there is a virtual ‘tipping point’ in any given situation and/or interaction where our strengths may overplay and start to work against us. This self and situational awareness is an important first step in managing our strength/weakness relationship.
Recognising your possible weaknesses
If you already have a Discovery Profile, you can review the page highlighting your possible weaknesses and see if you can recognise when they occur, why and what the implications might be.
If you don’t have a profile, you can easily do the same exercise using the graphic above. Just pick one or two weaknesses that resonate under your dominant colour energies and do the same exercise. (You can of course also use team/colleague feedback to further inform this exercise!).
OK, I recognise where my strengths might become weaknesses in certain situations, what can I do about it?
Now we have the self-awareness element covered, we need to deal with step two. Self-control.
Unchecked, we tend to be at the mercy of our behavioural preferences. Our emotions and preferences control us, as opposed to us controlling them. Sometimes this is fine. Other times it works to our detriment. Either way, what will be, will be…
To take our personal effectiveness to the next level, we need to be able to control (rather than be controlled by) our behavioural preferences. However, adapting behaviours can be tricky so here are a few tips for success:
Identify the trigger or scenario where you are most likely to overplay a given strength. (This helps you to be ready!).
Identify one alternative behaviour that will stop the ‘overplay’ scenario happening and consciously work on that until it becomes comfortable.
After applying the alternative behaviour, reflect on the outcome. Ask yourself, ‘what did I do differently?’. ‘Was it effective?’. ‘How can I do it better next time?’.
For further guidance, ask for feedback from others. After all, they are your target audience!
Let me share a personal example:
My dominant energy is Earth Green.
One of my strengths is listening.
When I ‘over-listen’, I can fail to contribute, be ‘crowded out’ by louder personalities or even be seen as passive.
To counter this, I actively push myself to share a thought, an idea, a question or a comment as early as possible in any situation where I might ‘over-listen’. Interestingly, once I’ve contributed, I tend to keep contributing (within reason of course but you know what I mean).
So, in summary:
☑️ Our potential weaknesses often stem from our strengths being overplayed.
☑️ Recognising when this is happening is the starting point (self-awareness).
☑️ Adopting simple strategies to ‘counter the overplay’ is the key to success (self-control).
☑️ Practise makes perfect – behavioural change takes time but the rewards are great.
Comments Off on Introducing our new Insights Discovery series
Richard Baines
June 4, 2024
Have you ever wanted to understand why you find it easier to connect with some people more than others? Or how to work effectively with that challenging colleague? Or perhaps you’d like to build stronger client relationships that lead to more business? If so, then our new Insights Discovery Series could be just what you’re looking for!
What is the Insights Discovery Series?
A bi-weekly series of five-minute reads using the Insights Discovery four-colour model to help you increase self-awareness; deepen your understanding of others and learn how to adapt your interactions to get the results you’re after.
Why are we doing it?
Having delivered hundreds of Insights Discovery workshops over the last 15 years, we’ve seen the incredible impact this development tool has on personal effectiveness and success in the workplace.
For those familiar with Insights Discovery, the series continues your learning journey through practical tips, guides and case scenarios.
For those new to Insights Discovery, it’s a perfect introduction to the model and how it can help you achieve greater success through your interactions.
For everyone, it’s a chance to learn; be part of our Insights Discovery community; share ideas and experiences and steer the future direction of the series through topic requests.
In this first post, we’ll introduce the Insights Discovery model, how to use it and some immediate tips for application.
Surrounded by Idiots!
If you’ve spent any time browsing in WH Smith over the past few years, you’ll have seen the book of the same name. Written by Thomas Erikson, it uses the Insights Discovery colour model to understand the four types of human behaviour and how best to interact with them. The book permanently resides in the best seller list and for good reason! It’s because, while we all share many similarities, when it comes to our interactions and behavioural preferences, we are very different.
Some situations and interactions we find easy. Others can be challenging, infuriating and even terrifying! But why? And what if we could crack the code to better understand and manage our own behavioural preferences; to recognise those of others and to adapt our interactions at will, to achieve the best outcomes? Well, that’s where Insights Discovery comes in.
What is Insights Discovery?
Insights Discovery is a powerful development tool based on the psychology of Carl Jung. It uses colour as a common language to build self-awareness; gain an understanding of others and adapt our interactions for success in the workplace.
We all have a unique blend of these four colour energies (Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue). It’s likely we will have one or two energies in dominance and these will have the greatest bearing on our behavioural preferences. The remaining colour energies will be less prevalent and therefore less influential. Recognising your possible weaknesses
Our unique colour blend informs who we are, how we behave, our likely strengths and weaknesses and so on. See this as your starting point. Your ‘natural self’ at your most comfortable. While you can flex, this will be you around 95% of the time.
OK that’s me, what about everyone else?
While we mustn’t make assumptions, we can usually recognise the dominant colour energies in people we work with.
For example, someone with a real eye for detail, a calm demeanour and an analytical approach to things might well have Cool Blue energy in dominance. By contrast, someone who is gregarious, talkative and dynamic by nature, might well lead with Sunshine Yellow energy.
It’s a good idea not to think ourselves or others as a single colour energy, but rather a blend of colours with a focus on the top two most visible energies.
So how can we better connect?
Naturally, we all tend to interact with others in the style we like to be interacted with. This can work well sometimes but certainly not all the time. In fact, more often than not, subtle changes in our style can yield far better outcomes.
Let me give you an example. Two people with a lot of Earth Green energy will favour a similar interaction style. This will likely be centred around listening, mutual respect, empathy, steady pace and a supportive nature. To put it another way, they are ‘speaking the same language’.
However, speaking this language when interacting with the opposite colour type, the Fiery Red in this case, is less effective. They will favour a more assertive, opinionated, fast-paced and independent style of interaction.
The key to successful interactions is the ability to move beyond our own preferred style (or language) when connecting with different colour energies. Adopting some of the preferred traits of the person you are communicating with does three things. 1. It puts them at ease. 2. It makes it easier for you to engage and influence them. 3. It increases your chances of a successful outcome. To conclude the analogy, by speaking their language, you can better connect, build stronger relationships and gain greater success. A genuine win/win!
Tips for adapting to each colour energy.
The graphic below shows six top tips for connecting with each colour energy:
We don’t have to adopt all of these tips all of the time. It’s about selecting the right ones at the right time to get the outcomes you are after.
Give it try by using this exercise:
Select an individual you find quite challenging to interact with.
Identify their likely dominant energy(ies).
Select one or two of the corresponding tips provided in the graphic and apply them in your next series of interactions with that person.
After each interaction, reflect on what you did differently and what the results were.
While adapting isn’t easy, particularly to your least dominant colour energy, with practise you can become quite fluent, quite quickly. And I guarantee you’ll see the benefits by way of successful outcomes.
Later in the series we’ll be looking at more specific applications such as selling to the different colour energies and their preferred management styles.
For now, I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to Insights Discovery and if you’d like to know more, click on the link below to visit our dedicated Insights Discovery web page.
Comments Off on Are these Agency Anchors Dragging Down Your Business?
By Paul Smith
Calling all Agency Leaders! With thoughts returning to work after the festive break, it’s a great time to highlight the top 5 agency anchors we see dragging down businesses year after year. Here are our anchors to address for a successful 2024.
Sales is a dirty word. We’re consultants, we don’t sell!
It’s a common phrase we hear from agency teams that haven’t experienced the benefits of consultative selling. With the right training, agency people quickly realise that their natural skills in questioning and problem solving make them great at opening new opportunities.
Over service – Everyone is busy but it’s not showing on the balance sheet.
It’s often easier to just say yes but with the confidence to have that crucial conversation, your team can claim back time and be more profitable.
Accidental managers – Inadvertently pushing your best talent straight out of the door.
Just because someone is great at their job, doesn’t instantly make them a good people manager when you promote them. It’s one of the most important and difficult skills in the industry, so why don’t we invest more in people management training?
Senior folks used as sticking plasters – Because you don’t trust your team on their own in front of the client.
It keeps directors working in the business, rather than on the business and holds back your other people. Investing in impact communications and presentation skills can equip your team with the wow factor in front of clients.
Hiring clones
Yes, you’re great but a business full of people just like you is never going to scale. Getting the right mix of personality types and skills is essential to grow an agency business beyond the cult of an individual leader. Using a psychometric system like Insights Discovery can be instrumental in helping identify the right individuals to hire and to enable the team to communicate effectively with each other and clients.
By cutting the chains on these Agency Anchors, leaders can avoid that sinking feeling and another 12 months of steering the ship through choppy waters.
Agency Leaders – Are there any other Agency Anchors you have identified?
Good luck with the year ahead and shout if we can help.
Comments Off on DELIVERING FEEDBACK: How to Structure Your Conversation
By Liz Baines
People often tell me they find giving feedback to others difficult, no matter how well-intentioned it is. So here are some tips to help you prepare for and structure a feedback conversation:
Consider the outcome. Decide what you want the other person to do differently as a result of the feedback you’re about to give. Being able to articulate this will help them to understand the change that’s required.
Use facts or examples to give context to your feedback. For instance; telling somebody they’re “always late” is vague and may be interpreted as an attack on their character. Pointing out that they arrived at work late on three occasions last week then asking to talk through the reasons is factual and less judgemental. Plus, it gives them the opportunity to picture themselves back in the situation and account for why.
Discuss the implications of their performance or behaviour. Most people will be open to change if they’re made aware of the effect unsatisfactory performance or behaviour is having on their work, their colleagues, their career progression or other peoples’ perceptions of them.
Identify the actions they could take to improve. Resist the urge to tell them what to do – what works for you may not work for them. Instead, explore the options and help them to choose the one most likely to lead to success.
And finally…
Get their commitment to act. Confirm the next steps and time scales, agree what support you will provide and how you will monitor progress. By structuring your conversation this way, you will increase the chances of your feedback being understood and acted upon.
Comments Off on TIME MANAGEMENT: Three Tips for Improving Your Effectiveness
By Liz Baines
Time is scarce. There’s never enough of it to do everything we need or want to do, so it’s important to make the most of the time we do have if we are to fulfil our commitments and achieve our goals.
Here are three tips for managing your time effectively:
Prioritise around outcomes
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a task and realised what you’re doing either won’t get you to where you want to be or simply isn’t the best use of your time?
Before starting a task, think about its purpose. Ask yourself, what result it will achieve. For example; a client asks for a report summarising the work you’ve completed for them. It will be time consuming to prepare and it’s an admin task you don’t enjoy, so you might be tempted to relegate it to the bottom of your ‘to do’ list. But the report will also allow you to communicate your results and the value you deliver to your client’s business, possibly leading to more work in the future. So perhaps this task has more significance than you thought?
Thinking about the outcome will give you a clearer sense of a task’s importance and help you to appropriately prioritise it.
Manage expectations
There’ll be times when your own priorities mean you’re unable to accommodate the needs or priorities of another person. When that happens, it’s important to set their expectations.
Acknowledge the other person’s request. Show that you recognise its importance to them before explaining why you are unable to accommodate it. If the other person feels heard and understands your situation, they’ll be more open to collaborate to find a win: win solution that works for both of you.
Limit interruptions
These are commonplace at work and most of the time we simply deal with them before getting back to the task in hand. But regular interruptions affect our productivity and wellbeing. They increase our workload, our effort and put pressure on us, often making us feel stressed and overloaded.
To stay productive, consider turning off notifications for a brief time while you focus on important tasks or agree times with colleagues when you will be available to answer questions or provide help.
These three time management tips will give you more control over your time and workload and help to ensure you deliver your best work.
Comments Off on STRATEGIC THINKING IN PR: Putting Strategy First
By Paul Smith
Strategy must be one of the most overused and misunderstood words in PR. So how do we encourage more strategic thinking in our agencies?
First, we must remember that when you boil it down, clients only buy PR for one of two reasons, either:
to help them sell more stuff, or
to change a target audience’s behaviour – like the NHS does by trying to encourage us to eat more healthily and exercise to prevent heart disease or diabetes.
Everything we do in our PR programme must easily tie back to achieving these over arching goals.
So, what do we need to create a good PR strategy?
First, we must understand the client’s business objectives – what they want to achieve – and make sure they are measurable.
Then we identify our communications objectives. This is what we, as an agency, have control of to help our client achieve their goals. For example, if the client wants to grow their ecommerce sales by £1m a year, our communications objective is to drive enough people to the website to help them achieve that goal.
However, what happens once the customer arrives on the website is beyond our control, so it wouldn’t form a part of our communications objective. But with some simple maths around website sales conversion rates and average sale prices, we should quickly be able to put measurable targets around our communication goals.
Next, we need to do our homework by researching all the things that might help us or prevent us from achieving our goals. This includes understanding the target audience, the competitors and any trends or influencers that are affecting the market.
As we do our research, we are looking for insights – those nuggets of information that will form the basis of our strategy. Insights help us to grab our target audience’s attention and switch them on to new possibilities or behaviours. They are the magic ingredient of any PR strategy.
Once we have our insights, then our strategy – i.e., how we will help our client – becomes clear.
Remember, there can’t be a strategy without clear business and communications objectives…and key insights.
So, are you giving enough thought to your client’s PR strategies?
Comments Off on How to Put Consultative Selling into a SPIN
By Paul Smith
When I ask PR people if they are good at selling, most of them say no. But that simply isn’t true.
Most PR people are brilliantly equipped for consultative selling because they are great at asking questions and enjoy talking to people – they just need to apply the SPIN technique.
Spin stands for Situation, Problem, Implication and Need.
First, ask your client lots of Situational questions such as, “how’s business?” or “what are the biggest problems your business faces right now?”
Then home in on a potential Problem. It could be they are having trouble breaking into a new market or converting leads into sales.
Next, and this is important, get the client to quantify the Implication of not solving this problem. For example, will failing to break into a new market cause them a £1m, £10m or £100m problem?
Then you can focus in on their Need and start to discuss the solutions you can offer to help them solve their challenge.
By already quantifying the implication of missing their targets, it makes the prospect of spending £200k with you to solve a £2m problem much more attractive.
Before you know it, you’re bringing in lots more sales opportunities for your agency.
