Nigel Maine - Is he any good? Well, one of the most important questions we ask ourselves, especially in business is “are they like me?” not just do they like me, but are they like me!
After a career spanning thirty years, first in sales and then marketing, I now run salesXchange by applying the strategies learned and illustrated on this website. I want to help businesses like yours create multiple opportunities, drawing in new prospects, contacts and customers, breaking down the typical tension between buyers and sellers and increasing your profitability.
I have created an authentic and exciting revenue strategy that delivers the freedom you always wanted when you decided to run your own business.
I remember a TV advert tagline '...because life is complicated enough...!' I know from experience, if you can get your business firing on all cylinders, then you can apply the right focus to other areas of your life wherever and whenever you need to.
Am I any good? Well, firstly, you're reading this page, so you and 000's of others find me because I want to be found. Secondly, I built this website; the layout, graphics, wrote everything, filmed, recorded, edited and produced everything and so my response is, "the fact that I am technically and creatively able to do this myself means I am more than capable to do the same for you.
If you like what you've seen on this website and you're looking for a sales driven expert who knows a thing or two about marketing, then let's talk.
All the best,
Nigel
Nigel began his sales career in the early 1980s, selling cameras in both the UK and Australia. In 1984 he moved from retail into B2B sales, working for a photocopier and fax company, claiming the most lucrative of sales ‘patches’ in Mayfair. Here, Nigel knocked on doors in the wind, rain and snow; he also spent many hours making the telephone calls to win new business.
In 1987, after a very successful technology-sales career, Nigel started his first business with a colleague, selling anything that went into an office – desks, chairs, cabling, partitioning, phone systems etc. In his own words, “if it moved, we sold it”.
In 1993, for the first time Nigel was ‘flying solo’ concentrating on selling telephone systems to both SMEs and corporates. Although the business was successful, shortly after the commencement of the business, Nigel experienced a devastating personal tragedy regarding his four year old daughter.
In 1994, Nigel won his largest deal to supply, install and maintain the phone systems for a public sector organisation; he single-handedly managed the account for all their offices around the UK, 34 in total. Accounts varied from large food producers to legal firms in The City. He was also one of the first telecoms’ resellers to have a website, which attracted a great deal of interest from the industry’s press at the time.
It was Nigel’s approach to the business of selling, however that made him stand out from the crowd and helped him to become Dealer of the Year two years running with a major telecoms’ distributor. As the only salesperson in the company this was a remarkable achievement.
Nigel’s approach was to systemise both the sales and installation process. On the sales side he produced detailed information for prospects, which gave his future customers all the information they needed to make the process of buying easy. Pre-installation, each system was pre-configured before being delivered to site (photo); staff were fully trained at his offices, and post-installation the customer received full and comprehensive site documentation and system configuration.
The documentation was second-to-none in the telecoms industry with even the large manufacturers implementing his methodology. But Nigel believed that this attention detail was essential if the client was going to be happy – and if he was going to be paid on-time and in-full every time.
However, Nigel went a step further than most salespeople; he ensured that he fully understood how each system he recommended was installed and configured. This meant he could answer any question from the customer or the installing engineers and, by having all the information at his fingertips, he was able to provide clear and honest answers no matter what the question.
Not satisfied with producing some of the best documentation in the telecoms industry – and being paid handsomely for it, Nigel believed the customer should now be empowered by having access to equipment without the need for salespeople.
Having always been ahead of the curve when it came to adopting new ways of working, in the early 2000s Nigel launched one of the first e-commerce sites for telecoms offering not just simple handsets, but the ability for prospects to configure and purchase phone systems on-line.
After years of developing his business and providing consultancy for technology solutions, in 2009, Nigel moved into marketing full time and continued his quest to identify the ultimate method of blending technology to achieve an ideal return on investment.
He had always believed that the chore of telesales was not the most productive way to reach new prospects and build relationships with them. No matter how many calls were made each day, the returns were small. There had to be a better way to communicate with more prospects, more consistently and with a wider reach.
Nigel learned all he could about marketing– what worked and what didn’t - and how to make it better. His library filled with books on content writing, website building, graphic design and building a loyal following. By applying the same rationale to marketing as he had done to selling phone systems, i.e. to systemise the processes and keep on improving on them, Nigel now helps companies transform their marketing and ultimately their businesses.
He has worked with numerous companies in sectors as diverse as personal wealth management, car insurance and hospitality. One of his earliest successes was a start-up SaaS lending platform for SMEs. Nigel created and executed the marketing strategy, winning a £3m deal within the first 10 weeks of trading.
He also found the time to write, edit and self-publish his book “Integrate”, which can be found on Amazon. Drawing upon his knowledge of the telecoms industry, and Nigel’s skill at creating business and marketing strategies, the book is a guide for business owners to re-think their investment in technology and to focus on the ROI (Return on Investment) rather than the cost of ownership. The book will soon have a second edition, which will place its emphasis on Digital Transformation and how all businesses, regardless of the industry sector, will need to embrace technology to enhance customer experience and grow revenue.
Throughout his career, Nigel has always been of the view that, in order to provide the best possible advice, that advice must be founded on authentic and genuine experience; the consultant has to be able demonstrate a personal knowledge of the technology and processes used to be able to create the best strategy.
With that end, Nigel has spent considerable time learning how to build and manage websites; he is adept at setting up marketing automation platforms and has a full working knowledge of the full Adobe suite - Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition and Photoshop. He has filmed and produced all the videos, adverts and podcasts for salesXchange and its customers.
He has come full circle from his days of selling cameras – now he is using these tools to help businesses promote their products and services across all media. By fully understanding how each piece fits together and, from his firm foundation of sales, Nigel is now able to offer a full-service consultancy and agency. All that you see on the salesXchange website, from the graphics, to the text, to the video and podcast production has been done almost exclusively by Nigel himself.
He fully understands and appreciates not only what it takes to run a successful business, but how to engineer the component parts that enable you to market your company now and in the future.
From this unique perspective, Nigel is able to offer an unprecedented level of consultancy for your business, tailored to fit your needs and the position you have in your chosen market sector.Sales
Marketing
Analysis
Business Process
Attitude
Management
Personal
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.