Unusually for The Apprentice, last night’s project managers both seemed genuinely likeable.
The task seemed simple enough and the teams produced surprisingly lovely products. It all went a little too smoothly, which is very unlike The Apprentice.
This was the programme about getting the margin right. Margin is king, Karren Brady told us. And she’s right. Without a reasonable margin, you can’t stay in business and you can’t set a price of £25 for a high-end candle then sell them two for a tenner a few hours later. It’s amateur and it damages business.
Two things struck me about this week’s show. One was the losing team’s blatant disregard for their pricing policy. The other was the way they let down the wealthy hotelier who was willing to pay top whack for 25 reed diffusers. They turned up without them, taking only 25 candles. The hotelier was impressed with them and he bought them for a good price, but had they sold him the 25 extra units he wanted, they would have won the task.
This shows just how little this programme has to do with actual business. You don’t let your customers down and flounce off without a care. Not if you’re serious about what you do.
These fast-talking, crazy-eyed sales people (and by that, I mean James), didn’t give a hoot about the promise they’d made to this man. Why? Because unless they can afford to stay in his eye-wateringly expensive hotel, and I doubt they can, they’re never going to see him again. They don’t need his repeat business and have nothing to gain from developing a good working relationship with him.
Genuine SMEs have to foster good relationships with customers if they want to keep going. Goodwill is crucial, especially in my business. We’ve created a unique range of bereavement gifts and cards which we sell direct to the consumer from our website and we’re working hard so one day we see them in stores across the UK.
When someone buys one of our gifts or cards, it means someone they love has died. Forget about the other margin, there’s no margin for error here. We have to deliver our products on time and in perfect condition because they’re designed to help people not to make matters worse with bad service. How we handle every transaction, consumer or trade, is a reflection of who we are. The same goes for every business, surely?
It’s here The Apprentice reminds us the candidates are only playing at being in business. It’s pantomime. All that matters to them is they survive a boardroom showdown for another week.
Before setting up Inspired Goodbyes, my business partner and I sought advice and support from the Business Growth Hub, an EU-funded mentoring service in Manchester, to get a solid understanding of business basics.
This is something James would do well to pay attention to. Why am I picking on James? Because he is the good-looking, cheeky chap who was genuinely at fault in this task but for some reason was saved by Lord Sugar in the boardroom. He’s photogenic but he won’t last.
I still watch it every week, sometimes from behind my hands and sometimes with my head in my hands.
Last week’s invention task got them a meeting with buyers from John Lewis and they turned up with products that were frankly bizarre. Neither team could pitch for a piece of toffee, never mind a lucrative order. What a waste. I would have given my right arm for an opportunity like that.
Just as the X Factor is damaging by encouraging young people to aim just to be famous, The Apprentice is bad for business because it makes it look like you just have to speak fast, sell cheap and blow-dry your armpits to succeed.
Helen Lawson is co-director of Inspired Goodbyes
selling unique bereavement gifts and cards to consumers, funeral directors and retail.
Read more about The Apprentice:
Episode one: boosting the image of business?
Read more articles like this one on the Small Business Network
