ETC Business Spotlight – Pete Timothy, Prime 7

Hey Pete!

Tell us, who has been your most influential business role model?

I don’t really have a role model as such, more so, I have a few mentors that I call upon to discuss various situations. I used to go to my dad a lot, he was an extremely successful dryland and irrigation farmer who left school at 17, lost his dad at 19 gave up state sport rep opportunities to run 2 properties. He had a great business mind and would always offer different perspectives until he passed 10 years ago.

I have a few in the business world that I chat to. These are predominantly business owners and colleagues within the industry. I find its good to chat to them as they can be candid in their appraisal.

What are the biggest lessons you have learnt in business?

Be as honest and transparent as you can. People pick up pretty quickly what you are about, that being said – you won’t please everyone, but at least you can sleep well at night knowing you are trying to do the right thing by them.

Don’t try to ‘sell’. Focus on finding out why they could benefit from your product, or expertise and if the reason is strong enough – they will buy, as they can see there is a benefit to them, not you.

Over time, as you gain more life experience I tend to go with the gut feel. Short term pain of missing a budget or deadline to suit you has far more upside in being honest with your client for what’s best for them, you get thanked in the long run.

Where do you gain inspiration and knowledge to grow and improve your business?

I enjoy what I do and like most people in sales, I want to see my clients’ business grow. Playing a small part in that is rewarding.

I am lucky that we have clients that share their business idea’s with us in order to assist their growth.

How do you manage work/life balance?

It’s taken me to now to get the work/life balance about where I want it to be. I map out well in advance things I want to do away from work and then work towards that. You just have to do it – work will always be there.

I am a firm believer in the theory of a happy worker is a productive worker, I make sure they put family first, as do I. Its important to get that balance right, its amazing what you get back if you give staff some flexibility – it’s repaid well and truly. I am fortunate that I work with a great team and we laugh a lot which makes it a great place to work.

Why should people use your services or purchase your products?

The greatest challenge we have in the TV game is the presumption the TV advertising is expensive. Its the absolute opposite if you’re comparing apples to apples. TV gives you a much bigger reach, with most homes having 2 TV’s. To many people, its their way of escaping from the rat race. Any form of advertising can be expensive if it’s not done correctly. The 2 key components of any advertising campaign are the message and the placement.

The message needs to be kept simple and needs key points on why consumers should use you and your products. Placement is vital, as is consistency of broadcasting your message. TV has the great advantage of being able to match your product to programs that are watched by your key consumers and match you to the consumers you want to chase after.

 

Fantastic, thanks for your time!

Stay tuned for the next edition of ETC’s Business Spotlight.

For more information about Prime 7 visit www.primemedia.com.au