AGENT QA with Alison Edgar, The Entrepreneurs Godmother MD, Sales Coaching Solutions

AGENT QA with Alison Edgar, The Entrepreneur’s Godmother MD, Sales Coaching Solutions AGENT QA with Alison Edgar, The Entrepreneur’s Godmother MD, Sales Coaching Solutions Image Source: AlisonEdgar.comAlison Edgar is the managing director of Sales Coaching Solutions, but at large she is more vividly and memorably known as The Entrepreneur’s Godmother, inspiring people to start businesses, and energetically yet effortlessly applying her skills to help these firms grow and succeed.“I want to be the ‘Adele’ of the sales world: she manages to keep it real whilst accessing a mass market.”But you don’t have to take AGENT’s word for it. Alison is also the toast of leaders as respected as Emma Jones, MBE, who started Enterprise Nation as a home business website and grew it into a strong, influential campaigning voice to government and the media on behalf of its 75,000 SME members.“Alison is one of the most entrepreneurial people that we have ever come across at Enterprise Nation,” Emma Jones says. “The entrepreneurial landscape in Britain is a better place with her in it.”Alison Edgar was always possessed of an entrepreneurial spirit but her actual career path began later in life. At the age of 41, she launched her Sales Coaching Solutions business, which was a success.And now with the Entrepreneur’s Godmother Brand, fuelled by her palpable passion for sales and business growth and development, she has gone to the next levelâ€"scaling her offering by devising and  delivering a range of services, including workshops in sales training, team training, public speaking as well as a range of online courses at her online centre.Her infectious, energetic enthusiasm for sales and small businesses has also led to increasing demand for Alison Edgar’s  services as a public speaker.Video Source: AlisonEdgar.com (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 12 Questions for Alison Edgar, The Entrepreneur’s Godmother MD of Sales Coaching SolutionsAlison Edgar took some time out from her busy schedule to field our questions about her entrepreneurial career to date, her challenges and triumphs, her role models and goals , as well as her ambition to be “the Adele of the sales world”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Briefly tell us about your business and your business goals.As The Entrepreneur’s Godmother and Managing Director of Sales Coaching Solutions, I have developed a fresh new approach to sales training and coaching, through online courses and sales workshops, that help start-ups, micros and small businesses to sell more of their fantastic products and services.I’m recognised as one of the UK’s top 10 business advisors and have even been invited to attend the Queen’s Royal Garden party for dedication to Enterprise. I won the GB Entrepreneur of the Year special merit for service award in 2015, and I am a Small Business Saturday and Enterprise Nation champion.I have also been featured in national press and radio as a sales expert and was most recently named in Richtopia’s Top 100 Most Influential Entrepreneurs in Britain.My business goal is that I want to be the Adele of the sales world because she manages to keep it real whilst accessing a mass market.2. What age were you when you realised you wanted to run your own business?I realised that I want to start my own business when I was given the life-changing news that I was going to lose my eyesight due to an overactive thyroid, unless I had radioactive therapy. That’s when I realised that life is too short to not follow your dreams. Thankfully, the radiotherapy was successful and I started my own business when I was 41 years old. In hindsight, I have always been entrepreneurial as I am hard to manage, and have a determination for success. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Who are your business icons and inspirations?My icon and inspiration is Emma Jones MBE, the founder and CEO of Enterprise Nation. She is a true role model, as she genuinely cares about the fate of small businesses and how they contribute to the world economy.4. What has been your biggest challen ge in business, and how did you surmount it?One of the biggest business challenges I have faced was when I employed the wrong person to help deliver my training. Also as a start-up business, I did not have a strong enough contract to protect myself against theft and copyright infringements. To overcome this, I created The Godmother brand and devised the online courses that have made the brand scalable. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. What gives you the most satisfaction in business?My satisfaction comes from the achievements of my clients. It makes me so happy when my clients phone or email to tell me their successes, whether it be landing a big deal or getting a new client.6. Work-Life balance: is it possible? How do you achieve it?I think that having a work-life balance at the beginning of any business journey is incredibly difficult. The way I relate to it is that it’s like having a new born baby: you don’t get much sleep and you have to work really har d, but the gratification you get from it really is amazing! When the business gets older it also becomes less needy and hopefully it will be able to look after you in old age. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. What is the first thing you do every day?Every day when I wake up I check my emails and social media. It’s not something I recommend doing first thing in the morning, but honesty is the best policy and it has to be done.8. What screen saver picture is currently on your phone?My screen saver is a picture of my husband and I, on holiday in the Caribbean. Every year I close down the company for Christmas and New Year to spend time with my family. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. What is the most important app on your mobile phone, and why?The most important app on my phone is my FitBit app. At the moment I am trying to have a healthier lifestyle and it reminds me to keep active. It tells me how many steps I’ve taken, and I love the s atisfaction of reaching my 10,000-step goal.10. What is the last thing you Googled?The last thing I googled was train times. That’s not overly exciting but I travel around a lot to see clients and to deliver training, so I always have to keep up to date with the train times. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11. What item do you never leave the house without, and why?I never leave the house without my phone or my iPad â€" I like to be connected.12. What advice would you give to your younger self starting out in business?The best advice I can give is to always believe in yourself. You can do anything you put your mind to. Another bit of advice would be to avoid ‘imposter’ syndrome. Rememberâ€"nobody knows more than you: they just know different things. Always have confidence in yourself.Image Source: AlisonEdgar.com