Forest Traders excel the standard realms of advertising by providing a full service to our customers at a very affordable cost. For a low fee, you will receive the full package of having an advert on www.foresttraders.co.uk, promotion via our social media, the opportunity to have your advert in our bi-annual brochures (small extra cost), representation at local shows/carnivals and fetes when we are exhibiting by having your cards/leaflets on our stand and the opportunity to gain referrals through social media tagging and networking. All of this combined means we are constantly working to gain a good online presence for your Business and all from just £66 for 6 months! *One off activation fee applies.
NAME: Jo Davies-Raynor BUSINESS NAME: Forest Traders WEBSITE: www.foresttraders.co.uk CONTACT: contact@foresttraders.co.uk or 07843 224988 1 - HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR CURRENT BUSINESS? - 6 years, and 5 months. 2 - WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT LAST YEAR FOR YOUR BUSINESS? - Building the consultancy side of Forest Traders. It was great to be able to work with businesses on how they can turn their ideas into reality and to effectively market themselves to their target audience. 3 - WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE COMING YEAR? - To build the categories on the website. We’ve launched “We Want You Wednesdays” where every 2 weeks we will be searching for specific company types. If they join us within 3 weeks, they can choose a free reward. 4 - WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU HAVE DONE IN YOUR BUSINESS THAT YOU CONTINUE TO DO? - I love having the ability to make people feel more confident in their businesses. I love meetings where I can help them see daylight at the end of their thoughts and make them realise how solid and worthwhile all of their hard work will be! I love the feeling of someone gaining work because of something I have done. 5 - WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE FOR A BUSINESS TO HAVE? To be down to earth. There is a big difference between being professional but human and just simply unprofessional. As technology advances, so does unfortunately the ability to be scammed more easily. Having a more human approach where you can build a relationship of trust with your client speaks volumes for the liklihood of them recommending you to friends and family and therefore your client base expanding. 6 - WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? - My 4 awards that adorn the beautiful fireplace we have in our office. I feel very privileged to have been the finalist for “Young Business Person of the Year” 3 times in a row and once for “Communicator of the Year”. As these awards are all Gloucestershire based, it means a lot to know all of my hard work is being recognised. 7 - WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THAT WOULD HELP YOUR BUSINESS? - I’d love to learn how to be a bit more “to the point” when explaining about Forest Traders. As I love to chat and find out about my potential customers business, I often find when I look back over a meeting, that I have glanced over Forest Traders and what it does too quickly and may have even missed explaining key points. That’s something that will come with new strategies and practice of them. 8 - WHAT MISTAKES HAVE YOU MADE, OTHERS COULD LEARN FROM? - Many! Anyone who says they haven’t made any is lying. In fact I told someone in a meeting yesterday that although you can know the maximum possible about your business and its products/services, running a business and effectively selling it is a constant learning curve as things constantly adapt and will continue to do so. My goal this year is to always confirm whether a meeting is happening or not. Don’t assume that no reply means it isn’t happening……….I’ve been caught out too many times by that misunderstanding! 9 - WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS CONTACT WOULD HELP YOUR BUSINESS? - Lots, our We Want You Wednesdays are businesses we are looking for because we have referrals waiting for them. These include Gardners, Therapists, Dog Groomers, Cleaners and many more! Our social media channels will keep you up to date on these. 10 - CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY MOTIVATIONAL BOOKS THAT HAVE HELPED YOU? - No, but on the recommendation of a good friend, I have started a gratitude diary since Jan 1st. Everyday you write down what you have been grateful for (some days it’s simply that it didn’t rain!). It makes you think about what has been good about your day instead of what has been perhaps hard. I’m enjoying it. 11 - WHAT WOULD BE YOUR NO1 WISH IF YOU HAD A GENIE? - For admin to happen automatically without me knowing so I can focus on the more fun tasks! 12 - WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST CAP BUSINESS CLUBS EXPERIENCE TO DATE? - Business wise, having people laugh, nod and compliment you on a presentation is always a warming experience. So too is having someone give you a testimonial, it gives you the drive to work hard. Personally, I cried happy tears when the Monday club gave me a beautiful gift of oils and candles to help with my recovery after an operation. To know everyone was thinking of me was lovely. |
Testimonials
Brilliant service from www.foresttraders.co.uk, who are not only extremely reasonable in price but make sure that every opportunity is used to promote our Company, be it on Facebook, Twitter or other media. All in all, work very hard to promote any Company listed with them, which can only help to win Business. - Linda
Thanks for your help Jo, you have been fantastic. We will definitely recommend you. You are extremely efficient, a great communicator and very prompt to answer questions and upload adverts. - Beth “Jo of Forest Traders has been fantastic in helping me grow my pet sitting business.She is a brilliant communicator, organiser, a great inspiration and an ambassador in representing small businesses in the Forest of Dean. I continue to advertise with Forest Traders as I love the friendly personal approach to business marketing and is very helpful with a wealth of knowledge from advertising my business on line, through social media and local events. I highly recommend any local businesses to advertise with Forest Traders - at reasonable rates too - a great service and resource for the community ….you wont be sorry.” Lisa M I have been using Forest Traders for just under 6 months and have found them a great company to work with.
Friendly, reliable and a great way to help me promote my Business throughout The Forest of Dean. I look forward to working with them for many years to come. - Ben I am very grateful to Jo and Andy for their help in marketing my Business K M Event Decor through the Forest Traders Website. Their marketing strategy is great, and just what the Forest of Dean needs. No fuss, just an easy, simple to use directory of all the local Businesses. They are very professional at what they do, their advertising costs are very reasonable and I recommend them to local Businesses who are looking for affordable advertising all the time. - Kirsty Forest Traders is a no brainer for me. Excellent google rankings combined with the best social media coverage bar none. At the heart you have Jo Davies working hard for your business, Jo actually cares and is passionate about her marketing strategies and it shows. Highly recommend Forest Traders to any business. - Paul J Jo has been running a very successful Twitter campaign for us in the lead up to the biggest and best FREE arts event in the Forest of Dean & Wye Valley. She has worked so hard for us, and come up with so many good ideas - we are happy to extend her contract with us for the foreseeable future. We highly recommend Jo and Forest Traders and the work they do. - David Broadbent for Forest & Valley Open Studios |
