[Rob Fryer]

Hi Doris
this sounds interesting. I have worked within internal comms in the past so have a pretty good idea of it but many I feel don’t know much about it so introduction pieces and workshops sound great.

I am also assuming that you are primarily targeting leadership teams within an organisation so training that addresses how leaders can motivate and engage teams through internal comms would be good things to focus on.

Some areas of focus that we worked on in past roles were:
Strategic Communication Planning on what content do we need to put out and where – (What technology paltforms etc)?
Employee Engagement & Culture building – Using internal comms to continually enforce and aligning employees on the brand values to create a connected and motivated workforce.
Leadership comms training (as mentioned above) – Helping leadership teams communicate effectively to inspire and align teams through comms.

Hope this helps

[Doris Holleufer]

Thanks Rob, that is so helpful! Yes, when I’m networking and tell people I work in internal comms, I generally get blank looks or worse still people think I mess about with wires and cables under people’s desks. Working with leadership teams within organisations sounds like a good approach – motivating and engaging teams is so important these days particularly as the office landscape has changed from desk-based to hybrid to fully remote as well as choosing the right platforms. Building brand values and the company’s culture in comms is my ‘bread and butter’, not just informing employees but building the story and giving them the tools to be able to connect the dots and see the bigger picture. This is great feedback for me to work into my plan – thanks very much!

[Rob Fryer]

No Problem Hope it helps. Always up for a coffee chat (virtually or in person) if you want to discuss any other ideas.

[Doris Holleufer]

Hi Rob, It would be great to meet up for a coffee sometime – are you based in Bordon? I’m in Haslemere so could easily come to you – let me know if you’re up for it. Many thanks!

[Hannah Logan]

Hey Doris – This all sounds brilliant! I think there’s definitely a strong market for what you’re offering. It feels like the mix of workshops, toolkits, and mentoring really covers all bases, and I can see a lot of businesses finding value in them.

The workshops especially stand out—“Using AI in Comms” and “Creating Accessible Comms” feel super relevant right now, and I bet a lot of companies would love practical advice on both.

I’m a big fan of toolkits—having ready-made resources for things like newsletters and email campaigns would be a game-changer for teams that need to level up their comms without starting from scratch.

One thing that could be worth considering (if you haven’t already) is offering customised strategy sessions for businesses that need more tailored guidance. Some companies might love a more hands-on, consultative approach alongside your structured offerings, and I know you have that experience, from our previous chats. I’m excited to see where you take it!

[Doris Holleufer]

Thanks Rob, that is so helpful! Yes, when I’m networking and tell people I work in internal comms, I generally get blank looks or worse still people think I mess about with wires and cables under people’s desks. Working with leadership teams within organisations sounds like a good approach – motivating and engaging teams is so important these days particularly as the office landscape has changed from desk-based to hybrid to fully remote as well as choosing the right platforms. Building brand values and the company’s culture in comms is my ‘bread and butter’, not just informing employees but building the story and giving them the tools to be able to connect the dots and see the bigger picture. This is great feedback for me to work into my plan – thanks very much!

Hi Hannah, again such great feedback – thanks so much! The customised strategy sessions is not something I had considered, but does make perfect sense – will have a look at this too.

[Gareth Turner]

Hey Doris,

This all sounds like a really solid and well-rounded offering! I love how you’ve structured it into workshops, toolkits, and mentoring—it gives people different ways to engage depending on their needs and resources.

The workshops, especially “Using AI in Comms” and “Creating Accessible Comms,” feel particularly timely and valuable. Accessibility in comms is something a lot of businesses are still figuring out, so a practical session on that could really stand out.

One area that might be worth exploring is crisis communication and change management—helping businesses navigate tough conversations, restructures, or reputational challenges. It feels like that could be a great addition, especially for leadership teams who need to get messaging right in high-pressure situations.

Also, on the toolkits side, have you thought about including templates or best-practice frameworks for things like internal messaging plans or employee engagement strategies? A plug-and-play approach could be a huge time-saver for teams trying to improve their comms but unsure where to start.

Really excited to see where you take this—there’s definitely a big need for strong internal comms guidance, and your expertise will be a huge asset!

[Doris Holleufer]

Thanks Rob, that is so helpful! Yes, when I’m networking and tell people I work in internal comms, I generally get blank looks or worse still people think I mess about with wires and cables under people’s desks. Working with leadership teams within organisations sounds like a good approach – motivating and engaging teams is so important these days particularly as the office landscape has changed from desk-based to hybrid to fully remote as well as choosing the right platforms. Building brand values and the company’s culture in comms is my ‘bread and butter’, not just informing employees but building the story and giving them the tools to be able to connect the dots and see the bigger picture. This is great feedback for me to work into my plan – thanks very much!

Hi Hannah, again such great feedback – thanks so much! The customised strategy sessions are not something I had considered, but does make perfect sense – will have a look at this.

[Stuart Morrison]

Welcome Doris, I’ve done a lot of B2B marketing (websites) and have also worked with internal comms teams to deliver staff comms programmes (WIlliam Hill, Perfect Home and others). You make a very interesting proposition which shows your expertise in this area. What I would think about is not just what you’re offering but what one problem does each “thing” solve for the client. Sure you are all over that type of thing, so will leave it there, but drilling into the “why is my customer buying this?” and “what pain point is this fixing?” are two questions that I find help give me a quick and easy insight into just how to pitch what it is you are offering to your ideal customer.

However it can also allow you to think about the basic “relief” you offer and then just start to think of innovative routes to market that you might take to introduce “internal comms” under a different guise, to a new market of untapped opportunities. Example: You might offer dentists a progamme to help internal comms for the staff/team. Which is the product, and shows knowledge. But the dentist might really “lean in” if you spoke about improving outcomes for their patients.

In my hypothetical scenario, if Dentists proved ideal customers you then just boil it down to the killer pitch, such as;

“Want better patient reviews, and improved margins?”.

Practice professionals are going to prick up their ears at that.
That’s the foot in the door that lets you go on…

I’m Doris Holleufer an internal comms speaclist of X years, and in my experience business that improve internal comms with a programme of team development. Reducing mix-ups and mistakes in your practice, which you know just ends with a poor patient outcomes. And who doesn’t like to gossip about the “mistake my dentist made…” to their friends, and online? It’s a real headache, staying ahead of the bad reviews, and the time it takes to deal with complaints, that’s just wasted hours baked right into your business.

If that’s made you interested then contact me today for a free 45 minute strategy session. If you think I have wasted your time I will donate £50 to a charity of your choice, but as I sit here and write this I know money is leaking out of your business in wasted time, effort, and resources. I won’t waste your time any longer, I know it’s precious. Thank you for considering visiting blah.com to book a time to talk that is convenient to us both.

I wish you continued success with your endeavours.”

Obv. there’s a boatload of caveats with all the above, but the point I am rather “over-egging” is that if you can identify a problem, then offer the solution things tend to be easier to sell than simply offering a list of services and hoping that someone might see what you do and give you a call. Most busy business owners or directors are head-down and in full flow, you need to interrupt them with a compelling pitch. Makes selling easier as you also find more customers at the point they want to buy, rather than looking for people who might at some future point, once you have spent a lot of time educating them as to the benefit of your services may buy. rust me, hands down know this from first hand experience. A perennial parade of “possibles” polluted my pipeline. Then someone clued me in that it was no good trying to show people how skilful I was, if they didn’t know they needed my skills!

OK, hope that helps and look forward to seeing you flourish and grow!

P.S. apologies for any of the poor grammar, punctuation and spelling; I have decided to leave it in so you knew a human wrote this not a StuBot! Lovely to make your virtual acquainteance and look forward to finding out more about your offering either at the Monday Session at 9:30am on Zoom, or at one of the in-person meetings? Have a great weekend!😎

[Doris Holleufer]

Thanks Rob, that is so helpful! Yes, when I’m networking and tell people I work in internal comms, I generally get blank looks or worse still people think I mess about with wires and cables under people’s desks. Working with leadership teams within organisations sounds like a good approach – motivating and engaging teams is so important these days particularly as the office landscape has changed from desk-based to hybrid to fully remote as well as choosing the right platforms. Building brand values and the company’s culture in comms is my ‘bread and butter’, not just informing employees but building the story and giving them the tools to be able to connect the dots and see the bigger picture. This is great feedback for me to work into my plan – thanks very much!

Hi Hannah, again such great feedback – thanks so much! The customised strategy sessions are not something I had considered, but does make perfect sense – will have a look at this.

Hi Gareth – your comments are really helpful. Looking at crisis and change comms is definitely worth considering. I’ve worked on a number of change programmes (organisational, process, technology, regulatory, and cultural changes) in the past for large companies (Barclays, GSK), I can see how I can adapt some of these campaigns for small to med organisations. The toolkits will be critical for me to get right – a plug and play approach seems to me to be a good way to go – thanks for the feedback!

Stuart, this is such great advice – getting my service offering right has been my first step into this new world of becoming a solopreneur, but I also recognise how important it is to market myself and I have to say, that is something I have yet to feel comfortable about. Your approach is brilliant, I love this, absolutely makes sense. Thanks!

[Stuart Morrison]

One last thought – go to ChatGPT and get a free account, tell it what you do, broadstrokes of it, and then ask Chat GPT to give you some great ideas on how to market your business based on your input. Then do the same and ask it to check your competitors website and assess your competitors core activities and why customers want those things.

Between the two outputs you should get some nice insights that you can spin into compelling copy for your website/sales calls.

All the best and look forward to seeing the results!

[Doris Holleufer]

Hi Stuart, Just had a play with AI – first time I’ve used it for something like this – really great output, saved me loads of time in research – thanks for the tip!

[Stuart Morrison]

That’s great! Keep us updated as to progress.