How loss spurred Rob on to success

The determination to succeed was summed up by world champion in the 50km walk Rob Heffernan who received a standing ovation from the delegates at the Offsite business conference in Rosscarbery.

Mr Heffernan told the delegates of how one moment’s loss of concentration had resulted in his disqualification from a race in Helsinki, meaning that he missed out on his Sports Council funding and had to go back to helping his brother deliver coal to feed his family.

However, other delegates at the conference were encouraging people to let their minds wonder. UCC entrepreneur in residence Owen O’Brien said that people had to let their minds wonder, to imagine new customers.

A born salesman, Mr O’Brien went from pulling pints in a bar in Dublin to importing and selling millions of euros worth of plumbing supplies. He described selling as “the highest calling in business.”

“Sales people are few and far between; the first secret of selling is that you have to love the product. Everyone you meet will tell you why you can’t buy it. You have to win this argument,” he said.

Although Mr O’Brien encouraged businesspeople to go out and engage with their clients another of the speakers, Elaine Doyle from Google, but formerly with food brand Cully & Sully, explained how to build a brand’s digital image.

She said that there has been a convergence of the real world and the online world and when thinking of building brand campaigns you need to combine the two.

“You can’t separate digital and human behaviour. When I think about a campaign I think about what are people doing right now, how can I get people to involve my brand,”

Ms Doyle explained the success of her work with Cully & Sully that resulted in the brand being bought for €10m.

The key, she said, was to maintain the brand voice while engaging with people.

People are the key to business success in Ireland, according to James Boyd from conferencing company PGi.