Read and Watch Our Training and Coaching Testimonials

Our Training and Coaching Testimonials

We are proud to have created products that we know suppliers want and that they can share with us the differences that we helped them to make. Here are Testimonials from our clients (We use their real names and titles so that you know that they are ‘real’ people):

For more video testimonials please visit our Youtube channel.


I really enjoyed my 1-2-1 training with Andy. After finishing my apprenticeship at Greenyard I was transitioning into my new role as a junior account manager and didn’t feel like I had some of the skills and confidence to do my new job well. We covered a lot of what I wanted to get out of the training, excel, body language, time-management & leadership skills which helped significantly. As well as coaching, Andy also helped with how to deal with certain situations for example if I had a bad day or a disagreement with another colleague. Overall, the training was very beneficial and gave me so much more confidence in doing my job efficiently.

Liam Porter, Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd


I really enjoyed my sessions with Andy. They were well presented, well-paced and it was clear throughout that Andy not only has an excellent knowledge base, but is passionate about serving the needs of his audience. The content provided was useful and thought-provoking, and the delivery was constantly adapted to follow the threads I was most interested in. I found his conversational approach and use of real-life examples particularly engaging.

Ross Clark, Westfalia Fruit International


The training we received from Andy and Darren was incredibly insightful and valuable. Andy and Darren spent a lot of time understanding our business and our team in order to tailor the training to the challenges we face. Each session was interactive – we used real-life examples from our business and discussed as a group how we would approach these challenges with the new skills and tactics we had learned. Our team has come away from the six sessions feeling more confident and capable at negotiations and dealing with buyers. This training comes highly recommended.

Ellie Hunt, NatraCare


I really enjoyed my Category Management sessions with Andy. I was new into my role as a Category Insight Manager and the training sessions helped me feel more confident in my new role. We covered many aspects of Category Management, from the broader top line things, such as learning about the importance of setting category objectives to work out each category’s strategies and initiatives, to the more granular aspects, such as coming up with hypotheses to understand what is going on in a specific category. I would definitely recommend Andy’s coaching sessions on Category Management as they cover a well-rounded way of working and thinking.

Daisy Charles, Abel & Cole


The MBM I2I training was insightful and was able to give us tools and methods to better utilise data to provide true business insight, and be able to then create better sales presentations, and land more business. The delivery was in a relaxed atmosphere, in small groups tailored to the proficiency of the attendees. A useful 3 hours of my time to understand and positively impact our business growth.

Nitesh Shah, Geeta’s Foods Ltd


I really enjoyed my coaching. It was really thought provoking. It makes you think about and analyse yourself as a person – where your challenges have been and how to overcome them. As a result I believe in myself more and am happy at work. I feel valued and that I have the authority to do what I need to do. I try to look at people in a different way and understand their point of view – why their behaviour is as it is. I don’t get as frustrated with people as I used to.

Paul Gilman, Site Engineering Manager, Hilton Foods UK


“I just wanted to thank you for the course and the learnings. Strange but good things happened as a result! After watching the video, I got home and practised my presentation all night, remembering to slow down, pause and breath. The next day, I gave my presentation twice and got great feedback. So much so, our Head of Sales who I had presented to asked if I could present the same thing again at the Sales Conference to 130 people on Wednesday. I couldn’t quite believe it and to say I was a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement.

Anyway, I practised some more, tweaked some things for a larger audience (added in some audience participation) and did it!! to 130 people (never ever would have thought I could do it!) remembering to pause and breath and it went really well. I have had the best feedback and still on a high really. Just wanted to send a quick thanks to you, the course could not have come at a better time for me!”

Carima Sherlock, Innovation Development Manager, A.G. Barr plc.


“As a relative newcomer to category management, the course delivers massively on providing the key framework around the role of category management within a successful retail focussed business. The content and the way the course was delivered, has given me a better, structured view on my role going forward and helped me plan what needs to be done to grow our influence as a department within our business.”

Liam Murphy, Marketing Assistant, Hilton Foods UK.


I have just completed Executive Coaching sessions with Nathan and found the course to be extremely useful. It has helped me deal with the stresses and anxieties I felt within my role and build on my own and the teams’ strengths. Can highly recommend it.

Scott Powers, Health and Safety Manager, AC Goatham


“I attended a great free Webinar on the purchase of Nisa by Coop, it’s clear that MBM really know their stuff and provide valuable insight based on the broad variety of trade experience that they have.”

Nathan Robinson, Business Manager, Purina.


“..it is the only training course that has really stayed with me. I think a lot of that is to do with the ‘learning to learn’ element that comes with it. The group of trainees are all treated as individuals, with individual learning needs and requirements. The negotiation course was second to none. I am still using some of the techniques today………………………… (that was me using silence).”

Richard Ellett, UK Senior NAM, Seatriever.


“I had the pleasure of attending [Executive Coaching] sessions with both Darren and Sally and I am still using what I learnt today. They certainly go above and beyond the call of duty and when I needed advice on how to handle and deal with a very difficult professional situation, Sally was the first person I thought to contact. She talked me through it and made it all make sense.”

Tracey Moore, Section Manager, Bakkavor.


“Very informative and extremely thought-provoking content.” 21 Mistakes You Make When Writing Emails Webinar. 

Andrew Gill, Pritchitts.


“I have recently completed 6 coaching sessions with Kate Burrows. After completing the course I have come away from the sessions with a lot more knowledge than I started with. We covered many topics. We began the coaching by establishing what my current short and long-term career goals are. We then looked at my strengths and weakness before putting a plan together on improving my weaknesses. We finished off with me completing a 360 appraisal, then went over it in our final session together. I would highly recommend this 360 appraisal! Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with Kate and feel I gained a lot of value from the course. Would definitely recommend.”

Ben Capper, AC Gotham.


AG Barr Learners talk about their Shopper Insights Course

Links to YouTube video with MBM client testimonial from Jamie Annand from Ramsden international
Jamie Annand Testimonial

 

Ramsden international | MBM Client Testimonials | Jamie Annand talks Coaching Sessions with MBM.

Links to YouTube video with MBM Testimonial from Angela Wright
Angela Wright Testimonial

 

Angela Wright, Learning and Development Manager, Greencore, talks about Learning To Learn.

Links to YouTube Video with MBM Testimonial from AG Barr
AG Barr Video Testimonial

 


“I found the webinar both insightful and thought-provoking. Working on the retail side of our business I hadn’t really thought about the implications for Food Service suppliers but clearly, Tesco will look to make in-roads and in so doing will offer up opportunities for some suppliers.”

Jim Ferguson. Business Account Controller (Baking). Dr. Oetker (UK) Ltd.


“I thought the webinar was great, providing some handy tips that I often forget to use when writing emails. It was useful to visually see the difference these tips made to an email too. Thank you again”.

Erika Bertulyte, Korbond Care & Repair.


“I work with Amazon and work with stakeholders of various geography and multi culture in my present role. Every tip out of 21 tips you gave were very connecting and value adding. I had few gaps before the session on errors my team does in email writing but now I am equipped with the wisdom on the same and finds my self capable to guide them as well as self on such errors.

A great thanks to you and your team for creating this value adding session.

Worth of my time investment to attend this module.”

Sanjeev Mittal, Amazon


I just want to give feedback on the WEBINAR: 21 Mistakes You Make When Writing Emails I have really found it very informative and insightful;

  1. It uses a fresh, new, innovative approach to writing an impactful email
  2. It was presented in an easy to follow format with graphics that grabbed and held your attention
  3. The way it was packaged, ie in 21 mistakes, focused attention on a recurring theme
  4. The facilitator was excellent – moving at a pace that generated interest for the next slide/mistake
  5. The facilitator complemented the slide information with meaningful content – not rehashing what is presented on the slides

I really gained a lot from this session and would recommend it to anybody who would like to write impactful emails.

Mariki Rademeyer, iAfrica.


“Our everyday chores rely pretty much on sending e-mails back & forward, hence, having an efficient, productive, accurate way of managing our e-mails and engaging with our peers is crucial to improve results making the most of our time and resources, as well as our customers’ or co-workers’. Darren makes an eloquent X-ray of our e-mail habits pointing out easy, sensible ways to avoid communication mistakes and productivity leaks, and all of it in only 30 minutes! for me one the best-used half-hour in years. The advice given should be re-read every once in a while to keep those golden rules fresh, they are certainly worth it.”

Javier Arizmendi Ruiz, Operations Manager, ZERYA Producciones sin Residuos S.L.


“I attended your webinar on e-mail pitfalls today. I found this well presented with good pace and poignant background to explain and illustrate points. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to gain more results from their e-mail communications”.

Jonathan Braisby, Refresco Beverages UK Limited


“As a business, we are trying to move away from an ‘email based culture’ and the webinar provided numerous ways of helping us to address this. The webinar Identified and offered solutions to the email mistakes that we are all guilty of, either knowing or unknowingly, and was delivering in a relevant and informal style that could be used to help improve communication across all levels of an organisation.”

Lisa Canterbury, MPM Products


“I attended the session online this morning, I found the content to be both very informative and very useful. For a person that sends and receives countless e-mails on a daily basis both internally and also internationally. It certainly made me stop, think and review how competent I am at this form of communication in both my work and social life. The session, I felt was well paced, certainly thought provoking in my approach to How What and To Whom I communicate in future”.

Martin Horsnail, Commercial Director, Homestead Foods Ltd


“I have been working with MBM for over a decade. During that time they have worked together with me and my Sales and Marketing team on both category projects and people development. I have come to trust that when they say they will do something they will, they bring me solutions, and not problems, and can be relied upon to do a great job. My recommendation is MBM because as well as looking after the development of my team very well for many years, they have also helped us solve many category challenges”.

Andy Jenkins, Sales and Marketing Controller, Cranswick Convenience Foods plc


“I was lucky enough to work with Andy Palmer from Making Business Matter (MBM), coaching him to review and examine the services that MBM provide for clients with a view to making them more brain friendly.   I was very quickly impressed with the quality of work that MBM already did and their approach to making learning easy, enjoyable and highly memorable and applicable for clients is one of the best I’ve come across.  They really embrace the concept of learning being more than an ‘event’ and have some innovative ways of ensuring learning lasts and is applied in the long term.

Working with Andy was a delight because he was so open to learning and keen to examine and challenge what they already did and to embrace challenge, feedback, and new ideas.  They had already intuitively embedded many of the principles of brain friendly learning into their programmes and have a very clear ethos and methodology to make learning sticky.  They now have further foundations based on the science of learning, and thanks to Andy’s creativity, many new ideas to continue to build and develop their services for the benefit of their clients.

I am confident that the changes that MBM are making to their design and delivery will provide exceptional support for their customers for the long term and I thoroughly recommend their services”.

Stella Collins FITOL, Creative Director of Stellar Learning and founder of the Brain Friendly Learning Group. She is also the author of ‘Neuroscience for Learning and Development’


“We brought-in MBM to help us win more business. Over the 6 months we worked with MBM we found them to bring new insight to our category, fundamentally change our approach to dealing with UK supermarkets and they surprised me in how much value they could add. Sadly, we did not win the business. Though, what did happen, was what MBM did bring to us – They had enabled us to not only win back our business a year later, but to also go on to win a lot more business. I would highly recommend using them if you are open to approaching UK supermarkets differently and want more business”.

David Flynn, MD, Fyffes UK


Mubeen Malik, Management Accountant for Samworth Brothers talks about Leadership training

Links to YouTube Video with MBM Testimonial from Mubeen Malik
Mubeen Malik Video Testimonial

 


“I learnt a huge amount during my Time Management training course. Practical, fun, very, very useful and lots to take away and use straight away”.

Nigel Whittaker, Commercial Director, Greencore


“This series of guides sets out to provide solutions to three extremely common issues faced by the vast majority of organisations irrespective of their size, location or nature of their enterprise. The issues roll up into a single challenge. How can we make sure that the time, effort and resource invested in training reap rewards? This challenge has been a thorn in the side of training and development professionals and their stakeholders for a very long time. Mary Broad and John Newstrom’s work in the 1980s and Broad’s book, ‘The Transfer of Training’, spelt the answer out clearly.

For training to be effective, it needs not only to be designed well, but also needs support from managers back in the workplace. Darren Smith has provided 16 straightforward solutions that address these issues, from practical advice on distilling learning and converting it into behaviour change (‘real’ learning) and mindset change, to effective engagement. Covering approaches from mind mapping and ‘trigger’ habit development, Smith offers practical actions to extend the impact of training beyond the classroom and back into the workplace.

The profession will welcome these guides and the help they offer”.
Charles Jennings, Founder of the 70:20:10 Learning Model, talks about the Free Guides


“Undoubtedly the most useful, engaging and insightful Course I’ve been on. Excellent Course pitched at an excellent level and I can’t wait to apply the new material” [Leadership training].

Sue Mawe, Logistics Manager, AMT Fruit


“I found the results of my own profile [HBDI Training Course] quite interesting in that I was surprised that I had any yellow capability at all! Besides the fact that I am very rooted in the present and like to deal in plain simple facts I do like to think I have some skills in the other three quadrants so I was happy to see that perhaps I understand my own limitations quite well. I would never describe myself as a people person but as you have already identified I am fascinated by human behaviour and love learning all about why humans behave the way they do. In addition to this I now have an understanding why so many people find dealing with my manager frustrating and yet I have developed a very basic method of interpreting his business needs and translating them for those of us that are not as comfortable in his natural arena”.

“I also now understand why other more social creatures find me “odd” or “difficult” because of my absolute need for the finer details in everything and my unwillingness to speak unless I actually have something worth saying. This feeds into my need to learn tolerance of those who do not function in the same way I do and also tolerance for myself when I get annoyed at myself for not being more creative – guess I need to throw out the “I hate humans” mantra and implement the “different strokes for different folks” one instead”.

“On the training itself – You told us you naturally sit in the blue quadrant of the model but if you had not told us this I doubt anyone would ever have guessed. The training was interesting, well delivered and dynamic. The group were comfortable with the content, pace and delivery and you leave people looking forward to the next session – so Thank You. Often when put onto a training course it is “hard work” and uninspiring but nothing could be further from this in terms of the training you have provided”.

Marion Flynn, Assistant Technical Manager, Hilton Foods Ireland


“MBM took us on an eye-opening journey with the Must Win Meetings masterclass. The team was highly engaged, and I think the value lies in the breadth of material covered. While all of the course was informative and insightful, what I observed was each member of the team encouraged to hone in on just one or two techniques that most resonated with them, and to explore that in more depth. I think this is a great approach to learning, as it makes the course more personalised. Many thanks MBM, we look forward to working with you more in the future”.

Guy Wootton, Director of Category & Insight, Moy Park


“I have worked with DAS and his team for the last 6 years within different companies and have found them to really understand the challenges and barriers which FMCG companies come up against with retailers. The courses are well structured and all about results delivery and how to maximise them. The courses take you out of your comfort zone and slowly put you back in, making the journey tough but worthwhile, especially when you get that lightbulb moment and the negotiation examples work in practice”.

Kim Matthews, Commercial Director, O’Brien Fine Foods


“Initially I was very sceptical of the whole concept; to me it was being placed into a box and “this is were you are”. After Wednesday’s session my view has changed; for me personally I found it very rewarding and a great eye opener.

If I was to take one thing above all others away from Wednesday it would be how one group of people see other groups. From that, it steered me into thinking how my work colleagues interpret what I’m trying (struggling) to say/communicate/explain. What has it done for me; it slowed me down, I now try to find the key pieces of information that will get people engaged into what I am trying to say. I appear to have more time.

This is what the 3 hours Wednesday did for me, both professionally and personally. It was great and probably one of the best sessions I have had in Hilton in my almost 14 years with the company”.

Adrian Regen, Hilton Foods Ireland


“MBM trained my team in Negotiation Skills and Time Management. They worked with my team over a number of sessions both classroom and 121, to help them improve their abilities to negotiate and manage their team better. I would recommend MBM to any supplier that is has a need to negotiate more effectively and focus on getting more of what is essential,

John O’Brien, MD of O’Brien Fine Foods


“Ensuring newly created teams hit the ground running is not easy alongside the day job and that’s why we engaged MBM.  We needed the individuals within our new team to gel fast and work together from the start, and we then we needed this new team to collaborate openly and effectively internally cross function. MBM provided the framework and support that met our needs and exceeded expectations…MBM took a relevant no-nonsense approach that was quick to realise and at an appropriate cost.”
Simon Spence, Sales Director, Westbridge Foods


“I have been trained by MBM now for 18 months.  In that time I seen great improvements to the team creating a vision and pillars to achieve.  I have also benefited personally from some of the soft skills that I have learnt in this time, with time management being very useful to have learnt early in my career.  I would recommend MBM to any team that have a desire to improve. Darren and the team have a great way of presenting without the old school handout/powerpoint methods which kept the team engage for the full days of training.

Stuart Robinson, NAM, Hilton Foods


“I really enjoyed the <LTL> course. The Learning styles exercise was particularly enlightening. So much so that I got Andy to give me a spare copy. Then I asked my wife to complete it that evening, so that I could try and understand her a little better! ? The learning styles piece is great for my own self-awareness and to make me conscious/aware of why other people may react differently in a meeting/course etc.

Plus, to better understand the team who work for me and how I may need to tailor my approach with them off the back of it – The way I do it is probably indicative of how I would want to learn, rather than how they would best take things in. The mind mapping was also great and is something I have occasionally used in the past but having seen how to do it properly, something I will use more.

Finally, Keepers and triggers – I have already started to note down the room, who’s there, who I’m next to, weather etc. Habits – not incorporated any of these into my work life but certainly have done at home and got myself a trigger to make sure they are linked.”

Marc Summers, Account Controller, AG Barr


“MBM quite simply gave me the tools to do the job in a far more advanced and professional way. From delivering professional coaching to effective category management practices, these learnings have allowed me and my team to undertake these skills very effectively with our key retail customers. Thanks to the whole MBM team for their continued support of our business.”

Graham Issac, Head of Retail, Greencell


“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with MBM over a number of years on both category and people projects. Das and his team have added immense value to the process, and to my own personal development, on every occasion, and I cannot recommend them highly enough”.

Alan Chapman, Acting Managing Director, Walkers Sausage Co.


Laura Hickie, Insights Manager, O’Brien Fine Foods, talks about her Time Management training

Links to YouTube video with MBM Time Management Testimonial from Laura Hickie of O'Brien's
Laura Hickie of O’Brien’s Testimonial

 


Darren successfully delivered a bespoke team away day that matched the objectives I set him. He quickly harmonised the different levels of enthusiasm and personality of my team to ensure a positive dynamic and cohesive bond throughout the day. He was able to get the complete commitment and honesty from the team because he was able to project the fact he was actually ‘one of us’.
Passions were soon ignited and the team quickly realised their individual contribution was vital to shaping future strategic direction of the business unit. The content of the day was very relevant to our actual business environment and most importantly was fun. This created a platform post the course to focus on continued personal development objectives and the greater contribution of individuals towards the business unit’s strategic output.”

Clive Huntley, Business Unit Director, AG Thames


“MBM really helped us to pinpoint the areas of category understanding that offered us the greatest opportunities and then transformed how we talk about Category across our business. They are challenging and will ask difficult questions to get the best out of your team and the knowledge within. More importantly the flexibility of their approach means the project is tailored precisely to your objectives and MBM will keep you on track throughout. Most importantly their retail experience helped us distill a complicated and broad project into simple, meaningful and actionable pieces which buyers understood and welcomed. Project Clear was hard work, great fun and genuinely business transformational”.

Tony Walsh, Category Controller, Florette


“MBM organised our annual team away day and delivered a first class event. Building the schedule around  resolving business challenges and conflicts, the content was well-managed and supported by Darren’s insight into high performing teams in customer facing environments. We were impressed with every aspect of the training and would not hesitate to recommend MBM.”

Jon Barfoot, Commercial Director, Barfoots of Botley


“We asked MBM to lead an away day for our leadership teams and they delivered exactly what we needed. Tailoring the session to meet our needs (and adapting it as he went along to ensure they stayed engaged). Andy led a highly entertaining and interactive afternoon based around their HBDI ® assessments with a group of GPs,  Senior Nurses, Mangers and the Executive Team and six weeks on people are still talking about what colour they are and what that means for how they work together. A hugely successful event and I’d highly recommend them if you want to shift the thinking with your teams.”
Jo Betterton, Associate Director for Organisational Development, The Hurley Group


“The People Management sessions was very constructive and lifting in a way. All days had been delivered by Andy and Sue, both very knowable and fact full. For us it worked better off site then at Freshtime. You both put everyone at ease with you style of delivery. I felt you both complement each other.”

Janet Parsons, Process Technologist, Freshtime


Patrick Crease, NPD Manager, Cranswick, talks about his Executive Coaching

Links to YouTube video with MBM testimonial by Patrick Crease of Cranswick
Patrick Crease of Cranswick Testimonial

 


“I have attended 3 courses with MBM over the last 18 months; Time Management, Category Management & Influencing with Impact and have completed each course with clear direction & effective improvements to my working life. Attending all three courses has opened my eyes to the potential EVERY employee has if they follow the process & practices MBM teach you in each course.

Time Management is a perfect starting point and this course gives you a clear structure on how you should plan your day-to-day ‘To Do’ list, ensuring you manage the most important tasks with focus. After completing the course I have gained knowledge on how to manage big & small tasks and always work to a structured approach ensuring that workload is always ‘stress free!’….what’s more, beneficial than that!

Category Management has allowed me to reaffirm some of the theoretical models learnt back in my University days, however with MBM’s approach to understanding my individual learning objectives for each course they were able to tailor this theory to my day-to-day role so that it was relevant and thus easier to understand and apply. In addition to this I learnt some new analysis models with regards to Opportunity Analysis; such as Ranging, Loyalty & Propensity, all giving me a deeper understanding into potential growth opportunities.

Influencing with Impact has helped me to understand how my body language and mannerisms communicate subconscious messages to my audience, what I needed to control and the simple ways to be more influential.  I thoroughly enjoyed this course and came out with various approaches to improving my deliverance and influencing impact, which I put into practice immediately.

All of these courses have improved my day-to-day working, furthered my Category Management abilities and helped me to deliver proposals with confidence & impact. Darren, Andy, Sally…Thank you for your guidance & support before, during & after these courses, I hope our paths cross again in the future.”

Andrew Hollingworth, Customer Marketing Manager, Continental Fine Foods


Carol Ford, Apple and Pear Polisher, AC Goatham & Son, talks about the GSCOP Masterclass

Links to YouTube video with MBM client testimonial from Carol Ford of AC Goatham
Carol Ford of AC Goatham Testimonial

 


The Time Management training course gave practical methods of managing my time, it opened my eyes to areas which I thought I was good at i.e. multi tasking but actually needed to stop and be specific and focus.  This has helped enormously in my work and whilst I naturally move toward multi tasking I can now recognise it and focus myself on 1 area at a time using such methods as eat the frog, breaking down a wooly mammoth and also question the work I do in relation to why I’m employed by the company which was one of the biggest learnings I took away. It’s a very interactive course which helps drive home the methods, the keeper sheets are good memory joggers which I still use. The advanced course was helpful in that it  refreshed what I had taken and was using from the initial course, whilst going into more depth in very specific areas for the group I was with, which was extremely helpful and it was actually fun”.

Michelle O’Mahony, Launch Co-Ordinator, Greencore, Hull


Matthew Churchill, Account Manager at Greencell, talks about Executive Coaching:

Links to YouTube video with MBM Testimonial from Matthew Churchill of Greencell
Matthew Churchill of Greencell Testimonial

 

Links to YouTube video with MBM client testimonial from Rob Fox of MMUK
Rob Fox of MMUK Testimonial

 


“After a short phone conversation, we received the ‘Are You Struggling To Demonstrate The Return On Investment You Get From Your Training Providers?’ free guide. This guide gave a clear, accurate and most importantly practical way learning and development specialists can measure their impact to the business, which is arguably now more important than ever before.”

Danny Benton, Learning & Development Manager, for Western & Northern Europe and Asia Pacific, RES


“This training programme has provided the team with a skill set which is multi transferrable for professional and personal life. The toolkit which we now possess gives us an insight into how best to approach individuals and situations and guides us to be the best version of ourselves possible”.

Donna Harris, Category Manager, Hilton Foods Ireland


Darren was recommended to me by a former colleague who had used Making Business Matter specifically to delivery GSCOP training and I wasn’t disappointed. From the moment that we engaged I was filled with the confidence that Darren would deliver, and deliver well as he certainly knows his chosen subject matter. Combined with a credible and proven retail background Darren was both personable and experienced and delivered eloquently, informatively and in a friendly style that worked well with my team particularly as our session included colleague’s from both commercial and cross functional disciplines. GSCOP is such an important subject and we clearly had knowledge gaps prior to our training session but I can comfortably say that now the whole team are more informed, more aware and have a much clearer understanding of the code. Thank you”.

Testimonial from Eamonn Kavanagh, Head of Retail at JF Renshaw


“We have been working with Darren and his team for around 18 months now within Hilton. The first year they were a training provider purely for the Category Department.

This training was the reason why Darren was then invited to one of our 2 day management events early 2017 and presented to the Senior Management for both our UK & Irish site. People were impressed with what they saw and more so impressed with Darren when he talks so passionately about sticky learning as we have had many training providers in over the years who were not able to keep the momentum going.

This is when we sat down and explained to MBM the challenges we had site wide and asked them to design a training programme that would be bespoke to our culture and our requirements.Only a short time after MBM were able to present to us with fresh behavioural masterclass development approach which was just what we were looking for. Training commenced in May of this year and so far has been a huge success, there’s work involved for both the learner and their manager surrounding the sticky learning but MBM have supported us all the way in achieving what we set out to achieve.”

Testimonial from Kelly Pope, HR Manager, Hilton Foods


Really good Webinar on a subject which we can all improve in. Excellent content and delivery. I have taken a lot from it and can now see ways of improving my style and adopting a different approach so the desired output is achieved – 21 Mistakes You Make When Writing Emails Webinar.

Massimo Stravino, AG Barr


I found the course useful. Some key bits for me were considering To/CC and if you have CC someone in explain why. I also took note of how to best structure my emails to get a quick and effective response i.e. using bullet points, considering headings and using the bold function. Since sitting the course I am now hoping to create a “charter” for emails within my direct reports – 21 Mistakes You Make When Writing Emails Webinar.

Lorna Thomas, AG Barr


Enjoyed the webinar that i tuned into last evening. The key tenets of success were clear and concise, well articulated and thought-provoking. The webinar was clear and the ‘Go-To’ platform over that timeframe is the ideal vehicle to present FMCG business topics of relevance. The fact that it was not a hard sell for follow on training was also greatly appreciated. I would (and have!) strongly recommend your webinars to people in this industry – Are You Struggling to Negotiate and Win with Your Buyer? Webinar.

Alex McLaren, Gordian Solutions


I have found MBM’s webinars to be useful and engaging. They are well structured and paced from knowledgeable presenters. They make you think about the fundamentals you should be doing and provide solutions where you aren’t. I would recommend these and there other resources – Are You Struggling to Negotiate and Win with Your Buyer? Webinar.

Simon Ashwell, Tilda


This webinar was very true to everyday life and it made me rethink how much time I should spend on emails – Are You Trapped in Your Inbox? Webinar.

David Gibson, AG Barr


It was a 30 mins full of engagement on the subject. My Org uses SBI model and I had a fair understanding of the same. However post this session I am now more clearer on S B I model in detail and with practical application of the concept – Are You Struggling to Give Feedback to a Colleague and It Is Not Landing as Intended? Webinar.

Sanjeev Mittal, Amazon


A great punchy learning from MBM again! When you only have limited time this is a great resource to tap into! Thank you Darren and the team….. a brilliant company helping spread best practices in the industry – 7 Mistakes Leaders Make Webinar.

Jane Clarke


The session by MBM covered the entire breadth on this subject. A great introspection during the session while the trainer was covering all the 7 mistakes we all make as leaders. The session helped in self identification of those mistakes with a action plan to self correct them. A great value add session – 7 Mistakes Leaders Make Webinar.

Sanjeev Mittal, Amazon


Although I thought my emailing technique was sound, Darren’s webinar pointed out certain faults in my ability to write effective emails.
This has made me think more about how potentially impactful a well written email can be, and how I could make my life easier by spending more time taking care in how I construct my emails going forward – 21 Mistakes You Make When Writing Emails Webinar.

Liam Murphy, Hilton Foods


‘I truly believe that I couldn’t have better coach- Nathan is phenomenal!  He has a great knowledge as well as personal and professional experience.
I feel more confident in my work, I believe more in my own abilities and power. Thanks to him I know now that in order to have better communication with people, I need to ask better questions and I know the importance to avoid starting questions with “why”. I know the importance of giving both- positive and negative feedback to the people I am responsible for in work and what is the best way to give the feedback.

I am more comfortable delegating responsibilities. I am more careful with people’s emotions- firstly making sure I try to understand what emotion stays behind a behaviour that is to be changed in order to keep the well-being of the business and the standards intact. On a personal level- Nathan helped me realise that there are many ways to develop not only professionally but personally as well. He helped me find new ways to use my emotions in the most intelligent way to get the best possible outcome and to move forwards. Thanks to him and the coaching I realised that in order to be the best version of myself, I better manage myself and lead others with care, with good talks, with respect, asking the right questions.’

Gergana Petrova, Packhouse Manager, AC Goatham and Sons


“Having hand-picked a team of bright young things, with a breadth of talent & a hunger for growth, MBM literally ‘lit the touch paper’ & helped accelerate these incredible individuals into an unrivalled team of category leaders. Training styles that engage & stick, sharing pertinent tools for 2021 and beyond, injected with true empathy that only raw experience brings, plus one-to-one coaching for those seeking to venture into new fields, these guys not only had our backs but provided some great memories along the way. It’s been a blast, we thank-you Andy Palmer and Darren Smith!”.

Melinda Munds, Head of Insights, Oscar Mayer

Related Articles:

Ultimate Guide

There’s More!

Improve your Personal Development with Resources Designed for You

Woman pointing down with purple down arrows
Pack of MBM Coaching card on yellow background

Get your Pack of Coaching Cards from Amazon