Marketing and Finance - Live Episode 3

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Guest: James Perry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesperryaccountingsuccesscoach/) Topic: Marketing and Finance

Discussion Points

• Guinness!!
• Irish history
• Personal branding
• Financial education
• Professional marketing qualifications
• Importance of practical experience

Link to the live video:https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:6712752394180075520/

Enjoy the Episode - Happy Marketing!

Website Thingy: www.marketingstudylab.co.uk The Professional Bit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersumpton/ Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marketingstudylab/ Tweet Tweet: https://twitter.com/cousinp81

Transcript (this transcript isn’t 100% accurate but provides a decent representation of the conversation – soz for any confusion)

Peter Sumpton 

Hello and welcome. My name is Peter Sumpton, marketing consultant and Lego master of marketing and you're listening to the marketing study lab podcast live. Well, this bit isn't live, but the rest of it is. You'll hear a bit about that later. I mean, now, let's crack on. These episodes are taken from my live show marketing and where we look at the relationship between marketing and a specific topic. Subject or specialism, sometimes there'll be guests other times it'll just be me. So let's get cracking Okay, fantastic. Live live live love it. And I am so delighted to be joined today for this little chat with Mr. James Perry. James How are you doing?

James Perry 

I'm good Peter. What about yourself? Thank you for having me.

Peter Sumpton 

No problem. I'm doing pretty damn well to be fair. Yeah, all is good big workshop today. Hang on one second. Yeah, just a bit of technical difficulty there Yeah, I did a workshop today that had loads of people in it which is absolutely fantastic all engaged all interested in in marketing and the theory and about how you build a marketing plan and stuff like that so I can't complain sunshine and I think it's a bit cold outside but who cares? This isn't a weather forecast. So we don't really care Believe it or not, the weather is lovely here. It's not cooled

James Perry 

and we're in the north of Ireland here which is all we get out.

Get out that's not Peter like I say to people the London for Ireland this Hibernia which meant which means the land of water so I

Peter Sumpton 

see now you're gonna have to come back on because I don't know enough about islands and I don't know how I'm going to link it to marketing but there's bound to be some way and your knowledge of marketing and marketing your knowledge of Island and the history is on real so yeah, we're gonna have to link that in some way shape or form I'm not sure how but like well

James Perry 

here we go. One of the biggest brands in the world is Irish.

Guinness

Peter Sumpton 

well see that's why I invite you on you just keep me in check and make me look fun cuz I'm

James Perry 

brought on brand Ireland and I brand Ireland. For a country is incredibly strong. hoka high kind of country an island of 6 million people get every person in the water to celebrate Irishness on one particular day. Or Patrick's Day.

Peter Sumpton 

Thoughts marketing at its finest. That is that is brilliant. That isn't how I thought we'd start today. But yeah, let's let's carry on down that route. Yeah, absolutely. Bang, right. Like, like what what Guinness Do you know, they are the antithesis of a heritage historic brand, which keeps transforming what they do from a Marxian perspective yet keeping that history. And those those brand qualities of the the, the white top, the black Guinness, that the iconic glass, that the only company I know that can create an advert about water, and not even mention what they actually sell what they actually do and that you should drink something else other than Guinness and then publicise it, I mean, just amazing stuff.

James Perry 

The way that the company was find it, so there's finally over 300 years ago by Arthur chemists who signed this is true, a 9999 year lease on some chambers get

free, because that's one of the sources of Dublin mountain water.

Peter Sumpton 

But that's not

James Perry 

how they get the symbology as well, Peter, which odd stir brown the heart, the heart is the Brian baru ARP, okay, Brian brew was was an ancient Thai king of Ireland. And even that is symbolic. So you know exactly

what they're doing in terms of their branding.

Peter Sumpton 

Well, but that's again, Irish knowledge come into the front. They're not only Irish, but marketing knowledge. Marvellous. And that's what that's what we're all about. I absolutely love it. We'll probably come back to that if we get a little bit bored later on.

James Perry 

But we never get bored by Fred. We never get bored.

Peter Sumpton 

Well, that is that is very true. That is very, very true. But let's try and stick to half an hour slash four or five hours. I think the mcse live you can go is four hours or something I can't remember. Anyway. That's Mike's it. Right? Okay. Let's go on to a few more serious elements. And then we'll come back to the Guinness stuff and all that kind of stuff. So let's start with your background, a little bit of information about yourself what you do and what you're all about right now. So everybody knows that, what we're what we're going to chat about and how amazing you are.

James Perry 

Well, I'm a chartered accountant by profession, accountancy has always been been in the blood Peter so degree in accounting master's degree in accounting and worked for a firm called Grant Thornton for 10 years sort of bigger global firms was an associate director with them, then I moved in tend to stray from not even quarter of wkd, another another alcoholic drink Kima Francia controller with them. Then I left and went to the government, I was the government for government rule for four years, again, as a financial controller on then things happen in life where I had to take a career break, which then pushed me and to starting a company or a business called the cutting success coach, which is my main thrust in terms of LinkedIn and in terms of my, my own business with without, which is to coach accounting students on their exams, and also up and coming accountants and seasoned finance professionals through career development. So that's the main business, I am also a part time teacher, a teaching fellow with the University of Ulster as well. And teaching accounting. So that's my background is all pure accounting.

Peter Sumpton 

Cool, excellent. And in a bizarre way, that's kind of how we met with your pure accounting background, my pure marketing background, we're both in the educational field, we both teach marketing, and finance professionally. So it was just really good connections. And the more we spoke about both, the more we realised, from an educational point of view, and just purely departmental, that the links and the synergies between both of them were, were unreal. And then we got chatting about that, and a whole host of other things we've got in common, but let's not mention that Liverpool, the champions of the world, and pretty much champions of everything, shall we? We'll just stick to the marketing and finance on

James Perry 

our head is the greatest company ever.

Peter Sumpton 

forgot about that? Yeah. God. Yeah, absolutely. Fantastic.

James Perry 

You're You're definitely like in the synergies in both marketing on the coating, stroke finance, especially when it comes to getting a professional qualification, look, and examine assignment as an examine assignment, albeit a different topic. And the approaches, in my opinion, are very, very similar. So opposite. That's where we had thought that definitely the professional thing in common as well. Yeah. And we've both been there and Donna disposers, which the thing?

Peter Sumpton 

Yeah, that's very true. And I remember speaking to somebody it was on it was on a, another podcast. And they were saying that I can't remember what field they went into. But they went to a university, and sat down in a bid business lecture. And the professor started talking. And he said, Can you give us an example of this, like, that you've been part of? And the professor said that will No, I've never been in business. I only know it academically. And the guy actually walked out. Because he's like, Well, you can't, I want to be successful in business. And there's only so far that I can go with you teaching me from an academic standpoint, if you haven't got any historical, practical application that I can learn from them. This isn't for me. And same with yourself and me. We've we've lived it with breathed it. And I think a lot of people don't give enough credit for the fact that it's all about storytelling. Marketing is all about storytelling, and we gauge with stories and people don't give enough credit for. Okay, this is the theory. But this is what happened to me, or this is a prime example of where it went wrong, or this is what we shouldn't do. Because we've I don't think people give enough credit for that.

James Perry 

Absolutely not. If you can live and breathe, what you're teaching someone or what you're coaching someone that really adds a lot to it. I don't think I would have as much gravitas or could help as much if I was a part qualified accountant. I couldn't do that. Because I have sort of I qualified first time with everything. backgrounds always been in the profession. In terms of career, I got to see it very piscean monitored quite early. On no coming the other way with yourself. You know, we're taking the entrepreneurial and started starting on business and doing everything that comes along with that. And I think we're both in the right areas to help others. And I think that's a mean thing to Peter. You know, my endgame is I'm not enough to create the next generation because I'm not. Okay. What I am about, though, is to help people live the life that they want, by getting a world class professional qualification. And by doing things that I learned to, to sort of prepare yourself career forward and live your life you want. That's what I'm all about. And I mean, I'm in this to have a lifestyle business. So that's why I want to teach people how to do that.

Peter Sumpton 

Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree from a slightly different standpoint, I think the thing that's missing academically, both marketing and on finance, from what I understand from what you've told me, is the fact that we see it as this, I get this qualification, then then I can do finance, I can do marketing, people will employ me I become employable. Yes, it helps, yes, you get a foot in the door. But what happens when things go wrong? You can't necessarily rely on what you've you've kind of learned, you need that practical experience. And what you said there was really interesting about end game, then why do you want this qualification and some people just want qualifications, because it shows them they can do what they can do, which is fantastic and great. not denying that at all. But others just want it for to progress in their career as well. And, yes, it might help to a certain level, but then I feel there's a lot missing that people don't talk about. For example, when I when I talk, there's the academic marketing, and then there's the real life marketing, the very, very similar, they both need to fit. But sometimes to get that qualification, you need to talk in a certain way. Whereas in real life, you would do things slightly different. It's not the same in in finance.

James Perry 

In terms of theoretical versus practical, huh?

Yeah, yes.

Give me a quick example of that. One of the top one of the topics that people find very difficult than a coding is if you're doing an auditing exam, especially if you've never worked in auditing. So if you work and you're doing someone's a concert, if you're working in a tax department, you will find it incredibly hard to relate to auditing. But because I worked in auditing, I could relate to it. And that's something I can help people with a lot. Okay, but there's a massive difference between what it says in the books or what actually happens in real life. You know, what I mean? So there is a very, very different practical element to it. And I suppose, and my coaching, Peter, I very rarely talk accounting. What I what I do talk as though was with the practical applications of that accounting, because people can go and get all the material and learn from a learning provider, but I helped to apply that amount to different thing. Different things all together. And then especially with career development, you can read all the books in the world about career development, unless you unless you've done something, or you can talk to someone who's made all the mistakes like me, you know, shock when you learn about respect as well. So did a massive difference sometimes between theory and practice? Absolutely. But sometimes you have to know your theory before you do the practice.

Peter Sumpton 

Yeah, yeah. And and, and that, that is the crux of the matter, there were the first live that I did with with Dr. I, we were talking about education and all that kind of stuff, and saying that it's hugely important to know that this theory, but theory alone, wouldn't necessarily get you through life, depending on what you wanted to do. And it is that that application, whereas if you flip it, and you've got no theory, then you're very, very fortunate if you can craft a career of any substance within a certain field, if you don't have that foundational level. And I'm presuming, like to my, my thoughts on on on finance, and that kind of area is that I wouldn't trust anyone that hadn't got a financial qualification to do my finances. I you know, just just wouldn't be in the same respect. If I went to a chartered accountant, then I probably want them to have X amount years of experience, rather than being that that fresh out is out of qualification. Do you think do you think once you've got a qualification, you are ready to take on the world? Or what? Let me rephrase that. What are the things that aren't taught? So you just pass the exam? What are the things that aren't taught that might hit you in the face when it comes to reality?

James Perry 

One thing one point will make actually believe it or not, and it's it is a point for debate within the profession, is that you can call yourself an accountant or not be qualified. Okay. Right. You can actually believe it or not, and some of the best accountants that I know aren't qualified, and then not times that I tell them to get on the horse. get qualified is crazy, because it's adds so much credibility. credibility. So that's the first point in terms of the next bit. If someone has just qualified and they've got the accounting qualification, what I would tend to suggest is that they get that they stay with it where they are for perhaps a year or so or two. I don't know if it's the same in the marketing profession, but it's one or two years of what we call post qualification experience and accounting. And that normally is where you learn a lot of things. So there are a lot of people who perhaps qualify, say, in a coding practice, or within industry, perhaps, and I would say, stay where you are on and learn. Because that's, especially if you're going to go into senior management. And one thing that happened to me, Peter, was that I went that this was quite an extreme route. I went from being just newly qualified, straight into a senior management role. And I wasn't, I wasn't the manager, I wasn't manager, I was mid senior manager, I was promoted incredibly quick. Okay. And I was basically said, durscher portfolio of clients, go and figure it all out. Right. That's what I was taught. So I had to sink or swim. And I learned the hard way. No, that was when I was 10 or 12 years ago, and you'd like to think there's a bit more of a change, and I with proper coaching and things like that. So what I say to someone who is newly qualified, is this one to two years post qualification experience, and get a mentor or a coach. Absolutely, yeah. Because I've said, I've made all the mistakes. I was the one who didn't Dalit didn't know how to delegate. I was the only had this trinkets Knights. I was the one who was made stuff monitor at 20 it with all my mates, I was then their boss, I made every single mistake in the book. So get a mentor who's been there?

Because I tell you what not to do, you know?

Peter Sumpton 

Yeah, that is very true. And although we learn from our mistakes, there's some mistakes you just don't want other people to make and others, you almost feel like they've they've got to learn from those mistakes. And that's not to say that, okay, well, well, you can come in work for me or I can be your mentor. But I'm going to let you screw up. It's not that at all most will. This is my experience, but you probably better experience in it for yourself.

James Perry 

Absolutely. You have to you have to walk work and run.

Peter Sumpton 

Yeah, yeah. So just to go back to the question, is it the same in in marketing, so what I would say, for anybody that's looking for a career in marketing, slightly different, the approach that I would take is that I would say, Don't jump to any particular position. Don't go for any particular job, look at look at the company, look at how they operate, look to see if they're marketing orientated, or whether they're sales focused, or production focused, because you will have a very, very different working life. If you work for a company that's marketing orientated, you will learn a shedload more than you will if they are sales focused, because what will probably happen is that you will be more comms based, and you will be more admin based at the very start. Whereas if it's marketing focus, yes, you'll have the admin functionality, because you're at the bottom of the ladder, but it will be marketing, it will be focused. So you'll get involved in product, you'll get involved in price place, you're getting definitely involved in the communications, because that's kind of what anyone sees nowadays is just the comms in marketing. And I think that's an issue we've got to face. But yes, slightly different to what you would say in finance. My advice would be more about think...