SMART Way Forward

SMART Way Forward SMART Way Forward; Specialist consultancy in leadership, management, sales, customer service training Visit www.smartwayforward.co.uk to find out more!

SMART Way Forward is a specialist sales, management and training consultancy working predominantly within the sport, leisure, health and fitness industry. We offer companies a unique proposition of commercially focused services, including bespoke sales training, customer service training, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), management training, coaching and mentoring workshops, skills devel

opment, strategic consultation and sales support. People are the most important asset within any company. Making sure you have the right people, with the right skills, in the right positions, sharing the same vision, is an essential part of business success. At SMART Way Forward, we can train and develop your people so they have the skills and knowledge to deal with challenging situations in a calm, controlled, professional manner. Being reactive is sometimes much easier than being proactive, so having the skills to understand both are vital if you want to make the most of every opportunity. We work with private and public sector organisations, including sports clubs, leisure centres, universities, trade associations, local authorities, sports National Governing Bodies (NGBs), County Sports Partnerships (CSPs), sports equipment manufacturers, product suppliers and sports event organisers.

Wow, where did May go? Such a busy month, with glorious blue skies & beautiful sunshine to enjoy, it just flew by! There...
01/06/2026

Wow, where did May go? Such a busy month, with glorious blue skies & beautiful sunshine to enjoy, it just flew by!

There were lots of exciting meetings with clients to discuss more bespoke staff training & skills development. I really enjoyed meeting up with so many lovely people at the Midlands Business Network at Wolverhampton Racecourse & Conference Centre too.

May was incredibly busy for training, as I delivered leadership programmes with a few different businesses (NDAs), plus lots of 1:2:1 & group mentoring sessions, online & in person, as well as some great walk & talk sessions around the beautiful grounds of Lilleshall National Sports & Conferencing Centre. There was also more tailored staff training delivered (with engaging tasks & plenty of laughs shared along the way!) with individual follow ups scheduled in post training to support people putting theory into practice. The following key training topics were covered;

• Effective communication skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Organising & managing your workload
• Presentation skills training
• Building strong working relationships
• Delivering excellent customer service & exceeding expectations
• Consultative sales training
• Negotiation & closing techniques
• Conflict management
• Leading by example

Training is always much more memorable & effective when you share good fun & laughter along the way. As I have said many times before, in my experience the most successful businesses & organisations don't just focus on KPIs & selling more products & services. They also recognise the importance of investing in the skills, knowledge & experience of their people. They know that by doing this, they are not only growing & developing their teams, but they are also ensuring a better customer experience for their clients, partners & suppliers. This in turn drives & increases overall efficiency, sales, performance & revenue.

When people feel valued, acknowledged, appreciated & respected, regardless of whether they are internal colleagues or external customers, it creates a supportive culture, with a 'can do' attitude that causes a ripple effect. This makes a huge positive difference across the whole of their business & leaves a reputation & legacy for everyone to be proud of.

Please feel free to reach out & get in touch if bespoke leadership & management training, staff training & skills development is something that would benefit you, your team & your business. Visit www.smartwayforward.co.uk, call or email us at [email protected]. We'll be delighted to help you as best we can. Thank you




Nadeem

An absolute pleasure working with RNA Automation Birmingham last week. Great to meet friendly people from some of their ...
19/04/2026

An absolute pleasure working with RNA Automation Birmingham last week. Great to meet friendly people from some of their different departments & catch up with our good friend Nick Parker too. I thoroughly enjoyed delivering a bespoke staff training session focused on emotional intelligence.

Lots of new skills & techniques shared with the team through engaging content, exercises & fun tasks, to help them gain a deeper understanding of themselves & their colleagues. Emotional intelligence feeds into every communication & interaction we have, whether that is at work, at home, with family or in our social circles. It is an essential skill that helps us manage our emotions, thoughts, words, actions & our behaviours.

Understanding how what we say, think & do, has a major impact & influence on how our day turns out, along with how we manage various relationships, is such an important skill. Emotional intelligence also helps us recognise the difference between intention & perception. Not everyone has the same head & heart as we do, so often we judge others by their perception & judge ourselves by our intentions.

Changing our communication, mindset & behaviour accordingly, impacts this in a huge way. It doesn't matter which industry sector you work in or the job title you hold, having a heightened understanding of self awareness, self management, social awareness & relationship management can be incredibly powerful. It can influence whether we achieve successful positive outcomes & build something special, or whether we create our own issues or unnecessary conflicts.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this team develops & performs over the coming weeks. Consistency is the key & I'm sure that once the team begins putting emotional intelligence theory into practice, they are going to flourish. Well done again everyone!

Nadeem

Earlier this week I delivered a bespoke leadership training session focused on the importance of company culture & leadi...
13/03/2026

Earlier this week I delivered a bespoke leadership training session focused on the importance of company culture & leading by example. (NDA)

Training was attended by staff from
various departments, along with team leaders, managers & their Managing Director. Really pleased to see this, as it showed how committed everyone was to learning & developing their skills, regardless of their role or title.

When delivering a session like this, it's important to ensure that everyone feels comfortable & relaxed so they can openly share their views without feelings vulnerable, compromised or have fear of backlash. No one should take anything personally & recognise that sharing constructive feedback is an opportunity to develop & improve. So, a lot of open honest discussion took place, but it also came with plenty of fun & laughs along the way!

A few key areas that cause internal frustration were identified as follows:

• Not being involved or kept informed of decisions made at senior level

• People not returning phone calls, acknowledging or replying back to emails

• People or departments not wanting to relinquish control & accept help from others

• Feeling dismissed, rushed or cut off by senior management who don't want to hear or know all the details

• Blunt emails. People are not saying 'Hi, Hello, Please or Thank you' especially when being asked to do something

• Focus is on KPIs rather than acknowledging effort or commitment

• Awareness of work/life balance. Managers sending emails out of work hours so staff feel obliged to acknowledge or reply back to them during personal/family time

The little things are often the big things that truly matter. None of the above are difficult to resolve but they do require a willingness to change behaviour, along with a level of self- awareness & emotional intelligence to help build stronger working relationships. People need to feel recognised, valued, respected & appreciated. They need to know that their contribution & commitment matters. Therefore, staff will only tolerate bad manners or poor behaviour up to a point. Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer care, as no amount of pay rise, promotion or incentive will ever bring them back.

In the past, I've had to remind CEOs & MDs that holding a senior title doesn't make them exempt from communicating professionally. In fact, there's probably more pressure on them as they have an obligation to set the standards, tone & culture for everyone else to replicate. People watch senior leaders very closely & are either inspired by them or demotivated by them.

Following up post training, I'm delighted to hear how the company has made a huge proactive effort to address the highlighted areas. It will take time, but everyone seems to be implementing what they agreed to do & supporting one another. Small positive changes have already made a massive significant difference in a matter of days. Well done everyone, I am incredibly proud of you all!

Nadeem

A great day at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre for Southern Manufacturing & Electronics Show recently. It's ...
11/02/2026

A great day at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre for Southern Manufacturing & Electronics Show recently. It's always nice to see what's new & learn about the exciting solutions & future innovations within this sector.

We were only there for the day meeting up with some of the companies where we've delivered leadership training, management training, customer service training or bespoke staff training & skills development programmes with over the last few years. Electronics is such a competitive industry, so due to NDAs unfortunately we cannot name specific companies - but you know who you are.

We shared some really good laughs with so many people throughout the day, especially with companies we'd met with before or with businesses who approached us whilst we were walking around - it wasn't always about work! I love seeing good people being enthusiastic, proactive & engaging, as ultimately this is what drives excellent results. Really looking forward to working with & supporting more electronics manufacturing companies this year.

Finally, a big 'Thank you' to the amazing organising team at Farnborough & Southern Manufacturing. Everyone was really friendly, helpful & nothing was ever too much trouble. A very enjoyable fun day.


Thoroughly enjoyed being at the Black Country Chamber Expo at Wolverhampton Racecourse & Conference Centre today. Anothe...
05/02/2026

Thoroughly enjoyed being at the Black Country Chamber Expo at Wolverhampton Racecourse & Conference Centre today. Another excellent event organised by our good friends Andrew Charlton & Gavin Belton-Rose from Hashtag Events.

Lovely to meet up with the amazing Sam Rathling again too. It has been a few years since Sam & I last caught up, so it was an ideal opportunity to catch up, share happy memories & have a few laughs! Equally, what an absolute pleasure to meet up with the Mayor of Wolverhampton Craig Collingswood too. Thank you for your kind words.

It was fantastic to meet up with so many people & businesses today. I love learning about their exciting products & services, along with the challenges they often face. In my experience, businesses of all shapes & sizes, from all different sectors, regularly have to navigate testing times. The most common problem areas often relate to financial strain, recruitment, workload, lack of knowledge or experience, leadership expectations, strategy management, timescales or deadlines, sales & revenue, customer service or company performance.

The stress & pressure can be high & often quite frustrating too, but the good news is help is always available, IF you have the courage to reach out & ask for it. The first step is always recognising that the problem exists & then making the decision to proactively do something about it. A lot of issues can be resolved or rectified very quickly through decisive action, clear communication, along with thorough planning, implementation, consistent support, staff training & skills development.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak with me today, I'm looking forward to exciting times ahead. Let's keep making that positive difference!

Nadeem


A brilliant British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) in Harrogate this year. I've been attending ...
23/01/2026

A brilliant British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) in Harrogate this year. I've been attending this event for almost 20 years & for me, it remains as one of the friendliest shows within the golf, landscaping & greenkeeping industry.

Harrogate is a lovely spa town & the convention centre is an ideal venue to meet up with many of the clients we know or work with at SMART Way Forward from this sector. It's always a pleasure catching up with clients & friends, sharing great laughs & enjoying the event. BTME also provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the new products, services & innovations that are being launched & speak to the businesses & people behind them.

The networking is superb & I want to say a big 'Thank You' to all the people who kindly took time out to explain their products & services, as well as share the internal challenges they often come up against. It's clear to see that the most successful businesses recognise the importance of investing in their people, with regular staff training & CPD being high on their agenda. Lots of engaging conversations around leadership & management, high performance, communication skills, emotional intelligence, consultative selling & the importance of delivering excellent customer service. Hence, we're really looking forward to working with more amazing people & companies this year, providing solutions through tailored staff training, mentoring support & skills development programmes.

Finally, a big 'Well done' to all of the organising team at BTME 2026 for delivering another fantastic show!


As we finish up for 2025, we'd like to say Thank you & wish all our lovely family, friends, colleagues, partners, client...
19/12/2025

As we finish up for 2025, we'd like to say Thank you & wish all our lovely family, friends, colleagues, partners, clients, customers & connections a very Merry Christmas & a Happy healthy & prosperous New Year. Have fun, stay safe & enjoy the festivities! We'll be back on the 5th January 2026. Best wishes always



🎅🏼🎄☃️🎁❄️

What a fantastic time at Dynamik Sport Dynamik Sports Flooring HQ in Bristol last week! There were Christmas jumpers gal...
10/12/2025

What a fantastic time at Dynamik Sport Dynamik Sports Flooring HQ in Bristol last week! There were Christmas jumpers galore & a visit by an American Hoop Bus to get everyone energised & ready for their work Xmas party. It was brilliant & the atmosphere, along with their kind hospitality was lovely & truly appreciated. Thank you.

It was great meeting all the amazing people who make up Team Dynamik. There were plenty of good laughs shared & I thoroughly enjoyed delivering another engaging staff training session. This time, the focus was on communication, self awareness, self reflection & positive mindset. Sue, Tasha, Sharon, Meg, Joanne, Ellie & Harvey - you were all absolutely superb!

This was then followed by personal 1:2:1 sessions with staff who attended the leadership meeting at Ashby St Ledgers. In my experience, it is so important to show genuine support & to share quality insights with people. Remind them of all the excellent work they do & how it does not go unnoticed, the natural skills they have, how much they are valued, appreciated & the positive difference they make, etc...is just as important as giving them constructive feedback which helps them develop & improve in their roles.

Well done to everyone at Dynamik Sport. It is an absolute pleasure working with you all & I am incredibly proud to be supporting your journey. You deserve all the happiness & success that comes your way. Here's to a fantastic 2026!

Nadeem



An absolute pleasure working with our good friend Craig Jack & his brilliant team at Dynamik Sports Flooring at their le...
24/11/2025

An absolute pleasure working with our good friend Craig Jack & his brilliant team at Dynamik Sports Flooring at their leadership meeting in Northamptonshire last week.

Dynamik Sport is one of the most established professional companies in the UK. With over 25 years of experience installing over 130 sports floors every year, they have an amazing dedicated team that manufactures, designs, specifies, supplies & installs an impressive range of sports flooring solutions. In addition to sprung timber floors, they also supply synthetic surfaces, glass courts, acoustic walling, gym flooring & protection, squash court flooring, line marking solutions & a variety of sports flooring maintenance services.

Partners working with Dynamik Sport include England Netball, Basketball England, Volleyball England, England Handball, GB Wheelchair Rugby, England Squash & Racketball, Scottish Squash, Squash Ireland, Table Tennis Wales, British Wheelchair Basketball and Basketball Wales. Earlier this year, Dynamik Sport was also announced as the official provider to the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026.

At the leadership meeting, I delivered a thought provoking session focused on the importance of excellent communication skills. In my experience, when people understand themselves, their colleagues, their teams & their departments better, it creates an environment where everyone feels safe, comfortable, valued, heard & respected. Excellent communication is vital in every part of your life, but when this happens at work, it is amazing what people can achieve, internally in the office & externally with their customers & clients. The team at Dynamik Sport were absolutely superb throughout the day & we had a lot of fun & shared many laughs along the way, it was fantastic!

I am really looking forward to working with & supporting the team at Dynamik Sport over the coming weeks & into next year. Exciting times ahead as they fully deserve the happiness & success that is coming their way. Well done again everyone.

Nadeem

Great to meet up with Tom Williams, Managing Director of Coinadrink Ltd at their offices in Walsall yesterday.Coinadrink...
18/11/2025

Great to meet up with Tom Williams, Managing Director of Coinadrink Ltd at their offices in Walsall yesterday.

Coinadrink has been providing high quality vending machines & refreshment services to businesses across the West Midlands & surrounding counties since 1962.

A friendly award winning family run business, their range of products includes tabletop coffee machines, water coolers, as well as fully managed vending machines & micro market solutions. It was good to understand how they help businesses & organisations ensure that their people stay refreshed, replenished & energised throughout the day.

Really looking forward to working with Tom & his team over the coming months.



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Hitchin

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9am - 5:30pm
Friday 9am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9am - 1pm

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+441952443596

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