It certainly was for some this week, in the seventh episode of twelve. Now that we’re over the halfway line, we are beginning to know these characters much more, and whether we like or loathe them, are consequently emotionally invested in how it turns out. It’s at precisely this point where we care the most about who stays and who goes. In the early weeks, we could be philosophical, especially as it would be the obvious passengers who were jettisoned as surplus ballast. In the later stages, we may have already seen our favourite depart, and therefore care a little less about the outcome. No, right now is where it matters, and as a contest, right now is where a potential winner has to start putting together a winning streak.
I know that at least 2 people were completely surprised and dumbfounded by tonight’s result – Phillip and yours truly. Not for a moment did I even consider that he wouldn’t reach the final 4 at least; and I’m willing to bet that neither did he. This was my undoing, as I had money riding on it. More importantly, Phillip’s cocky assumption that he was untouchable, cost me money. He was already mentally spending the £100k, and commiserating with Kate over just beating her, that he forgot to pay attention to the job in hand. For that reason alone, Sir Alan was bang on, in handing him his jotters. Frankly, this is a good lesson to us all, and on several levels.
The Teams: Empire – Mona PM, Howard, James, Debra. Ignite – Lorraine PM, Phillip, Kate, Ben.
The Task: This week, the teams were to pack for 2 days travel. Having been avid students of previous shows, they all speculated on which sunny destination it might be. Not one guessed it would be Manchester and Liverpool! Both teams were given a beauty parade of “innovative products”, from which to select their 2 favourites to sell on to retailers. A department store and a hardware store had already been lined up to hear their pitches. The products included the Drill Mate, Mojo Ball, Ladder Limpet, and a strange coat rack. These were however cast aside in favour of the Lover’s Lead (dog lead for couples) and the Lippy Self Bag (human shaped sleeping bag) for Empire, and the Cat’s Playhouse (cardboard box), and an expandable bike Pod bag for Ignite. Let’s put it this way, I don’t expect to see any of them on IWantOneOfThose.com. They weren’t even good enough to have the Amstrad brand on them (yes, that was a low blow). Long story short, Debra and Howard, and particularly Mona and James, showed some very good sales skills. For the first time, Mona was the stand out performer for her negotiating skills. When she asked for the sale, for the Self Bags, she stated she had a minimum order, and made it a reasonable number. This gave the client a point from which he felt he could negotiate, so he asked for a better price. OK, says Mona, “If I can improve my price, will you order more units?” This made the customer feel they had got a bargain, and shifted more product at a reasonable price. Remember that in this task, only total headline sales counted, not profit. Short story long, Phillip, Kate and Ben were posted missing from the task, from start to finish. In fact, Ben was such an obvious gooseberry in that minivan, that he must have felt about as welcome as a loud sneeze on a return flight from Cancun. It seemed evident to me, that these guys felt completely safe, as Lorraine was PM, and sure to get fired if they failed to win. Moreover, their City-Break was made even better, as Lorraine had sent them off, and only kept Yasmina to moan at. Btw – Did I really hear Yasmina dissing The North, by saying “the wages are much lower up here”?
The Boardroom: After the usual pleasantries, of uncertain support for their Project Managers, the results were delivered. Empire sold £4,501. Ignite a paltry £1,302 – less than one third. So whilst Mona, James, Debra and Howard went off on a champagne fuelled helicopter tour of the Capital, Ignite were dispatched to The Bridge cafe, to get their recriminations in early. Personally, I would have brought back Phil and Ben, as both were slackers, made zero sales, and had ample justification for getting the boot. Lorraine, however, made the threesome of herself, Phil and Kate. As expected, Phillip put his size 7’s (I bet he has small feet) right in it, by arguing the toss, and declaring “It seems ah cannot say anything reet today, Sralan”. Never a truer word …. Up until this point, I still couldn’t envisage anyone, other than Lorraine, getting fired. Surprising me again though, Kate chose not to reciprocate Phillip’s support, by pointing out that it wasn’t his best week, and not attacking Lorraine (excellent tactics). Finally the boy from the North East paid the price for napping on the job, assuming it was in the bag, and believing he could afford the luxury of an on-the-job infatuation. He’s not the first to fall at that hurdle, and he won’t be the last. Phillip, you’re fired! He certainly wasn’t expecting that.
Lessons learned: Choose your products wisely; every conversation is a negotiation; always be closing; and lastly, when you’re at work, keep your mind on your work.
Sir Alan sends them to the North of England, where they must select two new innovative products to sell to trade. Determined that everyone should sell, Sir Alan gives each candidate their own individual order books with strict instructions to notch up as many orders as possible. But in these tough economic times, can everyone live up to his expectations?
Each team is given 10 identical items to sell in a day, including a medical skeleton, an old fashioned commode chair, an oriental rug, a box of books and a pair of vintage shoes. The teams have until 6.00pm to sell everything at profit, but with a warning not to take anything at face value, they must first work out the real worth of their goods and filter the hidden gem from the red herrings. If they get it right, they could win the sale of the century. However, if they get it wrong, some customers could end up with the bargain of the century.
Almost halfway through the job interview from hell, the candidates must put their creative heads on when they are given the task of launching a brand identity for a new breakfast cereal. They must come up with a name for the cereal, design a distinctive look for the box and shoot a TV ad campaign that will appeal both to children and to health-conscious parents.
As they work up a sweat, can the teams make enough produce to sell or will they be stuck with too much stock? As ever, Nick and Margaret are there to keep a watchful eye on proceedings, and in the boardroom things quickly turn into a soap opera as Sir Alan sniffs out the mistakes to reveal which team smells like success and which has the whiff of defeat.
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