Icon Insurance specialises in insurance policies for smaller and growing businesses: cover for the home office, small office-based business insurance, Professional Indemnity cover (including SecurITy for IT professionals) and Lawsuit legal expenses cover. Our products and services are available on-line and/or off-line to businesses and residents of the United Kingdom

Marketing can, and does, take up books by the cartload. But I want to introduce you to a little concept that changed the way I think. The thought process transformed my business. And it can transform yours.

The beauty of it is that it is deceptively simple to carry out.

But first, let me tell you a story. A scaffolding company found itself struggling. There was simply not enough building work going on and they were in danger of going under. So the managing director sat down with his employees one day and asked, what else can we sell? This is what they came up with.

• They could continue to hire out scaffolding to building contractors;
• They could hire out scaffolding 'seating' tiers to event organisers for sports events and theatrical performances;
• They could take their skills - they were experts in the latest techniques of erecting scaffolding - and teach other businesses.