Business elegance and power

About us

 

Established by Steve Connell in April 2004, inspire provides business consultancy as well as management training and development.

Steve works with small and large organisations in helping to:

 

  • Define business strategy

  • Drive profitable sales growth

  • Retain profitable customers


Steve designs and delivers individual personal development plans and group development programmes which he tailors to the meet the specific needs of the people that he is working with on subjects such as:

 

  • Personal Brand Essence

  • Personal Impact

  • Successful Personal Development

  • Leadership

  • Coaching

  • Effective Management

  • Sales Account Management

  • Principles of Selling

  • Principles of Marketing

  • Negotiation Skills

  • Financial Awareness

  • Thriving in a Corporate

 

Steve is a professional sales and retail consultant specialising in business strategy, people and business development. He has a degree in marketing and a strong sales, service and marketing background with significant experience of the Corporate and Consumer markets as well as the Retail, Hospitality, Financial Services and Leisure verticals.

Having created, managed and sold two highly successful and profitable independent retail businesses, Steve also specialises in providing retail consultancy to independent retail businesses across the country.

As well as working with organisations in the UK and overseas on improving their sales, service and marketing offerings, Steve works with many managers as a mentor. He also delivers talent development programmes for several clients which are focused on developing the commercial and intellectual bandwidth of talented individuals identified by their company. He is often supported in this by Jo Hopwood who is a vastly experienced Insights Practitioner and runs her own consultancy called Full Circle.

Steve is retained as the Business Development Director for NewGen operating in and around the Middle East.

Steve was the Programme Director for the Oxford Summer School Academy, the retail development school held at Keble College in Oxford every summer between 2009 and 2019.

In July 2015 Steve bought the Cove Gallery in Weymouth and in July 2017 opened a second art gallery in his home town of Cheltenham, with his wife Claire, which they called Park Gallery.

Claire and Steve have sold both Galleries as going concerns and they continue to thrive and go from strength to strength.

Prior to establishing inspire Steve enjoyed a successful and varied career at BT working in both sales and marketing. Having spent several years in retail managing BT's flagship store on Oxford Street and working closely with Dixons Stores Group on the creation of 'The Link', Steve ultimately became General Manager of the Travel, Leisure and Business Services sector which generated close to £500m revenue annually for the company.

 

Steve is a published author and speaks regularly at company conferences on Personal Brand Essence, the subject of his book.