We are at the business end now. Characters you like, characters you think that can win and characters with personality will be out... week-by-week. And this week, it was not only a surprise to see Philip go but also a clever piece of Boardroom by Lorraine.I like this task. Pick two products from twelve and then sell them. Empire won it. Sir Alan went at Mona for picking products that didn’t fit the meetings that were set up, by him. But she and the team did the right thing. They picked products they liked and more importantly that they thought they could sell. And they won. The lovers’ lead (a dog lead with two handles either for two lovers or perhaps one strong and one weak walker) is a brilliant idea and the sleeping bag although a bit kooky had originality… they sold it well. I was surprised by Mona – she did well, I was expecting her to be abrasive and somewhat incompetent having seen her dreadful pitching. But I was wrong. She chose well and sold well. I think she is good at that street level marketing although out of her depth at a corporate level.
As for Ignite? Ben, Kate and Philip sold nothing. Ben was perhaps saved because he set up a meeting that eventually led to a small sale. But really, he was terrible on this task. Kate? Disappointed. She’s supposed to be good, but she lacked in focus and ability and I don’t actually think she’s a good sales person. She’s good at corporate though, which is perhaps what Sir Alan sees in her. And Philip. Philip is either very wrong (Pantsman) or very right (Bodyrocker). And it’s a shame that he was so wrong this time around. He was quiet when he should have been loud and loud when he should have been quiet. More importantly he was completely unfocussed on the task, because he was all misty eyed over Kate – yet focussed in his vitriol for Lorraine which was both unwarranted but also misguided.
Lorraine brought back Kate and Philip into the Boardroom. Wrong decision. She should have brought Ben back. Well, that’s what I thought. Because I thought Phil was a strong player and if I was her I would have been worried. OK he has a mouth on him and he’s very hit and miss. But I think he’s better than Lorraine and she can’t and won’t win. And the thing is, Lorraine picked the wrong products. So whatever they were provided with – if you have duff products you can’t sell them.
Having said that – Sir Alan has been bitten before when two candidates have canoodled off in the past. He clearly saw that he had the opportunity to split them up. And although there were denials, it’s very clear that Kate and Phil are an item. Phil was distracted, lost focus and was all over Kate and not interested in fighting for himself. Sir Alan clearly likes Kate and decided that if he was to choose between them, she was the one to keep. Sir Alan dislikes Ben and it could have been a very different story had Lorraine brought him in with Phil. But she didn’t want two strong fighters in there against her. She gambled and she won.
I don’t think she will last much longer. Sir Alan has identified her weak point, which is that she can be abrasive, and wind people up the wrong way. And unless she pulls something out of the bag in the next week or two – she will be toast.
Next week it’s off to Margate. A seaside town to be rebranded. Will the BBC show Mona’s comments in full? Watch to find out and join us for the podcast with much excitement and merriment as usual as we will once again be picking over the debris.