Testimonials

“RNA Automation took part in a day’s training course on emotional intelligence, which included a further three follow up sessions. I think there was some apprehension from certain areas of the team to take part in this course when initially asked, but the way this was delivered by Nadeem, soon seemed to put these worries to rest. It was engaging, entertaining and got everyone involved from the offset. I can honestly say that as a business we have taken away more from this than even I thought we would and it has changed the way we think and created large improvements within the business. Nadeem is a very knowledgeable and great guy who will always help you out where he can. Thank you again”

Matthew Knight
Technical Director, RNA Automation
www.rnaautomation.com

“The approach demonstrated by Nadeem and SMART Way Forward has been the driving force behind our team training.  Nadeem tailored the training to fit the needs of the team and has delivered beyond everyone’s expectations. Encouraging engagement in an interesting and knowledgeable fashion, the team engaged in the training have been recognised throughout our business for the immediately obvious improvements. Both in a group setting and as a one-to-one coach, Nadeem excels to deliver and impart great knowledge and experience, benefitting any team or individual.”

Nick Parker
Director of Lutterworth, PCE Automation
www.pceautomation.co.uk

“Nadeem is an exceptionally skilled and experienced trainer with an intimate understanding of The Pitchmark Group. With his extensive knowledge and expertise, Nadeem proves to be an invaluable asset in providing high-quality training. His years of experience in the field make him a proficient guide, ensuring our team receives the best possible training to excel in their roles and contribute to the growth of our organisation. We are confident that Nadeem’s training session will be transformative, empowering our staff with the skills and knowledge needed to achieve remarkable success”

Katie Yarwood
HR Officer, The Pitchmark Group
www.thepitchmarkgroup.com

“Thank you very much for taking the time to put together such a successful day’s training. I appreciate that it was an intensive day with a lot of content to cover, but many of the team said that they felt the day flew by and that you were engaging. I heard much laughter so it sounded like you were all having fun with it”

Sandie Nickols
Sales Operations & Customer Support Manager, The Pitchmark Group
www.thepitchmarkgroup.com

“Thank you so much for hosting probably the most engaging and interesting training session I have ever been involved in!”

Georgina Fowler
Customer Service Team, The Pitchmark Group
www.thepitchmarkgroup.com

“Having worked with Nadeem and his team for a few years, I would not hesitate to recommend the training provided by SMART Way Forward. Nadeem’s lived experience approach to equality, diversity and inclusion really brings the workshop to life and his friendly approach to building empathy and understanding is second to none”

Emily Carter MCIPR
Policy Lead, Intelligent Health
www.intelligenthealth.co.uk

“As a Queen’s Award-winning family business, we were confident that we were executing our business framework but most importantly that our colleagues were happy and proud to work at The Pitchmark Group. Our initial objective was to maintain this success whilst finding marginal gains across The Group, which is why I reached out to Nadeem at SMART Way Forward. Our immediate priority was to upskill existing members of the team to ensure we were continuing to maximise opportunity and operate at optimum levels of efficiency. The training and ongoing support we receive has been fantastic; Nadeem really is an extension to our ‘family’ and his passion, enthusiasm and belief in our vision definitely underpins our performance.”

Tim Rodman
Managing Director, The Pitchmark Group
www.thepitchmarkgroup.com

“Great work by Nadeem, helping MH Goals get ready for their ISO9001 audit. What we have achieved in such a short period of time is down to the meticulous planning and commitment from Nadeem. I would recommend him to any company who needs help with their HR systems and leadership training”

Mark Harrod
Owner/Managing Director, MH Goals
www.mhgoals.com

“I just wanted to thank you personally for the training. It was delivered with enthusiasm, warmth, significant knowledge and your style encouraged open high quality discussions. Many thanks for your kind words towards our team”

Mark Winder

Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer, Goalball UK

www.goalballuk.com

“Thank you for the training this morning. It has given me plenty to think about and go away and implement”

Jen Basford

Head of Delivery, Cerebral Palsy Sport

www.cpsport.org

“Thank you so much for a brilliant insightful leadership training session. You literally opened my eyes up to so much in just the first hour of training!”

Marilyn Okoro, Olympic medallist, Beijing Olympic Games 2008

“It’s been a pleasure working with SMART Way Forward and Nadeem across broad range of training programmes including leadership, sales and customer service. The training was delivered to both our manufacturing and office staff and the courses have not only been informative but have dramatically changed their mind set and performance. The enthusiasm and positive energy that Nadeem brings creates the prefect environment for all learners to achieve and I wouldn’t hesitate in using SMART Way Forward again.”

Matthew Harrod
Sales Director, MH Goals
www.mhgoals.com

“Thank you so much for running the leadership management training course last week. What can I say, it was just brilliant! I learnt so much about myself and the staff I work with. I was amazed at how Nadeem had discreetly arranged problem solving tasks/obstacles on his arrival without me even knowing, just so he could assess my approach, reactions and emotions ahead of delivering the course – incredible! Nadeem really sets the standard for how to deliver an excellent bespoke leadership training programme based on individual training needs.”

Yvonne Simpson
Project Coordinator, Track Academy by Connie Henry
www.trackacademy.co.uk

“Whenever CC Grass bring in new staff it is always important that the correct training is provided. The same applies to seasoned staff, who benefit from focused education, to complement their existing skills. My ‘go to’ is SMART Way forward. Their knowledge, empathy and focused training has produced excellent results, and is also enjoyable for those being trained.”

Bryn Lee
CEO, CC Grass European Office
www.ccgrasseurope.com

“Thank you for delivering yesterday’s innovative and engaging SMART CPD training session, which has been very well received by all the staff ahead of the new season.”

Alex Tunbridge
CEO, Stevenage Football Club
www.stevenagefc.com

“On behalf of Bishops Stortford Running Club, I would like to thank you for the excellent marathon performance workshop you delivered for us on Saturday 1st December. I have had nothing but positive feedback from our members and we all thoroughly enjoyed the informative and engaging discussions. We hope to welcome you again at our club sometime soon.”

Dani Hill-Welter
Club Chair, Bishops Stortford Running Club
www.bsrc.org.uk

“Thank you to Nadeem from SMART Way Forward for delivering a brilliant coach development workshop on Nutrition, Hydration and Mental Preparation to some of our coaches, athletes and parents at Biggleswade AC. The workshop was very informative and Nadeem made it very interesting, engaging and fun. We look forward to welcoming Nadeem back to deliver even more workshops in the future!”

Jaime Webster
Coaching Secretary at Biggleswade AC
www.biggleswadeac.org.uk

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward recently delivered a coach development workshop to 20 of our athletics coaches at Bishops Stortford Running Club. The workshop was entitled ‘Planning for endurance performance’ with an emphasis on learning the essential running skills and drills required to help athletes improve results and stay injury free. We all found the workshop incredibly useful and motivating, and we will now put theory into practice to ensure we get the best from all our coaches and athletes at every training session and competition. Thanks Nadeem!”

Tim Kelly
UKA L2 Endurance Coach, Bishops Stortford Running Club
www.bsrc.org.uk

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward recently delivered a SMART CPD training workshop for our team, who thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As well as enhancing their organisational skills and learning to prioritise their workloads, they found the training positive, engaging and enjoyable. Nadeem’s approach to the training matched our team’s style perfectly, and we’re looking forward to working with SMART Way Forward again. Thank you from everyone at Technical Surfaces!”

Mandy Hutchinson
Office Manager, Technical Surfaces Ltd
www.technicalsurfaces.co.uk

“We have recently finished the CPD training workshops carried out by SMART Way Forward which the whole team found extremely beneficial both individually and for the future development of White Line Services.
Nadeem’s experience and enthusiasm when carrying out the training was impressive as he provided us with a wealth of knowledge and useful skills going forward. Nadeem has worked with us on numerous occasions over the years and we would make no hesitation recommending SMART Way Forward to others.”

Aimee Adams
Operations Manager, White Line Services International
www.white-line-services.com

“Not only did we learn new skills and gain an understanding of how to become more customer focussed, we also had great fun as a team thanks to the upbeat, energetic and engaging training program provided by Smart Way Forward.”

Andy Lovell
General Sales Manager, TigerTurf (UK) Ltd
www.tigerturf.com

“Nadeem and the team at SMART Way Forward provided us with a tailored series of training workshops which really allowed us to upskill our salesforce. Their approach to delivering a great service is fantastic and they clearly practise what they preach!”

John Halls
Managing Director, Physical Company
www.physicalcompany.co.uk

“The SMART CPD training day was a very positive day. The feedback from the team was 100% positive and your training style perfect for us! We look forward to our next session.”

Helen Manley
General Manager, ICHF Events Limited
www.ichfevents.co.uk

“Suffolk Sport appointed SMART Way Forward to deliver a series of CPD coach education workshops as part of our commitment to developing the knowledge, skills and experience of sports coaches around the county. The workshops delivered by SMART Way Forward were engaging and had a great balance of theory and practical tasks. We look forward to working with them again and would happily recommend them to others.”

Simon King
Sport Development Officer, Suffolk Sport
www.suffolksport.com

“At WASPS, we are always looking to develop the skills of our team so we can deliver a professional customer experience, each time, every time. We recently appointed SMART Way Forward to deliver a series of bespoke sales and customer service training workshops to help our corporate sales team exceed expectations. The training has been fun, effective and very beneficial and we would have no hesitation in recommending SMART Way Forward to others.”

James Wootton
Corporate Sales Manager, WASPS Rugby Club
www.wasps.co.uk

“At Mark Harrod Limited we are always looking to develop our staff, along with our products to ensure we can offer our customer the highest levels of quality and service. We appointed SMART Way Forward to deliver a series of bespoke management and customer service training workshops to help us exceed expectations in all areas of the business. The training has been extremely beneficial and we would have no hesitation in recommending SMART Way Forward to other organisations.”

Mark Harrod
Managing Director, Mark Harrod Limited
www.markharrod.com

“Active Essex has appointed SMART Way Forward to deliver a series of coach development workshops as part of our commitment to encouraging, engaging and developing the skills of women working, coaching and volunteering within sport in Essex. The workshops have a good balance of theory and practical, as well as sharing useful tips, knowledge and experience. Nadeem and his team have been fantastic throughout allowing us to deliver thought provoking workshops. We have a great working relationship with SMART Way Forward and would happily recommend them to other organisations.”

Lauren Neve
Coach Development Manager, Active Essex
www.ActiveEssex.org

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward recently delivered an endurance performance workshop to athletics coaches at Woodson Park, Ware as part of the Local Coach Development Programme (LCDP). Feedback from the coaches who attended was excellent, please see a few of the examples below:

– Excellent. Clear with a great understanding. Delivered at exactly at the right level for the audience and extremely well presented
– Good. Great practical knowledge, refreshed knowledge
– Good. Learnt new methods on judging an athlete’s performance. Dynamic stretches and drills shown were excellent
– The tutor had a very good style and delivery. Content was excellent and all the information was relevant to me as a Level 2 endurance coach. I have been a runner myself for 35 years and a coach for 12 and consider a workshop worthwhile if I learn one new thing which I can incorporate into my coaching. There was a wealth of material here, which re-energised an older coach
– The endurance triangle which the tutor explained during the training was excellent

Following this feedback, we have added Nadeem to our South Team tutor recommendation list and have highlighted SMART Way Forward to our National Manager for further coach development workshops. We look forward to working with them in future.”

Karen Stephanou
England Athletics Club and Coach Support Officer for Essex and Hertfordshire
www.englandathletics.org

“Bonar Yarns is primarily a manufacturing company and our customer service is an essential link between our own production facilities and our customers. SMART Way Forward were asked to deliver a training programme focussed on improving our service, communication skills and helping staff make best use of their time. This they have achieved through a series of onsite training sessions. The results have been excellent with great feedback from staff and customers. We would certainly recommend SMART Way Forward to other organisations where communication with customers is key to a successful business.”

Bryn Lee
Commercial Director, BONAR YARNS
www.bonaryarns.com

“The team at SMART Way Forward are so helpful. Thank you for all of your help and support so far, it is great working with you!”

Stephen Aish
Director, The Strength Academy
www.thestrengthacedemy.com

“Great work by the team from SMART Way Forward! We love what they have produced for us. They are the perfect people to assist with sales, marketing and a new product launch. They are helpful, friendly and very supportive. Thank you guys!”

Dan McKeown
Managing Director, Speed Freq
www.speedfreq.co.uk

“Thank you all for such a great morning at the stadium. It was brilliantly organised by SMART Way Forward and all the families loved it!
Sport is very bonding and a day focussed on sports with such skilled athletes is something we would normally only dream of! It is terrific to have that much fun and support Sports Relief at the same time.
So thank you once again on behalf of the whole Annemount community and we look forward to keeping in touch.”

Geraldine Maidment
Head Teacher, Annemount School
www.annemount.co.uk

“On behalf of Annemount and the PTA, I would like to thank SMART Way Forward once again for organising such an incredible event this morning! It was a great success and we raised a lot of money for Sports Relief in the process.

It is so inspiring to meet such driven and successful athletes. For the children, I am certain that today will be one of those childhood memories they will never forget. It was a real pleasure to meet you all and we wish you all the best with SMART Way Forward”

Karen Berman
Annemount School PTA
www.annemount.co.uk

“We recently appointed SMART Way Forward to deliver a monthly Training Programme for our Customer Service team based at Head Office in Dundee, Scotland. We are always looking to develop our staff through regular training and CPD, so following consultation by Nadeem, SMART Way Forward very quickly identified the key development areas for our monthly training programme.

The sessions have been very beneficial, delivered with plenty of energy, enthusiasm with a good mix of theory and practical tasks. We would have no hesitation in recommending SMART Way Forward to other organisations wanting to develop their teams.”

Kenny Thom
Customer Service Team Manager, Bonar Yarns
www.bonaryarns.com

“As part of our commitment to staff training and CPD, we appointed SMART Way Forward to organise a motivational morning for our team, away from the office.

The team from SMART Way Forward organised an excellent morning of inspirational training workshops, followed by 90 minutes of archery at Mepal Outdoor Centre. Everyone from the Jordan Fitness team thoroughly enjoyed the day and we would have no hesitation in recommending SMART Way Forward to others.”

Zak Pitt
Sales Director, Jordan Fitness Limited
www.jordanfitness.co.uk

“I have worked with Nadeem from SMART Way Forward on several occasions and he is an absolute pleasure to do business with. Fastidious, smart and very personable, I have no hesitation in highly recommending him or his company SMART Way Forward.”

Tim Purvis
Managing Director, Bentley Holland & Partners
www.bentleyholland.co.uk

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward has a great outlook on business and is always trying to look for ways to best accommodate the client. I found him energetic and he had great vision and ideas for our working partnership. His passion and drive is also very commendable. I would certainly recommend other companies to meet with Nadeem and SMART Way Forward.”

Georgina Fenton
Real Estate Management Former Training & Development Officer for Sports Partnership Worcestershire & Herefordshire

“Following a repeat of a successful days training with SMART Way Forward, we have now incorporated a quarterly sales training programme, with SMART objectives being at the heart of the programme. Nadeem’s extensive experience is being applied to both training needs by setting clear sales objectives to help our sales team achieve their targets. Each quarter, Nadeem & his team from SMART Way Forward will carry out a bespoke training session based upon the quarter’s activity before to enable our sales team to maximise their experiences, learn from their mistakes and focus on key development areas. Nadeem will also lead a quarterly sales review where further sales analysis will be discussed.
By engaging SMART Way Forward in this new process, we will be providing our sales team with the best available support by one of the most enthusiastic and talented training individuals available.”

Claire Mollet
Sales & Marketing Director, Hippo Leisure Products Ltd / Manuplas Ltd
www.manuplas.co.uk /
www.hippoleisure.com

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Nadeem and all the staff at SMART Way Forward for all your assistance to date and hope we can continue to work together on a regular basis.

“We have found working with you so far an absolute pleasure, your flexibility and calm head is so reassuring and will be more than happy to recommend your services to other clients and advertise your company / link to your website through our site.

“We hope you have found working with us equally pleasing and that you will if the opportunity arises pass our contact details on to any clients of yours who may require our services.

“Thank you once again. We look forward to continuing our professional relationship with you for a very long time.”

Clive Goodchild
Managing Director, Clive’s Collectables
www.clivescollectables.co.uk

“The team at SMART Way Forward have been a tremendous help supporting the promotion of our unique tennis practice fencing solution, ServeAce. They very quickly identified an effective sales strategy to help us raise the profile of ServeAce to the sport, leisure, health and fitness industry sectors and generate more potential enquiries for us. We have been delighted with the response so far.”

Maurice Hickman
Sales & Marketing Director, ServeAce Tennis Practice Fencing, JB Corrie & Co Limited
www.serveacetennis.co.uk

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward is a professional tutor, who is self motivated and enthusiastic. His workshops are based on modern research and add value to the coaching world.”

Matthew Johnson
Coach Development Manager, GreaterSport
www.greatersport.co.uk

“We are delighted to have SMART Way Forward delivering a series of CPD coaching workshops to our squash coaches around the country, beginning with those in the Eastern Region. We are always looking to help our coaches develop their skills and knowledge so they can ensure their players are able to perform successfully at the highest level”.

Mark Williams
Senior Regional Manager, England Squash & Racketball – East Office
www.englandsquashandracketball.com

“We are delighted to welcome Nadeem Shaikh from SMART Way Forward onto the National Coach Development Programme. We hope that the opportunities that the programme offers to further enhance his already substantial knowledge, together with his enthusiasm and experience, will be very useful to other athletes & coaches around the country.”

Jenny Harris
National Coach Mentor Youth Development (Endurance), England Athletics
www.englandathletics.org

“We were delighted to have Nadeem speaking at The England Squash & Racketball National Conference, Lilleshall Sports Centre. I have personally known Nadeem for some time now and seen how successful he is at developing athletes from grassroots through to national and international level.”

Paul Carter
Elite Coach Development Manager, England Squash and Racketball
www.englandsquashandracketball.com

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward is an individual of exceptional talent! His ability to squeeze the best out of the day is a rare gift and an important benefit when considering using an external training consultant.

Nadeem is contracted to us to deliver ongoing sales training to our growing team of sales managers covering a diverse range of products. Nadeem’s preparation for the training was superb. His knowledge of all our business sectors made the training so relevant that we were able to implement new sales tactics into our proposals the next day. The training was targeted at areas where WE specifically needed support and were able to draw from Nadeem’s vast experience to relate them to real life situations.

Nadeem’s inspirational, enthusiastic and exciting way of delivering training ensures that the customer is not only bowled over but left needing more! He should be an essential part of any developing sales team as he has the ability to seamlessly integrate, motivate and educate … he is certainly at the heart of ours.”

Claire Mollet
Director, Hippo Leisure Products Ltd
www.hippoleisure.com

“We recently appointed SMART Way Forward to provide advice, research and design work to help JB Corrie promote its revolutionary ServeAce tennis fencing solution. We were delighted with the service provided by SMART Way Forward and would happily use them again and recommend them to others.”

Maurice Hickman
Sales and Marketing Director, J B Corrie & Co Ltd
www.serveacetennis.co.uk /
www.jbcorrie.co.uk

“We were delighted to welcome Nadeem Shaikh from SMART Way Forward to speak at our Conference on Sunday 3rd November at The University of Hertfordshire Sports Village, Hatfield. We knew Nadeem’s knowledge and experience of coaching would be extremely useful to all the sports coaches and delegates attending on the day.”

John O’Callaghan
Club, Coach and Sports Development Manager, Herts Sports Partnership, University of Hertfordshire, Sports Village, Hatfield
www.sportinherts.org.uk

“Nadeem Shaikh from Smart Way Forward has delivered a variety of CPD courses for Sports Coaches as part of the Middlesex University Coach Education Programme. He has a professional and polished approach, delivering material in a lively and enthusiastic manner.

His wealth of experience in coaching and training enables him to deliver sessions which get to the heart of the subject, and utilise real-life examples to enhance the participant’s learning.”

Mel Parker
Head of Sport & Recreation, Middlesex University
www.mdx.ac.uk

“I have known Nadeem for almost a quarter of a century through our membership of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. As a middle and long distance athlete he displayed stamina, consistency and diligence in his competitive endeavours. Durng the last eight years he has brought these qualities to being a first class coach, mentor and organiser. Moreover he has excellent interpersonal skills and a fine attention to detail.”

Richard Bober
Chairman, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
www.sbharriers.co.uk

“Nadeem has been a member of Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier for over 25 years. During this time, he has been an active middle and long distance athlete for the club and over the last eight years, has progressed to become a very successful and respected athletics coach and mentor. Nadeem from SMART Way Forward has excellent organisational skills, is very professional in his approach and has boundless energy and enthusiasm towards everything he does!”

Philip Cunningham
Hon Club Secretary, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
www.sbharriers.co.uk

“We have known Nadeem at SMART Way Forward for a number of years and have worked with him on several projects. We have always found him to be highly professional, thorough and committed to delivering each project.”

Plan4Sport Team
www.plan4sport.co.uk

“Having appointed SMART Way Forward to deliver the sales and marketing aspect of the UK Fitness Trails programme, I have found Nadeem to be extremely enthusiastic with an excellent knowledge in the area of sales and marketing. He has provided a clear, structured focus to the national role out of the scheme and I would have no hesitation in recommending his services to other clients.”

Louise Tideswell
Managing Director, Fitness Trails UK
www.plan4sport.co.uk/fitnesstrails/

“I have known Nadeem from SMART Way Forward for about three years now and have always been impressed with his infectious enthusiasm and motivation. He comes across as one of those people who make things happen and inspire other people to get the best from themselves.

These qualities shine through in both Nadeem’s business life where he motivates people to sell in a tough economic climate and to strive for more, and also in his personal life where he dedicates many hours of his own time to help others improve their performances on the track.

I consider Nadeem to be trustworthy, honourable, professional and would recommend him as someone you should do business with because even if he can’t help you directly, he will introduce you to someone who can just because he wants to help you.”

Ian Wakefield
Business Development Manager, The Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (IMSPA)
www.cimspa.co.uk

“I have known Nadeem from SMART Way Forward for some time and always found him to be the most thorough and professional of individuals. Having project managed the 2010 National Sports Development Seminar, we were delighted to have Nadeem address the delegates and his presentation was as we knew it would be, well prepared, well delivered and engaging. Nadeem has an enthusiasm and passion for what he does that he is able to transmit in any presentation and I look forward to working with him on future events.”

Jonathan Wilson
Managing Director, 100AND10%
www.110percent.co.uk

“Nadeem from SMART Way Forward has worked with our teams at the London Marathon and our other key road race events, organising marshals. We have been very impressed with his professionalism and would not hesitate to recommend him to others.”

Dave Bedford
Race Director, London Marathon
www.virginlondonmarathon.com

“Nadeem has worked on the London Marathon for many years, in his time with us Nadeem has worked in various roles, his enthusiastic nature and ability to lead a team under pressure with an event such as the London Marathon make him an asset to have on board. We call on Nadeem each year to recruit and organize members of a large marshal group for the Mini London Marathon. Nadeem has never let us down, always delivering the required help needed to make the event run smoothly, in an efficient and professional manner.”

Katie Ray
Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon Coordinator / Standard Chartered Great City Race Administrator
www.virginlondonmarathon.com