Chippenham Business powerhouses Pink and Purpol prove once again that they are a force to be reckoned with!

The successful duo are delighted to be shortlisted as regional finalists in the highly respected 2017 Forward Ladies National Awards.

Denise O’Leary of Purpol Marketing and Alison Edgar – the pink Entrepreneurs Godmother are well known as the ‘Pink and Purpol’ duo of female Marketing and Sales entrepreneurs.

Often working jointly with clients, they and experienced in providing business growth expertise as well as being export mentors.

Pink and Purpol have had joint previous award success too, taking home Business Service Provider of the Year at the Chippenham Business Awards earlier this year for their combined sales and marketing expertise.

Having previously been shared success, this time they have been shortlisted in separate categories. Purpol Marketing is shortlisted in the Start Up category, and the Entrepreneurial Godmother in the SME Emerging Category, both of which fall into the London and South regional shortlist.

Sponsored by HSBC, ‘Forward Ladies’ is one of the country’s leading organisations for the promotion of women in business, and the National Awards have become one of the most high profile and respects accolades for women.

The Forward Ladies National Awards succeed in giving women in business the recognition they deserve. Since Its operation in 1999, they have been working to create programmes designed to help women achieve their individual aspirations, whilst also tackling the wider issue of diversity in leadership within the wider business community.

In announcing the London and The South region shortlist, Forward Ladies Managing Director Griselda Togobo unveiled entrepreneurial female business leaders who will compete across twelve categories.

“The calibre of entries has been increasing year on year, but this year we have a number of outstanding entries and here at Forward Ladies we very much look forward to celebrating and sharing their success.” Griselda said.

With an outstanding shortlist, Denise and Alison are both very excited to have made the regional final to be announced at a glittering ceremony on September 15th in London, and look forward to celebrating the female talent across the UK.

Having both a professional and personal friendship, and delivering combined sales and marketing workshops, they continue to collaborate with their clients.

Denise O’Leary, the Purpol half of the duo, is Managing Director of Purpol Marketing Limited, which she founded back in 2014.

Purpol Marketing is a specialist consultancy offering marketing strategy and bid management expertise to SMEs and start ups on a pay-as-you-go basis. Having successfully maintaining a 95% bid success rate, comparable to an industry average of 60-65%, Purpol’s expansion shows no signs of slowing down in 2017. Most recently, Denise has expanded the team, with the recruitment of six interns over the course of the summer, making Purpol the biggest it has ever been! During this time, they will be assisting Denise in the marketing of her new Magnificent Marketing online course, and having a go at some bid writing.

Alison Edgar, the pink half of the duo, is the Entrepreneurial Godmother, Alison has been making training more accessible and affordable to start-ups, micro businesses and small business, spreading sales magic.

She is also the Managing Director of Sales Coaching Solutions, working with corporate sales team to teach them how to sell their fantastic products and services across the South West.

Speaking of the news, Denise said: “I am thrilled Alison and I have been shortlisted in the Forward Ladies National Awards with many other worthy finalists. Being a female business leader it is important that we appreciate talent in others and support each other. We can all appreciate the joy and hardships that come with running our own businesses, so it is vital to support the successes.

Alison said: “Forward Ladies are National Awards and are a fantastic celebration of successful women throughout the UK, Denise and I are so excited to be celebrating another fantastic year in business, not just for us but for all business women in the UK, we hope to empower other women to join us!”