About Us
A.P.E Consulting is based in the beautiful city of Christchurch, New Zealand and we know sales & marketing. Often businesses need a fresh view of their business from a different perspective or an additional resource to help them to step out from working in the business to working on the business. We are experienced problem solvers, strategic business advisors and sales and marketing coaches with a record of successfully delivering real life solutions and results for a wide range of clients in New Zealand and overseas, working with multiple industries from local start-ups through to global corporates. ● We listen to what you say and ask a lot of questions to truly understand what you want ● We give open and honest feedback with no hidden agendas ● We treat you and your business with integrity and confidentiality ● We encourage and support you ● We enjoy our work! We help you understand your customers, market, strengths & opportunities, and how to plan and execute your path to success with clarity & real life solutions. Get in touch, call 020 4180 6963 or email stephen@apeconsulting.co.nz
Stephen Spencer, Senior ConsultantStephen is an experienced General Manager with demonstrated success in retail, wholesale and export channels across a range of FMCG, indoor and outdoor product categories in domestic and international markets. He understands what is necessary to drive strong strategic business growth and has operational management skills in retail operations, budgeting, project management, supplier negotiations and new product & service developments. (including winning three International Design Awards). Stephen has proven results leading small and large teams through change management in retail, logistics, customer service, and buying functions.
  • "Our team has been working with Stephen for the past 3 months to develop our understanding of B2B sales and develop a marketing strategy that works. Stephen's advice and guidance has helped us grow our sales (we have seen improved results in this time) and helped us develop a robust marketing strategy for continued growth. Stephen is both professional and very knowledgeable in his area of expertise around marketing. We highly recommend him and we look forward to working with him again in the future to continue to develop what we have done so far.."
    RACHEL de VRIES - OWNER
    House Of Bricks
  • "Stephen was great to work with and brought a lot of advice to the conversation. Would contact A.P.E again for future work when necessary."
    KEVIN PARTHONNAUD
    Pohatu Penguins
  • "Over the past twop years Stephen's guidance has made a significant difference to our business. He has helped us grow our sales, expand our product range, employ staff and organise our financials and marketing. Stephen genuinely works hard to consider the best way for us to grow our businesses. He sees the big picture while also helping us to focus on the finer details. One of his greatest skills is his ability to listen. He asks the right questions, pushing us to think outside the square and more strategically about our business. His vast experience in the business world, particularly in Retail, is really helpful when we need assistance with costing and pricing, product sourcing, looking at our financials and our profitability. He gives us the confidence to make decisions and move forward. Beyond his professional expertise, Stephen is a really great person to work with. His positive attitude and warm personality make our mentoring sessions enjoyable and motivational. We always look forward to our meetings knowing that he will leave us with lots of new ideas and a lovely big focused 'to-do' list of tasks to move our business forward. I wholeheartedly recommend Stephen to any business seeking a mentor. "
    JANE SAWYER - DIRECTOR
    Natal Care
  • "Stephen was super helpful in reviewing my processes top to bottom, quickly doubling the attendance rayte to my virtual sales meetings and in turn my intake of new clients with only a few tweaks."
    MATT HANSON - FINANCIAL ADVISOR
    Resure Insurance
  • "Stephen worked with us to create a marketing strategy tailored to the needs of our business.Stephen supported this by involving our business to the community of our main customers. He went over and beyond to know more about the financial status of our business and made sound advice to improve our cashflow."
    ROBIN BUAN
    Arbie Restaurant
  • We have recently been working with Stephen revitalising our Sales and Marketing Plan. Stephen was easy and great to work with, held us accountable and kept us focused on a timeline. Totally enjoyed our consultation process and we now need to continue with new ideas for our business. Would definitely recommend APE Consulting.
    JOE JURANOVICH – DIRECTOR
    Midas Northwood
  • "Gozney have worked with Stephen on a number of projects, including the recent launch of consumer ranges into Australian retail. His experience and insight has proved invaluable to the successful delivery of these projects. Despite the need to accommodate international time zone differences, communication and organisation were excellent throughout".
    DAVE MOORHOUSE - HEAD OF SALES EMEA, APAC
    Gozney Pizza Ovens
  • Highly recommend Stephenespecially to people new to sales. I had no idea what I was doing at the start of the year, I never thought of a career in sales so I had zero knowledge and felt like I was going to sink. Stephen was great and it was very easy to say 'Stephen I have no idea what you are taloking about' and he would take it back, re-phrase and we were good to go. He has heaps of knowledge and personal experience and laughs along with you. I had a string of bad luck during our training and he was very accommodating to me needing to reschedule sessions and was easy to contact. By the end I was definitely ready to get out on my own. Thank you Stephen!
    DANIELLE BURNETT – SALES
    Gold Band Taxis
  • "Stephen is professional yet down to earth, and highly experienced. Excellent meetings that make you think, and bring out the best ideas and how to implement them in a structured way. I would recommend Stephen to any business owner who wants someone real across the table to help drive their goals forward with confidence and accountability."
    william person - DIRECTOR
    SwiftDry Clotheslines NZ
  • "Great company to work with, listened to what we wanted for our accommodation business, had good ideas going forward, implementation of recommendations were smooth and seamless, would highly recommend."
    RICHARD HOWARD – Director
    Glenburn Coastal Retreat
  • Worked me through a Sales & Marketing Plan during lockdown so we were in a good space to hit the ground running. A comprehensive and expert consultation process across a few weeks. Left me with heaps of positive actions to implement. Thanks for all of your help.
    Anthony Barker – Managing Director
    Southern Monograms
  • "Stephen from A.P.E Consulting was able to help us fast track some new business development opportunities we were working on and helped us clarify what we were aiming to achieved and how to go about it. We are very happy to recommend Stephen and A.P.E Consulting to others."
    Hamish Martin – Sales & Marketing Director
    Heat Force Ltd
  • "Great content, personable staff, easy communication."
    HIGH COUNTRY SALMON TEAM
  • "Steve was fantastic, very professional and knowledgeable. He's helped me with many aspects of our business and has given me many ideas I can implement in my business. I highly recommend APE Consulting Ltd."
    Jai Ghazizada
    Heartland Feeds and Nutrition Ltd
  • "We have been working with Stephen from A.P.E for a number of months now to help get our business into better shape and focus in order to recover from the Covid-19 lockdowns and drop in turnover. His help has been excellent in getting us to focus on what is relevant and discard what is not. He has connected us with services which have helped get our IT infrastructure working better so that we have a better understanding of our financial situation. As well as how to make the most of what we have got to offer our customers. As a result, our turnover since June 2020 has nearly doubled in comparison to the previous months in the last financial year. By being better able to focus on the fundamentals of our business we are able to secure the future of our business and make it profitable again. We highly recommend their services."
    TREMANE BARR – OWNER, OPERATOR
    Zurma Botanical Oil Studio
  • "Over the last 4 months Stephen has provided clear, practical and easy to implement marketing advice for me as a new business owner. At first I was apprehensive if he would be the right fit for me and whether investing in marketing training while cashflow was getting off the ground was a wise decision. However, Stephen's guidance and advice has been invaluable in teaching me how to approach clients and articulate the value I can provide them. Now the marketing training is complete, I will continue to use Stephen in a business mentor capacity moving forward.."
    TOM SMITH - SMITH GEOTECH LTD
  • Over several months we collaborated with Stephen to assess our business' current standing and to guide and implement practical changes aimed at elevating it to the next level. Stephen's insights and assistance were invaluable in managing these changes and reflecting on their positive impact on the business. I highly recommend his services!."
    Sarah Mosley
  • "We worked with Stephen on Sales and Customer Service training – and the team thoroughly enjoyed it! Stephen’s background in garden centre management was a huge advantage in helping understand more about providing the best customer experience and also looking to improve on our offering for the future. Can’t recommend enough! Look forward to working with you in the future!"
    chris smith
    Southern Woods
  • "Gozney have worked with Stephen on a number of projects, including the recent launch of consumer ranges into Australian retail. His experience and insight has proved invaluable to the successful delivery of these projects. Despite the need to accommodate international time zone differences, communication and organisation were excellent throughout".
    Dave Moorhouse, Head of Sales EMEA, APAC
  • "Stephen was great to work with and brought a lot of advice to the conversation. Would contact A.P.E again for future work when necessary."
    KEVIN PARTHONNAUD
    Pohatu Penguins
  • "Working with APE Consulting has been a truly satisfying experience. 3DFactory has been working with APE on a number of business ventures and they have continuously offered tremendous advice and direction that has clearly defined our purpose in the businesses.
    Moreover, Ian has helped with consolidating many ideas into clear and concise monthly priority based action plans that are easily achievable and enabled 3DFactory to maintain steady progression with clearly set goals and timelines.
    I couldn't recommend the guys at APE enough if you want your business to be a success."
    DARREN PADDOCK - DIRECTOR
    3D Factory Ltd
  • "Stephen worked with us to create a marketing strategy tailored to the needs of our business.Stephen supported this by involving our business to the community of our main customers. He went over and beyond to know more about the financial status of our business and made sound advice to improve our cashflow."
    ROBIN BUAN
    Arbie Restaurant
  • Ian's input was really valuable for my business. APE helped me with client referrals which allowed me to see where my strengths were and what I needed to work on. As a result of Ian's input I was able to work out a marketing plan and know what I needed to work on. Ian also had lots of great ideas when it came to marketing my business.
    KIM HAMILL – OWNER
    Nimba
  • Ian held me responsible for my own marketing plan, he kept me to task, encouraged me to be bold & different and gave me honest and useful critique which meant my business was able to grow and thrive again. It was a pleasure working with Ian and I feel like we achieved great things in a very short time. I would strongly recommend Ian to anyone who wants to develop, learn and be open to new thinking.
    VANESSA CUMMING – PRACTICE PRINCIPAL
    Canon St Optometrists
  • We have been working with Ian from APE for over 18 months now. Ian came to us on the recommendation from a fellow business contact. We wanted to regenerate and grow our business, needing help to implement successful marketing tools, put new systems in place and with Ian's guidance, we have achieved this and more. Ian keeps us accountable with regular meetings, He is always very approachable, easy to contact via phone or email. Would highly recommend to any business needing guidance, advice and expertise.
    SCOTT & TRACEY SMITH - OWNERS
    Diesel Pumps Ltd
  • We have recently been working with Stephen revitalising our Sales and Marketing Plan. Stephen was easy and great to work with, held us accountable and kept us focused on a timeline. Totally enjoyed our consultation process and we now need to continue with new ideas for our business. Would definitely recommend APE Consulting.
    Joe Juranovich – Director
    Midas Northwood
  • Ian worked me through a Sales & Marketing Plan during lockdown so we were in a good space to hit the ground running. A comprehensive and expert consultation process across a few weeks. Left me with heaps of positive actions to implement. Thanks for all of your help.
    Anthony Barker – Managing Director
    Southern Monograms
  • "Stephen from A.P.E Consulting was able to help us fast track some new business development opportunities we were working on and helped us clarify what we were aiming to achieved and how to go about it. We are very happy to recommend Stephen and A.P.E Consulting to others."
    Heartland Feeds and Nutrition Ltd
    Heat Force Ltd
  • We found working with Ian at A.P.E Consulting post COVID very valuable. Their program gave us greater clarity, focus and identified positive actions that we continue to implement. As a direct result of those actions we have grown our customer base and strengthened our sales pipeline. It has been a great help working with you Ian. Thanks for your time, encouragement, input and patience!
    scott & Rozalie Searle - Stratacote
  • "Steve was fantastic, very professional and knowledgeable. He's helped me with many aspects of our business and has given me many ideas I can implement in my business. I highly recommend APE Consulting Ltd."
    Jai Ghazizada
    Heartland Feeds and Nutrition Ltd
  • "We have been working with Stephen from A.P.E for a number of months now to help get our business into better shape and focus in order to recover from the Covid-19 lockdowns and drop in turnover. His help has been excellent in getting us to focus on what is relevant and discard what is not. He has connected us with services which have helped get our IT infrastructure working better so that we have a better understanding of our financial situation. As well as how to make the most of what we have got to offer our customers. As a result, our turnover since June 2020 has nearly doubled in comparison to the previous months in the last financial year. By being better able to focus on the fundamentals of our business we are able to secure the future of our business and make it profitable again. We highly recommend their services."
    Tremane Barr – Owner, Operator
    Zurma Botanical Oil Studio
  • "Highly recommend Stephen especially to people new to sales. I had no idea what i was doing at the start of the year, I never thought of a career in sales so i had zero knowledge and felt like i was going to sink. Stephen was great and it was very easy to say “Stephen i have no idea what you are talking about” and he would take it back re-phrase and we were good to go. He has heaps of knowledge and personal experience and laughs along with you. I had a string of bad luck during our training and he was very accommodating to me needing to reschedule sessions and was easy to contact. By the end i was definitely ready to get out on my own. Thank you Stephen!"
    danielle burnett
  • "Stephen is professional yet down to earth, and highly experienced. Excellent meetings that make you think, and bring out your best ideas and how to implement them in a structured way. I would recommend Stephen to any business owner who wants someone real across the table to help drive their goals forward with confidence and accountability."
    william person
    Swiftdry Clotheslines
  • "We worked with Stephen on Sales and Customer Service training – and the team thoroughly enjoyed it! Stephen’s background in garden centre management was a huge advantage in helping understand more about providing the best customer experience and also looking to improve on our offering for the future. Can’t recommend enough! Look forward to working with you in the future!"
    chris smith
    Southern Woods
  • "Gozney have worked with Stephen on a number of projects, including the recent launch of consumer ranges into Australian retail. His experience and insight has proved invaluable to the successful delivery of these projects. Despite the need to accommodate international time zone differences, communication and organisation were excellent throughout".
    dave Moorhouse, Head of Sales EMEA, APAC