Business Essentials

Have you set up your company social media accounts, but struggle to maintain them? It takes patience, time, money and above all consistency to keep your messaging top of mind. Financial expert Helen Baker says it’s important to be able to measure the return on social media marketing investment. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333 See omnystudio....

One of the issues facing struggling sales teams is a lack of consistency. If they have a sound strategy and process in place, then the results can flow from that. Sales expert Sue Barrett says online consumers are inundated with advertising, which makes it tough for any marketing to cut through all the noise. Businesses need to adopt the old-fashioned sales technique of prospecting – that ability...

What steps are needed to be a great leader and can anyone become one? Ricky Nowak, a leadership speaker and facilitator, has spent much of her career pondering those questions and has some practical solutions. She details her thoughts in her book, ‘How to make good people great leaders …and reap the reward!’. She outlines what she calls the three Rs of leadership, including great relationships, re...

It’s a new world of communication for small business, with customers able to make contact on multiple platforms, often in very demanding terms. But according to Elise Balsillie, Head of Thryv small business software, Australia, those businesses who don’t respond in a timely manner are being left behind. She says it’s critical to build channels that ensure frictionless communication and, to embrace...

Consumers are spoilt for choice. Confronted with so many shopping options every day, people perform shortcuts when making purchasing decisions. But building brand value is more important than short-term sales results. Troy McKinna, Co-Founder of Agents of Spring, identifies four keys to building brand value: find your consumers' most valuable problem; design a clear solution that delivers results;...

With so many marketing channels to choose from, how do you know which is the right one for you and your business? How do you turn strangers into paying customers? Well, rather than a scatter-gun approach, the best strategy is to choose one marketing channel for 90-days with 100% commitment. Amy Miocevich, Founder of Lumos Marketing says, if it doesn’t work, then move on to something else. If it do...

We’ve all heard about high-profile construction companies becoming insolvent. But the scary thing is that the number of businesses across all sectors going bust has skyrocketed this year. That’s according to Jacqui Clarke, who urges you to start planning now to ensure you don’t end up on the scrap heap. Jacqui is author of ‘Stop worrying about money – start planning now to secure your financial fu...

The way social media works has changed dramatically over the past few years, with most businesses needing to adapt the way they promote themselves. George Hawwa is Growth Director for social media marketing agency, Attention Experts, he outlines three methods for encouraging social media engagement, explains how businesses should see themselves as content creators, and explains the value of retarg...

Managing a team is not set and forget. Tony Gattari, Achievers Group, Founder and Managing Director, likens it to sport – your players have a KPI scoreboard which keeps them on track every single day. Tony says if you want to improve the performance of your team members, you must set regular targets and keep revisiting them. Tony's a stickler for performance review meetings. They’ll keep your staf...

Living up to the expectations of others can be a heavy weight. From childhood to our working lives and beyond, we’re largely driven by what’s expected of us. But what if those expectations tie us down and prevent us from reaching our dreams? As a keynote speaker, author and mentor John Di Natale, knows first-hand about managing expectations of others and going his own instead. Business Essentials...

Sales teams tend to focus a lot on efficiency, for example, how to make cold calls, how to overcome objections, and how to spot a good lead. But by focusing solely on efficiency, they’ve forgotten about the importance of effectiveness . Entrepreneur, Roy Osing says that rather than being comfortable with sub par performance, sales needs to be transformed into a strategic asset, demonstrating outst...

When it comes to influencing people to change their behaviour, we tend to use logic. That doesn’t work, says behavioural specialist Bri Williams. Humans are emotional creatures: we’re lazy, scared and confused, she insists. By lazy, she means we’re creatures of habit and therefore behaving in a new way takes effort. We’re scared because we don’t want to try something different in case it fails. An...

How often do we hear that there’s never enough time in the day? Often, right? Well, perhaps if those meetings were purpose-driven, you and the team could get more of the important work done. Leadership and productivity expert Scott Stein says it might help to adopt one of four meeting types – that way, the attendees’ time isn’t wasted and you can achieve greater outcomes. Business Essentials Daily...

New businesses that survey potential customers, and established businesses that make a customer blueprint, are setting themselves up to become a customer-centric success. That’s according to Ruchi Gupta, Founder and CEO of The Launchpad Co. She says that too many small businesses fail to do their due diligence and can rapidly improve their prospects by increasing the value of their customer experi...

Change is inevitable but managing it badly can lead to an exodus of great staff. So, change specialist Esther De La Cruz has some advice, be as transparent and communicative as possible. Esther says responses to change are largely biological, so keeping this in mind when formulating a change strategy is a recipe for success. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au...

With inflation the highest it’s been for decades and mortgages, grocery prices, and energy bills all heading north, employees might come to you demanding a salary increase. So, how do you handle the question? HR expert and CEO of Corporate Dojo, Karen Gately, explains how to communicate with your team honestly and effectively. At the end of the day, she says, as a business owner you have commercia...

Lawyer Tracey Mylecharane has had plenty of distressed business owners come to her with cease-and-desist letters, following a new product or service launch that’s infringed on existing registered trademarks. Tracey insists, that before launching a new offer, ensure that the words aren’t already registered by a competitor. She explains how to do your due diligence and the consequences if you do inf...

With just seconds to grab people’s attention and make an impact, intrigue marketing is one way business owners can cut through the daily advertising clutter. James Smith, CEO of digital agency, Smith Brothers Media, says any business can do this, just think creatively, be brave and give something new a go! Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333 See...

Gen Z exudes confidence while looking into darkness. That’s according to the latest Employee Sentiment Index conducted by ELMO Software. Their study of more than 1,000 Australian employees, reveals that 47% of Gen Z employees are remarkably optimistic, even as businesses contract and labour forces reduce. So, the assuredness of Generation Z could be misplaced, while older cohorts are proceeding wi...

There are four ways small businesses can benefit from a hit of growth capital. Anthony Healy, CEO and MD of the Australian Business Growth Fund, says swapping a minority share of your business for a large injection of capital can help SMEs accelerate their growth, open new business opportunities, free up resources and provide additional expertise and access to new networks. Business Essentials Dai...

Payroll tax returns for the 2023 Financial Year are due in July. It’s a big task, especially for businesses with staff around the country, because each state and territory has different requirements. Steve Baxter, National Indirect Tax Partner at Mazars, explains how payroll tax works, when it’s due for each state, and the care employers must heed when they prepare their payroll tax calculations....

Clients will more likely buy from you if they feel heard and understood. Sue Barrett, CEO of Barrett Consulting Group, says it’s incumbent on leaders to ensure their sales teams learn to develop long-term relationships with clients. As the world becomes more complex and products become commoditised, buyers are not just looking for solutions, she says, but looking beyond that. And so, it’s worth em...

Search Engine Optimization — or SEO — is crucial for any business with an online presence, but many business owners find it daunting. The Studio Hawke company specializes in improving SEO for its clients, and its General Manger, Lawrence Hitches, says there are plenty of things a business can do to rank higher on Goolge Search Results. He advises businesses to look at the structure and efficiency...

Do you know what you really stand for? Perhaps you’re too busy running your business to ask such deep-seated personal questions. But delve deep you must! says John Di Natale, mentor, keynote speaker and author, because these days it’s more important than ever to consider what you represent. It’s all part of personal branding, he says, it’s important for business, and by the way, it’s not just abou...

The vast majority of people read reviews before they purchase anything, particularly big-ticket items. And video testimonials or reviews, in particular, are much more influential on the final purchase. Ainslie Williams, CEO of Reel. Reviews, says it’s the visual cues, body language, tone and emotion that come through in video that provide a far more authentic and compelling argument, than from a w...