Business Essentials

After two years of COVID, retail sales are still down as consumers are more risk averse and less willing to go out and buy. With fewer leads on offer, sales expert Tony Gattari says your sales plan needs to include a better conversion rate than before the pandemic. That includes a combination of traditional off-line activity as well as clever online processes. Tony reflects on the last two years a...

Sales isn't just about turning up and relying on your instinct or other skills. Each customer is different with his or her own wants and needs, and you need to prepare for each one. Rachel Bourke of SalesSPACE says salespeople should go through checklists before even stepping into a sales meeting. Rachel's sales meeting preparation pack includes a personal checklist to ensure you look the part and...

Whether retirement is a long way off or just around the corner, it’s something you should always be planning for. But, retirement can be complex. You need to consider investment assets, tax implications, downsizing, superannuation and whether your money will last. Noel Whittaker, Australia’s most trusted finance writer, explains what you need to consider when investing in your future....

Purchasing large household items online is risky. They’re often costly and if they need to be sent back, it’s an effort in time, energy and additional cost. But online rug retailer, Miss Amara, is changing this perception with risk free purchasing. Co-Founders Alexandra Tanya and Aaron Weller explain what’s different about their offering and why their sales figures are through th...

In spite of the pandemic, it’s still a good time to expand your business wings abroad, according to Anne Nalder, the founder and CEO of the Small Business Association of Australia. She says technology now allows even the smallest of businesses to grow by tapping into vast overseas markets. And by starting to generate income from foreign customers, businesses can remain stable when there is d...

Google Analytics can seem intimidating, but without question it should be the foundation for all of your digital marketing - monitoring and guiding you towards successful outcomes. Leigh Hanney, SEO and Analytics Specialist and Founder of DataCraft Digital, offers five ways that Google Analytics can help support your marketing strategy. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundca...

Are you sick of not charging enough for what you do – but you don’t dare jack up your prices in case your customers desert you in droves, then sit back and listen to some salient advice from Australia’s number one business author, Andrew Griffiths. Enough’s enough, he’ll tell you. Be brave and take a leap into “expensive” territory. It’ll transform y...

As people spend increasing amounts of time online, it's worth being strategic about how your business uses social media and other online tools to target potential customers. But, how much time do you really need to invest in making it work? That's one of the biggest misconceptions about using social media, says business consultant, Nicola Moras. Author of a new book, 'Visible'. Nicola says you don...

Life, income and TPD (total and permanent disability) insurances are often included in a superannuation policy. That might be fine to some people, but it could impact the eligibility requirements and tax paid when a claim is made. Jackie Crane, Life Risk Adviser with Personal Risk Professionals, takes Clive Todd, Partner at Mazars, through the ins and outs of super insurance. Any information or ad...

Waiting an unreasonable time for big companies to pay their bills could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the Federal Government’s new Payment Times Reporting Scheme. Under the system, companies will have to publicly disclose how long they are taking to pay their small business clients. Even though it has only become law this year, the small business minister says the scheme has already...

As a health-conscious foodie, Jordyn Evans was unimpressed with the line-up of old, traditional spices and seasonings on the supermarket shelves. They were full of sugars, preservatives and artificial flavours. So, she decided to start her own range -  Mingle Seasoning, which is now sitting beside the older brands at Coles, Woolworths and at more than 2000 other stockists across the country....

When a customer is upset with product or service, it’s often the frontline staff who cop the complaint. To ensure a bad situation doesn’t get worse, it’s important to know how to deal with a customer’s difficult behaviour. Customer service expert, Monique Richardson outlines strategies businesses can adopt to handle customers in different challenging situations. Business Es...

There is, as they say, a first time for everything. And that includes stepping into a leadership role. To help first-time managers, we hear from leadership expert Anna Marshall, founder of People Mastery and author of ‘On you marks, get set…LEAD!: A beginner’s guide to people leadership’. She outlines her five essentials for business leaders. Business Essentials Daily is p...

Everyone has a role to play in a winning team — and leadership is an important part of that. Having played 378 games for the Essendon Football Club, footy legend Simon Madden has proven his mettle on the field both as a player and as a leader. And now, as founder of Simon Madden Consulting, Simon advises organisations on how to build winning teams. He says if you can improve your people, you...

Paul Taylor knows resilience better than most. A current PhD student in Applied Psychology, Paul’s a former Airborne Anti-submarine Warfare Officer in the Royal Navy, a former professional boxer, Australian Fitness Industry presenter of the year, and founder of MindBodyBrain Performance Institute. He offers seven daily rituals that can help boost brain performance and shares his tips on how...

If tyre kickers are tying up your time seeking quotes and proposals without coming through with the work – then it’s time to call them out. Preparing detailed proposals is a time-consuming part of a sales person’s job. There’s a substantial cost involved, says respected sales expert Sue Barrett, Director of Barrett Consulting Group, and you can’t afford to waste time...

The Federal Government’s new compulsory company directors’ register will be a good thing for small businesses and sole traders. That’s according to Anne Nalder, the CEO of the Small Business Association of Australia. The directors of every company – large and small — are being required to personally register in the new system, which Anne Nalder is calling a necessary...

How does your brand stand out from your competitors? Do you use tired, cliched images on your website, or are you a bit more creative? Brand creator and consultant, Bec Hughes, says to succeed in brand design, you need to provide memorable experiences for your potential customers. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333 See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Yes, we could all manage our time better. And the best way to do it? Kate Christie will tell us that we must stop thinking “management” and start thinking “investment”. Because time is a very precious commodity and we need to make sure we’re getting the best return on it. In fact, Kate, a time management expert and Founder and Director of Time Stylers will tell us tha...

If you’re thinking about hanging up your hat and passing the business on to the next generation, is the current business structure the right fit for the next in line? Evan Beissel, Tax Partner at Mazars, says it might be worth considering a restructure. He says a major factor in business restructures is tax, which can be mitigated by using the right concessions, including CGT rollover conces...

If you don't have strategies to tackle the onslaught of incoming emails, you'll spend even more time trying to find the important ones and be distracted by the ones that are less so. Email expert Steuart Snooks of Solutions 4 Success has a tonne of tips to manage your emails and get more time back in your day. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333...

The coming year looks set to be marked by encouraging economic growth, but also interest rate rises. That’s according to Melbourne University Economics Professor Neville Norman, who says the Reserve Bank urgently needs to break its promise of no new interest rate hikes until 2024 or it may threaten the housing and stock markets. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcart...

Writing down your goals is one thing, but following through on them to achieve success is quite another. You could do worse than follow the advice of entrepreneur Matthew Michalewicz. He has developed and grown several technology companies in the US and Australia, his last achieving revenue from start-up to $20m in just 7 years. A much sought-after speaker and now co-founder and managing director...

As painful as it is, like ripping off a Band-Aid, sometimes you just need to have a chat with a difficult staff member. It’s never easy to confront an employee with an ongoing problem, but putting it off could lead to the issue worsening over time. Marita Ryan, Director of Marita Ryan Consulting, has some useful tips on how to conduct a critical conversation, which can actually help build tr...

The labels marketers use to describe consumers no longer serve the purpose they used to. That’s according to customer engagement expert, Michael Solomon, whose book, ‘The New Chameleons’, outlines how consumers defy the categories in which businesses often put them. The world today has made our lives more complex and so too the job of the marketer. Michael says the first step is...