Business Essentials

One of the many consequences of COVID-19 has been the lack of human connection. While technology has filled the gap, it’s as important as ever for businesses to provide that human touch and meaningful customer experience. Customer service expert, Jaquie Scammell, discusses how companies can gain a competitive advantage by developing a successful service culture. Business Essentials Daily is...

Start on time, finish on time and have an agenda. Sounds simple, but how often do we find ourselves in meetings that don't follow these three principles? Les Watson, author of ‘Get Back An Hour In Every Day’, discusses how to free up your time at work by following some wise management strategies, along with some innovative ideas to relieve time pressures. Business Essentials Daily is p...

“Innovate or die!” How often have we heard that? But as business leaders, we don’t have to come up with the bright ideas. Ally Muller, Managing Director, GOYA Consulting reminds us that some of the greatest ideas come from within our own businesses – from people who work for us day in and day out, who know the problems and most probably the solutions too, as long as we&rsqu...

What's likely to drive customers away from your door, never to return? Research shows some underlying factors which will eventually mean survival or not for your business. Entrepreneur, Neville Christie uncovers the reasons why customers become cynical about who they buy from, and he suggests ways to make sure that cynicism doesn’t apply to you. It's all about innovating and ensuring you're...

So, you’ve survived COVID – so far. But at what cost? And as government support reduces, how will you manage to rebuild a viable business into the future? According to Angela Winton, Head of Mazars’ Banking and Finance team, there has never been a more challenging time to secure business finance. Are you prepared? And are you talking to the right people at the right bank? Busines...

Is the legal profession in a time warp? Lucy Dickens believes it is. She’s a lawyer, a leader in legal innovation, and author of a new book titled 'It’s time to do law differently'. Lucy says there’s a new generation of lawyers and legal firms who are keen to do just that, but it’s hard going for many who find themselves up against entrenched attitudes. …oh, and let&...

It’s something a lot of people would never admit to being. Insecurity manifests itself in many ways but can have a devastating effect if left unchecked and unresolved. Jaemin Frazer has made it his life’s mission to help people overcome their insecurities. He’s founder of The Insecurity Project and author of Unhindered: The Seven Essential Practices for Overcoming Insecurity. In...

As much as we'd wish it, not all staff are high achievers. In fact, some people don't perform up to scratch. So, what can you do about them? Karen Gately, CEO at Corporate Dojo, has nine solutions to get those underperformers on track. It's about acting early, decisively and honestly; and it's about being able to handle an upfront conversation to deal with performance issues. Business Essentials D...

Brian Sands was facing a world of hurt during the global financial crisis in 2008-09. He was the  Managing Director and major shareholder of a construction business which was bleeding money. By adopting a different mindset and developing a leaner and smarter roadmap, not only did he stop short of the insolvency cliff, his business grew to 100 million dollars. Reference: Purchase a copy of Bri...

In a world that just keeps getting busier, how do we find time to get through our daily tasks? Switching the notifications pings off your computer and mobile phones is one suggestion. And there are many other strategies from Les Watson, Time Lord and author of ‘Get Back An Hour In Every Day: The A-Z of Being More Productive’. Another is prioritising your tasks by ditching or delegating...

How can you expect to please your customers when you’re determined to keep putting them “right” all the time? It's easy to fall into the trap of being right, says professional speaker on customer service Martin Grunstein, but that's not what the customer is looking for from you. Martin has examples of sales staff correcting their customers, and of companies enforcing rules that c...

Not only can the cost and time involved in a legal dispute be prohibitive for a lot of business owners, but the stress can be overwhelming. Is there another solution? Mediation is an option worth considering, says lawyer Alison Shaw of Shaw Mediation Australia. Its benefits, she says, include convenience, privacy, reputational discretion and the ability of each party to influence the outcomes. Bus...

Have your ever wondered how the best salespeople win over their clients? With decades of experience, Mike Adams says the common thread is storytelling. Mike insists stories help establish rapport and trust, inspire action and close the deal. He shares tips from his book, 'Seven Stories Every Salesperson Must Tell', based on extensive research and his own international sales career. Business Essent...

Preparation is so important to telephone sales – have a script, write down key objections, but most importantly "master your mindset". That's the advice from Ashleigh Hoult, founder and director of The PromoDonna. These days a lot of businesses are reluctant to do cold-calling as a business strategy and have lost the art of speaking on the phone. That paves the way for others who understand...

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...

Don’t look back! If ever there was a message from veteran leadership expert and business coach Alan Rodway, it’s that we can learn from the past, but we most definitely mustn’t return to the past if we want to find success in the coming year. He offers thoughts and strategies on how we can do that as we tackle the big challenges of moving out of 2020 and into 2021. Business Essen...

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...

If you ask questions and listen to the answers, you will learn what your customers want. Selling becomes easier and you don’t have to talk so much, says sales expert Colin Pearce. Colin has been training salespeople for many years and has a bag full of tips on how to sell more, easier and faster. Talking too much is a bane for many salespeople, and it's their "overselling" which often puts p...

How would you like to be on the front page of the paper without having to pay for it? It starts with having something to say. Nicole Ashby's heart was racing and her palms were sweaty when she first spoke on radio about the impact of a fly-in fly-out workstyle on the families left behind. That was the first of many hundreds of media interviews she performed as Founder and Director of FIFO Families...

How effective really is your website? If you haven't thought about it that much, then you're not taking advantage of one of your best sales tools. Irwin Hau is the Director of web design agency, Chromatix, he also understands that a great website is more than just design alone. He matches the psychology of consumer behaviour with the magic of web tools to create a first-rate customer experience &n...

Apple worked hard to keep things simple - we see it everyday in its products and its success. From the man who named the iMac and who was integral to Apple’s ‘Think Different’ marketing campaign, Creative Director Ken Segall spent 12 years working with Steve Jobs and experienced first-hand his obsession with keeping things simple. Ken wrote about it all in his book ‘Insanel...

While the economy continues to take a pummelling and businesses struggle to forge ahead, is there any room for optimism at the moment? Former politician and barrister Victor Perton certainly believes so – in fact, he says it's undeniable that an optimistic attitude can lead to opportunity and, therefore, business growth. As Director of The Centre for Optimism, Victor shares his tips on how t...

In early July 2020 the Woolworths Group was fined $1M for significantly breaching spam laws. The highest amount ever issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority or ACMA. A strong, public rebuke was also given by the ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin, calling the scale and prolonged nature of the non-compliance, inexcusable. It’s not a cautionary tale for enterprise companie...

LinkedIn is one of the best social media platforms for reaching out individually to prospective clients. The problem is, insists LinkedIn expert Ty Giuliani, business owners aren't active enough to get the results. Ty shares his tips on developing a strategy and framework to establishing rapport with your market and creating business opportunities. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCa...

For some business owners the environment might be the last thing you’re considering as you navigate operations through the pandemic. With visible improvement in water and air across the globe during COVID-19 it’s an image we can have in the future if we begin to rebuild with climate in mind. The best part is that the solutions are accessible, available and won’t break the bank. A...