Our society is moving toward a view of artistic genius that is both new and old. It is new in the sense that truly incredible tools and technologies are now available for creative work. It is old because our present view of the artist’s place in society has much more in common with the Middle […]

Here’s a thought – Imagine two years down the track (visualise clearly now) that you have a business that is running itself, and people call you saying how brilliant the staff are, the range of services is to die for and they love the level of service they get! You drop in to the office […]

How do you know which strategy will grow your business most effectively in the short and long term? Market penetration, market extension, product development or diversification are the primary strategies for building your business. You can also grow organically (growth in your own business) or by acquisition (of another business). This article […]

As you watch the graph on your business rise as things get moving, you will no doubt be delighted, but then as you measure more things you may notice a few flat spots, or worse still some downhil slides on the graph. Check against this list and make a list of your options, before long […]

Managers are especially torn between trying to be both accessible and productive. They want to be modern, sensitive bosses who will hear out customer complaints and employee problems — but they also have planning to do, projects to complete, paperwork to handle, goals to meet, and higher-ups to satisfy.
Here are some techniques for striking a […]

One of the interesting things about great leaders is the degree to which they’re tolerant of people who are very different from themselves. Under the most difficult circumstances in the Second World War, Dwight Eisenhower managed to create a coalition including the egomaniacal Viscount Montgomery, the self-effacing Omar Bradley, and the gifted but totally bizarre […]

Businesses help to build a $1 Million dream…
A 22 year old entrepreneur aims to make $1 Million whilst bed bound with a dislocated hip and small businesses are helping out. Richard Stratton came up with the theonebigad.com business web site whilst bed bound with a dislocated hip. He plans to use the money to promote […]

Networking is not just about numbers, it’s about relationships. It’s quality over quantity. It’s not about meeting as many people as you can; it’s about helping as many people as you can.
We network to create mutually beneficial relationships with our peers, clients and potential clients.
So how has it come about that networking has ended […]

This could be the start of a new era in understanding business. Okay I might be overstating things here, but at least take a look and check out the three levels of business and then check out where your business might fit. At any of the three levels businesses can be successful, and the descriptors […]

Some times it’s too Easy to see the bad stuff in customer service, so now lets use this as motivation to get really good at customer service.
Ask…

What does our team do at the first greeting of a prospect? (imagine a retail environment).

What do they do BEFORE the first greeting (customer is looking in the window, […]

Have you ever been having an important conversation, in which the other person is telling you something you need to know, and while you know you should give your full attention to what’s being said, you just can’t stop thinking about that annoying sound of static coming from a nearby radio? Or you can’t stop […]

Preparation

Do you have enough information on the customer’s company to understand their business and the context of their inquiry/request/approach to you?
Have you identified the stakeholders?
Do you understand what each of the stakeholders really wants?
Have you assessed the business requirements, and the individual requirements, of your customers?
Do you know who your competitors are, or likely to […]

A fascinating study was conducted at the University of Stamford some years ago. Four-year-old children were placed in a room, one by one, and a marshmallow was placed in front of them. Each child was told that if they didn’t eat the marshmallow in fifteen minutes, they would get two; but if they ate the […]

In this corner we have the reigning champ “long copy”. And in this corner we have the apparent crowd favorite “short copy”. (Feel free to insert a high-pitched whine as you read each objection.)
Objection Number One:
It’s Darn TOO Long!
The funny thing is when I got my first long copywriting assignment I secretly snickered too. […]

Because…

You want to be your own boss?
You want to make great money?
You think you can beat the competition on price?
You want to have more time flexibility…
You have the skills to make the items in question or provide a service of value?
You want to feel the thrill of being an Entrepreneur?
You want a lifestyle that ROCKS!

Consider […]

There’s talk from time to time about business being too top heavy, too greedy, too much aimed at getting bigger, too much emphasis on global markets. All of that happens and a range of studies and anecdotal evidence shows that bigger is often not better, in fact it can be like a person with too […]

One major aspect of your personal image comes from how well you’ve developed what’s inside your skull. I’m not talking about a high IQ or your skill at Trivial Pursuit. I’m referring to your mental fitness.
Can your mind lift abstract concepts from The Wall Street Journal or from the professional journal in your field? Can […]

1. Set Goals
2. Develop Strategy
3. Align & Mentor People
4. Execute Plan
5. Review Performance
The strategic planning process is not simple. It involves understanding your market, you competitors, your clients, the motivations and drivers of the people on your team, your own drivers and needs, what is working and what isn’t, where the core competencies are for the business and the […]

Okay, you know you have your product (or service) in front of you. Now it’s time to get the word out with an attention-grabbing sales letter. But where do you begin? Whether you hire someone to write your copy, pass it off to a staff member or learn to write it yourself, you need this […]

All successful marketers know the sale comes from the words or the copy. While the traditional definition of copy is “salesmanship in print” I actually take a broader approach. Copy is used in ALL your promotional sales and marketing material. That means any place there are words about your business there is copy.
So it’s EVERYWHERE. […]

No-one. How is your performance measured then? By the performance of your business. If you don’t measure this, no-one else will. It’s all up to you.
A review of your business will identify any areas which are working really well, and any which may require you to take action. As we’ve […]

I Just watched a very compelling and inded  inspiring  interview on TV, (Talking Heads ABC TV May 7th) with the legendary Australian entrepreneur and businessman Dick Smith. At age 62 he has achieved more than many would consider doing in two lifetimes, let alone one.
For those overseas (and those locals who may have forgotten.) Dick […]

Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and wondered where all your time went? You were up-and-down, left-and-right busy all day, yet you barely made a dent in your to-do list; so what did you do? What happened to all that time if it wasn’t spent accomplishing your projects?
Time-wasters come from the […]

I’ll see it when I believe it!
It has been estimated that we each have upwards of 50,000 thoughts per day. How many of yours are negative? Sometimes you have to do a mental spring-cleaning to get rid of those negative thoughts that have become ingrained attitudes. Stopping self-destructive thoughts is like stopping any other bad […]

During the 1980’s I had the privilege of working with an American speaker by the name of Roger Dawson. Roger is the author of a number of excellent books on negotiating and persuasion and he lives in California. I used to bring Roger to Australia to conduct his seminars and we’ve been friends for over […]

Think you have what it takes to be an consultant or a coach? I wasn’t so sure I knew when I first started in 1999. All I knew was I desperately wanted to work from home to raise my two sons after my divorce. It took a lot of trial and error to get to […]

Adapt your connections with people!
When you are speaking with someone, how well do you speak the other person’s language? How well you get on that person’s wavelength? There are some people, as professional as they are, as knowledgeable as they are, as helpful as they are, that simply just rub you the wrong way. They […]