There are some good practices to follow when communicating with an opposing party, competitor or where you are involved in a dispute that may end up in court. Some of these practices are measures to assist complying with legislation, for example the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, and otherwise they can help prevent misunderstandings and [...]

As the boss or the owner or the manager (or all three) you’ll spend a lot of time generally dealing with other human beings. In your position, you’ll be advising, informing, explaining, instructing, discussing, reviewing, clarifying, counseling, guiding, suggesting, convincing, persuading, coaching, responding and… well, you get the idea. When you’re spending so much time [...]

Selling is no longer a product monologue where sales people come in as so called experts talking about their products while curious buyers look on. When I began my career as a professional sales person in the early 1980s, sales professionals were trained product benefits and communication skills which focussed mainly on handling objections. Our [...]

One of the most common and immediate sources of revenue for your business is in converting more prospects into buyers. If you are only converting 1 in every 10 prospects, 9 prospects are giving their money to someone else.

Difficult customers come in different shapes and sizes. They are difficult in a number of ways. Some are angry, some can be talkative, a fair share of them are indecisive, (don’t know what they want). There are plenty of people who are inpatient and demanding and this leads to them being downright intimidating. Nobody will respond favourably to most of these traits.

When a sale is made it’s great to celebrate, but we all know things don’t always turn out ‘rosy’ down the track. One of the best ways to protect yourself and ensure you get paid is to have well prepared, clear and concise ‘Terms of Trade’ between your business and those you transact with. Verbal and ‘hand-shake’ agreements may be appropriate in some circumstances, but when things don’t go to plan you want to have something solid in writing to back you up.

Emotional intelligence (EI), often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), is one of the most important ideas to hit the business world in recent years. It is based on the notion of the ability, capacity, skill or a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups.

If there’s one advantage we small business owners have over the big end of town, it’s the capacity to build quality relationships with our customers. We often do this by interacting with our customers on an authentic and personal level, taking the time to know their name, personal preferences and any issues they may need resolved. Most people respond well to this – it makes them feel connected.