Business Essentials Audio Program

The internet has seen seismic shifts in traditional sales techniques. Unlike days gone by, sellers no longer exclusively hold all the information about the products they sell. The ability for buyers to research product information online means sellers need to adapt their approach. That's according to Harry Mills, who says these days, it's all about providing buyers with 'aha' insights.

Harry says there has also been a massive shift from a 'direct persuasion' sales technique to that of 'self persuasion'. It's all about helping buyers succeed, he says, and Harry draws on his vast experience in selling to tell us how it all works. WWW.BE.COM.AU

Don't waste time and resources going through a planning process that becomes so complicated and unweidly that no-one will use it. Alan Rodway has seen every mistake in the book when it comes to business planning and he brings the whole process down to some simple steps - like making sure all stakeholders are frank and honest about their individual goals, ensuring the broad involvement of staff, consider an anonymous SWOT, and most important of all, keep it simple.

He distills his key messages about business planning this month - just the right time to get your 2016 planning successfully underway. WWW.BE.COM.AU

You could be waiting too long, warns Nigel Collins, who has spoken to scores of business people to better understand the real drivers of innovation and growth. Nigel's discovered a few big truths about keeping your business moving and ahead of the pack. One key message: don't ask your people to come up with great big ideas all the time - it's hard to achieve and ends up deflating enthusiasm and ruining morale. No, says Nigel, a more effective approach is to go step-by-step and inch-by-inch. Ask for the small practical measures that'll make a difference to performance. It's what Nigel Collins calls "The Game of Inches" and he's built some useful practical steps around how to make the process work.WWW.BE.COM.AU

If you want to avoid those troughs in trade that often follow the busy times, it’s important to have a structured prospecting process throughout the year. Stay disciplined about prospecting, even through the busiest times, and you'll eliminate the feast or famine syndrome in your business, according to the Sales Doctor, Ingrid Maynard, who recognises that some people are good at prospecting whilst others are better at sales, and you need to put the right people in the right roles. WWW.BE.COM.AU

We’re told that we must be more innovative if our businesses are to survive. But what does that really mean - and what’s to be done to encourage greater levels of innovation in Australia? Serial entrepreneur, venture banker and mentor Neville Christie assesses those questions two ways: first, by looking at the external factors that could help encourage innovation – that includes big picture policy issues - and a warning that Neville’s pretty upfront about the sorts of measures the Government could take! Then, looking inside the innovative endeavour itself, Neville offers both advice and cautionary warnings on how to bring new ideas to market – without going broke in the process. To help Neville along the way, we’ll introduce some of Neville’s quotes – or “Nevilleisms”, as he calls them. Neville has used quotes for years to inspire and motivate us – and increasing numbers of them focus on innovation. Must be the times we’re living in. Heather Dawson asks him what can be done to push our innovative thinking along. WWW.BE.COM.AU

The competitive restaurant business is a tough gig, so how has celebrity chef Guy Grossi thrived for so many years while others come and go? We spoke with Guy about his experiences running several renowned restaurants in Melbourne and the lessons he's learnt along the way. WWW.BE.COM.AU

From the man who named 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 ‘Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success’. He shares with us the many lessons he learned about one man's single-minded drive for simplicity in a complex business world. WWW.BE.COM.AU

On this special edition podcast, we take an in-depth look at the business-oriented social networking platform, LinkedIn. As we’ll hear from Alex Pirouz of Linkfluencer and independent LinkedIn expert, Sue Ellson, LinkedIn is the single best way to grow your business.

The LinkedIn network now has more than 330 million members worldwide, with nearly seven million in Australia, and two new members around the world signing up every second. Is there a compelling business reason for you to be part of it all?

Without a doubt, says Sue Ellson. Sue is an independent LinkedIn expert who helps business people understand how it works and what you can do to gain most benefit.

So LinkedIn could be your most powerful weapon for business growth. But how do you really make it work so that you get beyond first base to reach the people that matter, and then start the all-valuable leveraging process?

Alex Pirouz has a particular interest in LinkedIn. His background involves several businesses – some failed, two were successfully built and sold, and Alex was keen to explore the value of social media in the business building process. That led him to LinkedIn.

Alex has now developed his business Linkfluencer around the platform, and his passion now is to help educate others about the power of LinkedIn. In doing so, he’s developed a 3-step process for us all to follow. WWW.BE.COM.AU

Don’t let bumps in the road get in your way to success. That's the message from former Hoyts Cinemas CEO, Peter Ivany, who faced many bumps in his journey to take Hoyts from a 40-theatre chain to more than 2000 theatres a decade later. He spends much of his time these days giving back to the community with several chairmanships of not-for-profits in sport, the arts and charities. Peter's achieved great success in his life, but what does that really mean? Peter shares his thoughts about success in business and life with one very clear insight - it's not all about money. WWW.BE.COM.AU

There are big changes happening in the world of work and we all need to adjust if we want to compete. That warning comes from Peter Wilson, the Chair of the Australian Human Resources Institute, as he highlights the seven big trends influencing the way we work and our approach to employment. Included in the list: globalisation, demographic shifts, technology, education, the world of smart work. All are key in the new world of work. Peter offers much food for thought about what's really happening and what we need to think about if we want to remain competitive and successful. WWW.BE.COM.AU