The Power of Symbols for your Brand

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

How often do we sit and think about how symbols, pictures and taglines affect our brand? Conversely how aware are we of the effect on us of our favourite brands’ symbols and other visual identity references?

Are you a visual person, and does it matter?

From teenagers wearing Gap and Nike brand logos to adults driving BMWs, we are drawn to incorporate brands into lives. We all draw our personality and self-image from products such as cars, homes, clothing and even recreational activities, and products always have brand logos or symbols of some kind that represent them.

By accident or Design?

Nike probably got the best deal amongst all companies when Caroline Davidson designed its logo for just $35 in 1971. The main part of the logo hasn’t really changed with time. However it was 7 years before they realized that the text and the swoosh were overlapping each other.

As the brand gained recognition, the company name was dropped from the logo, which made it more simplistic and memorable. The company has different variations of this logo for its various departments like Skate, Soccer etc.

Creating a Visual Signature

One of the first steps in creating an identity for an organisation is the development of an effective logo. An appealing logo makes your business special and memorable in the eyes of your clients or customers.

Each element adds unique characteristics to a logo.

It is important to remember that your logo is not your brand. It is just one part of the entire brand implementation process.

Keep it simple.

An appealing logo makes your business special and memorable in the eyes of your clients or customers.

The simpler a logo is the more it is, the more cost effective it is to reproduce. Your logo needs to remain consistent in color, font and proportion where ever it is used.

A brand comprises many elements. These include its name, positioning (reason for being), trademark/trade dress (symbols, colors, typestyle, package configuration), and brand communications. These brand elements, when successfully developed and managed, create a strong identity for a company. Over time, this creates strong brand authority.

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Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations. Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK. Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM. Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses. Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776 Website: www.haymanstrategy.com Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

Dealing with Counter Offers when Hiring Staff

By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment

So you have waded your way through the interviewing and selection process and BINGO! You have found the perfect person for your role! They have the skills and experience and above all you think they make a great with your team.

So you extend the offer, with what you feel is a fair market salary package for the position - and then they are counter offered.

A counter offer in its basic sense is when the applicant you have offered the position to is, usually upon resignation with their existing employer, offered more money or better benefits in an effort to keep them with that company.

There can be only three outcomes when an applicant is counter offered:

1. They decline the counter offer and accept your offer
2. They consider the counter offer and come to you to try and negotiate further
3. They accept the counter offer and stay with the employer

Obviously the ideal is scenario one, and for most smart applicants this is what they would do, because ultimately research shows that the majority of candidates who accept a counter offer leave the employer within six months.

However, if you find yourself in the other two scenarios with a top class applicant, here are some tips which may help you manage the difficult process:

1. Know your limits - This means knowing what the role is worth to your company and not going over this amount (unless you are convinced this person can add more value than anyone else could in the role).
2. Consider the salary ranges of the other staff in the same or similar positions - Are you putting this new staff member above other great performing team members?
3. Remind the applicant the reasons they were looking for a change to begin with - Having conducted a thorough interview you would have asked them their reasons for wanting to leave their existing employer, if their counter offer is purely financially based, likelihood is it won’t meet these needs, and they will still be unhappy.
4. Think outside the square – You may not be able to offer the same or better money, but what else can you offer to keep them happy? Again go back to your interview notes on why they were looking to leave their current role and meet these needs. It may be flexible hours, the opportunity to work from home, a more social culture, different challenges or the opportunity to learn new skills.
5. Above all don’t be pushed or rushed into decisions that you are not ready to make - You obviously don’t want to lose a great applicant, but by the same token you must make sure the decisions you make are well thought out and qualified as the right thing for the business and the role.
6. Seek advice - Ask other business owners and industry contacts about the salary and benefit ranges for similar positions, make sure that you are not offering below market rates or you may never get the right person for the role.

Remember to do your research, know your limits and think outside the square, this should make the process a whole lot simpler.

Counter offers can be frustrating, disappointing and confronting, but in roles where great applicants with unique skills are in high demand they can be very common. Remember to do your research, know your limits and think outside the square, this should make the process a whole lot simpler.

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Kristy-Lee Johnston - Footprint Recruitment Kristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals. Kristy’s background includes 10 years in Recruitment, as well as 10+ years in a broad range of other customer facing sectors. She possesses Post Graduate qualifications in Psychology, as well as a Masters in Human Resource Management. Kristy is passionate about bringing something unique to the recruitment sector in her local area and wants to see all businesses make the most successful staffing decisions they can. Phone: 02 4367 5500 Email: kristy@footprintrecruitment.com.au Website: www.footprintrecruitment.com.au Twitter: www.twitter.com/footprintcc Facebook: www.facebook.com/footprintrecruitment LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/kristyleejohnston Member Profile: See Kristy’s Member Profile

Do you speak English? Communication tips for business owners. (PART 1)

As any new migrant will tell you, the inability to communicate effectively can get in the way of opportunity. No matter how clever you are, communication attempts can be thwarted by the lack of skill to communicate well and get your message across.

Communication skills are  more important today than ever before.

And, communication barriers go beyond language barriers. Let’s assume you speak English well. You may not be the next best-selling author, or Tony Robbins, but you have a decent command of the English language. You’re good at what you do and you want to grow your business.

But, nobody’s listening, nobody’s buying.

What’s happening?

Do you speak English?

My mum arrived here from Greece aged 15. She spoke no English and, like many migrants new to a country, struggled for a long time to be understood.

Some migrants, like her, moved to neighbourhoods with like-speaking people, worked in factories where their native language was spoken, mingled only with others from their own culture. No doubt their progress with the English language was slow.

Mum wanted to learn the language of her new country - to be understood.  So, when my brothers and I were in school and she finally had some time to herself, she went off to English classes and while we kids would at times giggle at her attempts at words (English is a HARD language) she persisted. She wanted to be understood. I didn’t realise, at the time, the persistence this took.

Communication today

Doing business today requires you to be able to communicate better and differently than ever before.

Technology has given us many tools with which to communicate. But the tools themselves don’t make us good communicators. The mastery of one or many, could however make you a market leader.

Over the next few weeks I’ll post about the effective use of of my favourite communication tools for business.

Here’s my position on Communication:

Communication is a skill.

It can be learned, improved, mastered. By anyone. Yes, including you - regardless of your level of schooling.

Tools do not make you good.

Communication tools like blogs, podcasts, emails, newsletters, videos, webinars, seminars etc. are TOOLS. Their use, alone, does not make you a master of them.

In my opinion:

• A bad podcast COULD be worse for your business than no podcast.
• A bad webinar COULD be worse for your business and reputation than NO webinar.

The key to more effective communication is to take action AND to get education and improve your skills. For example:

• If you’re going to blog, get some basic training.
• If you’re going to podcast, then get some honest feedback on your voice and some voice training.
• If you’re going to do seminars, then please, please, get some presentation skills.

You get the picture?

The big opportunity

Those who commit to master of their communication will win the hearts and minds of their customers, staff, allies and community.

If you’re up for the ride, then let’s go.  Next week’s post: Basic Communication Tools to Grow Your Business

Cheers
Suzi

Five actions to help you (and your team) flourish

by Caroline McAuliffe, ExecConnect

This past week I proudly launched my new business, ExeConnect, and as a gift to the clients who attended the launch event, I presented a gift of wellbeing and happiness!  I had arranged for Clive Leach, our Associate Executive Coach at ExeConnect to give a presentation at the launch. Clive is an evidence-based executive coach and facilitator who works within the corporate sector and Australian Public Service. He is a master’s graduate of the University of Sydney Coaching Psychology Unit and a member of the International Coach Federation.

Clive informed us that research shows that despite huge increases in wealth, advances in health care and access to technology, western societies today are no happier than they were 50 years ago. This doesn’t mean everyone is miserable; but levels of life satisfaction and well-being have not improved, despite arguably higher standards of living. The reality is that levels of anxiety, stress, fear and depression are rising.

He explained that the causes for lack of wellbeing include the breakdown of family and community relationships, increased violence, crime, drug and alcohol use, and (perhaps the most insidious culprits of all) ‘afluenza’ and social comparison. Too many people believe that happiness can be found through their looks, clothes, iPods, mobile phones, trainers or cars. There’s a lack of realisation that once these things are attained, we all too quickly adapt to them and promptly become envious that others have something bigger, better or newer.

Like the wicked queen in Snow White, when we can only judge ourselves by what the external world (the mirror on the wall) thinks, we can never be truly happy.

So, enough of the bad news.What’s the good news?

Clive assured us all that the field of positive psychology provides a wealth of evidence that it is possible for us to increase levels of happiness and well-being and sets out a clear and applicable framework for living a life of pleasure, engagement and meaning.

We know that the most hopeful and optimistic people share three simple characteristics:

1. they have goals,
2. they have agency (self belief) in their ability to reach the goals and
3. they are able to identify a range of pathways or routes to success which helps them to persevere when faced with inevitable setbacks.

Five daily actions that will help you flourish

Clive went on to give us several examples of how we can begin to build our resilience, improve well-being and aim to be our best possible selves. In particular, I was fascinated by the research that was commissioned in 2008 by The New Economic Foundation, by the UK Government’s Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Well-being. The review was an inter-disciplinary work of over 400 scientists from across the world with an aim to identify a set of evidence-based actions to improve well-being, which individuals should be encouraged to build into their daily lives. Here is a brief description of those five actions and how you incorporate them into your daily life:

1. Connect

Connect with the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the corner of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

Social relationships are critical to our well-being. Survey research has found that well-being is increased by life goals associated with family, friends, social and political life and decreased by goals associated with career success and material gains. Governments can shape policies in ways that encourage citizens to spend more time with families and friends and less time in the workplace. For example, employment policy that actively promotes flexible working and reduces the burdens of commuting, alongside policies aimed at strengthening local involvement, would enable people to spend more time at home and in their communities to build supportive and lasting relationships.

2. Be active

Go for a walk or a run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and one that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

Exercise has been shown to increase mood and has been used successfully to lower rates of depression and anxiety. Being active also develops the motor skills of children and protects against cognitive decline in the elderly. Yet for the first time in history more of the world’s population live in urban than non-urban environments. Through urban design and transport policy, governments influence the way we navigate through our neighbourhoods and towns. To improve our well-being, policies could support more green space to encourage exercise and play and prioritise cycling and walking over car use.

3. Take notice

Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the usual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

In the US, research has shown that practising awareness of sensations, thoughts and feelings can improve both the knowledge we have about ourselves and our well-being for several years. But the twenty-first century’s never-ending flow of messages from companies advertising products and services leaves little opportunity to savour or reflect on our experiences. Policy that incorporates emotional awareness training and media education into universal education provision may better equip individuals to navigate their way through the information super-highway with their well-being intact; regulation to create advertising-free spaces could further improve well-being outcomes.

4. Keep learning

Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

Learning encourages social interaction and increases self-esteem and feelings of competency. Behaviour directed by personal goals to achieve something new has been shown to increase reported life satisfaction. While there is often a much greater policy emphasis on learning in the early years of life, psychological research suggests it is a critical aspect of day-to-day living for all age groups. Therefore, policies that encourage learning, even in the elderly, will enable individuals to develop new skills, strengthen social networks and feel more able to deal with life’s challenges.

5. Give

Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.

Studies in neuroscience have shown that cooperative behaviour activates reward areas of the brain, suggesting we are hard wired to enjoy helping one another. Individuals actively engaged in their communities report higher well-being and their help and gestures have knock-on effects for others. But it is not simply about a one-way transaction of giving. Research shows that building reciprocity and mutual exchange – through giving and receiving – is the simplest and most fundamental way of building trust between people and creating positive social relationships and resilient communities. Governments can choose to invest more in ‘the core economy’: the family, neighbourhood and community which, together, act as the operating system of society. Policies that provide accessible, enjoyable and rewarding ways of participation and exchange will enable more individuals to take part in social and political life.

BONUS: Get a coach!

Finally, one more way to learn about and understand how you can use your strengths and inner resources and to achieve a life of purpose, satisfaction and achievement is by attending an Evidence-based intervention, such as a workshop or one-on-one coaching. Outcomes of research studies have shown that coaching can result in significant increases in levels of well-being, resilience, hope and goal attainment in people. Exploring such findings might add value for your own life as well as the lives of your friends, family and colleagues and result in flourishing people.

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Caroline McAuliffe - ExeConnect and Virtual Angels Caroline is currently founder and director of ExeConnect, a boutique firm specialising in assisting organisations to identify, develop and retain executive and senior management talent. Caroline is also, the founder and director of niche employment firm, Virtual Angels, specialising in the provision of virtual, part-time and permanent business support resources provided to SME clients using a flexible, economical and efficient “Pay as You Grow” model. Phone: 0415 623 122 Email: caroline@execonnect.com.au caroline@virtualangels.com.au Twitter: www.twitter.com/ExeConnectAu Blog: virtualangelsau.blogspot.com www.execonnect.com.au/blog LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/carolinemcauliffe Member Profile: See Caroline’s Member Profile

New iPhone app means you only need to print 1 business card.

Apple took out a full page ad in today’s paper to promote a number of their iPhone apps that are good for business.  One application stood out to me, and it could save you a whopping amount in printing.

Possible Scenario at your next meeting:

PROSPECT: “Do you have a business card?”
YOU:  “Sure.”

Then…

• You produce a card (or something glamorous made from long-lasting plastic, platinum etc. with all your details - including your Twitter handle!)
• Your contact takes a photo of it with their iPhone (what else would you use, really?).
• Your details are now in their phone.

No paper, no waste.

The Business Card Reader allows you to take the photo of a business card on your iPhone (or Blackberry). It then ‘reads’ the data and enters the details into your address book.

So, no scanning, data entry, or piles of business cards stashed in drawers.
Now all you need is one business card and friends and colleagues with iPhones.

I’ll be getting the app.

Suzi

Is your slip showing? Ways to protect your mobile devices.

By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl.

Laptops, mobile phones, iPhones, Blackberrys and USB drives can conveniently store data outside your work environment. But portability has a downside.

Devices are easily stolen and their data is valuable with many thieves admitting to stealing devices for the information stored on them.

Protect your device from damage

It goes without saying that one of the most common threats to mobile devices is physical damage. What happens if you drop your laptop, accidentally sit on it or spill that much-needed coffee over your iPhone? There is no fail-safe way to protect yourself against this risk, the important thing is take precautionary measures to avoid losing data if your device is damaged.

A  couple of simple ways you can protect yourself include using a secure, encrypted USB flash memory drive to back up your data, the thought being your back up is on your person and separate from your laptop. Best of all is back up data to an online storage site so your data doesn’t go missing if your laptop is damaged.

Get smart when it comes to which data you carry.

Finders keepers

However, your greater risk is that your device will be lost or stolen.  Your data is the most valuable and hard-to-replace thing about your device, make protecting your data the number one priority.

Some things to help with physical theft!

• Be smart. Don’t let your mobile device out of your sight. Don’t be showy with your equipment. Carry your gadgets and laptop as inconspicuously as possible.
• Label your property. Labeling reduces the value of the equipment, since it’s extra work for the thief to remove the labels. You can purchase devices that will imprint your logo onto the case of the device. (Check with the manufacturer before branding equipment.)
• Use security products. You can increase the physical security of your device by investing in a cable lock, beaconing software, lock boxes, or BIOS settings. Any of these can greatly improve physical security and deter theft. Even a password required at login helps.
• Complex passwords and encryption solutions make it difficult for your laptop to be “hacked” by criminals if it is stolen.
• Remote data protection so sensitive data can be wiped remotely if your device goes missing.
• Use the hard drive password setting on your laptop. It provides good security, but is also the most unforgiving if a password is lost.   If you do set the hard drive password, store it in a safe place (which is not on the laptop or in the laptop case!).

Get smart when it comes to which data you carry.

Look at the data you have stored on your device and ask yourself whether you really need to have this sensitive data stored on the device, or whether you could remove certain aspects of it to be safer. Some questions to help you determine your real needs - whether you have sensitive data, and whether you really need to:

• Do you have old personnel files or employee evaluations that can be deleted?
• Have you collected ABN / TFN /ACN / Bank Account as identifiers?
• Do you have a file with credit card numbers from clients or users? OR even your own?
• Do you collect birthdates along with names for any reason?
• Did you answer “yes” to any of these?   If you did, consider whether you have a legitimate business need for this information, and if you do, whether you really need to store this data on a mobile device:
  • If you do have a legitimate business need for sensitive data on your mobile device, consider some ways you could make this data safer:
    • Could you access it on a server versus storing it on the local hard drive?
    • Could you remove elements of the data that render it harmless if it were to be unintentionally disclosed? (For example, TFN numbers by themselves pose no threat. However, if coupled with names in a file, they can prove to be injurious.)
    • Could you encrypt the data?
• Ensure you’re only carrying the data you think you are. It’s a good idea to look in your most frequently used folders, and your “Temp” folder, and purge any unneeded files, every week or two.

Ensure a secure Internet connection everywhere - including at home

Taking all the care in the world with the security of your mobile devices won’t matter if you connect them using low-security Internet connections such as public, unsecured wireless.  Don’t sabotage your efforts to protect your property and sensitive data by making mistakes borne of ignorance or overconfidence.

• Use secure wireless. While using a public wireless networks at airports, bookstores, and coffee shops is convenient, it’s also one of the most dangerous things you can do with your mobile device. You’re just asking for someone to “shoulder surf,” steal your data, or your identity. Use only approved wireless access points. Ensure you only connect to wireless networks that you actively choose.
• Disable file and print sharing. You may not have this enabled, but in case you do, turn it off before going mobile. It allows other users to connect to your computer, something you may find desirable while in a work environment, but certainly not so while on the go.
• Disable your wireless Internet connection when not in use. When you’re not using it, having your wireless Internet on is just an added security risk. Many newer devices literally have an on/off “switch” for the wireless card.

Don’t get caught with your slip showing! Be prepared: better safe than sorry.

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Julie Wise - The SilverOwl Julie has over 25 years in business operations, strategy and performance improvements. She is an accredited Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Institute of Executive Coaching. She established The SilverOwl specifically to help businesses with their strategies and operational efficiencies. With Julie’s wealth of experience, and network of associates, The SilverOwl provides access to a vast range of business performance solutions and experienced professionals. Julie is on the Australian Business Women’s Network Advisory Board and the NSW Committee for the Australian Women’s Archive Project. In Jan 2010, she joined the Fred Hollows Foundation. Email: julie@thesilverowl.com.au Website: www.thesilverowl.com.au Twitter: www.twitter.com/julie_wise LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/juliewise Member Profile: See Julie’s Member Profile

What’s Getting In The Way?

By Cat Matson, Alito

One of the questions I often ask my mentoring clients is:

“What’s getting in the way?”

By that I mean, what’s getting in the way of you making the progress you want, achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself, working on the things that are important as opposed to urgent? Generally the list tumbles out of their mouths – clients, customers, staff, kids, IT issues, emails, traffic, the government, change in policy … blah, blah, blah.

This list of barriers can often feel insurmountable – particularly when day after day feels like a never-ending list of issues and challenges instead of productive, satisfying work. So what gives?

Well, my first tip is to break the barriers down into three categories.

1. Speed Bumps – these are the things that are slowing you down … they’re an annoyance but aren’t insurmountable. A speed bump I’ve experienced today has been intermittent and slow internet connectivity. Extraordinarily annoying for someone who practically lives online … but I know it’s temporary and I’ve been able to work around it.
2. Bottle Necks – this is where the traffic-flow of your business is slowing down due to a constriction of flow. It often happens when a particular staff member needs to approve ‘things’ … so work piles up in their in-tray while team members ‘wait’ to move-on. In a micro-business, a bottle-neck can often be lack of effective email management systems – so highly valuable emails (like a new client enquiry) gets lost in the ‘mass’ and doesn’t get addressed until the client has lost interest.
3. Road Blocks – just like at major road-works, a Road Block in your business is where you’ve hit a complete stop with a particular project or conversation. For me at the moment it’s a major client who just won’t return phone-calls or emails. I can see the writing on the wall … but I can’t get a response and therefore can’t take any action on the file.

By categorising the list of barriers in this way you are in a better position to problem-solve … and you no longer see an endless list of ‘complaints’, rather items that need attention and can be resolved. Pay attention to recurring speed-bumps and bottle-necks – they may point to systemic issues in your business management or business model which, once resolved, could make a huge difference to your business. Road Blocks hopefully are one-off events … but by articulating them as such you can often quickly figure out a resolution.

By categorising the list of barriers in this way, you are in a better position to problem-solve

So next time you feel like you’ve hit a brick wall in your productivity, ask yourself

‘What’s getting in my way?’ and

‘Are these Speed Bumps, Bottle Necks or Road Blocks?’

When you do, you’ll find yourself on the freeway again in no time.

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		Cat Matson - Alito Cat Matson ignites the performance of small business owners, their teams and ultimately their businesses through a range of robust mentoring, coaching and education programs. She is a strong advocate for practical, pithy and ‘real’ business advice and loathes the ‘one-size-fits-all’, ‘you-too-can-be-widely-successful-if-you-just-follow-OUR-system’ approach taken by many ’so-called’ business experts. Cat runs Alito with her husband Keith who provides synergistic and smart accounting expertise to their clients who enjoy having streamlined business advice across all key areas. When not working, Cat enjoys spending time with her two young boys and reading interesting business books and biographies. Phone: 07 3289 7055 Email: cat@alito.com.au Website: www.alito.com.au Twitter: www.twitter.com/catmatson Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlitoFusion LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/CatMatson Blog: www.alito.com.au/blog Member Profile: See Cat’s Member Profile

Useful resources from Ed Dale’s Internet Marketing Seminar

Last Friday to Sunday I attended an Internet Marketing seminar hosted by Ed Dale of 30 Day Challenge fame. You may know Ed from Internet Marketing this Week, an almost-weekly podcast that I highly recommend if you’re interested in what’s new in new media and technology.

The 200, or so, participants enjoyed both local and international speakers on the subjects of outsourcing, content development (including using video), search engine marketing, business best practise, using offline marketing to drive customers online and blogging. All good, practical, information.

The highlight for me was the ‘hot seats’ where brave participants nominated their website for review by an expert panel.

I was lucky enough to be chosen and as a result got great feedback that I’lll start to implement this week at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website.

The Twitter tag of the weekend was #30dchome. I thought you may be interested in looking it up - as you’ll find that participants posted highlights from the program as well as some handy links.

The 30 Day Challenge

You may have heard me speak about The 30 Day Challenge before. It’s a free, annual program, that is designed to get you online and doing business. Last year over 30,000 people participated. I’m sure it’s coming again in 2010.

I’ll post something when dates are released but in the meantime you can keep in touch with news by:

• Subscribing to Internet Marketing this Week on itunes
• Following Ed Dale’s page on Facebook
• Following Ed Dale on Twitter

Additional Resources

• Guest speaker Lynn Terry (Affiliate Marketing)
• Guest speaker Leslie Rodhe (SEO)
• The fabulous Market Samurai tool

Cheers,

Suzi

10 Questions You Should Always Ask at an Interview

by Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment.

Whilst interviews are by no means the only screening tool available when considering potential new hires, they still form an important part of the selection process and for most companies are still the screening and selection tool of choice.

So how do you get the most from your interviews and ensure that despite the unreliability they can be fraught with, they generate the information you need before appointing your next hire?

Make sure that some of the key information which is vital to the success of the future placement is not missed.

By incorporating the following 10 questions into your interview, in combination with your other questions regarding skills, availability and organisational fit, you will make sure that some of the key information which is vital to the success of the future placement is not missed:

1. Why did you apply for this position? Seems simple but it will give you great insight into the motivations of the individual and the real reasons they have applied for the role.

2. What salary and benefits are you looking for in your next role? Finding this information out before you disclose what you are offering is so important! Many applicants will accept a lower than expected salary only to try and negotiate higher within their first few months on the job. In addition if your target is well below theirs, they will be more likely to continue seeking a better paying role and accept yours as a stop gap. Conversely they may be seeking less than you were prepared to offer and you may be able to secure a fantastic new hire for a little less than you expected.

3. Why did you leave your last role (and all previous roles)? By asking this question for every single position on their resume you get a great insight into their motivations for moving between previous roles, and can assess whether this may be an issue for you.

4. If I was to ask your previous managers to describe you at work what would they say? The best thing about this question is that you can check the truth of their responses through your reference checks.

5. What was the best job you ever had and why? This question allows you to explore what they really like in their role and workplace.

6. Which was your lest favourite role and why? Conversely this will highlight things that may be problematic for them in your role.

7. What happened during this time? By identifying time gaps in resumes and questioning them you may uncover hidden, but very important information that an applicant would not have otherwise disclosed.

8. What do you know about our company? Understanding how much research they have done displays their true level of interest and enthusiasm.

9. What are the 3 most important things for you in the company you are going to join and/or the position you are going to take on? This again provides you with insights into their desires and motivations. Despite all the benefits you may be able to offer, if your role and company do not offer the key elements they are seeking in a role, the employment relationship may never work.

10. What questions do you have for me? Giving applicants chances to ask questions of you about the role and the company gives them a chance to confirm their interest and suitability for the role, which in the end will also help you to make the right decision.

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Kristy-Lee Johnston - Footprint Recruitment Kristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals. Kristy’s background includes 10 years in Recruitment, as well as 10+ years in a broad range of other customer facing sectors. She possesses Post Graduate qualifications in Psychology, as well as a Masters in Human Resource Management. Kristy is passionate about bringing something unique to the recruitment sector in her local area and wants to see all businesses make the most successful staffing decisions they can. Phone: 02 4367 5500 Email: kristy@footprintrecruitment.com.au Website: www.footprintrecruitment.com.au Twitter: www.twitter.com/footprintcc Facebook: www.facebook.com/footprintrecruitment LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/kristyleejohnston Member Profile: See Kristy’s Member Profile

Why the Do Not Call Register Could Strangle Small Business

By Susan McGrath.

The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) has advised the Australian Businesswomen’s Network that the Australian Communications and Media Authority is considering extending the Do Not Call register to include businesses - and has forecast a 50% take up rate of business numbers.

The ADMA is concerned about the potential this has to significantly increase the competitive marketing edge larger businesses have over SMEs – while SMEs will effectively be blocked from making contact with prospective customers and clients, larger businesses will continue to be able to make telemarketing calls, under the “existing business relationships” provision.

The ADMA is currently conducting a survey with respect to small businesses, which can be accessed from this link; and has also provided the following list of actions that members can take in addition to undertaking the survey:

• Write to the senate committee voicing your concerns.
• Write to Members of Parliament voicing your concerns.
• Ministers in favour of extension to business and government numbers
  • Senator Conroy
  • Senator McEwen
  • Senator Wortley
• Ministers against extension to business and government numbers
  • Senator Fisher
  • Senator Troeth
• Help ADMA fund the Access Economics survey.
  • The funding of the Access Economics survey was an expensive exercise. If you want to support ADMA send a donation to ADMA, GPO Box 3895, Sydney  NSW  2001; and indicate the money is for the Access Economics Study.
• Join ADMA.

Further information can be obtained here.

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Susan Wareham McGrath - National Special Projects Manager - Australian Businesswomen’s Network Susan joined the ABN Board as National Special Projects Manager - Public Policy and Advocacy in February 2007. Tertiary qualified in psychology, business and public policy development, Susan holds Accredited Professional status with the Recruitment Services Association Ltd and is a nationally accredited trainer. She is a mentor in the ABN’s MentorNet program and a regular panelist in the Queensland Government’s Mentoring for Growth program. Email: susan@susanwareham.com Website: www.metaanz.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/Susan_McGrath Blog: www.susanwareham.com LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/susanwmcgrath Member Profile: See Susan’s Member Profile

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