Get Real About Business Podcast

The funny thing about being a small business owner is that opportunity always seems to come knocking. Perhaps it's because we're entrepreneurial by nature and we're alert to the next big thing that will catapult our lives forward. Perhaps it's because others see us as open to new ideas. Be that as it may, an opportunity is often around the corner. The trouble is that not all opportunities are worthy of our time, commitment and resources. If you're not careful you can get waylaid on new projects that never bare fruit. Worse still, many opportunities can steer you away from more profitable activities. It can cost you time, money and even reputation. So how do you evaluate an idea or an opportunity as worthy of your time? What you need is a way to validate ideas and work out whether they're right for you and your audience. This is where today's podcast comes in. We look at the key decision making in establishing whether an idea is right for you. That means validating it against your own personal goals, validati

You may not call them ‘customers.’ They may be your clients, service users, patients, subscribers, volunteers, buyers, members, fans, students, colleagues… but they’re all customers by another name. As business owners, understanding our customers (and prospective customers) is invaluable. My guest today is customer service expert and trainer, Rebecca Winn. Rebecca spent seven years working in a complaints handling center and it's fair to say she's picked up more than a thing or two. In this episode, Rebecca shares Three Customer Needs we simply must meet if we’re going to turn an unhappy customer's frown upside down. Better than that, by applying these principles, you're more likely to win REPEAT BUSINESS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND REFERRALS – the easiest way to grow our business and LOVE what we do. For all the links mentioned in today's show or to join my private Facebook group, Earning the Right; head over to our show notes pages at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/38.

Sometimes things happen that throw you off your game. It makes you question yourself. You get frustrated and before you know it you end up making the whole situation worse. Today's pint-sized episode originated from a message I wanted to share in my Facebook group, Earning the Right. As I was editing the audio I realised the message was also relevant to you, my dear listener. As such, I share it with you here. Full disclosure here: My message if heavily influenced by one of my heroes, Robin Sharma. I've quoted him often. For links to him and my Facebook group, Earning the Right, visit my show notes page at https://getrealaboutbusiness.com/37.  We'll be back with our usual format next week. In the meantime, enjoy!

About 75% of the population are influenced by business awards. Of those people, 25% are heavily influenced by business awards and the remainder are moderately influenced by them. There is no doubt then that if you're in a crowded marketplace one of the best things you can do is differentiate yourself by getting a business award or two under your belt. For this reason, I turned to awards specialist Chris Robinson. Chris is the founder of Boost Marketing - the world's first company to specialise in helping others win business awards. Thousands of awards later, Chris shares his wisdom on what makes a good business award strategy and how to beat the competition and land yourself the award. As always, this is a highly practical episode with lots of tips to get you ahead. For all the links mentioned in the podcast visit our show notes page at https://getrealaboutbusiness.com/36. 

Vince Lombardi said, "Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.” The same can also be said of high-performance teams. They are made, not born. Putting even the most talented people together in one room does not guarantee a high performance. It takes strong leadership, common purpose, vision, conflict handling skills and many other important qualities. With this in mind, I turned to my friend and mentor Andrew Jenkins. Andrew is a recognised expert in cultural transformation, high-performance teams and leadership. His latest book The Authority Guide to Developing High Performance Teams is being applied all over the globe. In this fascinating interview we uncover what it takes to develop a team you'd be truly proud of. We discuss common reasons for why teams fail, dealing with conflict, developing a team charter and much more. To pick up a copy of the cheat sheet that accompanies this episode and for all

My guest this week is sales expert and business consultant, John Wallace. John has a somewhat different approach to sales. He says that your pricing strategy is a comfort blanket. If you want to increase sales and profits in your business, you should throw it out. When I first heard John speak on this subject I was intrigued. Should you really throw out your pricing strategy? Can any business operate without a pricing strategy? John also had some more controversial thoughts on providing free services and free giveaways.  This is a really great interview with a recognised sales expert and a guy who walks his own talk when it comes to pricing strategy. For all the links mentioned in the show or if you'd like to leave a comment, please visit our show notes page at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/34. 

Burnout is a serious issue. If you fail to spot the early warning signs what might start as a persistent feeling of tiredness could soon take a heavy toll on your business, your family and your health. In this episode, we discuss burnout in entrepreneurs - it's a lot more common than you might think. We look at the tell-tale signs and symptoms of burnout so you know how to spot it. I ask you the one question you need to ask about your business. Then, it's on to practical and actionable advice to get you on the road to recovery. Strategies we discuss for dealing with burnout include state management and resilience, support networks and outsourcing. All of which are equally important not only for dealing with burnout but also for good day-to-day professional practice. All the links mentioned on the show including my Facebook group which I'd love for you join can be found on our show notes page at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/33. 

My guest Mark Sexton of Essex Work Skills is passionate about young people. He runs a company that works in partnership with schools, colleges and employers to help young people prepare for the world of work. This episode is more of a discussion than flat-out teaching session which most of my episodes are. Mark and I discuss the opportunities of youth and employment. If you're considering your first (second, third, fourth, etc.) hire, you might do well to choose someone you can mould rather than go for maturity and experience. Listen and find out why! As always, you can find the links mentioned in this episode on our show notes page at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/32.  

With the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into force on 25 May, a lot of people are getting nervous. Businesses who fail to comply face heavy penalties - much higher than the previous Data Protection Act. What are these penalties and how do we avoid getting things wrong? To answer that question I invited GDPR specialist and HR Consultant, Kelly Bater to come and speak with us. In the episode, Kelly reveals the necessary steps for you to get to grips with GDPR, why they are coming into force and how to stay out of trouble.  As always, links mentioned in the show together with several handy website pages from the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) can be found on our show notes page at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/31.

My guest today is Nick Crowe from Mainsail Branding. Nick is a startup and rebrand specialist. He's worked for many of the big companies and he really understands what it takes to help a company stand out. If you ever look at your website and wonder if it needs a refresh or you've gone to order business cards and are not sure which way to go, this episode should help you out. During the interview we cover the three major aspects of defining your brand. For links and more information about the show, check out our show notes page at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/30. 

One year ago Romacio Fulcher was broke. He is now ranked the number 16 network marketing professional globally. In this episode, I ask him what influenced his phenomenal comeback. Top of Romacio's list for success in network marketing is finding a great mentor. But how do you do that? How do you find someone willing to give up their time to teach you their strategies and philosophy? This is one of four critical success factors that we discuss on the podcast. As always, links mentioned in this episode together with how to join my free Facebook group, Earning the Right, can be found on our show notes page: www. getrealaboutbusiness.com/29. 

It can be tough to know what to post on social media. How much should be promotional? What about personal stuff? What do you share? My guest today is social media expert James Berg. James is author of the book, 104 Social Media Content Ideas to Increase Sales. During the interview I ask James to spill the beans on his top content ideas to share - and not share - on your social media.  This was a really fun interview to record. James is wildly passionate and full of practical advice. I expect you'll love hearing from James and you'll want to adopt his Grandma! All the links mentioned in the episode can be found our show notes page at www.getrealaboutbusiness.com/28.

If you run an e-commerce store or rely on website visits for your business, getting people to your website will be high on your priorities. In this episode I speak to Paul Kortman about increasing traffic to your website through an SEO trick called the Skyscraper Technique. As Paul explains, search engine optimisation is largely depending on three factors - the code you use for your website, on-page content like keywords, and backlinks. The Skyscraper technique is a great way of building tons of backlinks to your website. This will help position your site as an authority in the eyes of Google and will help you rank well. Don't forget to pick up my handy email template you can use while applying this technique in your own business. That as well as all the links mentioned in the episode is available on my show notes page.

January is the natural time of year when we all feel like stepping things up. If I could bottle that excitement and the good intentions I would. Unfortunately, these good intentions often mean little when it comes to sustainable results in our businesses. We set New Year Resolutions and we don't stick to them. We draw up plans and we don't see them through. The problem has everything to do with the fat guy and the skinny guy. That's what we're talking about in this episode. We take a deep dive into why one year feels pretty much like the last and what's preventing you from seeing through your big plans and making them a reality. In this episode, I'll uncover what I believe are the top three things you can do to make 2018 a breakthrough year. I share how I'm going about it and walk you through the process of implementing them in your business. To get hold of the cheat sheet that goes alongside this episode as well as all the links mentioned, visit our show notes page.

Kathryn Moorhouse describes Pinterest as what might happen if Google and Instagram were to have a baby. I think this sums up pretty well the potential of what Pinterest is as a marketing tool. Pinterest is among the top 10 social media platforms so in this episode I was keen to pick Kathryn's brains about how to use it strategically for your business.  We not only discuss the dos and don'ts associated with running an effective Pinterest account, but we also take a good dive into the subject of using Pinterest as part of a wider sales funnel. Don't forget to pick up my cheat sheet that accompanies this episode together with all the links mentioned on my show notes page.

Business expert Steve Lowisz knows all about attracting great clients to your business. In my interview with Steve we take a look at a concept he calls "strategic seduction." Strategic seduction is Steve's six-step process for attracting and converting clients. In this episode Steve outlines the steps, discusses some of the reasons why more traditional sales techniques don't work (or at least nowhere near as well). Don't forget to pick up the cheat sheet that goes with today's episode. You'll find that on our shownotes pages along with all links mentioned in the podcast.

When Sam Bailey told me how much one of his clients was paying for leads using Facebook ads recently, I just had to get him on the show. A lot of entrepreneurs I speak to have a love/hate relationship with using Facebook for their business. They love using it and they can see the massive potential there is to reach their audience, but they often fail to turn their efforts into leads for their business. On the show today we talk Facebook PPC (Paid Per Click) ads, buyers' journey, audience preferences, remarketing and more. Al the links mentioned in the episode, plus the cheat sheet Sam put together for you can be found on our show notes page.

Mentor and coach to the stars, Dustin Mathews is my new go-to guy for the latest best practices around speaking for your business. Right out of school, Dustin helped take a company from $1M to $14M and #35 on Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies. Since then he's gone on to generate over $43 million dollars in sales and filled over 3,000 events. In this jam-packed episode Dustin shares his top tip tips for monetising your message and getting clients through speaking. To get the cheat sheet from today's episode, together with the links mentioned, go to my show notes page. While you're at it, I always love hearing from my audience so do me a favour and leave a comment to say what you thought of the episode.

Moving to a different country and creating a six-figure business is a massive achievement for anyone, but to do it in a saturated market and still charge top whack prices... that takes some doing! Fortunately, marketer, entrepreneur and language expert Bob Buckley has achieved this very feat. That's why I got him on the show to give us the low down on what he believes were his critical success factors and the lessons he learned along the way. To get the cheat sheet from today's episode, together with all the links mentioned, go to my show notes page. While you're at it, I always love hearing from my audience so do me a favour and leave a comment to say what you thought of the episode.

What's the difference between a mortgage advisor that's constantly scratching around wondering where the next client is coming from and another who has a stream of clients so thick he can barely keep up with the demand? It turns out, while there are differences, those differences are fairly small. It's not about the size of your marketing budget (although of course, it helps). It's about doing a few things really, really well and really, really consistently. On today's episode, I interview my client and friend, Tony Baker from Chambers Financial Services. One of the interesting things about Tony is that he built his business on two things - networking events and phone calls. No social media. No big buck marketing campaigns. Just picking up the phone and meeting people. For the links mentioned in this episode, together with crib notes on how Tony keeps himself booked solid, head over to the show notes page.