What a great guest we have this week - there was so much absolute gold that came out of the conversation. Our guest is Annette Densham (AKA “The Publicity Genie”) who has a great insight into how small businesses can market themselves, having worked with numerous clients across Australia and having started out on the other side of the fence as a journalist. She has also pioneered the award-winning “Genie Lamp 3-wishes program” which has helped revolutionise the way startups get their place in the media.

See below for some of Annette’s best PR advice:

**  Public relations is everything you say and do - not just in the media.

**  People don’t do business with businesses, they do business with people, so your all-round message is vital.

**  Work out your key messages: What do you want people to know about you? What do you do? What solution are you offering? Only then should you think about what specific communication channels to use.

**  Keep it regular - it’s all about being consistent and persistent.

**  Don’t just talk about yourself on social media. You need to consistently give people value.

**  PR is like planting a seed - it must be consistently nurtured.

**  Think about being a guest contributor to relevant media.

**  When writing a media release, remember ‘the inverted pyramid’. Put your most important information at the top.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  The importance of PR for small business

**  How much time you should dedicate to PR

**  The law of reciprocity

**  How to use keywords to your advantage

**  How to plan your PR activity

**  The definition of pro-active media

**  How to use Google alerts

**  How best to approach journalists

**  Repurposing content

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free business planning template can be downloaded from http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Visit Annette’s website here and take up her offer of a free 15-minute PR consultation

**  The Business Brain Food Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

As Annette says, “there’s no room for modesty in small business!”. Listen to the show and follow her advice….. don’t be shy!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

What a thoroughly interesting man we have on the show this week. Morris Miselowski has made it his business to predict the future, but there are no crystal balls and tarot cards here….. Morris is a highly qualified professional, renowned the world over. He’s worked with the likes of KPMG, Ford and Microsoft, helping them to anticipate changes in technology and human behaviour.

We were very lucky to spend an hour picking his brains about the next big things and how every business can brace themselves for rapidly changing marketplaces.

Read on for some of Morris’ top tips on future proofing:

**  You must constantly take time out to think ahead. You owe it to your business and you owe it to your clients.

**  However outlandish your new idea for a business may sound, if you can find a clear human need for it, you should go for it.

**  Keep an eye out for incremental changes you can make to your day-to-day business. It’s better to do this habitually than to leave it too late and be forced into making monumental change for the sake of survival.

**  Think about business strategy first and then look for the technology to make it happen. Don’t let the new technology dictate to you.

**  Forget about the perfect long-term solution. In this day and age the ‘solution’ you need is something that enables you to grow and adapt to change.

**  Nowadays your business will be one of a myriad of choices in your marketplace, so you have to learn to adapt, otherwise you will lose more and more market share.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  Disruptive industries

**  Centralised service provision

**  “the drunken Saturday night experience”

**  How best to cope with change

**  The impact of Artificial Intelligence

**  How google is positioning itself to collect human data

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free business planning template can be downloaded from http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

** Go to Morris’ website and find a whole host of resources, including his free-to-download magazine, “Future Curious”

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

What Morris says about the death of the perfect long-term business plan really is worth reiterating. Think long and hard about the way you plan your future business, and make sure you bring it into the 21st century!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

Get your SEO right and it could completely change your business, so listen up to our SEO expert David James. In this week’s episode David guides us through a multitude of tips and tricks that will help you navigate the minefield of search-engine optimisation.

Read on for some of David’s top tips:

**  Beware of any marketeers who offer you black hat SEO, i.e. spamming comments on other sites to create backlinks, creating multiple landing pages etc. Search engines will get wise to this and penalise you by sending you down the search rankings.

**  Monitor your ranking on an ongoing basis. Pro Rank tracker is a good tool. Also Google Search Console can help with this.

**  Think long term. A 2-3 year plan is perfectly reasonable if your business is in a crowded marketplace.

**  The two key things to remember when optimising your site for SEO: the user experience and how many other sites have recommended you.

**  Site load time is an often-overlooked part of the mix. Make sure your site is built by someone who knows what they’re doing.

**  Use ‘schema’ functionality in your site, i.e. your key company information embedded within the html code.

**  Use the Google Keyword Planner to see what the search trends are in your marketplace. SEM rush is another good tool. And don’t forget that at the bottom of normal Google searches, there are suggested keywords.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  SEO explained

**  White hat V Black hat SEO

**  Different search engine penalties

**  The zero position

**  The best content for SEO

**  The genesis framework

**  The search-engine spider

**  The value of XML site maps

**  Google Places reviews

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free business planning template can be downloaded from http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Check out David’s BGDTM Youtube channel here

**  David’s website: www.businessgrowthdigitalmarketing.com

**  David’s email address: david@businessgrowthdigitalmarketing.com

**  David’s twitter: @bgd_marketing

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

You’re now armed with all the tools you need to succeed with your SEO….. now go out and do it!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

What a pleasure it is to welcome back Steve Sims to the show. It’s hard to know where to start with Steve – he’s just done so much – but we’ll quickly summarise him as ‘a man who makes dreams come true’. His company, Blue Fish, specialises in creating unique life experiences for its clients. Since we last spoke to Steve he has sent someone to a space station, placed clients backstage with the likes of ZZ Top and Guns & Roses, and sent someone to Monte Carlo to be James Bond for the weekend. Steve has also written a book called “Blue Fishing” which he talks to us about.

See below for some of Steve’s advice on how to make the impossible possible:

**  Stop listening to that idiot on your shoulder saying ‘no’. If you think you can’t, you’re right.

**  When trying to pull off an unlikely experience, approach it like this: “I’ve always wanted to do this, what has to happen for this to happen?” Don’t walk straight in with money because people don’t want to feel like they’ve been sold.

**  Email is dead. Pick up the phone and leave a voice memo. This is a non-intrusive way of building a rapport with busy people.

**  Relationships are everything. Do every single thing you can to build and retain good relationships.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

** How to court celebrities

**  How to build relationships that work

**  The power of voice memos

**  Steve’s colourful track record

**  A summary of Steve’s new book, Blue Fishing

**  How to leave a voice memo

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free business planning template can be downloaded from http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Get Steve’s book, Blue Fishing, from http://www.stevedsims.com

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

Remember Steve’s point about that ‘idiot’ on your shoulder. Don’t concentrate on the reasons why not, concentrate on the reasons why!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

This week we lift the lid on one of Australia’s biggest entrepreneurial success stories: Penny Spencer. She gave us so much great insight into how she got to where she is today. Her travel company turns over £65m per year and has 85 employees, and she is listed in Australia’s top 35 entrepreneurs.

We got Penny on the show not only because of her success in business but because she is a great advocate of business coaching and mentoring. She is a member of many different mentoring groups and has founded her own not-for-profit group for the travel sector called TIME. Her philosophy of never being too successful or too old to learn really is an important one.

See below for some of Penny’s top tips:

**  Set goals. It’s a common piece of advice but that’s because it works!

**  Accountability for your goals is key. This is where pier groups are vital.

**  Always be open to new people coming in to your business.

**  Penny works 'on' her business 90% of the time, and ‘in’ the business 10% of the time. It took her ten years to get to this point - it didn’t happen overnight - but it is something that most entrepreneurs should aspire to.

**  Be clear on the values of your company and employ people on the basis of your values. Values mean more than skills.

**  If you have happy staff you have happy clients. Staff should never be treated as a liability!

**  Make sure you pay yourself when you have your own business. An easy mistake entrepreneurs make is to not pay themselves and then gradually resent the business.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  How to generate good referrals

**  The value of mentoring groups

**  A sustainable method of recruitment

**  The importance of being able to change direction

**  How Penny generates ideas

**  The power of networking

**  How to interview

**  How often to survey clients and how to review the results

**  How to prepare yourself to start a new business

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Not long left to grab a place on one of Ben’s free 5-stage Business Exceleration™ workshops. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for more information and to register.

**  Ben’s free business planning template can be downloaded from http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Penny’s website: http://www.pennyspencer.com.au

**  Penny’s travel company website: http://www.spencertravel.com.au

**  Penny’s book can be purchased here

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

Penny is a great reminder to all of us that our entrepreneurial minds should always stay open to learning. Take heed of this advice: make sure you have a way of developing yourself.

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

This week we have some great no-nonsense marketing advice from a man who’s been there and done it, Mitch Hills. Mitch founded the highly successful social media agency, Mastered Marketing, as well as the Exceptions business community, and he sure knows how to deconstruct the complexities of modern-day marketing so anybody can understand it.

See below for some of Mitch’s top tips;

**  Get your content out there! Don’t worry about it being too polished.

**  A small audience can be an advantage in the beginning because it gives you a chance to perfect your own voice.

**  Don’t think of your marketing as just the promotion of your high-ticket items. Part of your marketing mix needs to encourage your audience to discover they have a problem in the first place.

**  Cheap leads are not necessarily good leads. It’s often worth working harder for better leads.

**  Understand the pain points of your customers. This should drive your marketing.

**  Think about how to move your customers from their current situation to their desired situation.

**  Ideally you should produce two pieces of video content per month. Alongside that, have one advert promoting your content and one promoting your lead magnet.

**  Broadcast what you’re already doing. Your customers are likely to find it interesting.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  The power of Facebook advertising

**  Social media platforms compared

**  How to adapt landing pages to capitalise on your marketing

**  The best way to sell/package giveaways

**  Lead magnets explained

**  Repurposing explained

**  Facebook business pages V Facebook personal pages

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Not long left to grab a place on one of Ben’s free 5-stage Business Exceleration™ workshops. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for more information and to register.

**  Mitch’s website: http://www.masteredmarketing.com

**  Mitch’s instagram: http://www.instagram.com/masteredmarketing

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

Let’s end matters by quoting Mitch’s excellent summary of what your introductory offers/lead magnet should be. Never forget the phrase “low friction, high value.”

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

Our guest this week struck absolute gold by hosting webinars, and she’s going to teach you how to do it yourself. In only two years, Liz Benny has managed to create webinars that have raised over 2 million AUD – she previously had no experience in the field!

See below for some of Liz’s top tips;

**  Any business can benefit from webinars - it doesn’t have to be online courses.

**  The right webinar will take someone over the emotional hurdles/doubts as to why they can’t be successful themselves.

**  Webinars are all about empathy.

**  Check out Russell Brunson’s webinar structure - it’s worked for Liz and our very own Ben.

**  You need a proper understanding of the pain points and pleasures of your audience - do your surveys properly. Google forms is an easy free tool to create surveys.

**  Lead with integrity with your webinar. If you are always yourself, you will sell more.

**  Personal stories help your upsells from webinars.

**  When it comes to words in the slides, less is more.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  How outsourcing can revolutionise your life

**  The definition of a webinar

**  How to change your energy for a webinar

**  The right title for a webinar

**  The difference between a great webinar and a bad webinar

**  Should you have video in your webinar?

**  What percentage of webinar audiences normally stay and listen to the sales pitch

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free 5-stage Business Exceleration™ workshops will be taking place in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for more information and to register.

**  Leave a review of BBF on the itunes store and gain access to some members-only training on user experience. This is a great, hour-long video called “The three secrets to making your website convert visitors into customers”. All you have to do is leave a review, copy the text and email it to ben@maxmyprofit.com.au and you will be given access to the training.

**  Liz’s website: http://www.lizbenny.com

**  Liz’s facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TimeToKapow/

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

Listen to what Ben said at the end of the show…. literally ANYONE can do a webinar that makes them money, so you should start doing yours today!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

It’s a constant battle for many business owners: just how do you turn web traffic into useful leads? We’ve got someone on the show this week who will tell you how. Lindsey Anderson is the founder and CEO of trafficandleads.com, a company that specializes in this area. She’s been so successful that she’s been given the nickname “one-click Lindsey”!

We had a great chat with Lindsey – she’s someone who cuts through all the myth and tells it how it is.

See below for some of Lindsey’s top tips;

**  Who cares if you have a website? It’s only worth having one if it drives phone calls and sales.

**  The number one mistake most businesses make is they don’t have an irresistible offer on their website.

**  You must create content that makes search engines and potential customers curious.

**  80-90% of people who opt in on websites do so via a popup.

**  Email people regularly to keep them warm. Once a week is optimum, at the same time on the same day.

**  Remember, it doesn’t have to always be written content. Audio and video content can still create curiosity and engage your potential leads.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  The “click” technique

**  How to rank higher for keywords

**  Using Facebook pixels

**  The value of email marketing

**  How regularly to target people

**  Different Facebook campaigns

**  How Yoast SEO can guide you to optimise your blog posts

**  Backlinks explained

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free 5-stage Business Exceleration™ Workshops will be taking place in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for more information and to register.

**  Leave a review of BBF on the itunes store and gain access to some members-only training on user experience. This is a great, hour-long video called “The three secrets to making your website convert visitors into customers”. All you have to do is leave a review, copy the text and email it to ben@maxmyprofit.com.au and you will be given access to the training.

**  Lindsey’s free 5-day crash course can be found here

**  Lindsey’s own site: http://www.oneclicklindsey.com

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

If you can’t learn anything from what Lindsey said on the show then you never will! There is so much for you to have a go at to start generating those leads!

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

This week we’re going to demonstrate the importance of a good memory to everyday business, and show you how you can make yours better. What a pleasure it was to speak to Tansel Ali; four-time Australian memory champion, executive memory coach and TV personality who has featured on the likes of ‘Redesign My Brain’. Tansel once memorised the entire Sydney Yellow Pages, so this guy’s certainly qualified to comment on matters of memory!

Read on for some of Tansel’s best memory tips:

**  The emphasis should not simply be about gathering information, it’s about what you do with it next.

**  Set a plan for what you need to memorise and compartmentalise each part of the process.

**  Visualisation and association is paramount. If you meet someone for the first time, associate an image with their name in order to create an emotional connection.

**  Most of our brain capacity isn’t used, so there is plenty of room to memorise more if you get it right.

**  If you train your mind to make the right connections, your outward communication will improve.

**  It’s worth pausing to get out of the zone. The information you take in when you’re in the zone is more likely to be stored coherently if you take breaks and keep your mind fresh.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  How stress can affect the memory

**  How to speed read

**  How to stave off distraction

**  Visualisation techniques

**  The science of trigger points

**  How best to start sharpening your memory

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free 3-hour workshops across Australia. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for dates.

**  Leave a review of BBF on the itunes store and gain access to some members-only training on user experience. This is a great, hour-long video called “The three secrets to making your website convert visitors into customers”. All you have to do is leave a review, copy the text and email it to ben@maxmyprofit.com.au and you will be given access to the training.

**  Tansel’s website: http://www.tanselali.com

**  Tansel’s recommending reading: Tony Buzan – Use Your Memory

**  Tansel’s two books: The Yellow Elephant & How to learn almost anything in 48 hours

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

Call to action:

Remember, it isn’t just about remembering facts. Exercising your memory can make a big difference to many other important areas of life.

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

This week we’re deconstructing the sales process with someone who is not only a sales expert but who has walked the walk himself as an entrepreneur. Carl Gould had built three multi-million businesses by the time he was 40, and has since written three bestselling books on sales and business development. As a consultant he has worked with over 5,000 businesses on their sales function.

Carl’s energy and passion for the subject matter really is incredible – there was just so much gold in the conversation.

Check some of Carl’s top tips:

**  You cannot be a business owner unless you know how to sell and market yourself. If you can’t you will not survive.

**  You don’t have to be a particular ‘type’ of salesperson. You don’t need to be pushy. It’s more important to have full belief in your product.

**  In selling, there is no prize for second place. Coming last is better than second. Make sure you qualify your leads properly so you don’t waste resources coming second.

**  Always make sure you create an ideal client profile. Who is the most likely person that would benefit from your product and service, and why would they?

**  Think about these key things when profiling your buyer: ‘What keeps my ideal buyer awake at night?’ ‘What makes them get yelled at when they get home?’ ‘What’s going on in their life and business right now that makes buying from your business an urgency?’

**  Find what your clients are most passionate about and design your product and services around that.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  How to outsource sales

**  The different steps of the sales cycle

**  How to create leads

**  How to stop people dropping out of the sales cycle

**  How to find the right sales people

**  How to correctly incentivise sales people

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Ben’s free business growth workshops across Australia. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for dates.

**  Leave a review of BBF on the itunes store and gain access to some members-only training on user experience. This is a great, hour-long video called “The three secrets to making your website convert visitors into customers”. All you have to do is leave a review, copy the text and email it to ben@maxmyprofit.com.au and you will be given access to the training.

**  Carl’s website: http://www.carlgould.com

**  Carl’s book “Biz Dev Done Right” can be bought here

**  Email Carl: carl@carlgould.com

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

We’ll leave you with a great inspirational quote from Carl: "Anybody can sell - you just have to be fully bought into the product, understand the customer and give them the opportunity to buy"

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day.

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000