Tag: Alex Pirouz

Phil Staub is the Executive Chairman of General Pants, one of Australia's largest fashion brands. As a successful entrepreneur, he explains why good customer service controls the retail game.

Emanuel Perdis is the dynamic Managing Director and co-founder of Napoleon Perdis Cosmetics. He has overseen and implemented double-digit business growth for the brand, every year, for the past fourteen years, turning over $80 million a year, employing a team of almost 500 staff. In this Q&A Interview with Alex Pirouz, Perdis shares what it takes to create a global brand, why customer service has been a crucial part of the organisation's success and the best way to handle challenges in business.

Simon Baker was the CEO and Managing Director of realestate.com.au during a period of massive growth for the Australian-listed real-estate company, increasing the organisation's market capitalisation from $8m in June 2001 to over $600m in June 2008. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Baker talks about all the various elements required to build a great online presence, what business owners need to look for when hiring agencies to help them with their online strategy, the common mistakes most business owners make and (most importantly) how to avoid them.

Robert Kiyosaki is an American investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker, who has written 15 books, with combined sales of over 26 million copies. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Mr. Kiyosaki discusses what it takes to be successful in business, the No 1 skill every entrepreneur should learn and the five qualities required by every entrepreneur in order to become successful.

The journey for Sydney entrepreneur Mark Pracy, now owner of Australia’s largest Jet Ride experience, all started in the Hunter Valley where he provided his services to international superstars, such as Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, John Mellencamp, Cheryl Crow and many more. From there, he seized his opportunity and capitalised on a gap in the marketplace by making it affordable for average day Australians to experience a ride in a Jet Fighter. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Pracy discusses the importance of customer service, how marketing has shifted as a result of social media and the information age and why working with the right staff is absolutely critical to the success of any business.

Becoming a business owner for the first time in 1977, Bruce Doyle has now owned and operated 27 businesses, 18 of which were developed from conception. He has been ranked Global Coach of the Year, Victorian Coach Of the Year and Action Coach’s most prestigious award, Entrepreneur Coach of the Year. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Doyle shares why it’s important to do a business plan, what is required for a business plan to be successful and the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when writing a business plan.

It all started with a conversation: "Wouldn't it be great to share a car with our neighbours?" Starting in June 2003 with just three cars, GoGet CarShare now has 530 vehicles Australia-wide, ranging from inner-city-friendly compacts to wagons, utes and people movers. In this Q & A interview with Alex Pirouz, GoGet CarShare’s operational manager Tristan Sender shares how to create an innovation, why market research is so important and what aspiring entrepreneurs can learn.

From the tender age of 15, Andrew Morello has always had a drive and passion for business. From running dance parties, working in the real estate industry to winning channel 9’s TV series The Apprentice, he now works with Mark Bouris at Yellow Brick Road Management as its head of Business Development. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Morello reveals the importance of working with the right people, why it’s about the journey and not the goal and why challenges are a vital part of achieving success in business.

In the 1990s, Jordan Belfort soared to the highest financial heights, earning over $50 million a year as the notorious “Wolf of Wall Street,” and then sunk to the lowest societal lows, succumbing to a massive drug addiction and spending twenty-two months in a federal prison camp. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, he talks about the elements necessary to be successful in business, growing a company, and how to motivate sales staff to perform at their optimum level.

Matt Barrie is an award-winning entrepreneur, technologist and Chief Executive of Sydney-based Freelancer.com. In 2011, he was named BRW Entrepreneur of the Year. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Barrie has experienced his fair share of ups and downs. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz he explains how a vision much bigger than yourself can make it easier to push through times of uncertainty and hardship.

When promoting your product or service, it’s easy to miss a key trick by failing to make what you’re selling unique. The term ‘Unique Selling Point’ (USP) was first coined in the 1940s, and first defined in print by advertising executive Rosser Reeves in 1961. A good current example of a clear USP is the well-known brand Head & Shoulders’ "You get rid of dandruff."

Have you ever wondered why you seem to hit it off with some customers, while with others it's like oil and water? It’s because we respond intuitively to the natural chemistry -- or lack thereof -- between temperament styles. Research in the field of psychology tells us that we’re born into one of four primary temperament styles: aggressive, expressive, passive or analytical. Each requires a different approach and selling strategy.

Trying to run the whole business yourself is not only stressful for you, the business owner, but also for the staff, who feel inadequate and unchallenged. But how do you drive revenue and increase sales if you have a very tight budget and you really can’t afford to hire sales staff on a full or part time basis? In short, the business owner must get more creative. Here are seven different strategies any business owner can employ to not only increase sales but also systemise the sale process – and do more in less time.

At sometime during the recruitment process, ask the candidate to write down 35 reasons why they want to be a salesperson within your company. Allow up to 15 minutes for this process alone. I’ve conducted this exercise with hundreds of sales consultants. A common theme is that by the time they reach around the 15th reason they get stuck. Why? Because the first 15 reasons are typically high level and relatively easy to communicate.

Throughout my time in sales, I have come across a lot of salespeople who are absolutely great at building rapport, and getting the client to the point of wanting to buy — but for some reason they feel uncomfortable about closing the sale. It might sound silly, but I guarantee you there are salespeople out there with what I call Sales Phobia. Are you afflicted?

Rapport is a relationship between two or more parties, especially one of mutual trust, or emotional affinity. Rapport is one of the most important features or characteristics of subconscious communication. In sales, it means everything! Do you have rapport? Why not take this test?

The most common mistake sales consultants make is to assume they know what their clients want. By asking the right questions, you’ll uncover your clients’ buying strategy and find out if you can deliver the goods. And the best part is you can finally throw out that crystal ball.