July 2015 EMAG

MAGAZINE

Issue 27 - June/July 2015

AFFINITY

“Have these guys just made Marketing Redundant?�

Get the inside scoop on what is taking the Australian business community by storm!

Fiona McTaggart CEO- Affinity Alliance

Steve Owen MD- Corporate Connectors

What’s In store for you this month…

Editors Letter

5

Association Spotlight - “Corporate Connectors”

6

Affinity PROFESSIONAL

13

Legal, HR/IR, Insurance, Foreign Exchange, Finance, Business Coaching, Safety In the Workplace…

Member Engagement

33

Affinity TRAVEL

39

Affinity COMMUNICATIONS

43

Affinity LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENT

47

Affinity NETWORKING

49

Affinity FUNDRAISING

51

Affinity HEALTH & WELLBEING

53

Affinity SHOPPER

57

MEDIA KIT

60

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Editors Letter….

Thank goodness that EOFY is done and dusted. It is such a crazy time for all and just makes everyone a little bit on the frantic side. For us, it is the second most busy time of the year next to Christmas with renewals and organisations wanting to take advantage of tax cuts etc.

Having said that, certainly not complaining and with the change over of the EMAG as of next month, members will have the ability to choose what they want to see in our emag dependant on their preferences, very exciting and all will be revealed in the next issue…

Just a reminder to all our members and non-members, Affinity Alliance is the only benefits program in Australia & NZ with its own designated Travel Concierge service.

Your members simply call our CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM on 1300 793 044 and give the general information required for their next trip and the rest is up to us. We will source you not only the best airfares and accommodation but we will also provide it to you at a discounted rate.

What other benefits program can offer you that?

In addition to this, our providers are growing at an exponential rate across the globe and we will soon have the most benefits on offer than any other program that you may have considered and at the best rate.

Our new online search directory will give members the convenience of searching under category, subcategory and location, making the entire experience seamless.

Check out our website and see the difference for yourself. Visit www.affinityallianceco.com.au www.affinitydirectory.com.au www.affinitymagazine.com.au

AA Partner Program Want to expose your business to the ever growing database of Affinity members?

Why not join the Par tner Program and gain maximum exposure to your target market through dedicated EDM’s and advertisements in the monthly emag as well as membership to Corporate Connectors - the only Managed Business Networking Group in Australia.

For more details check out our cover story….

DINING,WINING & LIFESTYLE Don’t forget to check out our new site with all the trimmings along with the Dining Out & Entertainment Guide. Not only will you have exclusive access to the finest restaurants in the country with some fantastic deals for our AA members, you will also be privy to the best in entertainment and events. Be the first to book the latest show or concert and show off to your friends and of course don’t forget to tell them that you can only have access through ‘Affinity Alliance’….

If you would like the opportunity to advertise your restaurant/cafe and can offer an exclusive deal to our members, let us know. We are always on the lookout for new providers and our members love it!

IMPORTANT Information There is some big news for our members and of course our suppliers in the next issue of the EMAG, So make sure you don’t miss one single copy so you can stay well informed. Call it our present to you, but you will have to stay tuned to find out what it is…

If for some reason you have missed any of our EMAG issues, jump on the Affinity Alliance website and you can view all previous issues in our Archives folder. If you have any troubles, simply contact our office for assistance.

Fiona McTaggart AA Managing Director If you would like to advertise your organisation or business with Affinity Alliance to offer our members even more value for money, please contact our head office on 1300 793 044 or email admin@affinityallianceco.com.au for details and a copy of the AA Media Kit.

FREECALL 1300 793 044

ASSOCIATION SPOTLIGHT

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

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MONTHLY ADVERTORIALS Reach 260,000+ actual readers every month Normal Value $5,500 x 12 CORPORATE CONNECTORS NETWORK MEMBERSHIP Extend your sales force with serious referral partners Normal value $1,930 x 12 QUARTERLY DIRECT MARKETING EMAILS Sent to over 856,000 subscribers (including over 670,000 businesses) Normal value $12,000 x 4

NOW ONLY $1,750/MONTH SAVE OVER 80% | LIMITED TO THE FIRST 50 TAKERS

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AFFINITY MAGAZINE

The Importance of using your Marketing Budget wisely…

by Steve Owen - Corporate Connectors Owning a business these days means hard work for owners.

There is so much to do and so little time. As a business grows it becomes easier to outsource specific tasks, and areas such as finance, compliance and HR/ WHS are usually first cab off the rank. We all want our businesses to grow and get the brand out into the public domain and raise awareness. To do that, business owners need to either set aside a reasonable advertising budget, or build lasting business relationships via networking and referral.

The former costs money, the latter costs time and both are things that today’s business owner has a limited supply of.

Advertising budgets can run into six figures each year and don’t always provide the hoped for returns. As for networking, who hasn’t had a gutful of endless business breakfasts and networking events? While somewhat informative and a chance to meet like-minded business people, the cheesiness of the greetings and the forced “card ninja” mentality of these events turn a lot of people off.

And face to face networking is not for everyone due to shyness among others. Of course, you could employ a marketing manager or a business relationship manager (again for a six figure sum) and have someone do it all for you.

Following several months of negotiations and market-testing

a low-cost and effective program has been built, providing businesses with reach to a trusted database, massive exposure through an established e-magazine and free, managed networking and alliance building thrown in.

Affinity Alliance is Australia’s premier member benefits and rewards program with over 7,000 partners and 650,000 subscribers, including a substantial component of business owners.

CEO of Affinity Alliance, Fiona McTaggart says “Every business owner I know is time poor and is becoming increasingly frustrated with the common pitfalls of everyday networking.

It is as though, we have forgotten the true value of networking and what it was originally designed for.

Corporate Connectors takes the guess work away and brings back the true meaning behind a “GENUINE LEAD”.

Corporate Connectors is the result of networking frustrations – just imagine if at one of those events somebody sat in the centre of the meeting, collected all the business cards, identified the synergies and alliances and then made those contacts for you? Managing Director of Corporate Connectors, Steve Owen says the concept is simple, “there are a lot of sacred cows out there like not working with your competition, time for money consulting and throwing huge amounts of money at the

media. It just took a few of us to step back, dissect what businesses have been doing and then design a very simple model. Once we met up with Fiona’s team and identified the synergy, we managed to get this model in place quite quickly”.

The result of this collaboration is the Affinity Alliance Partner Program – very simply, access to an engaged database, monthly magazine placement, targeted email campaigns, webinar facilitation and managed networking all in one package that costs less than a quarter of an employee’s salary. “I am very excited by this joint venture with Affinity” says Steve. ”We have some major national brands talking about the program because of its value for money.

Add to that the initial members we already have on board and we have a community of over 850,000. We are very proud of what we have achieved and what we can now deliver to Australian businesses – real, managed relationships and exposure.”

The Program is limited to the first 50 businesses and then it gets locked in. Fiona – “you can only fit so many businesses in a magazine and send so many emails to our list. However, those 50 businesses will be part of something special that will change the landscape of business relationship development in Australia”.

NETWORKING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WITH A BIG DIFFERENCE

enquiries@corporateconnectors.com.au www.corporateconnectors.com.au

A Must Read for Asthma Sufferers Thousands of Asthma Sufferers Affected by Unsafe Subscriptions

by Paul O’Brien - Managing Director Turboforte A very troubling story was released by the BBC on the 16th June about information about an audit of medical records done by Asthma UK. Of 100,000 patient records analysed from 500 GP practices between 2010 and 2013, they found that some patients had been put on the wrong types of inhalers and some medics didn’t pick up on warning signs that asthma may have been spiralling dangerously out of control.

They found that 5,000 patients had been prescribed more than 12 reliever inhalers over a 12 month periods, and of these 1,965 of them had been prescribed without being reviewed by a nurse or doctor. 400 patients had been prescribed the wrong type of inhaler which was a long-acting reliever medicine without inhaled steroids.

So what does this mean for Asthma sufferers in Australia?

It is always important to stay informed and consult your doctor, but the article gave some very specific guidelines from Asthma

UK to give a guideline of what to look for.

Check these with your GP to confirm that this is the case in Australia.

1. No asthma patient should be prescribed a long-acting reliever inhaler without being given a preventer inhaler too, for example.

2. Any person who finds that they use 12 or more short-acting reliever inhalers in a year must see a doctor because it means their condition is not under control and needs other medication.

3. Anyone who is using their reliever inhaler - which is usually blue in colour - more than three times a week and has not had a recent review with their doctor should contact their GP. 4. 1 check up every 12 months is not enough, especially if you have a severe asthma attack. It is advised to consult your doctor after a severe asthma attack to make sure that everything is under control.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

The article gave a good overview of Asthma inhalers: • Reliever Inhalers, usually blue or green in colour, deliver medication directly into the lungs as you breath and ease symptoms by relaxing the muscles around the airways to open up the passages • Short-acting relievers include salbutamol and terbutaline • Long-acting relievers include salmeterol, formeterol and tiotropium bromide and should only be used if you’ve also been prescribed a preventer inhaler • Preventer inhalers, often brown in colour, usually contain a low dose of steroid medicine to prevent and reduce airway swelling and inflammation • Not everyone needs a preventer inhaler - but if you have started on one, it may take days for you to notice any difference. Patients should nonetheless continue using it The National Asthma Foundation of Australia gives a more in-depth explanation of in halers stating that: Reliever Inhalers Everyone who has asthma needs a reliever (e.g. a ‘puffer’) to use when they have asthma symptoms.

In Australia, most relievers are available from pharmacies without a prescription. Relievers should only be used when you or your child has symptoms (or if your doctor tells you to take it before exercise) and should not be over-used.

Preventer Inhalers Most adults with asthma need to take a low dose of an ‘inhaled corticosteroid’ preventer medicine every day, as well as taking their reliever when they have symptoms.

An inhaled corticosteroid medicine is usually prescribed for an adult who: • Has had asthma symptoms twice or more in the past month, or • Is sometimes woken by asthma symptoms or • Has had a flare-up severe enough to need an urgent visit to their GP or hospital emergency department within the previous 12 months.

The National Asthma Foundation also stressed the importance of exercise & the issues of allergies during certain times of the year.

Triggers of Asthma Asthma is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. There are many different triggers for asthma, and these can be different for different people.

The most common ones are: • Allergy triggers, e.g. house dust mites, pollens, pets, pollution and moulds • Smoke, e.g. Fire smoke, Cigarette smoke, Tobacco smoke, etc…

• Viral infections, e.g. colds and flu • Weather, e.g. cold air, change in temperature, thunderstorms, high levels of humidity, etc…

• Work-related triggers, e.g. wood dust, chemicals, metal salts, stress, fumes, etc…

• Some medicines (read the labels to make sure that they don’t trigger asthma trigger) • Some foods (although rare) may include dairy products, eggs, peanuts, sulphites and other preservatives, monosodium glutamate (MSG), food colourings or royal jelly.

• Chemicals in foods which may trigger allergies and asthma may include sulphites (common food and drug preservatives; additive numbers 220-228), tartrazine (yellow dye), benzoates, monosodium glutamate (known as MSG) and salicylates

By blowing into the device it causes a stainless steel ball to bounce up and down, forcing the air in and out of the lungs at a high frequency, causing a vibration in your lungs which you can feel straight away.

This vibration does 2 things: 1. It helps to loosen excess mucus, phlegm, fluid and blockage inside of your lungs, mobilises and help you to cough this up.

This helps you to clear your airway and improve your breathing.

2. The vibration and deep breathing exercise helps you to open up any closed airways in your lungs to improve your lung capacity by opening up more pathways in your lungs for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Most people may not realise, but mucus is an important tool which the body uses to protect your airway when there is inflammation from foreign substances like smoke, bacteria, dust and pollution, but an excess amount reduces your capacity to breath.

Like everything it is advised to consult your doctor and make sure that Turboforte is right for you.

The key things to summarise from this article for asthma sufferers and their family are: 1. Be informed and understand your condition 2. Stay away from asthma triggers

There are many natural remedies to help asthma conditions, Asthma Australia mentions some of these including:

3. Make sure that you have the right prescriptions and that you read the label of any medication prescribed to you

• Acupuncture

4. Exercise, eat well and try to work towards preventative options, rather than relying on medication to do all the work for you.

• Breathing exercises • Herbal Medicine • Massage • Nutritional Supplements

5. Consult your doctor if you have any concerns or questions

• Salt Therapy

I hope this information is helpful to you and it helps to improve your condition and lifestyle.

• Yoga

References

• Many more I natural device for which originally was designed for Cystic Fibrosis relief is Turboforte.

This is a TGA approved Positive Expiratory Pressure (PEP) medical device designed to help clear the lungs and enhance lung capacity.

How does it work?

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33132613? ocid=socialflow_twitter http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/our-community/ asthma-blog/the-power-of-exercise-for-people-withasthma http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/understandingasthma/asthma-medicines http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/our-community/ asthma-blog/the-power-of-exercise-for-people-with-

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Affinity PROFESSIONAL LEGAL NETWORK INSURANCE FINANCE HUMAN RESOURCES INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

People are talking about you…but are you listening?

by Robyn Simpson, MarketSmartly Marketing has changed drastically over the past 5 years. Digital media has shifted the power from the marketer to the consumer.

No longer is it safe to bury your head in the sand and claim, “Social Media doesn’t affect our business!” We’re not saying you do or don’t need to be on social media necessarily. We are saying that you need to tap into the conversations being had online and use that data to construct sound strategic marketing plans and campaigns.

Smart marketers are tuning in to data and the power it possesses. When captured and analysed in a timely manner, digital intelligence can provide several strategic benefits including: ♣ Identifying trending topics talked about by your customers and prospects. ♣ Identifying which content has the most influence and ‘viral coefficient’. That is, what content is shared broadly. ♣ Identifying competitors activities and r e s p o n d i n g q u i c k l y w i t h c o u n t e r strategies. ♣ Identifying relevant people to connect with including influencers. ♣ Identifying channels most used to communicate in your industry. ♣ Identifying key words your market are actually using, to drive SEO and SEM campaigns. ♣ Identifying negative posts/comments and manage them effectively.

“Smart marketing today is all about creating beyond the obvious strategies and campaigns based on real data, directly from the markets mouth”, says Teritia Peart, General Manager of MarketSmartly.

“Our Digital Intelligence tool captures and collates data from social and digital media conversations as they happen, allowing us to gain valuable insights into trending topics, who the influencers are, what type of content is going viral and what our clients competitors are up to.”

How to use the data: Let’s break down how you can use this information in a practical sense to see how it could benefit your business, club or organisation:

WHO: You may know who your target audience is, but do you know who is influential in your market? Who do they listen to? Who do they trust? Analysing your industry, your competitors and your own audience gives you valuable insights into how to create marketing initiatives that resonate well, increasing the likelihood of engagement and ultimately conversion.

Competitor & Industry analysis:

You can also identify and connect with the influencers in your market and let them do the talking for you. There’s nothing stronger than word of mouth or referral marketing!

WHEN: Quickly and easily identify when the right time is to post based on the timing of posts made by your audience about your industry. Timing is critical in marketing. It’s no longer acceptable to communicate when it is convenient for you.

Know what is going on around you by tracking mentions from and about your competition.

Follow the leaders in your market to determine what works well. Identify posts that get shared and who is sharing them, then construct initiatives to boost your posts. Build marketing strategies based on real data that shows you what is actually working.

WHERE: Which channels are your customers and prospects using? Do you really know or are you guessing? You may be astounded at how popular Twitter and Instagram are.

Find out exactly where your audience is engaging and meet them there.

WHAT: Key words & trending topics: The Digital Intelligence tool captures real time conversations from a variety of sources and collates trending key topics and phrases, which are visible via smart, easy to view graphical representations. Use this information to direct SEO/SEM campaigns and construct powerful messages about topics your audience wants to read about and share. Focus your key messages and content on what your market talks about to increase engagement significantly.

THE UPSHOT… Excellent marketing relies heavily on excellent up to date data. Today that data is easier and more cost effective to obtain.

Make sure your marketing is hitting the mark.

It’s a great investment to ensure your marketing strategy is ahead of the game and you may be pleasantly surprised at the cost, starting at $199+GST, its an investment worth making.

Special offer to Affinity Alliance subscribers: Save 25% on all Digital Intelligence reports until 31 July 2015. Discount Code: AADI0715 Order now or call us to discuss your needs (07) 3040 6442. www.MarketSmartly.com Sample reports are available upon request from Samantha@marketsmartly.com

Screenshot of word burst diagram from a Mortgage Industry Report

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

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AFFINITY MAGAZINE

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WANT A HOLIDAY EVERY YEAR… PAID FOR WITH YOUR FREE PAY RISE?

What’s your biggest fear?

Public Speaking?

Sharks?

Asking out the attractive new colleague at the office?

It’s a known fact that asking for a pay rise is one of the biggest fears for most employees…

What if you could walk into your boss’ office & ask for a pay rise knowing that it wouldn’t cost them a cent?!

The Government provides a way you can get more money in your pocket each week at no cost to your employer! It’s called Salary Packaging - a benefit for employees that can save you $1,000s every year in tax.

Salary Packaging benefits including vehicle Novated Leasing are available to any employee of any size organisation - even if you are the only employee - or you’re a PAYG Director of your own business. The average employee could save around $3,000 pa or more in tax and GST on running a basic personal vehicle, simply by redirecting those costs through set payroll deductions. For someone on a salary of $80,000 pa that works out to around an equivalent $5,000 pay rise or a 6.25% increase - at no cost to your employer’s business…!!

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Affinity BUSINESS COACHING

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Affinity BUSINESS COACHING Organisation Chart? …. but I’m a Sole Trader!

by Rob Murphy - CEO of Aspirus Most large organisations have an Organisation Chart. It shows all the functions, or departments, of the organisation. and usually shows the name of the person responsible for that function.

Of course, being a Sole Trader or Small Business, you may not see the need for such a display, because there’s only one or two of you in the business anyway.

That is so true, but don’t forget – the chart shows all the functions, too!

The thing is, these functions exist, regardless of the size of the business.

So, what are all these functions?

Director: The owner/s of the business. Responsible for Business Planning and Monitoring.

Manager: The person in charge of running the business.

Responsible for Policies, Objectives, Communication and Review.

Marketing: Advertising, promotion, sponsorship.

Sales: Customer Liaison, Contracts, Customer Orders.

Purchasing: Supplier Liaison, Contracts, Ordering, Stock Control.

Human Resources: Skills Analysis, Recruitment, Training, Review.

Administration and Finance: Office Routines, Accounts, Payroll, BAS, Annual Returns, Reviews.

Operations: Review.

Deliver Products/Services, Contract

Compliance: Regulation, Legislation, Stakeholders, Customers, Suppliers, Staff, Subcontractors.

Performance: Monitoring, Measuring, Analysing, Reporting, Improving.

This list is a guide, but it pretty much covers all the functions of your business – however small it may be.

The message is: all these functions must be allocated to the people in your business who have the skills to undertake them.

There’s the problem: A sole trader has to wear all these functions – ALONE! You and your business partner (if you have one) just don’t have those skills, but your business must adopt these functions in order to succeed.

To add to the problem: You simply can’t afford to run your business this way – but deep down, you know you can’t afford NOT to.

To further add to the problem: You’ve looked for ways to ‘cover’ all these functions, and it’s all too complicated, difficult to understand, and all to expensive.

I know, there’s a whole lot of help available out there, but it seems like a minefield!

Here’s the solution: A simple, understandable and affordable approach.

Would you like all these functions ‘covered’ in a way that YOU can manage?

Would you like to be shown where you can get advice and support from government agencies? Would you like help to make sure your business is compliant with the relevant authorities? Would you like to KNOW that your business is running the way it should be? Would you like to raise your business to the next level – and beyond?

Do you want to know more? Then give me a call, so we can discuss your unique situation, and how we can bring our solution to you.

Rob Murphy: 0413 087 309, rob@aspirus.com.au

AFFINITY MAGAZINE I’ve been around business circles for many years, and I’m in a position where I can do all this for you. I’m not going to put myself on a pedestal that is simply out of reach for you.Let me conclude with another example of my life and business experiences.

I seem to get involved in bookkeeping, as it seems to be the area most lacking in the businesses I have encountered.

I went to a seminar on how to market my bookkeeping business. One of the principles they pushed was to put our rates up! I didn’t want to hear that, as I know that’s going to hurt a lot of businesses. I let them know how annoyed I was.

By making these essential services unaffordable, it’s leaving the smaller businesses behind, and placing them in that ‘void’ where they need help, but simply cannot get it.

I’m here for those businesses, and I’m here to do what I can to help them succeed.

Now what? The marketing gurus tell me I have to finish with a “Call to Action”.

Well, call it what you will, but here it is: If you think your business can benefit from my help, then give me a call on 0413 087 309, or send a detailed email to rob@aspirus.com.au I’ll schedule a time to call you back so we can have a chat, and see where your business is at, and where it can go. We can work out the cost between us. It really is that simple.

Then we can start to take your business to a whole new level! For more information visit www.aspirus.com.au

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

How to Set Your Association Apart from the Rest Stand Out & Be Noticed…

by Fiona McTaggart - CEO Affinity Alliance As an association, you want to be known as the best.

You want everyone in your industry to think about you as the go-to source for information. You want to be different. To stand alone. To be great.

other associations and see how they compare. Think outside the box here. Don’t just look at associations that are in your industry, look to those that are doing is well and who you’d love to emulate.

What marketing tactics and tools they are using? How can you utilize similar concepts in your marketing strategy? Do some comprehensive research to figure out who your competition is and why they matter.

Everyone has a competitor. Get to know them.

To successfully set your association above the rest, an understanding of your differentiators is key. Those differentiators can be found by defining your target market (which in many cases comes down to the specific industry you serve), competition, niche and position.

What’s Your Niche?

Getting noticed through all the other noise and resources available to your members (and potential members) can be daunting. Prioritizing your marketing efforts will help. To start, ask yourself a few questions:

Who’s Your Target Audience Really?

Once you’ve researched your competition, get a solid understanding on what makes your association stand out. What can you offer that is unique? That no other association is offering? More than likely, you’re doing things differently already; identify what those things are and what sets you about. Then talk about it!

Your target market is not “everyone” and it may not even be everyone in your industry. Think about who you struggle to reach and who you have an easy time reaching. For your association to be successful, who are the most important audiences?

What’s Your Position?

If you struggle with member retention but have no problem with new members, your focus should be on identifying how to communicate with those members who are leaving your organization. If you are full of Baby Boomers but struggle to engage younger generations, your focus needs to be on marketing your association in a way that is appealing to younger members.

Establish who your association is and what you want it to be known for; set your position. What are the essential qualities that set your association apart? Your position should distinguish you from other companies like yours. Your position will be reflected in your brand, but it’s a tool you should use internally.

Be consistent in your messaging

Once you have answered the above questions, spread a consistent message across all your marketing channels. Use your website, print media, social media, video to show your target market who you are.

Repetition of a meaningful message will grab your market’s attention and help build your association’s brand awareness. Be consistent, but don’t be afraid to monitor and tweak the message based on what’s working for you and what’s not.

Identify your top target and some secondary targets for your association and get to know who those people are. These are the people you’re going to need to engage and build relationships with.

Find out what they care about, what’s important to them regarding your industry and your organization, and what makes them tick in general. You need to understand who they are and why they would considering joining your association (or why they are a member already). Narrowing down and understanding your target markets will help you craft better messages that solve your audience’s specific problems and meets their specific needs. This is what will get you noticed.

Who’s Your Competition?

If you want your association to stand out, you need to start with what your members and potential members want and then establish who you are. Understanding your competition, your target market and what makes you unique are the first steps in getting noticed. Building your association’s brand based on market research and self-awareness will help you stand out in the marketplace.

Before you can stand out, you need to know what you’re up against. Take some time to research your

Now, go get ‘em!

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Who Is Your Target Audience?

Who Is Your Competition?

What’s Your Niche?

What’s Your Position?

Be Consistent In Your Messaging

MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

Membership Sales 10 Steps to Membership Sales Success

by Kevin Cahalane - Membership Growth

How to increase member numbers & loyalty…

Do you have a sales force – either internal or in the field?

Many associations (particularly B2B) do … in fact I have worked with sales teams in this industry. Below are the 10 steps to recruiting members – with a high quality membership sales plan.

1. Long term planning – short term preparation (eg weekly objectives/targets) and having a purpose for every call will ensure success.

2. A good salesperson makes it a top priority to build rapport and trust.

3. Question will qualify needs, problems and opportunities – questions will discover needs.

4. D i s c o v e r t h e d o m i n a n t motive – the reason why – this person will join your organisation. I refer to it as their ‘hot button’ and it is all your people need to work on.

5. Make a value based offer – that is the solutions and advantages and benefits they will gain by joining your organisation.

6. Ensure your people are good at delivering a high quality presentation – involve the prospect, focus on their needs.

7. Handle any concerns for a win/win result.

8. Gain commitment – it is not about closing a sale, it is about opening a relationship.

9. Commence a program of member relationship management – work with your key internal people on this task.

10. Seek other opportunities from within this (new) member’s organisation … by excellent relationship management, coupled with data base ‘mining’ (drill wide – drill deep).

If you have a B2B sales force – do you coach and mentor individual team members? If you want to commence or enhance this process, and save yourself time and money – visit: www.membershipgrowth.co m.au/SalesCoachMentor and view some information about the Sales Coach and Mentor program – your key to increasing the performance and results of your sales force…

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Affinity LEGAL NETWORK The Ten Rules you should know to make your clients listen…

by Sue Ella Prodonovich How to Build A Successful Client Listening Program…

Understanding your clients requires a lot more than a feedback form, w r i t e s Sue-Ella Prodonovich.

Formal client feedback programs are a vital part of client listening, not least because they can underscore your firm’s commitment to clients in a very tangible and personal way. But they should never be where your client listening program begins and ends.

Instead, client feedback programs make the most difference when they are just one part of a series of processes that work together to promote an overall culture of continual client listening.

A transactional and relationship-based approach Over the past 20 years, I’ve helped professional service firms gather intelligence about the sentiment of their client base. This includes intelligence about the overall relationship, as well as insights into individual transactions or projects.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

How to Build A Successful Client Listening Program…cont…

My experience has shown me that by establishing a series of listening posts at different stages of a client’s engagement with your firm, you will be better able to pinpoint bottlenecks in your processes, identify small but impactful changes you could make, and monitor any changes in the relationship.

The 10 rules every firm should know about So, along with formal face-to-face client interviews, here are my top 10 rules for gathering valuable client insights at different stages of a client’s relationship with your firm.

Set the tone from the start. Welcome new clients to your firm within the first 30 days of your engagement and let them know you value feedback as part of your continuous learning. You may like to use this opportunity to include or reinforce your ‘client induction’ information.

Interrogate your referrers. Ask referrers of work for any feedback they have from the client they referred to you.

Again, for best effect do this within 30 days of receiving an introduction.

Follow up on cross-sales. When you introduce a client to a new service or practice area within your firm, always call them to find out how things are going.

Get feedback at every milestone. Get feedback on your deliverables, processes, communication and the lessons learned. In my experience these conversations often springboard into opportunities for future work or referrals.

Involve credit control. Accounts payable staff can provide valuable intelligence about your client relationships by detecting any changes in how quickly you’re being paid. Ask them to expand aged debtor reports to include any verbatim comments clients make.

Attack informal events with a formal approach. Casual conversations at client events often reveal great nuggets of information. To give yourself the best chance of getting these, arm all client-facing personnel with a kit of standard questions to ask in informal conversations.

Debrief. Conduct team debriefs the day after client networking or social events. Gather and compare responses to the questions you’ve asked.

Bring out the big guns. Give your managing partner or chairman a list of valuable clients they should also get to know and cultivate. But always ensure they have the intelligence they need to make a valuable contribution to the relationship, including a working knowledge of the client listening processes you’re following. Start by giving them five contacts and prioritise clients whose business has been consistent or growing in past 12 months.

And, if you need help with exactly how to do this effectively, don’t be afraid to ask for outside help.

Swap notes. Ask clients how they source feedback from their customers and what they find most useful. Client feedback programs shouldn’t all be one-way traffic and they probably have some decent insights about their own clients they can share with you.

Don't be tacky. Never attach a f e e d b a c k q u e s t i o n n a i re t o y o u r invoice. EVER.

We’ve all marvelled at the amount of information accessible on the internet, and the speed with which we can compare one item with another.

Nowhere has this access to information been better exploited than in financial services, where you can use websites to make cheap share trades, find the best-priced mortgage and get travel insurance that saves you heaps. But having watched e-commerce become normal, Australians still make the distinction between lowcost convenience transactions, and high-value strategic decisions. For most people there’s still a difference between ease of technology and the need for advice.

But how do you decide whether to buy online rather than use a broker or adviser? One distinction might be size and importance. Australians can search for mortgages online and apply over the phone. However, the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia has found that of the growth in the mortgage market in the year to June 2014, 61 per cent was driven by brokers. That was a 32 per cent increase on the 2013 figure. Clearly, Australians like interaction with an expert when they take on their biggest debt.

The opposite is the case when applying for credit cards and operating bank accounts. These are ‘transactional’ and we’re comfortable to use the internet and call centres to administer our daily banking.

Consumers also transact directly online with their super and their share portfolios. This seems to work best with users who have good knowledge of the options, and understand the choices. However, insurance is another thing. If you’ve been insuring your car for years, a quick price-comparison on the internet at renewal time probably prepares you for buying more insurance over the phone or online.

But many insurances are strategic parts of a person’s life planning, and they need expert advice. Even simple insurance such as home and contents has to be managed so you’re never underinsured, and you aren’t paying for things you don’t need and being excluded from the cover you do need. More than half of retail insurance premiums are written by advisers and brokers, probably because Australians think about insurance once a year and they need someone who thinks about it every day.

The advantage you get with an adviser is obvious in life insurances which include death cover, total permanent disablement (TPD), trauma and income protection. You can buy tax-friendly life policies in your super fund. But when you use an independent adviser, you can buy cover for your own circumstances with tailored inclusions and exclusions.

Life insurance issuers rarely have the best product and premium for more than one product line at a time. They take turns having the best products for TPD or income protection etc. Some insurers are strong in some occupations. An independent adviser knows this – you probably don’t. Luckily, it isn’t a choice between the internet or advice. The trick is to use both, according to their strengths and your needs. What do you favour?

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Affinity HR/IR White Labelled HR Software for Associations & Franchisees

by Workforce Guardian How a business runs today has changed and evolved over time and the way the human resources department manages your company has changed. In general the HR department of any company or business manages employee information, this includes skills, job, history, background and education and without the aid of computers this information was hard to manage.

Thanks to Human resource information system software you now have a programme that is capable of handling all matters of employment and staff.

Workforce Guardian can offer technologically advanced Human resource information system software programmes for any size business. Gone are the days where software like this was run from large centralised main frame computers, the new Human resource information system software can be run from smaller computers making them accessible to everyone.

The payroll system is in place to see that all your employees are paid on time and the correct amount of money, the Human resource information system software collects all the information you need on an employee - overtime, hours worked, days off ensuring each member of staff is paid a correct wage. The Human resource information system software available from Workforce Guardian can also be programmed to track any *benefits* your staff may be entitled too - including life insurance, superannuation etc. Any benefits are an important part of salary packaging and Human resource information system software can keep track of this so staff are paying the right tax and are not over paid or underpaid.

The recruiting aspect of Human resource information system software allows your business to recruit new staff, or to at least take advantage of time to accumulate the resumes of prospective staff if a position becomes available. A lot of online recruitment is now taking place this allows you to sort through prospective employees without the need for days and days of face to face interviews.

For all your Human resource information system software needs contact Workforce Guardian today, they have a range of solutions for your business including management, support and training.

Affinity REAL ESTATE

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WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR MONTHLY EMAGAZINE? CALL 1300 793 044 OR EMAIL US TODAY FOR A MEDIA KIT

Affinity TRAVEL

Save up to 70% off by booking with Affinity Travelâ&#x20AC;Ś Here are some of our valued partners.

Call 1300 793 044 https://travel.affinityallianceco.com.au/

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Australians are Living Longer & Seniors Love to travel…

Lars Halvorsen - Seniors Holiday Travel In the year 2020 Australia’s population will be heading toward 25 million. The median age will be almost 40. In 1980 the median age was just 29.

There will be as many people aged 60-70 as there will be aged 10-20.

In 2020 there will be more people aged 50 (338,081) than any other age, reflecting the baby boom and migration boom of those born in 1970-71. Life expectancy at birth will exceed 84 years, and more than 1 in 5 people will be aged over 60.

One of the passions of Seniors is travel and it is no surprise that the Seniors Holiday Travel Club is Australia’s favourite and only “Senior’s Friendly” Travel company, with FREE MEMBERSHIP and free incentives for Senior travel enthusiasts.

Robert Louis Stevenson said “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake.”

Seniors Holiday Travel was founded by CEO Mr. Perry Morcombe. “We know and understand that many seniors are not as confident about travelling overseas and this is why we offer so many choices in fully escorted tours and cruises. In many cases the actual staff member who books you on your holiday actually joins you on your holiday” said Mr. Morcombe.

There are many unique points of difference offered including additional special discounts for seniors with travel insurance. For a holiday, a tour or a cruise – any form of travel in Australia or the world, the club ensures peace of mind for Australia’s senior citizens.

Seniors Holiday Travel specialises in escorted tours and cruises and has a wonderful team of extremely knowledgeable and very helpful travel professionals who have been there and done that so as to ensure you do not experience any unpleasant travel experiences.

For more information about Seniors Holiday Travel, visit www.SeniorsHolidayTravel.com.au or free call 1800 300 999 and become a member – its FREE to join! Email enquiries@seniorsholidaytravel.com.au Research data courtesy – Mark McCrindle “Baby Boomers currently comprise 25% of the population yet they own 55% of the nation’s private wealth”

AFFINITY TRAVEL Have baggage - will travel? Longing for an overseas trip or just simply a weekend getaway interstate or planning a honeymoon? With Affinity Travel, you have your very own concierge who will handle all the details and all you need to do is sit back and relax. We take the stress out of holiday planning and all while saving you up to 70% on flights, accommodation, airport lounges and car hireâ&#x20AC;Ś.

What are you waiting for? Use your Affinity Alliance membership today and get on your way! Call 1300 793 044 for details.

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Experience something special on your next car purchase.

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AustrAlAsiAn VEHIclE BUYING SERVIcES

Call 1300 76 49 49 or visit www.avbs.com.au Personalised Service

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This is a free member service endorsed by your association and is available on all makes and models TDAVBS0001

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DISCOVER SOME OF THE FUN STUFF Great discounts on holidays, flights, accommodation & car hire.

Theme Parks, Adventure Experiences, Adrenalin Sports

Love Dining Out? Choose from a wide range of participating restaurants and save.

Save up to 70% on your travel needs with your very own concierge.

Save up to 25% on various FUN activities through Affinity Alliance.

From 10-50% off at participating restaurants across Oz.

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Affinity COMMUNICATIONS

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Affinity Communications Building an effective Membership Website

by Lauren Perrow Creative Ground When you start any new business you should always write a business plan. A business plan will help you determine what type of technology you need, what niche you want to target, what products and services you’ll offer your membership and exactly how you plan to deliver it and market it.

Without a business plan, you’re just shooting in the dark and you’re probably going to miss.

Your business plan can be just one page and should include: 1. Describe the audience you want to reach – Write a sentence or two that describes your audience. Per haps create a persona of the person you want to reach so that you know who to direct all your marketing material toward.

2. Describe the problems your membership solves – What problems will you solve for your target audience? Be very clear; in one or two sentences write out what problems you solve for the persona you created above.

3. List your top two or three competitors – It’s important that you look into who you’re competing with. Find them, and list them. Explain why they’re competitors and why you’re different/better.

4. List the products, services and price points you will offer – This is really your product funnel. If you can draw a picture of your product funnel and how you’ll pull people into your funnel, describe how you will eventually get them to join your membership, what you plan to charge, and what will keep them there, you’ve got it made.

5. Describe how you will market your membership site – Use the information above to describe exactly how you will market your membership site. List your marketing budget in dollars.

6 . D e s c r i b e w h o w i l l c re a t e products and provide services – If it’s all you, say so, and describe your qualifications. If you will outsource, describe who and in both cases write down the cost of creating products and performing services.

7. List your expenses – Outside of product creation you’ll need to list all your expenses. Don’t forget rent, technology, online and offline expenses that you will have every month in your business.

8. Get real with the numbers – Describe exactly what constitutes success with your membership site.

How many members do you need to break even; how many members do you need to make a profit?

9. Put your plan in writing – Finalize your plan and put it in writing. This will give you an easy document to look at as you’re moving forward with your membership site development, marketing, and servicing.

Even a one-page business plan can help you make a success of your membership site. Don’t just jump into any new business idea without studying all the factors that go into a business plan. It doesn’t mean you have to write it in a 20page report. You can write it down on only one page and be successful.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

5 Ways to convert website visitors into customers

by Brett Hall - Wizids Do you know how many visitors your website gets each week or month? What about how many of those visitors take up an offer or make an enquiry? If there's a big difference between the two it means people aren't engaging with your business.

To help, here are five ways to convert your website visitors into customers.

1. Provide an offer and incentive Start by offering visitors to your website a incentive for interacting with you. Instead of just asking for an email address to sign up for your newsletter, reward your website visitors with something they want. It could be a small gift voucher, eBook, checklist or report on a topic they are really interested in.

Potential customers will always ask "what's in it for me?" so be very clear and relevant with your offer and incentive.

2. Get to know them better A key element in converting your leads is to get to know your audience. To do this, look at the customers you have already served and those who you want to target and ask yourself questions like •

Where do they live?

•

What is their industry or occupation?

•

What is their lifestyle?

•

What are their buying habits?

•

What do they want and need from my products and services?

•

What are the frustrations and problems my products or services can solve?

Not sure on some of the questions? Ask! Do up a survey for your database and offer a prize or gift voucher as an incentive to fill it in.

If you send out regular newsletters (and you should be sending regular newsletters) mix up your content and promotions and monitor the open rates and clicks to get a feel for what your customers and prospects are most interested in.

By understanding your customers and prospects and what they want, you can adapt your products, services, marketing

messages, offers and incentives to appeal more to your target audience and ultimately increase conversions.

3. Answer all their questions up front The quickest and easiest way to answer the questions your visitors will ask is to provide the classic Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page. Think about all of the questions you have received in the past from potential and current customers what are some of the things they have asked about the most?

What objections have they had that have got in the way of them making a purchase decision? The more you can address these in your FAQ's or better yet through your website copy, the easier it will be to convert.

4. Speed up return contact The faster you can return contact with a lead, the more likely it is that they will convert to a sale. This is because your web visitors are actively seeking information about your business, products and services, their thoughts and needs are focused and they are keenly searching for solutions. The sooner you can present your business as the answer to their needs, the greater your opportunity to convert them into customers.

5. Use Google Remarketing and AdWords Remarketing allows you to continue to market to your target audience after they have left your website. Your advertisements or videos (depending on how you are using remarketing) are shown to your website visitors while they continue to search the internet.

Whatever pages and websites they click to, your brand and your messages show up to keep your business front of mind. Having a captured audience, you can use your advertisements to entice those visitors back to your site for a 'second chance' where they can take up an offer or make an enquiry.

For more information about converting your website visitors into customers, contact us at Wizids today.

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Affinity LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENT

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Affinity DINING Choose from over 6000 Restaurants across Australia & New Zealand….

Some exciting news…

The exciting news is only the beginning, with the continued growth of our Dining & Wining Directory, Affinity Alliance is certainly expanding in leaps and bounds.

Adding up to 6000 more restaurants to our Dining Directory Thanks to our dedicated team members, Affinity Alliance has been able to offer our members more value for money than we could ever imagine.

The new Dining & Wining Directory is available in your Generic Member Directory or to view via your allocated login details.

With so many additions, it has been a work in progress, but we know you’re going to love it!

About the Dining Directory Restaurants, Cafes and Bistros from all over Australia & NZ have become involved in what we can only describe as colossal. It has been a huge work in progress but

we can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Members will be able to show their Affinity Alliance Membership Card or Virtual card at participating restaurants and venues to receive their discounted offer. The online directory will make it easier for members to search state by state and dine at their favourite little bistro, cafe or fine dining venue.

Become Involved If you own a restaurant or venue and you feel that this is an opportunity not to be missed, then you would be right. The Affinity

We will even set up your webpage and directory page if required.

Not only will you receive a full page in the AA Dining & Wining Directory, you will also receive a full page on the Affinity Alliance website www.affinityallianceco.com.au and regular monthly advertisements in our Affinity EMAG and infinite exposure to our 500,000 strong member database.

This is a FREE offer and one that is too good to refuse, so best you get in early as submissions will be closing at the end of April 2014.

“Add your Restaurant to our Dining Directory and get more exposure” Alliance team is awaiting your submission. The requirements are simple and the return is great.

There is no cost involved. All that we ask is that you can offer an exclusive discount/benefit or service to our members upon dining at your venue. It really is that simple.

For more information on how you can become a part of the Affinity Alliance Dining & Wining Directory, Contact our head office on

1300 793 044 or email your request to admin@affinityallianceco.com.au and we will email you the requirements.

Affinity NETWORKING

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How to Convert More visitors into customers Vanessa Rothwell from Your Online Success

How to Convert?

quote” in bold? It needs to be obvious whatever it is you want them to do.

So you’ve built your website and it looks beautiful, you absolutely love it. The colours and images look great, the site has all the information you want on there.

3.What is the conversation in their head?

You’ve also poured some money into getting people to the site – whether you’ve done some search engine optimisation, some google ads, or advertised on facebook or other social media channels.

People are starting to come to your website in droves, but alas! They are not taking any action! They are not signing up to your newsletter, calling your business or buying your product so what do you do?

The problem here is your conversion.

What is Conversion?

Conversion is “the percentage of customers that take a desired action”. So how do we fix our website that we love so much, in order to get more of our visitors turning into customers?

We need to get into the visitors mind and ensure the website matches their expectations and desires.

You need to enter into the conversation in their head and be answering any questions they are thinking right on the page. If they are not taking action, it is likely because they don’t trust you yet or they don’t see all the information they want to know.

For Example: Say, you are asking them to sign up to a newsletter. If the text just says “sign up to my newsletter” they may be thinking “I already get a lot of emails, what information are you sending? How often does it come? “ Instead if you had text that says “Each month you will receive 3 free tax-saving tips from a former ATO auditor that will help you reduce your tax by 35%” the visitor has all their questions answered, including how often they will be emailed, what they will receive and some credibility about the information they will be sen. So they will then be thinking “that’s sounds great, I think I’ll sign up!”

Think about

So in summary, when looking at the information you have on your website, you need to think about these 3 things.

1.How did they get to your site?

1.Who am I trying to persuade?

What was the thing they saw before they went to your website – does what they see on your website match their expectations? Are they finding what they are looking for?

2.What action am I trying to persuade them to take?

For Example: If they were looking at a Google ad that says learn some tax tips to save you tax, and when they get to the site, they only see information about your accountancy firm, a phone number and a signup to your newsletter, then their expectations have not been matched and they will likely click away.

3.What do they need to experience to feel comfortable taking that action?

If you have these 3 things on the page answered, you are going to get more people taking your desired action.

2.What is it you want them to do?

*Special Offer: Affinity Alliance members get 60% off our 7-Day conversion review, Get yours for only $99 (Normally $249) for an intensive analysis to find out what’s really going on with your website.

What’s your main call to action on the page? Does it stand out and match what they want?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For Example: If you have a few paragraphs of text talking about your services, do you have a call to action telling them how to find out more about your services such as “Call us now for a No-Obligation Free

Vanessa Rothwell is the director of Your Online Success, who will help you turn your billboard website into a cash-flow machine.

Find out more at www.youronlinesuccess.com.au

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Affinity Alliance remains dedicated to its members in providing the best there is in exclusive benefits and services across a wide range of Industries. If you feel that your business or company can offer our members an exclusive benefit and you want to be added to our long list of professionals and receive FREE advertising to our complete database, contact our HEAD OFFICE today 1300 793 044 Building our Provider List Our capability to deliver high quality, tailored and customised benefit programs with dedicated and personalised service, sets us apart.

We appreciate that organisations today need to be flexible, innovative and affordable without compromising quality and value.

Who do we serve?

Affinity Alliances has been built on strong values of innovation and integrity. We pride ourselves on delivering the highest levels of service for our people. We work hard to establish strong relationships with our clients and members by undertaking regular surveys and feedback reviews.

Our member base is made up of professionals across a wide range of industries such as Architecture & Engineering, Medical and Dental, Finance, Information Technology, to name just a few.

What are the Benefits of an AA Provider

• Affinity Alliance invests in the marketing of your service via an integrated communications and marketing strategy.

To maintain our quality standards and to deliver sustainable benefits, we enter into supplier Agreements will all of our partners.

If you would like a copy of our Partner Agreement, please contact Head office on

1300 793 044 or email

admin@affinityallianceco.com.au

This Agreement outlines a differentiated offer (must be national and preferably in New Zealand too); which represents a genuine benefit for our members when compared with an equivalent public offer, and any other service, marketing or management information.

Click on the link below to view the requirements of becoming an Affinity Alliance provider.

• Expose your brand to our market • Increased traffic to your business through Affinity Alliance channels • Introduce your business to our stakeholder network • Access our fast growing member base • Your product information is promoted and marketed on Affinity Alliance’s website - saving you time and money • Increased number of sales, and in turn, revenue for your business • Brand recognition by association with our existing partners

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

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Affinity SHOPPER

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There  is  enough  dye  in  this  kit  to  dye  3-­15  items  (depending  on  their  size).  Up-­cycle  your  favourite  clothes  and  give  them  a  fun  new  look.

T-­shirts  available  -­  size  from  Youth  XS  to  Adult  5XL  are  available Pillow  cases,  Kids  and  Adult  Aprons,  tea  towels  &  various  bags.

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1  -­  Facilitiates  communication  &  co-­operation 2  -­  Develops  creative  problem  solving  skills 3  -­  Enhances  your  childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  learning  skills 4  -­  Improves  co-­ordination  &  attention 5  -­  Engages  attention  &  builds  self  esteem 6  -­  Create  a  useable  piece  of  unique  art

stripes

MagicStarfishTieDye Magicstarfish  MagicStarfishTieDye

Usually  $65 Affinity  Alliance  Members  save  $15 code  AAJULY15 in  checkout www.magicstarfish.com.au

look  under  Tie  Dye  kits

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

AFFINITY SHOPPER Big Brands, Low Prices…

As you are all abundantly aware, Affinity Shopper is going gangbusters with traffic and sales.

Our members are shopping up an absolute stor m on a host of everyday and specialty items. The best part about it is everything is up to 70% off! Non-members can shop as well, so don’t be shy to visit our site, but in addition to the great savings, members get to enjoy additional rewards points which go towards their next spend, so there is even more to celebrate.

So dust off that wallet, prepare your credit card and go shopping.

If you missed it, the new site is of course aptly named www.affinityshopper.net.au and as previously mentioned, will save you bucket loads on everyday items as well as specialty goods. Take a trip down Affinity Shopping Lane today and see what bargains you can grab. Don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook so you can keep updated on daily specials…

Save up to 70% on well known brands and retailers across a huge range of categories including: • Fashion • Health & Beauty • Home & Outdoor • Pet Products • Printer Cartridges • Technology • Toys • Wine & Drink Accessories

START SHOPPING NOW www.affinityshopper.net.au

PHONE 1300 793 044

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

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WE A WO RE MA ODE K N P ERS O DOG F ET P ROD HIGH BIRD BEDS, QU UC CAT TREE TS, SU ALITY R A B PL AY ST B S CH AS C A B I T H U T ANDS, , NEST C B I BRO N E T S , H E S A GUINEA OXES, ODE N PA R RS. R O T D B R E E PIG/ DIN & P G OU LT RY •We a AFF •We re the m IN anuf only DISC IT Y ALLI actur •We use p AN C OUN er ca et sa EM P RO T OF fe m as lo n make EM DUC F AL ateri anyt ng a TS, I L AN BERS R als hing •We s it is N ECE IMA for ca CLU m PRES IVE LW DIN idea n make ade from any ani E A 10 N O G T s into our d O m S Y w U a % D ALE OUR l ood PON WO esign a rea I R T A E O X s F MS… lity RDE F or tu RIN G INIT Y A rn yo L ur .

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Affinity HEALTH & WELLBEING

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Up to A first in the hearing health market!

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The complete hearing health package

A combination of affordable repayments for the latest hearing health technology through SmartPay and the additional benefits of our Protection Plan and Maintenance Package*.

The simple choice to get back to living life at full volume with peace of mind.

SmartPay Payment Plan

Protection Plan

> The latest technology available for a simple low monthly repayment > 36 month payment term available > Allowing you to be fitted with the latest hearing technology of a higher value that might otherwise have been out of reach. > At the end of the term simply return your devices with no further obligation and get connected with the latest hearing technology.

> Covers all Bay Audio - Hearing Experts fitted devices up to 3 years from original fitting > Provides automatic peace of mind for your hearing technology investment from the moment you walk out of the store > Offers unlimited claims for customers.

*Conditions apply, for selected devices only, see in store for details.

**Please see in store for maintenance services covered.

The complete hearing health package

Maintenance Package

> Includes everyday maintenance required for your devices** i.e. tube replacement and wax removal > Free batteries for the life of the plan.

PROTECTION PLAN

REE ATTERIE & MAINTENANCE

Exclusive Anytime Fitness Corporate Offer

Join now and receive our Welcome Pack (valued at $95*) with the

50% OFF JOINING FEE*

Plus $59.50 monthly fee* 1. Join our secure payment portal https://secure11.clubwise.com.au/afcorporatewellness/pos.asp 2. Enter your unique code: AFAAWP1 For more information, please go to page 2 of this flyer.

feel something better â&#x201E;˘ *The Welcome Pack will contain some, but not all, of the items displayed above to the minimum value of $95 RRP. Not valid with any other offers, not redeemable for cash. Not transferrable. While stocks last. Price of an individual 12 month membership is $714 plus $59.95 for Gym access key and $45 joining fee (usual cost is $99), total cost $818.95. The terms of the Anytime Fitness Membership Agreement also apply.

Please expect your Gym access key and Welcome Pack at your business address 3-5 business days after successful online registration. Billing will start 5 days after. Offer expires 11/11/15.

SMOKING

BE A NONSMOKER AND FEEL THE BENEFITS BupA. FIND A HEALTHIER yOu

Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps you can take towards better health and wellness.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

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Affinity Health With the launch of our new “Affinity Health” Magazine in June, we are super excited to be able to put together some amazing diet & exercise tips & tricks, articles & recipes, etc to help you achieve your health goals.

We are extremely lucky to have the following organisations on board that will be writing for us on a regular basis, covering various topics from serious health issues to how to sustain a healthy diet and lifestyle without compromising all of the good stuff…

Each month, we will focus on what our readers have asked for and if you have a suggestion for some of the topics that you are interested in, then please send us an email to topics@affinitymagazine.com.au or jump on to the Affinity Magazine website and submit your suggestions. We would love to hear from you. www.affinitymagazine.com.au

Lung Foundation Australia The Australian Hand Therapy Association Cosmetic Tattoo Association Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists Rural Doctors Association Qld General Surgeons Australia Isogenix Bay Audio OPSM

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

6 Reasons Why You’re Always Tired LACK OF SLEEP isn't the only thing sapping your energy. Little things you do (and don't do) can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

YOU SKIP EXERCISE WHEN YOU’RE TIRED Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energized after six weeks. Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you're tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won't regret it.

YOU DON”T DRINK ENOUGH WATER Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss— takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs.

To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.

YOU’RE NOT CONSUMING ENOUGH IRON An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. "It makes you tired because less oxygen travels to the muscles and cells," says Goodson. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs (including the yolk), dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together), suggests Goodson. Note: an iron deficiency may be due to an underlying health problem, so if you're experiencing these symptoms of iron deficiency, you should visit your doc.

YOU’RE A PERFECTIONIST Striving to be perfect—which, let's face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary, says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. "You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of selfsatisfaction." Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you'll realize that the extra time you were taking wasn't actually improving your work.

YOU MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS If you assume that you're about to get fired when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting, or you're too afraid to ride your bike because you worry you'll get into an accident, then you're guilty of "catastrophizing," or expecting that the worst-case scenario will always occur. This anxiety can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine. When you catch yourself having these thoughts, take a deep breath and ask yourself how likely it is that the worst really will happen. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.

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MBC Cosmetic Tattoo MBC Cosmetic Tattoo are your #1 distributors of Nouveau Contour and Bio Touch machines and products within Australia & New Zealand.

MBC have been supplying machines, pigments, accessories and OH & S products to Cosmetic Tattoo Colleges, Teachers and Per manent Makeup Technicians Australia wide for over 20 years.

Expected time for deliveries is 1-2 business days within Australia. Tasmania & NZ please allow extra time. A flat rate of $20 is charged within Australia with additional costs to Tasmania & NZ. Jannifer or Rona can assist you with any inquiry concerning training or the purchase of machines and products.

You can depend on us for all your semi permanent cosmetic tattooing supplies.

Visit our shop on line or call us direct on

1800 007 191

.

Ask us for our Free information pack including tote bag and Welcome Gift Voucher saving you $100. e:| info@mbccosmetictattoo.com.au w:| www.mbccosmetictattoo.com.au

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER WITH WILL ANTHONY…

3 COURSE DINNER WITH DRINKS & THE CHANCE TO CHAT WITH WILL IN PERSON HAVE YOUR PHOTO TAKEN WITH YOUR CERTIFICATES & THE WINNERS OF THE ROSLYN NORRIS AWARDS WILL ALSO BE ANNOUNCED…

$80 Members - $110 Non Members

WHAT A GREAT WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING WITH INSPIRED COLLEAGUES IN YOUR PROFESSION!

Phone 1300 793 044 www.affinityallianceco.com.au