Affinity EMAG Sept 2015 Edition

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Read all about Mark Bouris’ latest Challenger product GURU New kid on the Block AICA is set to pave the way for Clubs & Associations and quickly become the next industry leader…

Issue 26 - October 2015

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

What’s In store for you this month…

Editors Letter

5

COVER STORY - Mark Bouris shares his new project 6 Association Spotlight - “AICA”

8

Affinity PROFESSIONAL

13

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

22 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

Editors Letter

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.

you all the access you need to a miriad of fantastic offers.

6weeks til Christmas Everyone!!!

Just in case you weren’t aware and were hiding under a rock and not visiting any of the retail outlets… or you have a very good reason for staying home and not watching television, have no internet access or listening to a radio, it would definitely be hard to miss…

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

• Lunchalot

This would have to be without a doubt the busiest time of year for everyone I would think and Affinity Alliance is no exception, but just remember amidst all the madness, to try and take a moment and soak in the ever-present atmosphere that goes along with this time of year. I personally love it, and am just a big kid at heart but it really is a special time where we can reflect and be grateful for our blessings.

Just a reminder to all our members and non-members, Affinity Alliance is the only benefits program in Australia & N Z with its own designated T r a v e l Concierge service. Your members simply call our CUSTOMER S E RV I C E TEAM o n 1300 793 0 4 4 a n d 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?

Check out our new website and see the difference for yourself. Visit www.affinityallianceco.com.au Also new on the block in the last couple of months is our Affinity Fundraising program which is aimed to assist with many different charities, NFP’s and schools. Check out our webpage for participating organisations and see how you as an organisation and individual can help in our fight to raise valuable funds for much deserving charities.

NEW KIDS ON THE AA BLOCK A BIG WELCOME TO OUR N E W E S T

ORGANISATIONS! •S u p e r v i s o r s & Managers Association • ClassCover • REWARD YOU • SHOUTAMATE If you belong to one of these fantastic organisations, be sure to keep on the lookout for your new Affinity members card which gives

NEW PROVIDERS • Bellabox

• Telegate • Wordstorm • Automates • OMC Group • Send Out Cards Thank you to all of our providers who have offered fantastic exclusive benefits for our members, we could not do it without you.

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

ASSOCIATION SPOTLIGHT

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Australian Institute of Clubs & Associations There's a new organisation in town & they are committed to making a change…

by Trevor Le Breton - AICA CEO With Associations & Clubs quickly on the rise, the need for governance, training, policies and procedures is ever increasing.

With that in mind, the Australian Institute of Clubs & Associations was born.

Having launched its website in early September this year, the Institute has quickly realised that the need for a “one stop shop” for Associations & Clubs was a demand, that until now, had not been met.

AICA, as it will be referred to has researched the market and found the gaps where one organisation may fit the bill, another may not and so on and so forth. Then the question remained, why could not all of the requirements of an Association or Club be fulfilled within the one organisation? Now thanks to our dedicated partners, it can!

AICA offers not only the governance, consulting, board training and revenue streaming, but also offers many platforms that can be easily integrated into the clubs existing website, giving them more control over finances, databases, marketing and communication and assisting with the necessary efficiencies that were previously lacking.

CEO, Trevor LeBreton, says that “we feel that the clubs & associations were screaming out for additional guidance and training… AICA is aiming to continue to

value add to its membership and keep the costs of membership down to make it more accessible.

Members can choose their own modules and build upon that as required or alternatively, they can select the membership tier that best suits their requirements with the option to add additional modules at any time.”

We have made the programs and platforms accessible to all according to their organisations requirements and more importantly, financial status.

For example, with the new AICA Recruit Platform, Clubs & Associations have the ability to search specifically for the ideal candidate for their vacant positions. AICA Recruit was built to accommodate specific industries to save the time of wading through countless resumes and it gives candidates the option to search for industry specific positions.

Thanks to our partners at Board Effects, members will have access to varying levels of management tools which will guide them through how to effectively manage their board, store meeting minutes, distribute sensitive documents and so much more. This tool simply plugs into your existing website and has unlimited features that are designed to make the day to day running of a board and association/club run a lot smoother. Who doesn’t want that.

To Highlight some of our services, please see the list below or alternatively visit the AICA Website www.aica.com.au

SERVICES INCLUDED IN MEMBERSHIP OR SOLD AS INDIVIDUAL MODULES ‣AICA Print & Procurement ‣AICA Recruit | Job Board ‣Board Effect Software ‣Club & Association Management ‣Consultancy Services ‣Event Management ‣Governance ‣Human Resources ‣Learning Management System ‣Membership Management ‣Revenue Streaming Modules ‣Software Solutions ‣Website Design & Content Management System ‣Training & Certification (optional) ‣Sponsorship Program ‣Webinar Platform & Presentations ‣AICA Journal For further information on AICA services or TO JOIN, visit www.aica.com.au or call 1300 793 172

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS

PH: 1300 793 172 WWW.AICA.COM.AU

JOIN AICA THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS PTY LTD

THE FUTURE OF CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS IS HERE… AICA IS PAVING THE WAY FOR ORGANISATIONS TO PROSPER WE HAVE LAUNCHED OUR SITE! VISIT WWW.AICA.COM.AU TIME TO OPEN YOUR EYES TO SOME NEW IDEAS & STRATEGIES

Association Management

Job Listings

Governance & Consultancy

Revenue Streams

Benefit from infrastructure similar to that of a large organisation and watch the outcome.

Search & list your job requirements and gain exclusive access to fully qualified candidates for your organisation.

We understand that no two clubs/associations are the same. A strategic plan is based on your needs.

The AICA revenue modules allow you to focus on retention & engagement whilst improving performance.

WE SIMPLY LISTENED TO YOUR BRIGHT IDEAS & TRANSLATED THEM INTO A FULLY FUNCTIONING ORGANISATION… IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!

The mission of the Australian Institute of Clubs & Associations is ‘bringing these entities together to boost performance & produce tangible outcomes’. We are the only organisation assisting Clubs, Associations and Charities in governance, operations, membership and finances.

Tailored Advice, Governed Resources & Open Minds… The Possibilities are endless. JOIN TODAY! Outsourcing your membership services is a proven and viable solution to help your association to reduce costs, improve efficiencies, decrease cycle times and support strategic initiatives. Benefit from infrastructure similar to that of a large organisation supporting your association. We can offer all or a selection of the services from our extensive range on offer. Whatever your needs, let AICA tailor a package to suit you and help you meet your organisation’s strategic goals. Visit www.aica.com.au for more details or CALL 1300 793 172 TODAY

Affinity PROFESSIONAL

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Introducing Guru Your Money Expert

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Book your obligation free Guru experience today, Visit: ybr.com.au/guru Financial planning services are provided by Authorised Representatives of Yellow Brick Road Wealth Management Pty Limited ACN 128 650 037, AFSL 323825.

Top Levers to control your financial future

by Mark Bouris- Yellow Brick Road When thinking about where you are today and where you want to be - many Australians don’t know where to start in growing their wealth to secure their financial future. Paying down debts, building investments and making adequate preparations for retirement are some of the key building blocks.This raises the inevitable question: how much should I save by retirement age?

The number generally quoted for the average Australian couple wanting to enjoy a normal standard of retirement, is one million. That’s how much you need so that if you earn a conservative amount on your savings, you can pay yourself enough to live on.

One million dollars seems huge. It’s also an estimate, taking into account every Australian, with assumptions built into it about inflation, your investments’ earnings, how long you work and what age you live to.

So don’t be intimidated by one millions dollars.

Understand that superannuation doesn’t just hinge on very large, far-off goals. Future savings and building wealth now are also dependent on small things under your own control right now.

Want to secure a bright financial future for yourself and your family? Here’s five levers that allow you to take control: •Spend less now: all retirement savings calculators factor your current household budget. Look at this closely: if you reduce your annual expenses from say $40,000 to $35,000, you save around $100 per week. Consider the impact of putting this into your super for 20 years.

•Spend less later: If you reduce your retirement living standards slightly – because you’re retiring later or you’ll live in a cheaper area – consider

how much you now need in super to reach your savings goal.

•Make my money work harder: is the money you put into super earning what it should? Inflation reduces the spending power of your savings by between 2 and 3 per cent each year. If all your savings are in cash, then you’re not getting ahead under today’s conditions. But if you invest in growth assets such as equities for at least 10 years, you can weather share market volatility and still make an average 7-8 per cent. If you acknowledge that you’ll live for more than 20 years after retirement, you are a long-tern investor and your super should be weighted to long-term/ high-return equities.

•Make my money work smarter: in private investments, earnings are taxed at your top marginal income tax rate. But superannuation earnings are taxed at 15 per cent and drawdowns at zero. This also goes for retirement products such as pension accounts and annuities.

When your investments sit inside super, they go further.

•Work longer: use the ‘retirement age’ variation on a retirement calculator to see how you improve your position by working for extra years.

Be aware that ‘transition to retirement’ rules allow for a certain amount of part-time work while also drawing-down some super. Take advice on this – as you must do within the rules.

Saving enough for your future shouldn’t cause fear about the size of the task, or complacency. Be informed and take control of those things you can control. And if you’re struggling, get expert advice.

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AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Taking Action on Trade Credit Difficulties

by Adam Pile from Your Risk Adviser The manufacturing industry has taken a downturn but this has not taken the credit insurance industry by surprise.

In fact, business owners are warned that the tough times could bring on more trade credit difficulties.

When clients start reporting problems collecting from debtors, needing to extend credit by another 5 to 10 days, warning signs become indicative.

Some companies have started to use their suppliers like banks and this poses a problem with businesses’ cash flow.

Trade credit receivables are a company’s most important liquid asset but most business owners fail to adequately protect their businesses from bad debt.

A business has insurance for its building but may not have insurance for bad debt, even though there is a higher risk for debtor default compared to a building being hit by a fire.

Alarming Trends The rising delinquencies has set off a state of nervousness as indicated by an equal rise in claims even though the trade credit insurance industry has done all it could to keep premiums at reasonable rates.

The primary objective of trade credit insurance is to protect against debtor default but it is also a good research tool as clients can also use the data base to identify possible domestic and international risks they mace be facing.

Companies are starting to make adjustments with the expected decrease in income over the next

year and are hiring fewer people.

C o n s t r u c t i o n c o m p a n i e s a re reporting fewer jobs in their books.

Job losses are also trickling down to small businesses and the retail sector where some people have been placed on a 4-day a week schedule.

The export, media, retail, transportation, and construction industries, along with wine exporters, are the most frequent buyers of trade credit insurance as they are closely identified with global factors such as recession in the United States and debt crises in European markets.

Trade credit insurance is a way of protecting profits as well as a means of decreasing bad debt provisions.

Banks are more likely to provide additional funds to companies with adequate security against debtors due to credit insurance policies.

Significant Benefits of Trade Credit Insurance Trade insurance is highly specialised, with only a few insurers working with this sector.

Trade credit is required by banks for exporting companies but it is also a valuable tool for research into foreign markets and potential foreign clients.

Insurance companies are able to gather significant infor mation about potential buyers from their underwriters who actually work in these foreign countries.

Businesses can call their insurance companies to inquire about a potential buyer before shipping out orders to reduce their risks.

Small and medium sized businesses

have been known to take advantage of this service from their insurance.

While one SME may not have the resources to get adequate intelligence about their customers, their insurance company may have several of their clients servicing that buyer and would be able to get the needed information. The insurer becomes a member of the business’ credit team, looking into possible risks almost daily, to protect the customer’s receivables portfolio.

Credit insurers also provide valuable advice regarding business practices to their clients and even provide assistance with debt collection from foreign debtors.

Some insurance companies even pay for debt collection and manage the debt’s life cycle. In essence, all measures are taken to resolve debt collection problems before payment of a claim is done.

Businesses need to prioritise protection against bad debt when positioning the business against all potential risks. If a business owner fails to watch his clients, he may just get the surprise of his life one day and suddenly find himself facing insolvency.

Your Risk Adviser are insurance experts, assisting both businesses and individuals to address their insurance needs. For your cost and obligation free consultation please contact 1300 815 344 to see how our staff can help. Your Risk Adviser is an authorised representative of NAS Insurance Brokers AFS Licence No.233750 GENERAL ADVICE WARNING - This article contains general information only. It does not take into account any of your personal circumstances, objectives, financial situation or needs. Please consider the appropriateness of the information in light of your personal circumstances and seek proper advice prior to acting on this information.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Affinity HR/IR 7 Reasons Why Performance Review Systems Fail

by Sharon Collitt from Employment Tool Kits Have you ever heard the saying ‘employees are your best asset’, me too! So why do managers struggle to get the best return on investment from their employees, causing anxiety and frustration? This often results in employers screaming, ‘employees are my worst nightmare’. Sharon Collitt, HR Consultant, explains how you can use per for mance reviews to motivate employees and improve their productivity.

recent performance, rather than total performance over the full course of the year. The results of infrequent reviews can skew individuals’ review results. For example, employees who display their best behavior around review time attract favorable ratings, and the employees who have had a bad couple of weeks suffer sub-par results.

This may not be an accurate reflection of overall employee performance.

This article is not designed to scare employers away from using performance review systems to effectively manage their talent, but to highlight why this is such a critical element to managing employees effectively to ensure that the business is able to meet its performance targets.

Having review discussions when there is an employee issue. When per formance reviews are only scheduled at times when an employee is not meeting performance expectations, the manager has ‘had enough’, complaints are received from colleagues or customers, or a company needs to terminate the employee.

Lets go through the top 7 reasons why performance reviews often fail and how you can learn from them…

When an employee takes offence to constructive criticism. Although delivering both positive and negative feedback is part of being an effective manager, there can be instances where noncomplimentary feedback or disciplinary action is viewed by the employee as offensive, and, in extreme cases bullying.

By only having review discussions once a year This can lead to managers basing feedback solely on most

This discussion should be treated as a diminished performance discussion and not an annual review discussion.

When performance reviews are ‘sprung’ on the employee.

Employees should be encouraged to prepare for their review conversations with their manager to ensure a two-way discussion…

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

To tick the box When a manager tells an employee they are conducting the review purely because “HR told me to� and display little or no enthusiasm for the process.

Identifying problems that affect job per formance (either employee related or organisation related) and devising remedial action.

Not following your own company policy When per for mance reviews are scheduled for all staff on an annual basis, but this policy is not enforced i.e. some employees are reviewed and others are not. The employees who are reviewed might feel singled out and the nonreviewed employees may feel ignored.

consequences become serious.

If your policy is to hold reviews with employees then you need to do as you say or your employees will loose faith and trust.

Providing infor mation for decisions surrounding remuneration and rewards.

Improving the relationship between manager and employee by bringing them together to discuss work issues in a non-threatening environment.

are critical and, in most cases, expected by employees.

Therefore getting it right in the first place will go a long way to achieving your company goals and having a highly motivated and productive workforce.

Obtaining feedback to improve job design, allocation N o t t r a i n i n g m a n a g e r s of resources, work scheduling, effectively When supervisors etc. and managers have never M a i n t a i n i n g e f f e c t i v e been trained to properly performance by identifying e v a l u a t e a n e m p l o y e e ’ s performance problems at an performance. early stage, before the

Empowering employees to take their own initiative to improve performance.

Obtaining feedback on the effectiveness of other HR functions, such as recruitment, selection, training and development, career planning and job analysis.

Providing information to assist with legislation compliance, In order to get the most out of such as equal opportunity your next review cycle, take and dismissal legislation. the time to think about what Reinforcing organisational effort you need to put in to values and objectives. get the most out of it. An Managers to meet with effective performance employees on a regular basis management system requires to discuss objectives and considerable effort to targets that are set during develop, implement and review processes. maintain, but the benefits are plentiful, including: Performance reviews

Identifying employee potential, e.g. for promotion and succession planning.

Identifying training and development needs.

Improving the career planning and job matching processes for employees.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Don’t fall victim to identity theft…

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Affinity LEGAL NETWORK Identity Theft - The Effects of ID Theft on Your Life

by Christina M Thomas Identity theft has become a more serious issue in the current era of mass communications and c o m p u t e r s , b e c a u s e o f t h e i n c re a s i n g automation of transactions involving your personal details.

In addition to the old methods of digging through residential trash for snippets of credit card bills and identifying documents, identity thieves now can access the internet with passwords capture through social engineering and coaxing people to send such details to them.

As you might expect, the results of identity theft on your life can be fiscally and psychologically debilitating.

Destroying Your Credit History One of the more insidious effects of identity theft is what it can do to your credit score in the future immediately following the initial discovery. Although most credit cards have robust rules in place forgiving you for any charges made in the event of identity theft, these can take a long time to kick in when there's a lot of rectification to be done tracing the effects of the culprit's actions.

Because the charges have been registering for some time before you become aware of the theft, these adverse actions accumulate on your credit file, and will take weeks or months to remove after the theft is ascertained. Anything important you might need to do during this transitional period, such as securing a home loan or a car loan at favorable rates, will have to wait.

One way to combat this possibility is to monitor your credit card accounts regularly, and seek to rectify any suspicious charges - no matter how small - immediately. After all, almost 6 million households were victims of credit card fraud in 2010, in which the more egregious violations might have been avoided with more regular monitoring of credit accounts.

Another viable option is the protection afforded by insurance, which can more quickly recoup any losses while your credit score is being readjusted.

Identity Thieves Make a False History on Your Credit File In addition to increasing the credit utilization of your main account, which then drops your FICO score if you have too much credit used vs. credit available, identity thieves also pile up the late payment charges - which, of course, also drop your credit score eventually. Since you are usually unaware for quite some time that someone is masquerading around as you, the deleterious effects are able to pile up.

You know that for each inquiry that you make about opening up a new line of credit, or possibly increasing your current one, counts against your credit score after too many of them show up. Although infrequent requests don't have an adverse effect; constant ones will eventually drive your FICO score down.

This so-called hard inquiry sends signals to loan and credit card companies that you aren't very responsible when it comes to money managing, since you're apparently shopping for credit.

Preparing for the eventuality of identity theft by investing in insurance can drastically minimize all resulting fiscal damage - and eventually reverse it altogether.

In short, the very first step you should take when you discover that your credit profile has been compromised is to alert all three credit reporting agencies and request that they place a hold on your account.

Then file an identity theft report and start going through your information to look for obvious changes and any open accounts that you don't recall requesting. Identity theft is a rising crime, but there are options out there for your protection.

Identity theft is one of the most serious crimes in the world, and is growing at the fastest rate.

Millions are affected by it, where fraudsters use technology and older methods to set up accounts in the names of unsuspecting victims.

Go here to learn more about protecting yourself from identity theft.

Article Source:Â http://EzineArticles.com/

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

ESS BIZTOOLS Business Advisory Services - Peter Towers ESS Biztools

What Is Business Advisory Services?

You’ve probably heard from some accountants, who are promoting themselves as offering business advisory services.

This edition will discuss the type of work accountants, who are offering more than taxation and annual account preparation, provide as part of their services.

What do they do?

• • • •

Analysis of your current business performance

The first step is they will sit down and talk to you about how your business has performed over the last 6-12 months: • How are you going?

• How are the results?

• Do you need assistance in the key areas of the business?

• Are you happy with the margins that you’re generating in your business?

• Stock levels – are they too high? What could you do about reducing them?

• Debtors’ days outstanding – how does your figure compare with the traditional 30-day trading period? Is it as high as the average debtors’ days outstanding in Australia which, according to Dun & Bradstreet, is currently 54 days?

• • • • •

Are you preparing budgets and cashflow forecasts?

Are you utilising those forecasts to better manage your business?

Are you aware of the requirements of the Fair Work Act and the Modern Awards, as far as your relationship with your team members go?

Would you like some assistance in better understanding your customers?

Would you like your accountant to facilitate quarterly meetings of a customers’ advisory committee, so you can obtain feedback on what your customers think about your business operations?

Are you monitoring your competitors? Would you like some assistance in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors?

Do you hear about government grants and wonder whether any of them are applicable to your business?

Would you like your accountant to be proactive in identifying government grants for which your business might be suitable?

As the owner of the business, how are you going?

Are you achieving your aims?

Do you have other objectives that you would like to achieve over the next three to five years?

An accountant, offering business advisory services, can probably assist you in achieving those objectives.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Future planning for your business In the ‘hurly-burly’ of day-to-day business, it’s very difficult to sit down and do some objective planning and thinking about where you would like your business to go.

month by month, together with the updates of the budgets and cashflow forecasts, so they are still very much a useable document throughout the year.

Business Valuation

An accountant, who is offering business advisory services as an important aspect of their overall accountancy business, can assist you in that planning.

How much do you think your business is worth? Have you ever asked your accountant what they think your business is worth?

You might want to know what the accountant could do for you, acting as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), thinking about the future and helping you to plan the future operations of your business.

In many cases, there’s a significant difference between what the small business operator thinks their business is worth and what their accountant thinks their business is worth.

This will include consideration of matters such as:

It’s a modern business practice to value a business on an annual basis, to see how the overall business is performing.

Business Plan Do you have a business plan?

Business plans are like maps for tourists. Every business should have a business plan and should regularly compare actual performance against the milestones established within the business plan, so you can monitor your progress.

Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts Do you prepare budgets and cashflow forecasts? Are these prepared on an annual basis?

If not, your accountant can assist you in the preparation of the budgets and cashflow forecasts and then in the monitoring of your actual performance,

Do you have your business valued annually?

Why don’t you talk to your accountant about preparing a business valuation on an annual basis, then sitting down with you and establishing targets on what is to be achieved over the next few years, to breach the ‘valuation gap’.

The ‘valuation gap’ is the difference between what you believe the business is worth and what your accountant believes its worth.

An accountant preparing a business valuation will utilise generally accepted methodologies for the valuation of businesses. That is what most of the buyers will also be using, especially if they’ve sought advice from accountants, offering business advisory services.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Selling a Business

There are a lot of businesses for sale in Australia and, unfortunately, some people, who have been operating businesses for many years – in some cases, over 50 years – are being forced to just close up, without being able to sell their businesses.

Is this because they haven’t prepared a proper plan for selling their business?

Planning to sell a business is nearly as important as a business plan to operate a business.

Selling is not something that you can just wake up one morning and decide you want to sell your business on the weekend.

You need to implement a strategy and a plan to get the business in order, so you would be able to attract buyers in the current market.

Because of the change in generation and with baby boomers starting to think about retirement and leaving businesses, there are thousands of businesses for sale.

An accountant, offering business advisory services, can help you.

Business Expansion

Would you like to expand your business? Are things going well?

Do you have a good team, a good product and good suppliers?

There’s nothing wrong with business expansion, as long as it’s appropriately planned. In fact, the CCH survey of small businesses, which was released in April 2013, indicated that ‘assistance in expanding a business’ was one of the key items identified by the small businesses, who were surveyed as being an item on which they would like to receive advice.

Succession Planning

Another area that an accountant, offering business advisory services, can assist you with is in succession planning.

Succession planning is not something that just happens when someone reaches their 60s. Succession planning is something that should be thought about throughout the business, in every position, for the entire life of the business.

Who would take over and perform a particular task if the current person is unavailable?

Business Health Check

Accountants, who are offering more than taxation advice, can also assist you in the preparation of a business health check. Just as you go to your medical practitioner or dentist, probably at least on an annual basis, it’s also important to assess the business’ health.

Accountants use key performance indicators (KPIs) and business ratios, to be able to calculate various indicators. They can also identify: • gross profit percentage; • average sales • percentage of new customers;

and compared to other similar businesses operating at other parts of Australia and New Zealand, on a benchmarking basis.

Accountants can also assist you in some ‘what if’ calculations: • What would be the effective gross profit percentage if the business could improve by 2%, if the number of customers has increased by 5% and if you’re able to attract your customers to come back to your business 10% more often during the year.

• What would the turnover be and what would be the gross profit from that extra turnover?

These are the types of calculations that can be performed.

Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)

Another very important area is: • Do you have adequate systems to safeguard yourself against the Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA)?

• Do you have a system to determine which transactions you need to register on the PPSR?

Accountants can assist Accountants/advisers, who are offering business advisory services, utilise an SME Needs’ Analysis to have a conversation with you, to determine the type of additional services you might like.

As a preview of the types of services an accountant/ adviser, who is offering business advisory services, can provide, a complimentary copy of a checklist, ‘Chief Financial Officer Services’. To obtain a copy of this material, free of charge, click here.

If you’re interested in a wider range of services, to assist you to better manage your business, so you can perform the role of a CEO, having an accountant providing a CFO service (just like you would have in a larger business, but on a far smaller scale), it’s recommended that you have a discussion with your accountant relative to this.

However, if your accountant is unable to supply you with the additional services you require, we invite you to visit www.esssmallbusiness.com.au to utilise the “Find an Accountant/Adviser”.

Simply enter in your postcode and the Find an Accountant/Adviser directory will identify accountants located in or near your postcode, who are able to supply a range of business advisory services, including the types of services mentioned in this article.

For more articles to assist you in your business, please visit www.esssmallbusiness.com.au.

Peter Towers MANAGING DIRECTOR ESS SMALL BUSINESS +61 7 4724 1118 | 1800 232 088 peter@essbiztools.com.au www.esssmallbusiness.com.au

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Make It Cheaper offers a Free service for business electricity to business and home owners, comparing their current energy rates, and hunting down the best deal available to us for you from our network of energy suppliers. We work with the majority of retailers in the market to ensure our customers get the right deal and the best contractual terms available.

Why is Make It Cheaper unique?

We are completely Free and offer the most service available in the marketplace today.

We provide a Customers Savings Guarantee on business electricity and a Market Monitor service to all our customers. Which guarantees that we will save all our customers money when we help them switch and we'll ensure they're never overcharged again on their electricity and gas bills.

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Affinity BUSINESS COACHING

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

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

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…

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

WORK FOR YOUR ORGANISATION Membership Engagement and spending Data, all in one place

by Fiona McTaggart - CEO Affinity Alliance A look at the inner workings of one association’s data-tracking and scoring system for member engagement and spending. It ain’t pretty, but it’s a powerful tool.

Imagine you’re a trade-association executive asking a member company to buy booth at your tradeshow. “This could be a great investment in your company.

Between industry exposure and face-toface conversations with buyers, the booth pays for itself,” you say.

We now have real data, and we can slice and dice data from this and say, ‘No, actually that’s not true.’

The numbers don’t lie.

“We’ve already spent $20,000 with your association in print and online advertising this year. I’m sorry, but our budget for working with you is tapped out,” comes the response.

Problem is, you had no idea about the $20,000 in ad spending. That knowledge is in a different database than the one that tracks membership. Bummer.

Associations offer a lot of different ways for members to interact, and tracking all those interactions is a chore, to say the least. But once it’s done, it can pay off in big ways.

S u s a n Av e r y , C A E , C E O o f t h e International Association of Plastics Distribution, says developing a comprehensive engagement-scoring system for IAPD’s membership has allowed her staff to be “much more sensitive in terms of overall company spend.”

“We’ve already spent $20,000 with your association in print and online advertising this year. I’m sorry, but our budget for working with you is tapped out,” comes the response.Problem is, you had no idea about the $20,000 in ad spending. That knowledge is in a different database than the one that tracks membership. Bummer.

Associations offer a lot of different ways for members to interact, and tracking all those interactions is a chore, to say the least. But once it’s done, it can pay off in big ways.

S u s a n Av e r y , C A E , C E O o f t h e International Association of Plastics Distribution, says developing a comprehensive engagement-scoring system for IAPD’s membership has allowed her staff to be “much more sensitive in terms of overall company spend.”

Avery joined IAPD about eight years ago.

“Early on, the big issue or question that I really wanted to answer is, I wish that I had a single place that I knew how much our members were spending and what they were doing with the association,” she says. Now she does, and “huge blind zones” like ad spending are a thing of the past.

Associations that comprehensively track and monitor engagement are often turning to a scoring system, as well, to make sense of all that data, because it can get unwieldy quickly. For example, here’s a zoomed- out screenshot of a portion of IAPD’s tracking report: Whoa. The full report is 303 rows across 57 columns. It tracks every member company’s spending and participation in pretty much every opportunity IAPD offers to do either. Everything from dues and convention attendance to golf-outing participation and award applications is covered. “If there’s a dollar value, we assign a dollar value; if there’s an engagement value, it’s a count,” Avery says.

On the far right of the report is where the scoring comes in. There it totals dollars spent and engagement count for each company.

Each of those totals is given a score of 1 through 10, akin to a percentile system (10 for 90th-100th percentile, 9 for 80th-90th percentile, and so on). Those scores are then combined and, with some specific weighting factors and Excel macros, assigned a grade of A, B, C, or D. The report is linked directly to IAPD’s association management system (iMIS) as well as other data sources, so it is up to date whenever it’s viewed.

Avery estimates wrangling the data sources and building the tracking file took about 70 hours of staff and outsourced IT time. Now that it’s up and running, it requires only occasional development updates when new products or services are added or weighting factors are adjusted.

The process forced some data-management deficiencies to the forefront. “This was a great way for us to also map out where things are currently being housed,” Avery says. “So, if something wasn’t in iMIS, let’s put it in iMIS and try to get things in a central location so it didn’t cost us a pretty penny to try to gather all these various data sources.”

Now, IAPD is beginning to put the data to use. First off, it has been able to verify or refute a lot of conventional wisdom held among staff and volunteer leaders. “Those anecdotal comments that you get, we now have real data, and we can slice and dice data from this and say, ‘No, actually that’s not true,’” Avery says. “The numbers don’t lie.”

It also gives IAPD a clear picture of its at-risk members.

“We’re looking at the Cs and Ds in a different way. This is a wakeup call: Look, we better personalise and start talking to these companies and find out is it a matter of, ‘Are these things not valuable to you? Do you not know about them?

Are we just pushing so much information out that we’re creating mass chaos for you?’”

The end of 2013 will complete the third year of tracking, at which point IAPD will have its first set of three- year trends, an important milestone. Avery says the report’s formula will be adjusted to factor in a company’s year-over-year change in spend or engagement—i.e, is it more or less active with the association?—as 10 percent of the final letter rating.

IAPD is a trade association with about 280 member companies. Avery acknowledges that the approach to scoring engagement among organisational members is much different than it would be for individual members in a professional society.

“It would be kind of hard in a professional association where you have 20,000 or 40,000 members. What value does it have to know which of your members are the top thousand?” she says. “I would go at it from a completely different perspective from the professional side, but with the same questions, more in profiling members and groupings than I would looking at individual people.”

However you might go about it, IAPD’s example offers a glimpse into the nuts and bolts of tracking and scoring engagement. It might not be pretty, and it will probably look a little bit different at every association, but the end product is a powerful tool.

Does your association comprehensively track member engagement and spending? Have you built reports like IAPD’s? What challenges did you face, and how are you putting that data to use? Please share in the comments.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

CALL NOW 0414 654 164

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What’s your biggest fear?

Public Speaking?

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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…!!

So stop procrastinating and knock on your Boss’ door, and let them know you’ve discovered a way for them to give you a free pay rise!

Drop us a line at freepayrise@pfmfleet.com.au or Contact us NOW on 0414 654 164 to find out if you qualify.

You could be lying on the beach sooner than you think!

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A New Advertising Platform in your email signatures

PCO’s Advertise your business and services with interactive adverts on every single email your staff send, daily.

CORPORATES Promote your upcoming events/functions/ launches with interactive adverts on every email your staff send. Recipients can easily click through to your registration or info page.

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WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR MONTHLY EMAGAZINE? CALL 1300 793 046 OR EMAIL US TODAY FOR A MEDIA KIT

Affinity TRAVEL

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Save up to 70% off by booking with Affinity Travel‌ Here are some of our valued partners.

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Tiptoe through the Tulips Our resident travel guru explores the truly fascinating flora of Holland

by Lars Halvorsen - Seniors Holiday Travel & AdMarketing Australia The ‘cruise package’ includes your return flights from Australia, your 14-night river cruise with all meals on board, your gratuities on board, local guided sightseeing daily, and you will also have a personal escort from the Seniors Holiday Travel Club, who will make the round trip journey with the group from Australia. The package price is from just $5,555 twin share, and the most luxurious cabins are from just $6,550 twin share.

For solo travellers who would prefer their own cabin on board, the prices range from $7,990 to $9,980, or if you wish, the Seniors Holiday Travel Club will attempt to assist you to find another travel club solo traveller with whom you can share.

The Amsterdam extension is just $888 twin share and $495 solo supplement, while the Paris extension is $999 and $450 solo supplement.

This is a small group with around 125 passengers on board to enjoy the wonders of Tulip Time next year.

If you would like more information or wish to book on this Tulip Time Holland holiday, please contact Margaret, Lucy, Nicole, Jennifer or Stacey on Free Call 1800 300 999.

Seniors Holiday Travel Founder and CEO, Perry Morcombe and his family will also be taking this holiday and they would love for you to join them on this wonderful holiday.

To Find out more about the Tulip Time River Cruise Or Click Here Click here to download the flyer/ Contact Seniors Holiday Travel and ask for MARGARET, LUCY, STACEY, JENNIFER or NICOLE for information or to book, on Free Call 1800 300 999.

Tiptoe through the Tulips Our resident travel guru explores the truly fascinating flora of Holland

by Lars Halvorsen - Seniors Holiday Travel & AdMarketing Australia The ‘cruise package’ includes your return flights from Australia, your 14-night river cruise with all meals on board, your gratuities on board, local guided sightseeing daily, and you will also have a personal escort from the Seniors Holiday Travel Club, who will make the round trip journey with the group from Australia. The package price is from just $5,555 twin share, and the most luxurious cabins are from just $6,550 twin share.

For solo travellers who would prefer their own cabin on board, the prices range from $7,990 to $9,980, or if you wish, the Seniors Holiday Travel Club will attempt to assist you to find another travel club solo traveller with whom you can share.

The Amsterdam extension is just $888 twin share and $495 solo supplement, while the Paris extension is $999 and $450 solo supplement.

This is a small group with around 125 passengers on board to enjoy the wonders of Tulip Time next year.

If you would like more information or wish to book on this Tulip Time Holland holiday, please contact Margaret, Lucy, Nicole, Jennifer or Stacey on Free Call 1800 300 999.

Seniors Holiday Travel Founder and CEO, Perry Morcombe and his family will also be taking this holiday and they would love for you to join them on this wonderful holiday.

To Find out more about the Tulip Time River Cruise Or Click Here Click here to download the flyer/ Contact Seniors Holiday Travel and ask for MARGARET, LUCY, STACEY, JENNIFER or NICOLE for information or to book, on Free Call 1800 300 999.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Affinity COMMUNICATIONS

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Finding New Customers Needs A Process - Here It Is… Beware Of Slick marketing agencies claiming it’s easy!

by David Twigg - OMC Group When did you last consider your current marketing strategy?

Do you fall into any of these categoryes?

• I have no idea what to do to get more customers • My competitors are picking up new business but we are stuck like a rabbit in headlights • We have to reduce our prices to get new customers • Getting new customers is too hard, we just stick to servicing the current customers • We sell great services/products but nobody knows about us If you tick any of those boxes then don’t worry, you are part of the overwhelming majority of businesses in Australia that have resigned themselves to losing the battle.

Unfortunately, most marketing agencies focus on making it sound simple but like most things in life that are worthwhile, it needs a process.

You see the slick salespeople at marketing agencies either don’t know or avoid on pain of death pointing out, a few simple truths.

1. Most marketplaces are very competitive 2. To get traction, your marketing needs to be different from your competitors 3. Facebook, Google, Youtube, twitter, Linkedin, Instagram and all the other digital platforms will happily take your money even if your ads are terrible, the targeting is awful or there is a component of your advertising that is simply broken.

4. The most important period of any digital marketing campaign is what we call the

Discovery phase. This is where testing of different targeting, different ads, different formats,different landing pages, different wording of offers takes place. Yet this is typically overlooked.

5. W i t h o u t t h e d i f f e r e n t components of a digital ad campaign working in harmony, it will massively underperform.

For example the ad, the targeting, the landing page and the offer should all be punching hard. One weak link out of those 4 components renders the other 3 ineffective.

6. Whilst there are now some digital campaign stategies that all businesses should be focusing on(namely Content marketing,Google advertising and Facebook advertising), there are many variables that mean a customised strategy is THE ONLY WAY TO GO.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

So your business needs a customised strategy, but where should you start?

Here is a set of questions to run through to make some initial decisions: • Does the offer I make to my customers stand out in my marketplace? If not, that’s where you need to start.

• If you have a great offer, what’s next?

• Does my business best serve an easily defined target market?

Assume "best serve" defines the largest group of people in your customer base eg males vs females,30-45 year olds vs Gen Y, have a specific interest, work in a specific industry, have a specific job role, have a specific problem, have specific concerns,live in a specific area,enjoy specific hobbies…… etc.

If you are already part of the 20% that have a great offer and know your ideal prospect, you are already half way to finding more customers.

The next step involves messaging.

What should be the message to your market that enables your great offer to be put in front of your ideal prospect that will lead eventually to a sale. This is called copywriting, to write great copy you need to understand the various decision influencing variables in your marketplace. You could do a lot worse than reading the great Gary Halbert's letter here

[links to http:// www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/ n e w s l e t t e r s / zgkl_best_copywriter.htm ] Once that box has been ticked, the traffic strategy can begin to take shape.

This will tend to be a horses for courses situation but absolutely paramount in most strategies is developing a system to produce great,engaging content. Content that gets shared. That doesn't mean it has to be about your product or service, think broader than that. We use our in house tools to build such systems but any business should be able to come up with 5 great ideas for content and then develop them into mini masterpieces. 5 great ideas, depending on the market, could easily have a shelf life of 3 months.

Once content marketing is rolling, your website needs to be scrutinised. Do you have specific, well honed landing pages for your lead magnets and service/ product offers? Are they compelling, are they converting?

Testing landing pages, content, offers, lead magnets and "ideal prospect" definitions should now happen by going to the Traffic Store. Traffic is available sometimes in abundance depending on your space, but the key consideration is "where do your ideal prospects hang out". For B2B's Linkedin is likely, if not always, a prime traffic source. For B2C's Google and Facebook would likely tick the box.

Marrying Linkedin,Google and

Facebook together will often be the most effective strategy for B2B’s.

One last point to make. Marketing is the lifeblood of any business and there are still numerous channels that offer great access to your marketplace outside the online/ digital world. That said the big win will come if you can marry your digital and non-digital marketing together. How? Here are 3 tips: 1.Any leaflets, brochures, newspaper ads, magazine ads, radio ads, tv ads and billboards should have a short url to direct people to an offer landing page.

2. Using offline traffic as outlined in point 1,gives great opportunity to use remarketing to follow prospects around online (grab their eyeballs offline and advertise to them seamlessly online) 3.Always try to move offline eyeballs into your email database by offering a great lead magnet in return for their email.

David Twigg is the Managing Director of OMC. OMC help clients to build great marketing strategies and execute them. If you'd like to discuss how OMC can help your business, send David an email, David@OMCgroup.com.au or view the website at OMCgroup.com.au.

Some exciting news‌ As we want to continue to get the word out there that Af finity Alliance is quickly becoming the number one member benefits provider in Australia and NZ, we will be adopting an Affiliate Program, which will give all of our Clients, Suppliers and the like to share the love whilst being compensated for doing so.

Affinity Affiliate Program to kick into gear in November 2015‌ For your opportunity to join our Affiliate Program, simply sign up and register your interest on the Affinity Alliance or Affinity Magazine websites and we will notify you when the program is ready to kick off.

About the Affinity Affiliate Program Everyone is eligible to join the affiliate program and will earn great rewards and commision for doing so. At no cost to you or your organisation, this affiliate program is worth joining. For more information or to sign up, call

1300 793 046

Affinity REAL ESTATE

Affinity Real Estate Can you safely sell your home and rent it back?

by Andrew Larkin Plans that allow homeowners to sell their property and then rent it back are often referred to as sale and lease back or buy back schemes. Simply put, the property owner sells the home and then continues renting it from the new owner. This means that the home will no longer be theirs, but they will continue to live in the same home without being forced to move.

One major contributing factor with regards to why people choose this kind of scheme is that of financial pressures. Although we have grown accustomed to many luxuries and a certain way of life, this has in no way eased up the pressure on our pockets! In fact, many homeowners feel a bigger pinch today than they did years ago. These financial hardships affect a large majority of the population and can make it difficult or impossible to continue

making monthly mortgage payments.

When a homeowner can't afford to pay their mortgage, for whatever reason, there is the instant worry that the bank is going to "come knocking". Rather than remaining homeless, these struggling property owners choose to sell their property instead. By choosing to sell and rent back the property, rather than simply selling, the whole hassle of packing and moving is eliminated. There's no need to downsize, pay professional movers to transport your precious belongings, or hunt desperately for a home that you can afford.

Selling your home and trying to find a new place to live while managing your usual daily responsibilities is not only stressful and tiring but also unnecessary. In addition, when you sell your home,

you will enjoy some instant financial relief, and you can use the funds to pay off your other debts or fund another investment perhaps It's important to note that such schemes are run by individuals and private companies.

Just like any financial decision, it is best to take some time to consider all of your options and read all the fine print in the agreement before you sign. Try to consult with at least three different individuals or companies who are willing to offer this scheme and don't be afraid to obtain legal advice to make sure that the terms are in fact legit.

A n i n d e p e n d e n t f i n a n c i a l adviser will be best equipped to lay out your various options after taking your financial situation into account. It is important to seek such advice and make sure

that selling and renting back your property is indeed the best option.

u a . m o c . g n i t s i l t x e n . www Next Listing is a Listing Generation System designed to scrape Social Media platforms for Potential Vendors and Deliver them Directly to You! Social Media is no longer an option for Real Estate Agents.

This is where your Buyers and Sellers’ eyes are and you need to be there.

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If you are not on Social Media right now AND doing it well you are losing business to your competitors that are doing it well.

CALL 1300 669 530 or email info@nextlisting.com.au and we will take you to the next level‌ Become a September member. Only 12 left at 43% discount Start getting new listings TODAY.

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Affinity SOCIAL MEDIA | MARKETING

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

The Media want your material…

Stand Out & Be Noticed…

by Monica Rosenfeld - Wordstorm PR

The media are looking for free content from businesses just like yours…

All businesses have the opportunity to educate their target market in the media, without paying the media a cent. This is because all forms of media from TV, newspapers, magazines, radio and the online space are looking for content.

If you can tailor an angle that is relevant to the media outlet’s audience, you have a good chance of getting a story published about your business.

•PR is wide reaching. Word of mouth marketing is often a result of publicity, which creates long term business results.

•Products and services that are read about in the media are often seen as market leaders in their industry. This also means they’re more likely to be trusted and used by the public •PR offers great value for money when you compare the cost of placing ads in the media to the expense of an ongoing PR campaign;

Benefits of PR

•PR can increase your SEO ranking. When high page ranking sites put backlinks to your website as part of a relevant article, this increases your websites page ranking.

•Articles published or aired in the media make your business more credible to your target market and stakeholders

PR gives you the opportunity to educate your market about your brands key messages and philosophies.

•Editorial is viewed as more credible and believable than advertising, as media are seen to be objective in the eye of the public. People are more likely to read and remember an interesting article than an advert. In fact, recent studies suggest that positive editorial coverage generates up to nine times more visibility than paid advertising.

After a period of time, journalists will know to contact your organisations for expert commentary about issues relating to your industry.

•PR is an effective way of promoting your products/service to the public, therefore encouraging first time, or continual purchase / use.

•Positive PR increases and builds your company’s reputation.

Reputations are built over time, therefore a long term publicity campaign is more effective in increasing credibility, status and reputation than a short term campaign.

You can use published articles and interviews in order to further promote your business.

Are you ready for a PR campaign?

•Do you want to grow your business?

• Do you want your business to appear bigger, further developed than it actually is?

•Are you trying to attract investors •Do you want to increase your SEO and brand trust/credibility.

If the answer is YES, a PR campaign would greatly benefit your business

Monica Rosenfeld From Wordstorm PR firmly believes that all media companies are desperate for your material‌

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Is Your Brand Wasting Time on Facebook?

Stop Doing These 10 Things - Olsy Sorokina Via FLICKR Facebook has recently announced a new algorithm that measures the amount of time you spend looking at things on the network, so it’s a good time to re-evaluate your own company’s Facebook habits. We may all be familiar with the dangers of wasting time on personal News Feeds, but you might not even realize all the ways your business is wasting time on the network. And for company Pages, misused time has more serious consequences, such as missed revenue and professional networking opportunities.

To avoid any potential hurdles to your Facebook productivity, we’ve come up with a list of ways your business may be mismanaging important social media minutes.

10 ways your business is wasting time on Facebook Creating overly promotional content Content creation is time-consuming, and you don’t want those hours of hard work to go to waste. If you’ve been wondering about the reason for that drastic dip in your business’s organic reach, you probably haven’t heard our calls to halt the creation of overly promotional content. Facebook has been encouraging content creators on the network to replace the straight-up promo material with stories that add value or provide more history for your business’s products and services. These

kinds of posts have a higher likelihood to be seen by bigger audiences.

Posting Instagram pictures without context Here’s a thought process that might sound familiar: Instagram runs on beautiful images. Images increase engagement on Facebook. Instagram is part of Facebook. So I should repost all my Instagram photos automatically on my Facebook Page, right?

Wrong. Even if it may seem like a time-saving technique to automatically post the same update to multiple networks, it might cost you reach on both networks. For starters, your brand’s Instagram profile and Facebook Page may be serving different purposes, so content from one may not fit the overall tone of messaging on the other. Your audiences on the networks may also be drastically different, so what resonates with your Instagram followers may not quite jive with your Facebook fans. If you want to reuse a photo, make sure to provide enough context for it to make a meaningful, valuable Facebook post.

Getting in comment wars Even if you have a sufficient number of customer support channels, it’s not unusual for people to reach out to you on Facebook. Don’t discourage this method of communication, and don’t engage in any sort of negative exchange. If a disgruntled customer comments on your Facebook post, reply quickly and reach out to them via Messenger.

AFFINITY MAGAZINE Stay away from any negative Facebook comment threads from competitor brands. It’s important to be aware of these conversations, but participating in them isn’t necessary—especially if none of the negative claims are substantiated. You risk doing more damage to your online reputation if you do get involved in a comment war with your competition, especially if this is done at the expense of your engagement with followers and fans.

Browsing Trending articles Facebook’s Trending sidebar shows the top three most discussed topics in your network. You can click on the headlines to discover more detailed information—but before you do, ask yourself if this topic is relevant to your work. The Trending sidebar provides a brief summary of the important details of the story, so unless the trending news is highly relevant to your industry or your audience’s interests, you shouldn’t browse the articles associated with it. Curiosity is not a bad trait; however, if you’re spending your time on Facebook reading about Tyra Banks’ selfie, you’re wasting precious time that could instead be spent talking to your followers.

Always creating custom ads instead of boosting posts Facebook allows Page owners to put small amounts of cash on an existing post in order to boost its reach. This option can be a lot faster—and a lot cheaper!—than creating original advertisement content. While this shouldn’t be the only sponsored option you explore on Facebook, boosting posts is a fast and cost-effective way to test engagement from a new target demographic or a new type of media promotion.

Depending on the results these boosted posts yield, you can then decide whether it’s worth investing a bigger budget into an ad.

Skipping A/B tests for your Facebook ads Another opportunity Facebook gives to businesses is running split tests on their ads to see which group performs better. This basically means sending out two slightly different versions of your ad to different target audiences, and see which one receives more engagements. Your Facebook Page admin may think they are saving time by skipping the testing stage, but in reality, this can be a huge missed opportunity. Facebook is a standalone advertising platform, and promoted content that works well for other networks may not get you the same numbers here. There are many elements you can test with your Facebook ad, such as placement, format, and copy length. Try out different variations with each ad you create, and note the winner of that category. Not only will this save you some time, it’ll also likely increase the return on investment on your Facebook ads.

Taking too long to create a Facebook update There is a lot of pressure to post updates that get likes, comments, and shares—and there are always days when your Facebook muse is absent. However, you don’t have hours to spend on composing a single update. If the inspiration just won’t come, do some productive social media browsing to find ideas. Another solution is asking your colleagues for advice: run your existing posts by knowledgeable coworkers to see what improvements can be made.

You can also take a look at posts that have performed well in the past, and repurpose this content for a new post. Try looking for content that can be updated with some new information, or a new angle. If after all these steps you’re still not satisfied with the Facebook post, maybe it’s a good day for some syndicated content.

Reposting videos from external sources Facebook natively enabled video almost a year ago, and since then, content of that type has yielded amazing engagement results. So if you’re still embedding YouTube videos on your Page, you’re doing it wrong.

Auto-playing Facebook videos encourage your followers to spend more time engaging with the content, which now registers with the network’s algorithm. Plus, posting Facebook videos and judging their performance can help you choose content for future video ads.

Not completing your About section This is another time sinkhole, with the solution in the category of “invest more time first, spend less time later.”

If you don’t include all the necessary information about your company on your Facebook Page, you risk creating confusion among those who turn to that social account for details about your business. If you want to avoid spending time answering the same questions, provide a detailed description on the About section of your Page.

This includes a brief description of your brand mission, a list of products or services you provide, a link to your official website, and a physical address, if your company has one.

‘Liking’ irresponsibly Finally, just like any other Facebook user, Facebook Page managers can like other people’s posts and Pages. In a similar fashion, businesses you’ve liked on Facebook show up in a Liked sidebar on your Page, so you must execute caution when pressing the ‘Like’ button. Your online properties are valuable real estate, so you don’t want visitors of your Page to see brands you wouldn’t necessarily endorse as a business. Select a few partners or clients to like, and let your Liked sidebar highlight your partnership. Plus, liking a Page authorizes new updates to appear on your News Feed, and you don’t want to create opportunities for distraction by liking Pages with low content quality.

Affinity Marketing Finding New Customers Needs A Process - Here It Is!

by David Twigg from OMC Group So why do we take thing for granted?

Because we think we’ve been clear when we haven’t; because we think we’ve spelled things out when we haven’t; because we think we can get away with something or cutting corners when we’re busy, when we can’t.

Employees have quite jobs, projects have suffered, children have been left waiting to be collected after school, relationships have ended, tasks have been done incorrectly, tasks have been duplicated, house moves have taken twice as long as they needed to, all because assumptions have been made.

We make assumptions because we mistakenly assume that what is important to us, our values, and what we believe, is the same for other people, when it’s not.

Examples abound where assumptions have been made and there have been disastrous results. In a recent workplace mediation that we conducted, it became very clear that a manager had given certain instructions to an employee. The manager had assumed that the employee was familiar with all of the terms used in the ‘brief’ (including the meaning of certain organisation-specific acronyms). It turned out that the employee was not familiar with some of those terms and the resulting work was sub-standard. There was a dispute arise over both the sufficiency of the instructions given and the quality of the work performed and each of the manager and the employee ‘pointed the finger’ at the other. Both however, had made assumptions about the work and each other – some of which was erroneous.

Once people are in dispute, the making of assumptions can be even more dangerous.

With no or limited evidence, people often assume the intentions or motivations of the other person or persons involved in the dispute and react accordingly. All too often however, the assumption was erroneous and therefore the response was inappropriate. Conflict in those circumstances simply escalates.

Below are 5 tips that may help you in this area: 1. Ask open (who, what, when, where, how) questions to clarify assumptions e.g. How exactly are you proposing to do that?

2. In project/team meetings and when writing proposals, spell out any assumptions being made verbally and in writing.

3. Summarise what you think is being agreed to check understanding.

4. When delegating to someone else, get them to replay back to you their understanding of what they are going to do. This will highlight any assumptions they are making.

5. Get into the habit of having a ‘ what assumptions am I making?” self-check before winding yourself into a frenzy and letting your imagination get the better of you.

On a lighter note, check out the following links: This clip (of “Ameriquest” TV advertisements) is some 2.5 minutes long and encourages viewers not to ‘judge too quickly’ based on what they have seen. Judging too quickly almost always involves making assumptions about what is going on (when, as in all cases in the advertisements, it is not as it seems). http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=UzzMir7zbN4 This 37 second clip from the 70’s TV show “The Odd Couple” demonstrates the old saying about making an ass out of you and me (when people assume things). http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=LfvTwv5o1Qs

AFFINITY MAGAZINE

Flipping a marketing myth The myth to flip: 80% of marketing is the creative idea and graphic representation.

by Robyn Simpson H Director MarketSmartly That leaves a mere 20% of marketing using the left brain for analytical and process purposes. That was the case some time ago… but not today. The marketing landscape is changing as rapidly as IT, which is great on many levels. What it takes to create great marketing strategies and initiatives today is more accessible to a wider group of people, rather than being the realm of the creatively talented. As Marketing and Business Consultants it’s our job to keep up to date with the latest marketing tools and trends. It’s also our job to wade through the fads and help business owners choose the right tools to help them get some traction in their lead generation. Lets take a quick look at flipping the myth: 80% of good marketing today is based on left brain activity: data analysis, trend analysis, research and good processes and automation. This leaves 20% for the incredibly powerful creative aspect and imagery.

SO WHY IS THIS GOOD NEWS FOR YOU – THE BUSINESS OWNER? Firstly, anyone can create great marketing if they have the right information at hand. To get the infor@ mation, you simply need the right systems in place.

These systems are available to anyone, not just mar@ keters, and they are more affordable than ever before.

So here’s the upshot: Left brain activity 1: Analyse your current and past clients and identify who is your ideal target market.

Get the facts and then focus on replicating these customers.

“80% of good marketing today is based on left brain activity: data

Left brain activity 2: Prioritise your clients (current and past) into A, B and C categories. In doing so it will become obvious which ones you could be offering more products and services to. As the age@old mar@ keting saying goes, it’s easier to sell to someone you have a relationship with than those you don’t.

Left brain activity 3: Map out the processes to manage your communications for prospects and clients. We call these Touch Point campaigns. Think about the experience you would like them to have from wo@to@go. Then draw it in a process diagram and build it into a business process.

Right brain activity 1: Create engaging offers and content to entice your prospects and customers to purchase from you. This is where you want to get a little creative. The offer, words and images all matter, so spend a bit of time getting these right. If you’re not a creative type – this is something you should consider outsourcing.

Left brain activity 4: Measure and analyse your results.

It’s as simple as including time in your diary each week to review the marketing activities and the results they are producing. This is made even simpler when supported by simple marketing measurement systems.

Often its a case of tweaking to get improvements rather than trying somethingcompletely new, but you won’t know unless you have good, factual data.

We challenge you to work your way through each of these activities in the next 2 months. In less than 20% of a year, you could increase the value of your marketing activities by 80%.

For more marketing smarts to help you market smarly check out MarketSmartly and subscribe to our e@updates.

analysis, trend analysis, research and good processes and automation.” says Teritia Peart, Business Development Manager MarketSmartly

MarketSmartly

Measurable Marketing

®

Maximising Results

www.MarketSmartly.com

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AFFINITY SHOPPER Big Brands, Low Prices…

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

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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 793 046 Building our Provider List

• Brand recognition by association with our existing partners

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.

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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 • 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

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 793 046 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.

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