SPEAKERS
Alex Cumberland, Amanda Lowry, Trevor Russell, Joel Campbell, Sheldon Morey, Di Krome, Katrina Puranik, Andrea Anderson
Trevor Russell 01:42
What is sales
Katrina Puranik 01:47
the guy? Okay guys?
Trevor Russell 01:50
Yeah, getting what people are looking for at the moment a discount so
Andrea Anderson 01:54
yeah
Katrina Puranik 01:57
I'm letting everyone in. Thanks guys.
Joel Campbell 02:03
Sandra you were saying Logitech webcam started Coronavirus?
Trevor Russell 02:07
Can we just stop?
Katrina Puranik 02:16
Okay. Hello, and welcome to the digital toolkit. And we have five experts today on the session for you to ask your questions. And so welcome to everyone who has just joined us. I believe we have Jain consulting and altitude business solutions. So welcome. We do have a few things to discuss around the future of business technologies. But please feel free to pop your questions in the chat. And we will answer them as they come in.
Katrina Puranik 02:56
Please, welcome everyone. We'll start with di then go with Joel and Alex, Amanda, Andrea and Trevor introduce themselves. So I'm Katrina puranic. from Australia, by the way, guys, and I'm a web presence specialists. And now I will hand over to ty
Di Krome 03:17
Hello everyone. I'm darkroom from wealth, our business consulting. So I'm a business coach and a champion for mental health in the workplace. I have more business owners transform their business models so they can have more money, meaning and good mental health.
Katrina Puranik 03:35
Thank you. So
Joel Campbell 03:36
[Talking to Alex] you can you can do the...
Alex Cumberland 03:42
We are Joel and Alex from Oncord software. Our product is a website and digital marketing platform. It's all the tools that you need to run a professional online presence in one. platform people use that software to run website email campaigns.
Amanda Lowry 04:02
Amanda Larry from mFl creative I'm a brand strategist helping businesses to establish solid brand foundations, which ultimately provide clarity and focusing on their business.
Andrea Anderson 04:15
Hey, everybody, Andrea Anderson, Chief ideas specialist for your marketing machines. We are a marketing agency that primarily focuses on taking businesses from being good to being amazing.
Joel Campbell 04:32
What does the MFL stand for? Amanda?
Amanda Lowry 04:35
it actually stands for medi-freight logistics. It's sort of like a rework of a pre existing company name. Okay, cool. To
Trevor Russell 04:47
me, okay. Thanks, guys. My name is Trevor Russell. Well, you know, there's a lot of businesses who ultimately actually want to make sales and money. What I decided to do over the last few years is really
Trevor Russell 05:00
specialize in helping people develop an intense system around skills and processes so that they can more confidently achieve their sales goals by knowing how to think emerge marketing with modern, authentic speaking skills
Trevor Russell 05:16
to do that, and they can make
Trevor Russell 05:22
his sales revenue and
Trevor Russell 05:26
support.
Katrina Puranik 05:32
Thanks, Trevor. I'd like chocolate.
Katrina Puranik 05:38
I've just said, I'm just letting everyone know that
Katrina Puranik 05:42
we should be muted, unless we're actually talking. So just letting everyone know that if I muted you, that's why, and so that we've got no background noise as we are all working from home, that's going to be a common occurrence for a lot of people. So without further ado, we will step into the digital toolkit. So just letting you know that is a weekly event. And so basically, five or more digital experts will be on online for you every week, every Wednesday to ask any questions around technology, anything digital for you website marketing, general business planning, management, anything sales, you name it. So as we are all having to make the transition to online business processes during this crisis it It helps to have experts on hand who can provide that little bit of guidance and possibly even help you implement some massive transformational changes for your business. So without further ado, we'll get started.
Katrina Puranik 06:54
So who do we have involved in the panel. And so we've got everyone who is here today. So we've got Amanda Lowry. We have a man outside Andrea Addison from your marketing machines. We have Joe and Alex from encore.
Trevor Russell 07:14
in Brisbane, we also have Trevor Russell from the results Academy, and di chrome from well, by business consulting.
Katrina Puranik 07:26
Got it right this time day, yay.
Katrina Puranik 07:30
Okay, so and of course myself for making Australia.
Katrina Puranik 07:35
So I'm hoping everyone's got a cuppa or a cold drink, it is going to warm up, but later on in the week. So well get comfy as we've got a lot of juicy stuff to get through.
Katrina Puranik 07:46
Now, if we've got any questions already, please pop them in the chat. And we'll address them as we go through. But I thought we might look at the major digital challenges for small businesses as as we as we progress through 2020. And into the future of business technologies for all of us. So and we've got four major, I think we've just realized that I'm not showing my screen, forgive me, I will update that.
Katrina Puranik 08:29
Okay, so just to get started. And to remind everyone this is being recorded, and it will be published to our pages as well. As for later viewing. Now, the digital challenges for us today, we've got an organizational resistance to change. So I'm going to hand this one
Katrina Puranik 08:53
to die to start with, because I think she would be a fantastic
Katrina Puranik 09:02
provided an expert expert advice for businesses looking at the mindset for changing in these times. So die. Would you like to
Di Krome 09:14
jump in on that one? Great, thanks, Katrina. Yeah, this is something that's close to my heart, I guess, because I've had periods in my life where I've been quite resistant to changes that have been going on both professionally and personally. And I've done a lot of my own inner work around mindset and that sort of thing, in relation to this. And there's a really good quote that comes out from an organization I've worked with actually changed 2020. And they talk about embracing ambiguity. So a lot of us run away from things that are not familiar to us.
Di Krome 09:58
Whereas now, these days, it's more than
Di Krome 10:00
That I sort of lean into the fear and the ambiguity that's going on around us. And I think, a really important thing in times like this at the moment where everything's kind of up in the air, is to allow yourself and your staff to be vulnerable. And a lot of people look at vulnerability as a weakness, but I've come to see it as an absolute strength. And every time I've opened up myself, to someone, you know, I'm going through something or the world is changing around me, it's almost like that gives the other person permission to to open up to me. And what happens then is the level of your intimacy in your relationship deepens. So every time you open up to someone, and they open up to you, you get a much deeper relationship, and then together, you can handle the changes that have been thrown at you.
Di Krome 11:03
The other thing is around trust. So it's really important when the world around us is in absolute chaos, that we can trust ourselves. And we can also trust people around us, whether they're our leaders, or whether they're our team members, and Brenda Brown, discovered in her years of research that one of the key things around engendering trust is actually asking for help. And so that's the latest to encourage the team members to ask for help, but also to walk the talk and for leaders to sort of put their hand up and admit that, yes, they're in fact vulnerable, and they need help as well.
Di Krome 11:50
Thanks, Katrina.
Katrina Puranik 11:53
Thank you. And welcome, Sheldon. I will pass it over to
Katrina Puranik 12:03
Trevor, I believe, just now to add a little bit of extra on to the aspects of organizations actually changing in relation to technology.
Trevor Russell 12:18
Yeah, thanks, Katrina. You know, it's interesting that and thanks so much guy, I think what I shared Justin is so on the money because really, for any of us who have been around for a little while and have any understanding of psychology, when we are, I don't know if anyone can feel it, but I'm sure you can. But you know, when we can't, at the moment, make big decisions and create a whole lot of stuff at the moment. If people are struggling with that, it's because we're in this place of urgent and important and the brain can really only cope with the basics. So you know, if we're talking about organizational resistance to change from a technology perspective, working with a lot of people that are refined, that there's always been a need for them to embrace more technology in relation to whether it's more video online, whether it's to create extended products, beyond what they're currently doing. My sharing would be, which is what I'm trying to do at the moment is actually try and utilize this time that we've been given to really embrace technology and actually have a look at it and see, what is it that we could now build in this time, that we might have either found a lot of excuses in the past where we like, Oh, we don't have time to do that. And we're too busy. And now really, it's like, Well, guys, maybe we don't have those excuses back on
Trevor Russell 13:53
different platforms, maybe this is the time to integrate the CRM, maybe this is the time to go and speak to
Trevor Russell 14:00
the world and say, Hey, guys, you know, Katrina, or you know, all of us are in different ways. But I think the exciting thing that this period is the opportunity to let go there to actually say, Well, what can we utilize this time? And if it is about integrating technology, and looking at that, I think, you know, I would want to look back on this time and think, well, I actually in the midst of all of it, I got to upgrade my website, I got to get my training on you to me, I got to build a new program. So we got some value out of it actually is what I'd be sharing at the moment. Yeah.
Katrina Puranik 14:40
Thanks, Trevor. And so just to kind of recap and thanks time Trevor for for your insight on that. And it's very much coming back to the mindset of the leaders of the business for sure. And
Katrina Puranik 14:58
seeing how
Katrina Puranik 15:00
We can boost up business with the different technologies that are available. And I'm going to take a bit of a jump here and talk about
Katrina Puranik 15:12
ineffective gathering and leveraging of customer data. So think understanding what data we need helps inform that customer journey. So I'm going to hand it over to Andrea Anderson to discuss how,
Katrina Puranik 15:33
or I guess the challenges around gathering that data for your business and how people are not necessarily
Katrina Puranik 15:42
doing it correctly for their business or their industry, for example, and how they can take that into the, into the, I guess, into the future for 2020 2021 and improve their business online. Over to you, Andrea.
Andrea Anderson 16:02
Yeah, thanks for that Katrina. And thanks, once again, for allowing me to be a part of this fantastic group of experts. Definitely, we've got a big issue here at the moment. And the biggest issue for a lot of people is that they are endeavouring to make normal decisions, normal decisions, within an incredibly abnormal situation. This is like, you know, if you can visualize having a tsunami, an earthquake, tornadoes hit all at the same time. And we've never experienced any of those things ever before. Okay, so we're in a situation where it is absolutely about change. And the biggest question, I think, for a lot of people in particular around data, and this is, what data is actually important to me. Now, what was important a month ago, or two months ago, when we were working in a normal environment is completely different from what it is now. And that's just how quickly our situation is changing. I mean, if I look at the fact that
Andrea Anderson 17:12
most businesses you will find are going to be in three modes, if I can just say this, and this might actually
Andrea Anderson 17:21
then lead into the power of data, the three modes that we're currently in right now is freeze mode. And freeze mode is essentially where we're like the deer in the headlights. We're like, what the heck is going on? And what am I doing? Right? So that's that, stop, take stock, and look at what am I, what am I actually got here? You know, do I still have a business? Do I Do I still have something to market and to sell? What am I doing my database is no longer relevant, because the industry that I was servicing no longer exists in its current situation. So you're going to find that some people are going to be in that freeze mode, where they're just the hankering. And for the time being, they're taking time out. And they just really looking at, well, what's my current situation. And it's okay to be in freeze mode. Like I said, there are very few people on this planet who have experienced anything as severe as this and survived it. So you know, if you're in the freeze mode, boats, then look Feel free to to sit there and just take stock of where you're at. Because if you've been collecting data, and you're in freeze mode, then you're actually on a winner, I just want to say you've actually got an asset that's actually viable, and leverageable for your future business growth in different areas. Phase number two that some of our business clients are in, and that is fight mode. Fight mode is where they have done stock, they've realized that the stimulus packages aren't going to support them. And really, the only option they've got is to keep the doors open and to keep selling. Now, the interesting thing is, is that they are in a state where I know that I've got a seat. I know that there are things that I can leverage, I might need to shift my market. I might need to change the way that I'm looking at my business. But I'm ready to fight. I'm ready to fight for my survival and I'm ready to fight beyond Coronavirus. So the way that they look at data colletion going forward is going to be very, very different. Then the third phase that we're currently in at some of our businesses are experiencing and that is called flight mode. flight mode is where they've done the stock they realized, you know what, I can actually make this work. I understand that I've got a business that has got products and services to sell. I understand the assets that I've got to leverage from whether it's I've got a website, I've got a database
Andrea Anderson 20:00
I've got a Facebook page that's got a couple of 100 people in it, I'm able to communicate in forums like this. So look, I know that I can pivot, and I can shift the way that my business is going to be directing. And they're now ready to fly, they're now ready to look at the opportunities coming up in the future and confidently be able to go forward and collaborate and doing so. So the way that they're going to collect data is going to be different. And the first thing we've got to identify with our business clients, and that is what mode Are you currently in right now? Because any one of those modes is okay. Right? So it's first and foremost understanding where am I at right now, in my mind shift? Because really, that's what we're talking about here. We're talking about, am I okay with this current situation? Yes or no? And if you're in freeze mode, and you're like, I'm not really comfortable with the situation, great, then let's just resonate on what that looks like. And let's have a look at what potential assets you've got. If you've got a database. Fantastic. What condition is that database in? And is there the opportunity for us to be able to even just send an email just to say, Hi, I hope you're okay, I'm here, feel free to come and talk to me. If you're confident in communicating through Facebook, fantastic, maybe there's an opportunity there for you to be able to data and be able to pull in additional data. If you're in a fight mode, same rules apply. Except now you've got a bit of energy and a bit of confidence about your situation, and you're willing to fight your way out of the situation. Now, if you look at a lot of our businesses that have really been impacted in today's environment, you're talking about things where travel industry is almost completely gone. Right? It's, it's going to be 12 months before anybody seriously looks at traveling extensively, the way that we used to travel, if not longer. So travel industries. I've I've actually, funnily enough, I've got a client I'm working with at the moment, who is a travel agent, and she is beside herself. And I said, Well, you've got a database of people, haven't you? She goes, Yeah, I have I see great. You've got knowledge about the industry. She goes, Yeah, I have. I said, fantastic. Let's shift you and take that data you've currently got and let's use it in a different way from how you've been using it in the past. I've got another client who's in the pest control industry, she's been going for 40 years. And we did a data analysis broke down a database went through it showed her visual representation of where her audiences within the greater Brisbane region. And the first thing she said to me was, Andrea, I see I've got some white gaps there and places in Brisbane, how do I get into those places? And I'm like, fantastic. So she's ready for flight. She's ready to go. She's realized I've been here. I've survived droughts, floods have survived droughts, I'm ready to go. So when we're looking at data collection, and what do we do with that data, we've got to first understand what space what mode, people are currently in flight mode. They're hot, they're eager, they're ready to go. They see opportunities and they want, they want the solutions to get their fight mode, they understand they've got something they know they've got to do something they're not sure what slightly different motivation level freeze mode there. And I just got to figure out what the heck I'm doing first and foremost, before I make a decision, confidence mode. So that would be my you know, when I'm looking at data, and the way that we are collecting data today, we need to first understand where they're at, to then be able to provide that right, that right solution that right strategy, because not every strategy is going to work.
Andrea Anderson 23:53
And just in closing, one of the things that we've done is we've got new technology coming into to assist the
Andrea Anderson 24:01
restaurant and hospitality sector because we know that that's one of the other industries that's been really hit. And we're looking at the use of messenger marketing. So we've got technology there and around messenger marketing that we're hoping will number one, provide the ability to database build for takeaways and restaurants because we know how shocking they are in collecting data,
Andrea Anderson 24:27
as well as be a way to let people know that they're still open and ready to serve.
Katrina Puranik 24:32
Thanks, Andrea. And I'm just going to pop in there that encored has an amazing system. Therefore, managing your customer data, including utilizing automation, email marketing, SMS and messaging. And the Andrea was just talking about that. I'm going to pop it over to Trevor, believe it has something to add on this year. Thanks, Andrea. And I just I just
Katrina Puranik 25:00
To build on that around the use of data actually emerging in the resistance to change, because, as I shared In the beginning, God love us Australians, but my experience is most people go to the grave, before they'd like to ask for help. So one of the things that I think this is a great opportunity for us is, if you are sitting on, as Andrea said, all of us, we've all got either our time that we can sell or a product that we could sell, or both, or whatever it is, my recommendation is what I'm in the process of doing is reaching out to my community and database and saying, How can I help you, I'm here,
Trevor Russell 25:44
I could help you with this, this and this, no cost, no obligation. I'm just here to reach out because as we all know, as consultants and trainers and coaches and advisors is very often, we have to go to the marketplace, and kind of shake them and say we're here. And then they go, Oh, okay, I'll get your help. So, really, this if anyone, at any point, if you're going to lower any resistance in this opportunity, this time and make it an opportunity would be lowering your resistance to ask for help lowering your resistance to reach out and say, Hey, you know what, tell me what to do. You know, that guy I told you about earlier and Tria. He's got a beautiful business called psych wire, they specialize in all things psychology. And I'm thinking the other day I was in the anger, I was in freeze mode. I was like, Are people buying? Is the sky caving in? Are people spending money? So I thought, who can I reach out to pop into my mind? And I reached out to him and I said, Are people buying? He said, our sales are up 50%. He said, they're looking for discounts. We are in the right market, because we're in that whole psychology space. But what I got from overcoming my resistance to asking for help, was firstly, okay, the economy still exists, people are actually still spending money. And then secondly, we talked about following on from injuries, what can I do now with my daughter to reach out and even maintain some sort of engagement, if nothing else, just to keep us sane, instead of waiting for things to get better? So that's what I wanted to share on that.
Andrea Anderson 27:31
Hey, look, Trev I 1,000% agree with you. And this is where I feel we're actually in quite a privileged position. Because we, we have that opportunity to assess rather quickly, whether we're in freeze fight or flight mode. And more than likely, we've experienced something very similar. And that's where a lot of it comes from. I've my business has gone through the roof at the moment, because I've got people coming out of the woodwork going. Okay, Andrea, I know I need to do something. So they've done the freeze mode, they're coming out of freeze mode, they're going okay, Andrew, what do I do? I'm, I know, I know, the stimulus package isn't going to cover me, I'm stuffed, if I rely on that. What can I do? And where can I go. And that's the exciting thing. And I feel that as I guess business leaders in our own right within our own businesses, we essentially need to be the ones going out to market going, we are here. We're here to serve, we're here to assist you to move forward. Because when the time is right for that person, then they'll know with confidence to come to any one of us because why we've said we're still here, our doors are still open, we're ready to serve.
Andrea Anderson 28:46
Look, we've
Andrea Anderson 28:48
we've met the market financially as well, we've significantly reduced our pricing. You know, so I'm on a I'm on a bank diet right now. But the cool thing is is is that we've got to keep the economy going. And this is why we're in a very fortunate position individually to be self empowered, and then have the ability to empower others when they're at that point to go. I've got a little bit of money. Where do I go with that money? What's the best way for me to spend that money Andrea and I go fantastic. And that's when I find myself kicking in. And I'm probably 10 times more excited, because they finally made that decision to come through. And they're coming to me. So I take it as a personal commitment now because we are in a situation where it's we've got to get the best bang for buck right now.
Katrina Puranik 29:42
Thanks, Andrea. just wanting to move on to the customer journey and actually catching the data. And what a lot of businesses don't understand or I guess understand the motives of each step of the Journey of capturing the data? And what taking them from no one to your number one customer, for example. And what is that you actually need to do now? I'm passing it over to the boys on cord. So Joel and Alex, because they're continuing every day to help businesses implement the data capture technologies. So I'm curious to know, have we just lost them? And hopefully, they're jumping back in. There. Yes. The back.
Joel Campbell 30:41
disappeared from your screen?
Katrina Puranik 30:43
Oh, okay. No worries, sorry. But yeah, I'd like to know, the where that's going to be heading in next, say, six to 12 months? Like, is there any new additions into that process that you have?At Oncord Like, what what? What are the exciting new ways to catch customer data using your system?
Joel Campbell 31:06
I mean, the technology has been there for a long time, we haven't really had to develop a whole lot more, I think, like, has everyone seen that there's a meme going around. And it's like a graph and it says, What drove digital change in your business, and it's like CEO, CTO, COVID-19. And of course, like, COVID-19 is the one with all the, all the answers on it. So I look at technology, I don't think needs to change too much.
Trevor Russell 31:34
I think
Joel Campbell 31:36
the customer journey, I think is quite important to think about. And there's a lesson in all of this with zoom, the the application that we're actually using to run this meeting, and I think everyone around the world is using it. If you told me 1015 years ago that a product would come along, and you essentially pay, you know, 20 $30 a month to use it as a business. And it was a video conferencing screen sharing tool, I would have said that would never work in a million years. Skype is free, everyone loves it, it's an incumbent player, this is the worst business you could possibly run. And now I haven't heard the word Skype in, in a really long time. Everyone's on zoom University classes of being held on zoom, we're doing this on zoom, the thought that we do it in Skype or anything, anything different is Yeah, it's just, it's it's not even an afterthought. So I think that's a really amazing story about their customer journey. Because the reason we're all using zoom, it's because it is so easy to just get started and get on with it, you send someone a link, and they just pop open that link, and then there's a video call and it's running, you don't have to set up an account, you don't have to have a situation where you're linking with someone's existing account, you don't have to add anybody, you don't have to do all this stuff, there's not a lot of rigmarole into getting started on zoom. So they've done the impossible thing, which is like if especially in the software world, the rules are like you don't go up against a free product, you don't go up against someone with a huge budget. And obviously, stripe is owned by Microsoft, and basically has an unlimited budget. Um, you you don't go and go try and bring a monetized version of a free product that is already Beloved, it's basically meant to be impossible. And zoom has gone and done that and one, overwhelmingly, and it's just because it's a little bit easier to get started and to get using zoom. And I think there's a lot of businesses out there. That can probably take a lesson from that, including us like we think about that all the time. It's like, Well, how do we make the easiest possible, you know, iteration of our product, it's easy for people to get on board and start using this surveys that I've seen where they say that 70% of people prefer a self service solution that they can access themselves rather than having to speak to someone in most products, even if the Self Service solution is inferior. Someone who is delivering an inferior product or service to you might be getting the majority of your customers, even even though it's worse, just because it's easier to use or self service. What does that mean for the majority of the businesses that we talk to and they're probably listening today who are service industries, is that we need to think of ways to make it easier to use those products and services. We've seen a rise recently, especially on our platform of accounting firms or things things like companies like that, who are offering advice packages that you can download. So yeah, accounting firms literally creating ebooks that explain a hiding Personally, but I can eat and basically an information book that explains, okay, here are all the incentives that are available for your situation, we create different iterations of this book, you take the items that apply to you on your website, and we're going to send you a tailored package automatically, that explains all the different things you could be doing different incentives you could be applying for, that's a really good idea. And that is making your business self services in a way it's monetizing your knowledge, the data you have, and it makes the customer journey, so much more seamless and smooth, than if it was a situation of you try and bring us we have a conversation with you, we might build for that we might not you might not speak to the right person, we'll call you back, we'll have to organize a meeting. There's so many, so many barriers taking being taken away by making itself so it's so I think there's a lot of lessons in all of this for the customer journey. I mean, we've been kind of thinking about it and talking about it. Before we started, I think a lot of businesses have as well, it is sad to say that this is the thing that's driving the change. But I mean, I guess that's always the way right.
Katrina Puranik 36:08
just wanting to jump in there. Thanks, guys. And so true, the use of different platforms has definitely changed, we've come from away from Skype. And and zoom is definitely in the forefront for a lot of people. I think that comes down to, I think ease of use for for customers so and not having to necessarily do anything, just click on a link, so to speak, to join in. And I'm going to pass it over to Amanda, to talk about the three major elements that you need to collect or think about when capturing customer data along that journey. So over to you, Amanda.
Amanda Lowry 36:56
Sure. Thanks, Katrina. And so I think just sort of touching on that, I'd like to just come back to the vision side of it. I think, you know, a lot of businesses, especially a lot of clients that we work with, when we actually ask them, What is your vision? It's typically a goal, not a vision, it's sort of like, What's that one thing that you're always aspiring to. And I'd actually love to use the guy's example of the accountant using the ebook. So for example, if they created a vision that was to make accounting enjoyable, because none of us like accounting, apart from probably accountants, then, you know, creating an E book is something that, you know, would help to make it more enjoyable, because they can understand it more, and those sorts of things. So I think, when we can actually, firstly create that sort of brand vision of what you're looking to create, then it actually makes it a lot easier for us to understand the customer journey, and what we're trying to achieve through that as well. Because customers still need guidance. So we can tell them and give them really simple solutions. But they also need the guidance in order to help them get there as well. So, so that's actually where I probably start, in order to collect that data. I think it yeah, it comes back down to what the boys were saying is create those digital elements that really make you accessible to that person. So an ebook, it's downloadable, you can get it straight away. We're a very instant community. So we want things instantly. So if it's too hard to get, then people just aren't going to engage. So yeah, I suppose that's, that's what I would probably be starting with.
Katrina Puranik 38:40
So giving something away to begin with, without that initial commitment from the client first. So
Amanda Lowry 38:46
Well, yeah, ultimately, just working out what that ultimate vision is to start with, you know, setting that down. So it's not just the goal or numeric figure, you know, a lot of the times when we talk to people, it's we want to, you know, increase our market share by five to 10%, or we want to sell X amount of products in X amount of time, then we'll goals and things that they can physically achieve, but there's no sort of purpose or feeling behind that. And that's ultimately what a vision is. So, yeah, that's that's actually where we start with one of our clients on this sort of process.
Joel Campbell 39:22
We just, can we just add to that Katrina?
Katrina Puranik 39:26
Yes.
Joel Campbell 39:27
I think that's an amazing point. Because the other thing is this. The thing that this really shows is, it's so important for the to think about the reason why you started the business in the first place. And very, it's a very small percentage of time that it's about profit it's about have having a vision and delivering a product or service that doesn't exist and innovation behind a brand and an identity and a mission and all of those things and I think that the the companies that have done that Best and sort of survived. And sort of tackle this in the best way, so far, have a very deep vision that runs through everything they do. And, and have that have that through their brand identity. And if they make less money, or if they don't grow as fast, or if they, you know, I'm struggling, I guess in these times, that vision can really keep you warm at night and remind you, you know, you went into this with a purpose. And, um, you know, no matter what comes along, you can you can continue to drive towards that, and the world will change, and all of us have to adapt. But yeah, it is so important to just go back to those roots of like, there is going to be an economic hit for most businesses through this, and probably pretty significant for a lot of them. But if that wasn't the reason we started this anyway. And for us, it's definitely like, it's always been an afterthought. And I'm sure everyone on this call is the same is that you probably started this business to help people, you probably started this business, the business you're in to, you know, try to try and provide a better service than the ones that were existing. I mean, that's still completely possible. And you're totally able to do that. The financials of it might just look a little different. But if you stick to those goals, I think it's it's definitely the way to get through all this
Katrina Puranik 41:33
100%. Definitely. Actually,
Andrea Anderson 41:37
if I can just throw my five cents worth there, I 1,000% agree. If you look at businesses that are focused on their ideal target audience, you'll find that most of those businesses are really struggling nowadays, especially if their audiences no longer beer. And I have to agree with both Amanda and Joel. And that is you've got to bring it back to the center, and the center of it is why did you start the business to begin with? And really, what is the solution that you're trying to bring to the market that you're that you're selling on the market today? Because nine times out of 10, for most of us, we've probably started the business out of pure necessity. I don't know how many people here are like me where they just unemployable yet, so I hate to unfortunately, employ my
Joel Campbell 42:27
mouse on your scale.
Andrea Anderson 42:30
It's so true. But you know, you're so wrong.
Katrina Puranik 42:33
Anyone? Andrew, what's the matter with you?
Andrea Anderson 42:37
Yeah, as long as I can smack them with a two by four.
Katrina Puranik 42:39
True note,
42:40
I agree. But yeah,
Andrea Anderson 42:42
you know, we all, we all decided to embark and to take on board this badge, his business owner, or, you know, a service provider, or, as I like to put it a solutions provider. And I think this is where we're going to see a real big shift in the next three to six months with businesses, those that are in it for profit, and those that are actually in it for purpose. And I think you're gonna see a big wide divide, because those that are in it, for purpose, are probably the ones that are going to dig the toes in and actually make the changes necessary in the customer journey transactions, to pivot. And it's a word that's used a lot to pivot, and to actually continue to deliver these services in different ways.
Amanda Lowry 43:30
Completely, and I think it's, you know, looking at the vision, the vision is probably the one thing that doesn't change all that often. But it's everything else, like in this economic time. It's we're just pivoting, I'll use that word, again, how we operate or how we deliver our services, but the vision is still the same. So you know, it still keeps us on track, and it still keeps us focused. So hopefully, we don't fall into that free zone. It's just more of a, okay, well, this is the what we do. This is what we're still striving for. We just need to find out other ways or other methods of doing that, probably in today's world in the digital form.
Katrina Puranik 44:07
Thanks, Amanda. Thanks, Andrea. And Joe. I'm going to pass it over to Sheldon to talk a little bit about the challenges of moving from legacy systems, old software, big businesses that are trying to or small businesses that have been operating for many years, and struggling to move away from software and systems that have been heavily integrated into their businesses. Over to you.
Sheldon Morey 44:42
Thanks, Katrina. Hello, everybody. Um, yeah. And I guess Katrina picked on me because I'm old and I've seen lots of technologies go by. And, and like Andrea, I became unemployable about the mid 90s, because I knew more Most of the people around and nobody would pay me enough. So I set up my own business in around them.
Sheldon Morey 45:12
The situation we're in at the moment is is is really interesting.
Sheldon Morey 45:22
Business is not going to be done as usual ever again. Now all of those people sitting on either in in in house systems or systems that grew up from the Microsoft or the Google platforms as those platforms grew. And they've, they've never really thought about how well they fit together. Businesses with money, multiple places where they store data, like they've got data in Dropbox, they've got data in Google Drive, they've got data in, in OneNote, or, or SharePoint or wherever it is. And, and these businesses are going to struggle to bring that all together, particularly now, in that their workers are not necessarily going to be in one place. And the difficulty we're going to have is, or they're going to have is managing where all this stuff is talking about customer contact. Now CRM system, a CRM system is not just designed to track customers and how much shipping you can throw at them, it's actually the to look at what communications have taken place between your business, your staff, and the client, and why they might be pissed off that you haven't supplied them with something else for or why they walked away from you because you haven't done something for them. All these remote people now are going to have to bring all that data into a CRM and manage it. And most businesses have not designed their data capture systems. In CRM, particularly well, I remember my first, my first project outside of working for for a company was the Brisbane City Council's customer context system was called C calm at the time. And it's actually a rather brilliant CRM, in that it does capture a great deal of information. And they knew exactly what they were developing. And they develop that in the late 90s. And it's grown up since then. And now it's a very sophisticated system. But most businesses don't collect the right amount of data. So sitting down and planning what your opportunities are in the future. And what type of customers you're going to, I guess look after you need to define the CRM, the data in the CRM to manage that. It's also we've got challenges with with often older telecommunication systems where people use PB x's in their offices. If you don't have your staff in your office, what's the good of having 10 phones and nobody, nobody there to answer them. They're all going to be out out remote on mobile devices or on IP based phones. So
Katrina Puranik 48:49
just just to jump in there quickly, and I think Trevor's got something that he wanted to ask you.
Sheldon Morey 48:55
Yeah, sorry.
Trevor Russell 48:57
Thanks, Sheldon. Sheldon, what's your thoughts? If we're coming back right at the beginning around the resistance to organizational change? One of the things that I've always seen for many years is this old school belief that you've got to pack 2000 people into a building to make sure that they all show up at nine o'clock and do their job with this shift that's going on? What are your thoughts on companies embracing moving to more remote working type environments, because I'm also sniffing around and looking at everything online and I still see you know, 10 million jobs call center work and they're all head office head office, and I'm thinking, right you know, this Yes. I'd like to hear your thoughts on their children.
Sheldon Morey 49:41
Well, actually interesting. I was I was listening to a TV article, I have my TV sitting on in my office so I can watch what goes past and there was a something popped up some futurist was talking about and he was saying that basically, the future of centralized officer, I don't want to see that he's going to do with all that office space in between Because the comments are that people aren't going to be there anymore, or certainly not in the volumes that they have been in the past. So I've been Andrea's restaurants and all the cafes in the in the city that we're supporting those will be supported by those people, they're going to struggle as well. The big issue with remote work is getting people to firstly do the work. And I don't think that's a problem. If Right. I mean, most employees have the right attitude, given the right incentives and the right interest in the organization that they're working for. It's more the stress of the the loneliness, or the remoteness or the lack of contact, they have with the central organization that causes them problem, I can see things like a change in our reach retail precincts down the retail precinct, they're going to lose a lot of clients, because most of those businesses will simply not restart. So retail precincts in the in the suburbs, need to find a new opportunity to support their organizations, I can see them having co working spaces being set up in those precincts and and that'll be your, your connection hub for your business. So businesses will either on a part time basis or on a contract basis, hire hire a destiny hire hot desking me for their staff to come in and have their, you know, weekly connection with the organization. So that's one of the one of the major changes that present an opportunity for the new way of working. So I don't think we're ever going to get back into offices. I mean, my my wife was talking about an illegal practice in the city, I mean, they were spending $350,000 a year on their office space, it just isn't going to happen
Trevor Russell 52:09
in the future.
Sheldon Morey 52:12
Now that they're all fine, they can sit and work at home and do justice, but just as productive as as solicitors or legal advisors, as they were when they had the big office. And they've got if, if if the community spaces are there, then you can have meetings, you can have a bit like we work in the city except in the city, they're not going to it's not going to run that those sorts of models don't work having a big centralized operation in in like the we work to the place just aren't gonna function. The small, bespoke co working spaces in the suburbs, in the in the retail precincts. Brings brings people into those precincts. So it gets the service providers in those precincts with lunches and food and coffee, all functioning again, and just replaces the city to Central City.
Trevor Russell 53:09
I have a feeling one of the benefits that will come out of this is that smart evolve, leaders of industry will actually realize that adults are actually adults, and they actually will actually take care of themselves and probably work more productively because I think one of the greatest stressors with hating jobs is not necessarily the job. It's because they feel like they're slaves. And I think that one of the benefits will come out of this is if companies do embrace cities, I mean, IBM years, I mean, they, they had remote work desks 30 years ago. And they seem to have done okay, I don't know how they're doing these days. But I'm so glad you can do
Katrina Puranik 53:52
something on that my my hubby used to work for IBM and the culture is yes, this they're still allowing people to Well, before this obviously happen. They were still allowing people to work from home. And but there were a few people that were taking advantage of it and not actually being online. So that
Trevor Russell 54:12
is probably back to good management skills. And that'll probably be one of the opportunities that will come out of this is improving leadership and management skills to work remotely so that it'll be about performance and productivity and you move from right to left alone. But that unthinking get could be one of the great opportunity to come out it's
Sheldon Morey 54:32
one of the process functions that putting in place in my model is is is the measurement process. So if you're going to implement a remote working program ongoing, what are the measurement tools you put in place? Not to I guess not remunerate the staff but to actually give them the incentive to do the right thing. You Yeah, it's more like, boost and encourage and reward them for doing what you'd like them to do. Yeah, measuring those things and getting that, that that feedback out there is gonna be the challenge, I
Andrea Anderson 55:16
I think though team there's something that's fundamental though, that hasn't. And we're probably just going a little bit off screwy, here it is, you've actually got a workforce that is accustomed, that has, is accustomed to leaving the house, jumping in public transport, traveling to a work environment, banging out the five to eight to 10 to 12 hours, whatever it is, and then traveling back home, and actually creating clear separations, between home and work. You've now got a workforce that and we don't hear about this, but we know what's going on and and Trevor, your colleague, the the psychology practice, because I've got a coaching, I've got a client who's in psychology practice, and they're experiencing this where they're seeing a new kind of client coming through. And the new kind of client, the seeing are those that customed to working like self employed people, right. And this is
Trevor Russell 56:20
everyone's becoming self employed.
Andrea Anderson 56:22
And and this is for a lot of people, you and I, for most of us here, that's probably something that we think nothing about. But if you think back to when you first started working from home being self employed, and the mind shift you had to go through to get to the point you're at today. And you know, I see this for di being a huge area of growth and matters, the re educating of office workers to, to work and live at home and the one environment. Look, my my partner, he's used to go into an office, right, we've had three weeks of him four weeks of him working from home. And I can tell you, it's not been easy. from a psychological perspective, and a work performance perspective. He'll work his butt off, and I know he was so rewarding is not is one of the elements. But we've got to ensure that if this is going to be the norm for our office workers who have spent the last 30 years going to an office, we are going to see some discipline. Absolutely.
Sheldon Morey 57:35
That's why I'm suggesting that the psychology part of the having local, suburban co working spaces where I can just go and stand by the coffee machine and chat with somebody. And it's certainly from their own company, but just somebody just makes that break happen for them.
Katrina Puranik 57:56
Thanks, guys, we coming up on on closing time. And I will head over quickly. But I think die had something quick to add and then we'll all say our goodbyes.
Di Krome 58:09
Thanks, Katrina. And I just wanted to touch on some of the points that the guys were just talking about then. And that's that a lot of people get their satisfaction intrinsically. And so external reward systems won't make any difference whether you're working in an office or working from home. And I want to go back to what a lot of people were talking about before about vision and purpose, if you have people working in your organization, and they truly believe in what you're trying to achieve, and they're aligned with your purpose. You don't have to motivate them. It's about what Sheldon was saying it was about it's about encouragement and support and what I call compassionate leadership. And what a lot of people are doing at the moment, they're so used to controlling their staff so tightly that now that they're sort of out of sight, they're micromanaging. And they're checking up on them every five minutes and demanding, you know, responses instead of allowing their staff, you know, to take some time to find their new normal and all of this,
Katrina Puranik 59:14
I think it comes down to accountability and finding the right accountability system that can at least show you that they are doing what they need to and without having to have that spotlight or micro manager on them. So thanks, ty. Thank you, everyone. It's been an incredible session. And I believe we had someone duck out right on 230. I think she might have had a meeting. So just again, well mentioned that we are trying to keep to a schedule of 130 to 330. So forgive me if anyone's short if they wanted to add anything. And there's always next week, so jump in then I just wanted to remind you all that For our attendees, or even viewing this video from Facebook, to make sure that you like the Facebook pages of all of our speakers that are here today, to be able to be kept up to date with the next toolkit events as they come up each Wednesday at 130. And it's always free to join in. And there's a lot of juicy insight and expertise you can take advantage of. And don't forget that the only way you can present questions to the group is to register and jump in the session. So I'm Katrina from ranking Australia, you can find us on Facebook or online on the website, or just Google. So I'll pass it over to Trevor, Andrea, Joel, Amanda Sheldon and Di in that order. Please, share with everyone how they can find you. And remember that order. Trevor? Trevor first...
Trevor Russell 1:00:56
Oh, thanks, Katrina. And thanks, everyone. I've really enjoyed being on here today. And it's actually definitely helped with my motivation and helped me gain some new perspective. Thank you. And I just want to say really easy if anyone wants to reach out, I'm on Facebook, Trevor Russell, and or shoot me an email Trevor at results. academy.com. But I do and happy to support you in any way that I can in this time of change and evolution and even a bit of uncertainty. So thank you.
Katrina Puranik 1:01:31
To you, Andrea. Thanks, Trevor.
Andrea Anderson 1:01:34
Thanks, everyone. And thanks particularly to Katrina for organizing the opportunity for all of us to come together. You can find me at www.yourmarketingmachines.com.au that or you email is andrea@yourmarketingmachines.com.au. Feel free to come and book an no-obligation conversation with me and let's chat about staying alive and thriving beyond Coronavirus.
Katrina Puranik 1:02:01
Thanks, Andrea, over to you Jojo. I think that was out of the order. But
Joel Campbell 1:02:08
yeah, look, if you want to find out anything about about Oncord, what we do, I'd suggest speaking to Andrea Anderson, or Katrina from this call, and both incredible. resellers of the Oncord platform. I don't think there's you can always come to us with questions directly. But we've seen them do amazing things for people this last year, as far as just creating incredible online experiences for people. So yeah, always happy to chat to anyone who wants to and you can check us out at encore calm, but really Katrina and Andrea are the ones, the reseller partners that in this group that would definitely recommend if you need to improve your online presence, and they are fantastic at it. And yeah, unendorsed more.
Katrina Puranik 1:02:54
Thanks, Joel. And just to let you know, Andrea, is amazing when it comes to sales and marketing and business structure in that space. My Space is SEO, AdWords coming at it from your web presence. So over to Di to say....
Di Krome 1:03:18
Okay. Thanks, Katrina. Yeah, this has been absolutely fabulous. Thanks for organising it, Katrina. So you can find me on Facebook under Wildfire Business Consulting. And I'm very happy for anyone to have a just a brief chat over the phone or jump on to zoom. Of course not Skype anymore, that's for sure. And how I can help you with your financial strategies so you can take stocks survive and thrive. Thank you. So you're
Katrina Puranik 1:03:46
gonna pretend stay over to Amanda.
Amanda Lowry 1:03:49
Yeah, like I want to say thanks, Katrina. It's it's been a great session. I've really taken a lot from it as well. If anyone wants to find me they can search me on facebook just Amanda Larry branch strategist. Or they can email me at a.lowry@mflgroup.com.au we're actually doing free brand audits at the moment to really help people you know, discover what needs work on their brain. So if they are in that freeze mode, and they're overwhelmed, you know, they can be really great process so if anyone's interested they can definitely reach out.
Katrina Puranik 1:04:25
Thanks, Amanda and love the the cross promotion here. Very good guys. Sheldon afternoon.
Sheldon Morey 1:04:33
Yeah. Hi. Thank you. Yes, again, Katrina thank you for organizing this and in fact, um, I guess I've been working by myself now for over 15 years so I'm kind of find this to be a bit ordinary but but it is really good to sit and chat with with other people and get an insight into what they're doing and what's going on. So it's certainly that psychology, relaxation relief that you get when you talk to other people. You can contact me I'm a technology coach and consultant.
Sheldon Morey 1:05:03
I
Sheldon Morey 1:05:05
operate on both LinkedIn under Sheldon Morey. And on Facebook. My website is Sheldon Morey Consulting sheldonmorey.com.au You and you can email me at sheldon@sheldonmorey.com.au
Sheldon Morey 1:05:20
Thank you.
Katrina Puranik 1:05:21
Thanks, Sheldon. Just a really big thank you to everyone who took their time out to join us today. That includes the attendees, and all of all of you experts who have joined us today. I can't thank you enough. But I shouldn't be surprised because everyone here today who is sharing their expertise, insert insight and advice. It is always and this is prior to the health crisis, they've always been out in the forefront of helping and supporting small business. And remember, Trevor from working with the Small Business expos quite prominently. And Andrea, who has been including myself, Sheldon and Amanda, as one of the as best advisors, we've all been as advisors, which is the digital support sessions and workshops and webinars and for small business. So it's our passion. We love to support small business, and we'd love to work with each other. So thank you guys, and please do reach out to us. And don't forget to Like a Facebook page just to stay up to date. Thanks, guys.
