Remember the phone book? It wasn’t so long ago that when we needed a service or product, we’d pick up the phone book and search for a business that could help us.

Your networks provide you with your most powerful sales source: inbound referrals. About one half of my own business comes from inbound referrals and a recent survey by Marketing Research firm USM, identified that in B2B marketing, an incredible 91% of B2B purchasers use Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing to make a purchasing decision.

What’s your story? One of the most effective tools for building your personal brand is storytelling. The emotional connection it creates with your clients and leads is a marketing powerhouse.

Want to know the fastest, most sure-fire way to raise your profile, build your database and make more sales? Then it’s time for you to brush up on your speaking and presenting skills!

I recently traveled to Queenstown, New Zealand where there is a winery called Amisfield. I’d heard about this winery and it lived up to its reputation. It has a beautiful restaurant with incredible food, overlooking the vineyard and sitting on a beautiful lush green lawn.

In case you missed it or can’t access the video, this is the transcript from the interview on ‘Mornings’ on Channel 9 this week. I hope you find it helpful, feel free to share with someone who needs it!

I recently worked with a group of sales people on building their Personal Brand as part of their position as thought leaders in their industry. We spent a considerable amount of time talking about testimonials and their value.

Most clients I see get quite frustrated that they don’t seem to be able to access it and wonder why all jobs aren’t advertised. The short answer is networks.

In today’s world of trying to achieve more with less, engagement scores and managing team performance it can be hard to think creatively under pressure.

It’s easy to underestimate the work involved in running a business. Cash flow and stock management can all cause sleepless nights, not to mention the need to justify your pricing to customers who are shopping around for the best quote.

I was recently working with a client who was an expert in her field of women’s leadership. She was frustrated that she’d been spending a lot of time on social media, particularly LinkedIn and Facebook, yet her social media strategy wasn’t working.

There is no doubt about it, the strategic use of LinkedIn offers small businesses and entrepreneurs an abundance of benefits. It enables you to engage with and influence your peers, clients and potential customers.

I recently worked with an organisation that was concerned about the LinkedIn profiles of its staff. “All the profiles have been written professionally; we think they’re nice and polished,” the Marketing Manager said. “We even had professional photos taken.

With more than 400 million people registered, it’s easy to get lost in the beast called LinkedIn and put it in the too-hard basket. What many clients I work with don’t realise is that LinkedIn first and foremost is a search engine, so it acts like Google.

With more than 365 million users, LinkedIn is a great opportunity to grow your business in front of a highly targeted audience. It was originally created for executives only but has grown to connect professionals at all levels – even graduates, who are the fastest-growing LinkedIn demographic.

By now, you may be aware that LinkedIn offers you to be a member of a group. In fact, you can be a member of up to 50 groups. There are millions of different groups available.

When Tom Peters wrote his article, “The Brand Called You”, in Fast Company magazine in 1997, I was a second-year university student studying marketing in Lismore, northern NSW.

The old ways of selling have changed. It used to be about calling. It used to be about samples and then trying to get meetings with people. Now it’s quite different. Now it’s about leveraging people’s social networks.