Among our clients and business alliance partners we have many people you can count on, including the following professions, products and services:

• Bookkeeper
• Accountant
• Lawyer
• General Insurance
• Financial Planner
• Mortgage Broker
• Business Coach
• Commercial Cleaner
• IT Consultants
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Real Estate Agent
• Property Investment
• Electrician
• Plumber & Gasfitter
• Travel Agent
• Blinds & Curtains
• Skincare
• Nutritional Products
• Chiropractor

If you are interested in any of the above services or products please contact Liz on 9300 4511 for further information.

They needed the website to more accurately reflect their business today, with a greater emphasis on their industrial and commercial work. And if we were able to help them with online solutions to assist their recruiting and tendering processes, that would be a bonus!

Owner, Asher Lindquist, had established the business in 1999. With an in-depth understanding of his market the brief we were given was to keep the text to a minimum and use images to communicate the types of projects they are targeting today.

“When you need to appeal to industrial and commercial clients the site needs to be cutting-edge,” said Asher Lindquist. “I have to admit that our old site was a bit dated, and gave too much emphasis to the domestic work we do.”

Another reason to have an up-to-date website was to attract suitable staff and make it easier for those that wanted to apply for positions available. This was done through a recruitment module on the website. Candidates complete an online application and submit their resumes through this system. The application then assists Lindquist administration staff to manage and collate applicants’ submissions and even schedule interview appointments.

One of the other major benefits of the new website was to streamline the process of distributing tenders to their subcontractors. Tenders documents can be up to 100MB in size, which makes them impossible to email. Now subcontractors can be notified when new tenders are released, log into the website to view them and download those they want to quote on.

The end result is an easy to navigate website with a sleek modern design that is more complementary to some of the modern new building projects they are working on. Even though some work remains to be done – such as collating more examples of past projects and expanding the Portfolio into three sections, – Lindquist are delighted with their new clean and efficient, user friendly website.

On hold messages come in all shapes and sizes, but sadly most of them are no go zones. Here’s the alternatives – and further down a couple of great examples to listen to…

Your other options are -

1. The horrible bells… (unprofessional and equivalent to “waterboarding”) FREE
2. Silence… (fine if you want your callers to hang up on you because they think the line has gone dead) FREE
3. The radio… (great if you’d like to advertise Bunnings, Harvey’s and AMI nasal spray – ewww) APRA fees apply

So what should you get from an on hold message?
A professional sounding, entertaining and informative message that engages your customer and allows you to whisper things into their ear that they never knew about you. In other words “upselling with style”.

Ok, here’s the DON’TS:

• Don’t pay more than $69 bucks per month
• Don’t sign any contracts. Why should you be locked into a fixed term?
• Make sure you get a minimum of 6 free changes, or upgrades to your message, every year. You need to keep it fresh and seasonal.
• Don’t pay any install or set up costs.

Our suggestion? Go Go On Hold. We regularly suggest our customers use Troy and his team at Go Go, because he has a “not happy…no pay policy”. In other words, if you don’t like his service or message at any stage, there’s absolutely no cost… and you PAY NOTHING. It’s 100% watertight guaranteed.

First step? Give us a hoy and we’ll get Troy to get in touch.
Second step? Let him impress you. If he doesn’t… there’s absolutely no cost.
Third step? Enjoy the great professional on hold service. And with their no contracts policy, you can cancel your service at any stage.

Check it out – have a listen
As promised, here’s two examples of the work from Troy and his team at Go Go. The first one is straight and informative. The second one – great fun and funky – just how the client wanted it.

Fun and funky

Straight

If you need any more info about on hold messages, just give us a hoy – we’d be happy to help.

We are all aware that November’s White Ribbon Day is fast approaching.

At BPW’s November Dinner Meeting a support worker will talk about local programs that aim to prevent family violence.

The Stirling Women’s Centre (SWC) provides emergency accommodation for up to five families experiencing family or domestic violence. They run the Safe at Home programme which works with families and enables women and children to remain in the home when it is safe to do so.

For more information on Australia’s campaign to stop violence against women visit www.whiteribbon.org.au

When: Tuesday, 15th November 2011, 6:45 pm
Where: The Woodvale Reception Centre @ The Woodvale Tavern, 143 Trappers Drive Woodvale

Full details can be viewed at: BPW Joondalup Nov 2011 Dinner Invite

Too many women in the world have to walk at least 5km just to collect water. The UN Women Australia Spring Walk, organised locally by BPW Joondalup, is a way for you to make a real difference in these women’s lives.

Fancy spending a morning in the sunshine with Liz Flatters from Staying in Touch to support UN Women?

On Sunday 25th September Liz will be joining BPW Joondalup on their 9th annual Spring Walk to raise funds for the UN agency for women and children. We do a 5km walk (with a 2km walk option!) through the beautiful bushland and parklands in Joondalup and then share morning tea back at ECU. We pay $10 per person or $20 per family to directly support the work of UN Women in developing countries.

Attached is an invitation and we would be happy if you could join us. Please bring a hat, a water bottle, $10 per person and gold coins for morning tea and raffles. Also recommended are sunscreen and wet weather gear (we’ll be walking whatever the weather!) Raffle prizes this year include a voucher for Waitaha Day Spa!

http://www.bpw.com.au/current-events/booking/?regevent_action=register&event_id=91

Be sure to RSVP either to Liz or as indicated on the invitation, so we know how many people to cater for. Hope to see you there!

When: Sunday, 25th September 2011, 9:30am
Where: ECU Joondalup

For more details, costs etc please see invitation attached.

BPWJ Spring Walk

While planning ahead is ideal, it doesn’t suit everyone. Sometimes there just isn’t a lot of time available – so knowing what to avoid can be very useful.

If you want to engage your fans, here are three quick Facebook post traps to avoid.

1. Making it too personal
Occasional humour and something off topic is fine. It shows your human side. But remember, this is not your personal profile.

People do not become fans of your Page to find out how tired you are today or what you had for breakfast.Reserve these comments for your Personal Profile – unless of course you run a café or attended a business breakfast function somewhere – then it might be relevant.

2. Repetition is boring
Repetition can be a powerful marketing tool… unless you apply it by making every Facebook post in the same format! For example, you’ve no doubt heard that photos make a great post, but if every post is a photo of your latest creation – whether it’s a bouquet of flowers or a website – your Page can lose a bit of its shine. That’s advertising, not engaging.

Without giving it some thought and consideration, you might find that 80% of your posts follow exactly the same format. Fans quickly lose interest in this kind of Page.

3. Only talking about your product or service
Remember the last time you met someone at a party and all they did was talk about themselves? “Me, me, me…” Doesn’t take long before you turn off, does it?

We all have numerous different roles and activities in our lives.What specific part of your fan’s life is your product or service addressing, e.g. is it their role at work as a Software Engineer, is it their role as a parent, or is it a leisure pastime?

What other information can you offer your fans that is perhaps related to your product or service… but isn’t necessarily talking about yourself.Can you promote a complementary business; give links to an industry expert, or offer some tips or hints that could assist them in this particular role or activity?

So before you rush headlong into your next post, just for the sake of meeting a self-imposed quota or deadline, it might pay to think of the consequences.

What sorts of Page posts do you enjoy?

Is the WA Police service one of those ‘last bastions’ of a male-dominated workforce?  Well, you may (or may not) be surprised to discover that the service has taken great strides toward being a more gender-balanced workplace.  Our guest speaker is a highly-awarded, senior female police officer who will give us an insight into the journey, its impact on the service’s culture and the ways the service is fostering women in key leadership roles.

When: Tuesday, 13th September 2011, 7:00pm
Where: The Woodvale Reception Centre @ The Woodvale Tavern, 143 Trappers Drive Woodvale

For more details, costs etc please see invitation attached.

BPW Joondalup Sept 2011 Dinner Invitation

• Web Developer – advertised here on Seek
• PA/Accounts/Admin Assistant – not yet advertised.

Both positions are full-time, however we might consider a part-time applicant if they’re the right person.

If you know of someone talented and enthusiastic ask them to email a covering letter, resume and portfolio (if applicable) to liz@stayingintouch.com.au

With the uncertainty of the times this proved to be a lively discussion at the August First Tuesday Breakfast Forum, where the advantages and disadvantage of putting your irons in one fire vs. in a number of fires was explored. This forum was facilitated by Susie Vergers of Change Creators and was held at Cafe Elixir in Wanneroo.

It became evident that some business owners are diversifying by providing new types of products or services to their existing customers. Others have chosen to stay committed to specialising but are looking to different markets and/or geographical areas to safeguard their business from seasonal or cyclical dips.

Those who have expanded or diversified too quickly pointed out that it is important to ensure one’s efforts don’t dilute the core business or the main products or services offered. And there is often the possibility of confusing clients.

Some other dangers of diversification were highlighted, like when the gap widens between the separate elements of the business; or when costs can blow out with new product trials and marketing campaigns; and even the unforeseen challenges when a business expands into a new product or service or new market or geographical area. The discussion certainly provided some good food for thought.

If you want to know more about Change Creators or the First Tuesday Breakfast Forum call Liz Flatters at Staying in Touch who will put you in contact with Susie Vergers, Principal Consultant at Change Creators.

LtoR: Maggie Catley - Madcat Photography, Liz Flatters - Staying in Touch and Tracy Foley - Blueprint Interiors