About the Author: Ashley Thomson
Professional Journey
Ashley started in business improvement in 1998, working for an Australian consulting company. He honed his skills by optimising corporate giants like Coles Group, Myer, ANZ Bank, Telstra, and Zurich Insurance. This hands-on experience gave him practical insights into the workings of great businesses and the pitfalls of poor performers.
Accolades and Awards
Ashley’s exceptional coaching prowess has earned him a place in the prestigious Coaching Hall of Fame (2019). Additionally, his achievements have been acknowledged through multiple awards, solidifying his reputation as a world-class business coach. He leads a team of award-winning business coaches at Tenfold, setting the gold standard in the industry.
Expertise Across Industries
With diverse experience spanning FMCG, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, construction, trades, retail, and professional services, Ashley has successfully coached businesses across various sectors. His expertise lies in coaching mature businesses with revenues ranging from $5M to $50M, guiding them through complex financial structures, marketing strategies, operational improvements, and leadership development.
Innovative Problem Solver
Ashley’s background as a convergence task force manager and project manager at leading organisations like Show Ads and NewsCorp – PMP Print equipped him with the skills to streamline complex business functions. His ability to sift through data, identify key business drivers, and provide agile financial models enables businesses to thrive in competitive markets.
Published Author and Global Authority
Ashley’s influence extends far beyond his coaching practice. He co-authored “The Quiet Sales Genius,” a definitive guide to effective sales strategies. He has been featured in prominent publications, podcasts, and conferences, cementing his status as a thought leader in the coaching community.
Ashley’s influence reaches across the globe, with features and accolades from esteemed platforms such as:
Baby come back! Encouraging repeat purchasing in your business
While customer acquisition is always an important strategy for business growth, you can’t beat customer retention as the most cost-effective way to raise revenue. Why? In my time as a business coach, I’ve observed that repeat customers: Spend more money with your business Are easier to convert Are cheaper to convert Do some of the promotional heavy lifting for you Increase profitability Bottom line: repeat customers cost you less and bring in more money. So, let’s look at some customer retention tactics so you can keep these valuable VIPs coming back for more. Six tactics for increasing repeat purchases ...
Personality tests: hocus pocus or useful business tool?
In my work coaching business owners and managers, I am regularly asked for my opinion on personality testing. Are they accurate/useful/worth the investment? Should all staff (existing and potential) take one? Can they help business owners lead their team more effectively? As a business coach, I can see the value of taking someone’s personality into account when putting together a team. These types of tests certainly offer a framework for assessing whether an individual is a good cultural fit, how they could potentially approach and respond to certain situations or tasks and even their preferred management style. Basically, personality testing ...
How to find the best coach for your business in Melbourne
Search LinkedIn for a business coach in Melbourne and you’ll come up with no less than 29,635 results. Great, right? You’re clearly spoilt for choice. Except, now you have two problems: There’s just no way you could possibly sift through all those profiles to find the right business coach for your specific needs While there are surely many qualified, experienced business coaches in Melbourne who have a great track record of getting results for their clients, it could be hard to find them amongst those whose qualifications are limited to having added the word ‘business coach’ to their business card ...
This one marketing hook can skyrocket your brand and increase your sales conversions
Trust sells. It's as simple as that. When prospects are considering which business to buy from, the biggest risk they're weighing up is, "What if I make the wrong decision?" Making a mistake can be costly - whether that cost is actual dollars or time wasted or a missed opportunity with a better option. Prospects are always looking for proof that they'll get what they pay for - they want be assured that the business they choose is trustworthy. And that's exactly what awards do. Imagine this: your computer system has crashed and you might lose everything: all your pricing, ...
The one marketing email you should start sending today
What’s your plan for dealing with leads who don’t convert immediately – or at least, say, within three months? As a business coach, the answer I often hear from business owners is, “I don’t need one – they’re probably tyre kickers, anyway.” And that may well be true. For a portion of them, anyway. You could certainly be forgiven for believing it is better not to invest too much of your marketing spend on bad leads, preferring to focus more on filling your sales funnel. You might be surprised to learn, however, that the numbers tell a very different story. ...
Making business personal: should you be the face of your business?
For marketers, 2019 may retrospectively become known as The Year of the Personal Brand. While it is not a new idea, attaching a brand to a person and making them the face of their business is a branding strategy that has gained some real traction over the past 12 months. As a business coach, I can certainly see the value of business owners embracing this trend; by showing up in your branding, it helps customers connect with your business on a personal level – and, as we know, people buy people. But I do have questions. Does this strategy suit ...
Have you holiday-proofed your business? 8 actions to help you take a break with confidence
I’m willing to bet that as a business owner, you need some time off (probably more than most). Unfortunately, you are among the least likely people to take that much needed break. A recent study performed by Prospa revealed that 57% of business owners plan to work the same (or more) hours as usual during the holiday season. Almost half only plan to take public holidays off or just keep working through. Yikes. As a business coach, these figures have me concerned. As I tell my clients, if you don’t take a break from your business, your business may just ...
Your new year to-don’t list: things to stop doing in your business for increased productivity in 2023
If you own a business, then I’m willing to bet that your to-do list is long enough that you could string it around your Christmas tree like tinsel. What’s more, just as you manage to cross something off, three more tasks join the queue for your ever-dividing attention. It’s a chief complaint for those I mentor as a business coach, so when Adam Grant – author, podcaster and TED talker (not to mention father of three young kids) – offered his solution, I was hooked. What was this magical pass off the to-do list merry-go-round? Wait for it… (drumroll please) ...
Attracting new customers is still the best way to grow your business
In my time as a business coach, I’ve observed (and weighed in on) many a debate around whether business owners should focus more on customer retention or customer acquisition as the best way to achieve business growth. Fact is, both of these marketing activities are extremely important. It’s not hard to understand that it is just as vital to keep customers coming back to you as it is to bring new traffic in the door. However, as a business mentor, I do feel that the pendulum has swung too far in the wrong direction; many experts seem to focus most ...
Blog writing 101: Essentials for planning and writing your first post
Confession time: even as an experienced business coach, I used to find blogging quite challenging. I spent way too many writing sessions having a ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ style stand-off with my enemies - the blinking cursor and the blank page. In some ways that’s a good thing – especially for my coaching clients. Now, when I’m offering business advice about blogging, I’ve got a suite of hacks, tips and templates to save them time and effort (and from making the usual blogging blunders). Having made the case for starting a business blog, this second instalment of ...
