Smart Business Growth with Nicky Miklós

Hosted by Nicky Miklós

Business Entrepreneurship

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Episodes

144

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

The Smart Business Growth podcast is your go-to for real talk and real strategy – grounded in over two decades of sales and leadership expertise. Hosted by sales growth expert and TEDx speaker Nicky Miklós, this show is for ambitious business owners and sales leaders who are scaling businesses – and refuse to choose between high performance and having a life. Expect pragmatic conversations, proven frameworks, and practical tools to shift your sales culture from reactive to revenue-driving. From systematising sales to developing your next generation of confident leaders, Nicky shares the thinking and strategies that help you build momentum that lasts. You’ll also hear powerful insights on redefining success, breaking up with burnout, and finding your own version of healthy hustle – that sweet spot of growth without the relentless grind. It’s time to lead smarter, sell stronger, and grow without losing yourself in the process. Welcome to Smart Business Growth. Wherever you listen to podcasts, Nicky's waiting to welcome you.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 20, 2026Episode 3244 min

Listen to Connect: The Leadership Skill Most Managers Miss | Nicky Miklós with Kylie Paatsch

Are your one-on-ones building real connection, or just ticking boxes? In this episode, Nicky Miklós sits down with leadership expert Kylie Paatsch, author of The Connect Effect, to talk about the listening, questions and connection habits that build trust and lift team engagement. Nicky hears it all the time from leaders: "My team are calling me, so things are going really well." But what happens when they stop calling? Together, Nicky and Kylie unpack how to stay intentionally connected with hybrid and remote teams, how to make one-on-ones genuinely valuable, and why the most common leadership question, "How can I support you?", might be due for retirement. It's a conversation between two coaches (and good friends), so expect plenty of laughs alongside practical tools you can use in your very next one-on-one. In this episode, Nicky and Kylie cover: ▶ Why engagement starts with trust, and what six generations in the workforce means for leaders ▶ Staying connected with a hybrid team without relying on them to call you ▶ POT and DOT: a simple setup that stops one-on-ones becoming a chitty chat ▶ Listen to connect: the extra level of listening that helps people feel seen, heard and valued ▶ Better questions to ask instead of "How can I support you?" and "What motivates you?" ▶ SAOS: spend time, ask, observe, share ▶ Bringing a coaching approach to one-on-ones, and using situational leadership to decide how directive to be Nicky Miklós helps business owners and sales leaders move from reactive, scattered growth to smart, structured, scalable growth. Get in touch: hello@nickymiklos.com Kylie Paatsch is a leadership expert, coach and facilitator with more than 30 years of leadership experience and over 20 years of coaching and facilitation, working with senior leaders at organisations including Qantas, CommBank, Flight Centre and Rip Curl. Her latest book is The Connect Effect: How to Build Loyalty, Ownership and Engagement with Your Leaders. Get The Connect Effect: https://kyliepaatsch.com.au/book/ Kylie's website: https://kyliepaatsch.com.au Kylie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyliepaatsch/ Take the free Smart Business Growth Audit: https://smart-growth-audit.replit.app/ Watch the full episode on YouTube: [add YouTube link once live] Tags (plain keywords) leadership, listen to connect, one-on-one meetings, employee engagement, team engagement, hybrid teams, remote leadership, coaching questions, leadership coaching, sales leadership, situational leadership, trust in leadership, The Connect Effect, Kylie Paatsch, Nicky Miklós, Smart Business Growth Podcast Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

October 15, 20266 min

Why Adding More Is Slowing Your Business Down

When growth stalls, most business owners add something: a new product, a new service, another process. A crooked Lego bridge shows why that instinct so often makes things worse. In this Quick Win, Nicky Miklós and productivity expert Donna McGeorge, author of Red Brick Thinking (amongst many other amazing books), unpacks addition bias, where hidden friction could be quietly costing your business, and why no one gets employee of the month for killing a project. Part 1 of a three-part Red Brick Thinking series. Up next: "What's Really Stopping Your Sales Team From Selling?" This is a Quick Win, a short, practical clip from a full Smart Business Growth Podcast episode. Want the whole conversation? Listen to the full episode with Nicky Miklós and Donna McGeorge, wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Donna: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnamcgeorge/ | donnamcgeorge.com Nicky Miklós helps business owners and sales leaders move from reactive, scattered growth to smart, structured, scalable growth. Get in touch: hello@nickymiklos.com Tags red brick thinking, addition bias, business growth, business owners, sales leadership, customer experience, simplicity, leadership, Donna McGeorge, Nicky Miklós, Smart Business Growth Podcast, Quick Wins Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

October 6, 202613 min

6 Things the Best Sales Leaders Are Doing Right Now | Nicky Miklós

How many of these six are you already doing? In this solo episode of Smart Business Growth, Nicky Miklós shares the simple tweaks she's been seeing the best sales leaders use right now to drive results, hold standards and keep their teams engaged. It's a rapid fire check-in. For each one, give yourself a yes or a no. And if you're unsure, it's probably a no. In this episode, Nicky covers: ▶ The weekly wrap: wins, learns and market feedback, and why "the market is tough" isn't an answer ▶ Why revenue is a lag measure, and how 2 to 5 sales activity KPIs give your team something they can control every week ▶ Helping your team get crystal clear on what a high-quality deal looks like, and where to put their focus ▶ The one simple action that should come out of every coaching conversation, formal or informal ▶ Setting clear deadlines and expectations while keeping the conversation open ▶ Why the WIIFM (and WIIFT) should come first before you roll out any change Nicky Miklós helps business owners and sales leaders move from reactive, scattered growth to smart, structured, scalable growth. Get in touch: hello@nickymiklos.com Take the free Smart Business Growth Audit at nickymiklos.com Watch the full episode on YouTube: [YouTube link] Tags (plain keywords) sales leadership, sales leader tips, sales management, sales coaching, sales KPIs, sales activity, lead and lag measures, weekly sales report, high performance sales team, team engagement, commercial leadership, WIIFM, Nicky Miklós, Smart Business Growth Podcast Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

October 1, 202611 min

Are You a Trust Giver or a Trust Earner?

Most business owners know, intellectually, that they need to let go. Actually doing it is another thing entirely. In this Quick Win from Smart Business Growth Podcast Episode 23, "Lessons from the Frontline," Nicky sits down with Nick and Jeni Clift, who built and later sold a successful IT managed services business, to unpack what really gets in the way of stepping back: the ego, the dopamine hit of closing the deal yourself, and the quiet sabotage that happens when you try to let go without replacing it with something else. Nick shares the idea of being a "trust giver" versus a "trust earner," and why it changed how he built his team. This is a Quick Win, a short, practical clip from a full Smart Business Growth Podcast episode. Want the whole conversation? Listen to "Lessons from the Frontline" with Nick and Jeni Clift, wherever you get your podcasts. [Buzzsprout link] Connect with Nick and Jeni: Nick: nick-clift.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-clift-mspcoach-mentor-eosintegrator/ Jeni: jeniclift.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeni-clift-business-coach-coaching-change-management-process-improvement-eos/ Nicky Miklós helps business owners and sales leaders move from reactive, scattered growth to smart, structured, scalable growth. Tags leadership, business growth, delegation, letting go, trust, sales leadership, team culture, autonomous team, Nick Clift, Jeni Clift, Nicky Miklós, Smart Business Growth Podcast, Quick Wins Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

September 22, 20261 hr 1 min

Money in Good Hands: What It Really Takes to Build a Business Doing Good

Nicky Miklós sits down with B Corp consultant Michelle Sutherland for a conversation about what it actually means to build a business doing good in the world. Not values on a wall, but leading from the heart, and backing that up with real work. Michelle has had an incredible career, from the top one percent of a global sales team to a life dedicated to making sure profit is profit for good, money in good hands, through her work as a B Corp consultant. In this episode, Nicky and Michelle get into: ▶ What a values-led, purpose-driven business really looks like, and why it's a returning, not a reinvention ▶ The head, heart and hands framework, and why businesses running on head alone are missing the point ▶ What's shifted in the B Corp movement over the last five years, and why younger generations are driving the change ▶ The real risks and costs of shifting a business toward social impact, and why something usually has to die before something better grows ▶ Why every dollar you spend is a vote, from your bank to your suppliers to your super fund ▶ A simple head, heart, gut exercise you can use for your next big decision Connect with Michelle Sutherland, B Corp consultant and founder of Definitii: LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/michellesutherlandco Website: https://michellesutherland.co Email: michelle@definitii.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellesutherland.co Nicky Miklós helps business owners and sales leaders move from reactive, scattered growth to smart, structured, scalable growth. Get in touch: hello@nickymiklos.com Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

September 17, 20266 min

The CLASP Framework: How to Ask Better Sales Questions

Sales reps who ask targeted, strategic questions close 23% more deals. So why do so many conversations skip straight to the pitch? In this Quick Win, Nicky Miklós breaks down the CLASP framework, her simple, memorable way to ask better questions without it feeling like an interrogation: Curiosity, Listen, Ask with intent, Softeners, and Permission points. This is a Quick Win, a short, practical clip from a full Smart Business Growth Podcast episode. Want the full conversation? Find [full episode title], wherever you get your podcasts. [Buzzsprout link] Nicky Miklós helps business owners and sales leaders move from reactive, scattered growth to smart, structured, scalable growth. Get in touch: hello@nickymiklos.com Tags sales questions, effective questioning, CLASP framework, sales conversations, sales strategy, business growth, sales coaching, Nicky Miklós, Smart Business Growth Podcast, Quick Wins Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

September 8, 202615 min

So What? The Question Behind Every Successful Cold Call

🎙️ Episode 29: So What? The Question Behind Every Successful Cold Call "If it ain't coming in, we're going out to get it." That's been Nicky's mantra for cold outreach for 20 years, and in this episode she's unpacking exactly how to do it with confidence, not cringe. Because here's the truth: cold calling isn't dead. It's just often done badly. In this solo episode, Nicky breaks down her Cold Call Formula, a dead simple structure built around one question that changes everything: so what? You'll learn: The "so what" factor, and why every reach out, warm or cold, needs to answer it in the first few seconds The Cold Call Formula: talking point, link, why statement, question How to handle the inevitable brush off with Nicky's Hold Framework, without losing your nerve or the opportunity The fine line between confidence and arrogance, and why oversharing your solution too soon can cost you trust Simple ways to stand out when everyone else is hiding behind email Whether you're on the phones, walking into a business, or building frontline sellers who need to hit the ground running, this episode hands you a framework you can put into action today. Curious where the gaps are in your own sales approach? Take the free Smart Business Growth Audit and get your results instantly: https://smart-growth-audit.replit.app/ Connect with Nicky: 🌐 nickymiklos.com 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/connectwithnicky 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/nickymikloswoodley Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

September 3, 20264 min

How to Build a Genuine Speak Up Culture

Do You Actually Want a Speak-Up Culture? Every leader says they want their team to speak up . Fewer actually build the conditions for it, and fewer still notice when their own reactions are shutting it down. In this Quick Win from Nicky's conversation with communication expert Leah Mether, they break down why "just speak up" doesn't work for most people, a simple technique for drawing out honest feedback, and the real test of whether your team actually has permission to disagree with you. This is a Quick Win, a short, practical clip from a full Smart Business Growth Podcast episode. Want the whole conversation? Listen to "Steer Through the Storm: Sales Leadership" with Leah Mether, wherever you get your podcasts. Connect with Leah Mether on LinkedIn, or find her free resources and "Ask Leah Anything" videos at her website. Tags leadership, sales leadership, psychological safety, speak up culture, feedback culture, business growth, communication skills, team culture, Leah Mether, Nicky Miklós, Smart Business Growth Podcast, Quick Wins Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

August 25, 202616 min

Sales Leadership Is Evolving, Are You?

Episode 28: Sales Leadership Is Evolving, Are You? For a long time, sales leadership has meant one thing: hit the target, chase the number, move on to the next one. In this solo episode, Nicky makes the case for why that approach is putting businesses at risk, and what it actually looks like to evolve from sales leadership into commercial leadership. In this episode, Nicky covers: The danger of staying in a transactional, single lens approach to sales leadership, and why it leaves businesses exposed when results rely on just a handful of high performers. The three pillars of commercial leadership: building a high performing, high vibing sales culture, upskilling leaders to become great coaches, and taking a holistic view of performance management that goes beyond the KPIs. Some eye opening stats from a recent Salesforce State of Sales report on just how few salespeople are getting regular one on ones, coaching, or role play practice, even though the majority say it directly helps them hit target. Whether you're leading a team of salespeople, leading other leaders, or you're the one closing deals every day, this episode will help you spot where you might be stuck in a single lens, transactional mindset, and what one small shift could look like. Want to know where your business sits across the three levers of commercial leadership? Take the free Business Growth Audit, it takes about 5 minutes and you'll get your results straight away: https://smart-growth-audit.replit.app/ Mentioned in this episode, How to Have Tough Conversations: https://youtu.be/yk96ezzzS8Q?si=I0pwRTR6rnKee3KG Got a question, or want to work with Nicky? Get in touch any time: hello@nickymiklos.com If this episode helped, the best thing you can do is share it with a leader who needs to hear it, and leave a rating or review, it really does help the show reach more people. Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

August 23, 20261 min

Preview: Sales Leadership Is Evolving, Are You? (Ep 28, out 26 Aug)

Coming 26th August 2026: Episode 28, "Sales Leadership Is Evolving, Are You?" Sales performance isn't about skill, it never has been. In this preview clip from the upcoming Smart Business Growth ep, Nicky Miklós makes the case for why what shows up in your numbers is actually a downstream result of what's happening in your team, confidence, clarity of role, and whether the tough conversations are being had at all. The full episode drops 26th August 2026, subscribe now so you don't miss it. Curious where your own team sits? Take the free Business Growth Audit, it takes about 5 minutes and gives you a score across the three levers of commercial leadership straight away: https://smart-growth-audit.replit.app/ About Smart Business Growth Podcast Smart Business Growth Podcast is hosted by Nicky Miklós, sharing real conversations that help business owners and sales leaders grow smarter and more sustainably. Each episode digs into what it actually takes to build a high performing sales team and commercially minded leadership, covering everything from sales coaching and performance management to culture, mindset, and the conversations most leaders avoid having. New episodes land fortnightly on Wednesdays, with Quick Wins, bite sized pieces of wisdom for when you're short on time, dropping fortnightly on Fridays in between. Want more behind the scenes insight into Nicky's work with real businesses? Head over to the YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@NickyMiklos Learn more about Nicky at nickymiklos.com Do the Business Growth Audit here! Get your a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life at www.healthyhustle.com.au Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram Contact: 0403 191 404 | hello@nickymiklos.com Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

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