The Success Factor

The National Speakers' Association of Southern Africa is presenting a one-day course entitled "The Success Factor - Success in South African Business".

This really looks like a great investment of time and money as you will be exposed to some of South Africa's top speakers, trainers and coaches. Each speaker explores the fundamentals of success in South African business from a different perspective. From Billy Selekane who will "Awaken our spirit of Tribal Consciousness" and Ian Rheeder who explains "The Seven
Deadliest Marketing Sins" to Clive Simpkins who will "Change our Thinking" and Arthur Goldstuck who describes "The Internet Earthquake" This conference promises to be an information overload that will expand your mind and help grow your business and yourself.

During the breaks the experts will be available to chat with you and share their expertise. It will be up to you how much you get out of the day.

The morning session will offer four keynote presentations that will blow your business mind. In the afternoon we will have two breakout sessions where you can choose from six different experts in fields such as psychology, motivation, technical developments and persuasion skills.

The day will wind up with a lively question and answer session with the speakers.
This is a day not to be missed.

However numbers are limited, so book now!

For a detailed program and to book on line go to the NSASA site by clicking here.

Lead Where You Are

Following on yesterday's post about training I would like to draw your attention to what is fast becoming the leadership training event of the year - The Global Leadership Summit presented by the Willow Creek Association.

At very affordable pricing (from as little as R300 for the day) this event features speakers such as Colin Powell (former US Secretary of State), Jimmy Carter (39th President of the US), Richard Curtis (award-winning screenwriter and producer of films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral), Carly Fiorina (former CEO of Hewlett-Packard) and Bill Hybels (senior pastor and founder of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago).

The US event happens earlier in the year and the best sessions are recorded in very high quality onto DVD. The conference package is then taken to a further 193 cities in 31 countries around the world and broadcast to local audiences at individual summits. I have attended the last two of these in Johannesburg and have been blown away at the quality of broadcast and, of course, the quality of the leadership input.

This year the Summit will be taken to the following venues in South Africa :

1) Johannesburg - 5/6 October
2) Durban - 12/13 October
3) Port Elizabeth - 12/13 October
4) Cape Town - 19/20 October
5) Jeffrey's Bay - 19/20 October
6) Nelspruit - 26/27 October

You can download a brochure by clicking here.

For further information you will need to visit the Willow Creek South Africa site - click here

Can You Afford To Be Trained?

There are two great one-day seminars for business owners coming up during this month and next. However there is a huge discrepancy in the pricing and therefore affordability.

The first is one called "How To Turn Your Idea Into A Profitable Business" presented by Imagin8. This one-day event will reveal why 90% of businesses fail within the first five years and will teach attendees essential skills for giving your new business idea the best chance possible. It takes places on 23 June at Gallagher Estate in Midrand and costs R699 per day.

The second is an event entitled "The Leadership Habits Of South Africa's Business Champions". This is presented by Leadership Works. The conference will feature Ricardo Semler, President of Semco SA and Professor Gary Hamel of the London Business School as well as a host of other leading South African business executives. The conference takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre on 10 July and will cost each participant R6994.

There is no doubt that each of these events will have great speakers, inspiring and challenging content and that those attending will leave having felt that they have spent the day well. I also have no doubt that those who implement their learnings will find benefit to their businesses.

What I do question however is the huge discrepancy in pricing - R699 / R6994. I would think that a small business owner would hesitate to spend almost R7000 on a one day seminar even though there may be long term benefit to his/her business. In an economy so desperate for competent, well-trained entrepreneurs and small business owners surely effort must be made to keep the cost of training as affordable as possible? Perhaps bringing in overseas speakers is not such a good idea when our own country has so many superb speakers who understand the South African economy, the complexity of our cultural melting pot and who are able to get into the mind of the South African business owner.

Increasing the skills base of our small business owners must be top priority and therefore affordable training is key to future success.

Telephone Manner

Telephone manner is vital in business as it is often the first impression of your business a potential client will receive. Here is a great training article by Jeff Mowatt on this vital aspect of your business.


1. How long does it take you and/or your switchboard operator to answer the phone?

a) 5 rings or less
b) 3 rings or less
c) under 3 rings

After two rings, callers are wondering what’s going on. Your phone should be answered in-person by the second ring or by your voice-mail system by the fourth ring.

2. Do you answer your phone with any of the following?

a) “Hello.”
b) “(Company name only)”
c) “(last name only)”
d) “Good afternoon, this is (your full name), how can I help you?”


All of these greetings have flaws. A, B, and C are too abrupt and don’t provide enough information. D is too wordy and dissuades callers from identifying themselves because it encourages them to get to the point rather than saying their name. Plus it forces you to check the clock to see if it’s before or after noon. A better greeting is, “Thank you for calling ABC Company. This is John.” If you are taking a call that’s transferred to you, then always identify yourself as you wished to be addressed. Whether you choose to identify the department is optional.

3. Have you ever said, “Please hold” to a caller?

a) yes
b) no

Never put a caller on-hold without asking for their permission, and then waiting for their response. Putting customers on hold without their consent is a sure-fire formula to lose customers.

4. How long does it take a person on hold to become annoyed?

a) 2 minutes
b) 30 seconds
c) 1 minute
d) 17 seconds

Studies show that after only 17 seconds, callers on hold become annoyed. The exception is when the greeter explains why the caller is being asked to hold and provides the estimated time required. Knowing beforehand how long they can expect to wait reduces the chance of annoyance, particularly among long distance and cellular phone callers. Another option to prevent frustration is to offer the caller the option of either holding or hanging up and having their call returned within a brief, specific time period.

5. When you’re talking on the phone while a visitor walks in, who gets priority?

a) the visitor
b) the caller

The person who made the effort to show up in-person gets priority. That means you need to interrupt the caller. The quickest way to get that caller’s attention is to call their name. “George, I have someone who just walked in, can I ask you to hold for a moment?” Wait for their agreement. Then acknowledged the visitor, tell them you’ll be a moment, and wrap-up your telephone conversation.

If you’re talking to customer in person when the phone rings, then get someone else to answer the phone, or use voice mail. Abandoning customers to answer the phone is downright rude and is a guaranteed way to lose customers. As obvious as this seems, it’s one of the most common blunders in customer service.

6. When receiving a call for a co-worker, how are you most likely to respond?

a) “Susan’s not in right now, so I’ll have to take a message.”
b) “Susan’s still at lunch. Can I take a message?”
c) “Susan’s should be back soon. Could you call back in about 15 minutes”

All of these statements have flaws that make the greeter sound unhelpful and unprofessional. Consider each response.

a) The statement, “I’ll have to take a message,” makes it sound like an inconvenient chore. Instead, change two words: “I’ll be happy to take a message.” The bonus is that you don’t work any harder but you convey the impression of someone with a terrific customer service attitude.

b) It’s completely irrelevant that the co-worker is at lunch. The caller might be thinking, “That’s a long time to be at lunch!” It’s also irrelevant whether your coworker is “in a meeting” or “with a customer” or “busy”. The only relevant information is they’re not coming to the phone. Therefore, “Susan is not available right now” is the most appropriate response, followed by, “I’d be happy to take a message.”

c) asking a caller to phone back later gives the impression that you’re too lazy or disorganized to take a message. This gives a potential customer a terrific excuse to call your competitor. ‘Nuff said.

The training solution
If you’re like most managers and business owners, you’ll probably find that when you assess the phone practices within your organization, there’s room for improvement. The good news is that with just a little training, it’s easy to develop the skills that ensure that your customers keep coming back.

The article in its original form may be found at BusinessKnowHow.com

Video lessons for entrepreneurs

Here are two interesting videos from an entrepreneur in the trenches. Both videos contain common sense advice and neither is earth-shattering. However it does us well to be reminded that what are about is far more than making money.

We are making a difference in the lives of people - watch these videos and see how to make that attitude a reality in your business.