5 Tips to sell yourself effectively in an interview

How to sell yourself effectively in an interview?

The recruitment arena is changing and it’s time to look into other ways than the CV to stand out amongst the crowd and show what you have to offer, both in the interview, and in the application process.

Education

Just because employers are generally opting to hire those with more experience doesn’t mean that you can’t gain those qualifications that you’ve always wanted to achieve. However, bear in mind that there are other ways to become knowledgeable without a degree. Remember, it is just as important who you know as what you know. Try going to relevant trade shows to the industry you want to break into. You will meet relevant people for potential jobs, as well as develop your industry knowledge. It also shows initiative if this is brought up in an interview.

Go the extra mile

A lot of positions available aren’t necessarily looking for someone who has years of experience. They want someone who can adapt to the company’s way of working, and who can bring a fresh approach. So if you’re not quite the whole package, but are on the right track, emphasise this. You will be cheaper to hire than someone with more experience, but with proven interest through work experience, the employer can vouch that one day you can grow into a vital employee. Potential is the key word here. Show them what yours is.

Confidence

With preparation comes confidence. It creates a good first impression but can also leave you less worried: an aspect of interviewing that many fail on through nerves. Don’t waste your time explaining how beneficial the position can be to you. The interviewer already knows that from your presence at the interview. Instead, give details on where your skills can best fit into their business, this is particulaly true when applying for engineering jobs. This will appeal to their commercial mind and answer the question they will be thinking: “What can this person offer my business over others?” – This fearless attitude could bag you a job.

Manage expectations

Ensure that you have a good understanding of the business you want to work for. For example, if you are interviewing for a large corporation, you may need to tick a few boxes before being considered, whereas in a smaller business you may be expected to take on more tasks and have better flexibility. Tailor your CV around this, and ensure that you ask relevant questions based on your research of the job.

Work experience

If for absolutely no other reason, work experience can give you something to discuss in an interview. However, there are numerous reasons you should be trying to find relevant jobs to get to your dream career. You can show your enthusiasm and give real life examples of what tasks you have undertaken. The fact that you have gone out of your way – and in many cases, without pay – in order to further your career speaks volumes, and this is what employers want: people who want to grow and learn within their company, this is ideal for work within the maritime jobs market.

At the end of the day, you must ask yourself how much you want the job. If you want it, it’s worth doing your research as thoroughly as possible. It doesn’t matter whether it’s through education, through a relevant employment history, or through the internet. With this knowledge behind you, you can sell yourself effectively to become a valued member of the team you want to join.


Drs. Christiaan Janssens MBA
Executive Coach CJ Coaching
CRO Akwa Wellness

The 3 C’s for finding your Dream Job

The 3 C’s - Contacts, Credibility, and Competence

When searching for the job you want with the kind of money you think you deserve, you need to focus on the three C’s… Actually, the three C’s - contacts, credibility, and competence should remain a constant focus throughout your career.

Contacts

Firstly, the more contacts you have in any given marketplace, the more likely it is you will find the job you want. The more people you know and who know you, the more likely it is you will uncover that desired job opening.
This is why it is so important for you to network continually. Join associations. Ask people for referrals and references. Tell your friends, relatives and associates that you are in the market for a new job and build your online profile on social media sites liked LinkedIn and twitter. Nothing is more important than your circle of contacts.

If you are recent graduate or fairly new to the job scene, you may not have yet established a solid black book of contacts. If this is the case, you need to work with Recruiters to identify opportunities, make the introductions and assist/guide your job search.

Credibility

Second up is credibility. Where it’s all about reputation and character. Your credibility is the most important single quality in terms of getting recommendations and referrals from your contacts. 
Make sure that everything you do is consistent with the highest ethical standards. Make sure that you never say or do anything that could be misconstrued by anyone as anything other than excellent conduct and behaviour.
Remember, people will only conduct business with you if they are completely confident that they will not end up looking foolish as a result of something you may do or say.

Competence

Last up is competence. It really is how good you are and how good you have been in your previous roles (or academic life) that will determine, more than anything else, how good you can be at the job you are seeking. Next to your character, your level of competence will be the single most important factor in determining your success in your career, which is why you must be continually work to maintain and upgrade your levels of competence through personal study and career growth.


If you have and can demonstrate the three C’s, you'll find your dream job !


Drs. Christiaan Janssens
Executive Coach CJ Coaching
CRO Akwa Wellness

5 Tips on Approaching Tough Job and Career Issues

Five Tips on Approaching Tough Job and Career Issues

So you have a job that you’re just not suited too. Maybe the role has gone a little stale or its time to kick start your career and get the position you have always desired. Well, sitting around just doesn’t cut it in today’s market, inaction leads to lethargy and stalling your career could have a detrimental affect on your future.

We’ve all dealt with the ups and downs of life, whether they are BIG global issues that affect us or just a bad hair day. Whatever the circumstance it’s how we deal with issues that really formulates our attitude and success. Here are five points to remember when dealing with the career obstacles life hands us.

Make a choice
No matter the circumstance, make a choice today where you want to be in your job and your career. If not, move on; take steps to change careers by initiating contact with recruiters in your desired sector.

Embrace the challenge
Obstacles, problems and issues are truly the greatest opportunity to grow as a person and in your career. If you are weak in an area, embrace it and make plans to overcome. Let the people around you know that you do not shy away from issues and that you meet them head on. There are many books that will help you embrace, challenge and overcome obstacles.

Smile in the face of adversity
When you truly embrace and understand the value of personal growth, a problem or challenge is a gift. Treat it as such and know that while it may be difficult for a time in the long run, the knowledge and strength gained is a positive. I often here the phrase ‘it’s better the devil you know’ from people talking about their careers to which I counter with ‘the grass is often greener’. If things are not as desired, tackle it, head first and put your career back on track.

Look in the mirror
You are responsible and accountable for actions and how you react to all personal and career situations whether negative or positive. Do you know people who missed a promotion or made the wrong career decision and missed out on big events? Sure you do, we all do. The question is how did they react and how will you react.

Take ownership
Only you can initiate the first move. Be decisive and honest with your career.

Drs. Christiaan Janssens MBA
Executive Coach CJ Coaching
CRO Akwa Wellness

5 Simple things you can do to increase your chances of hiring a Top Performer!

5 Simple things you can do to increase your chances of hiring a Top Performer!

Are you looking to employ the rainmaker that will change the course of your business? Increase your bottom line by hiring the right sales professional, the first time, by following these five simple steps.

Know what you are looking for

Drill down and define the skill sets you need on your team. Hire Executives based on the current sales requirement and work environment.

Look in the right places

Top performing Sales Executives are usually employed. Don’t hire that friend of your neighbour because she’s a real “people person.” Target specific companies and networks through aligning with a professional Sales Recruitment Consultancy who target both active and passive candidates.

Have an objective way to measure candidates

Determine the hard and soft skills that are important to evaluate, and stick to the plan. Interview, role-play and use behavioural and competency tests as required, determining the best fit.

Measure all candidates equally

Use the same standards of assessment for all candidates. Using a base question and answer format prevents the haloing of applicants. Develop scoring criteria to evaluate applicants or seek assistance from your Sales Consultancy to help format/stage your interviews.

Don’t settle!

Drop the philosophy that a warm body is better than nothing. It’s much easier to expand your sales team with the right personnel than it is to “throw mud at the wall in the hope that some sticks”…

Drs. Christiaan Janssens MBA
Executive Coach CJ Coaching
CRO Akwa Wellness

Raising Your Bottom Line, Using Customer Feedback

Raising Your Bottom Line, Using Customer Feedback

Copyright Akwa

You have every reason to spend some time seriously studying the benefits involved in the customer feedback portion of your business. It is best to see your customers as your allies but not simply because they pay you. You have many options when it comes to enlisting them and getting them to share their opinions with you. Pretty much every business is hoping to earn more money and become more profitable and successful. You need to find a way to figure out what has been going through your customers’ heads and hearts. No part of your business from sales to marketing is actually perfect. It is possible to figure out which changes you need to make so that you can get closer to perfection though.

By acknowledging your customers opinions, you can show them that you care. They will know this is true if they think their opinions are being heard. Most customers will not provide their feedback if they don’t think you’re listening. This type of thinking only applies to those that use your feedback system on your website. As time goes on, your reputation for ignoring your customers will definitely supersede any other reputation. In addition to that, people will come to believe you do not care about them. It will come back to haunt you and hurt your business if you continue to do this. It will only have a negative impact on what you are doing. 

You can use your customers’ feedback both traditionally to make positive adjustments as well as in other important areas. You should think about passing the feedback on to your employees. Letting your employees in on these things can make a major impact. Positive or negative feedback will give your employees a solid feeling that what they do in their work matters. Your employees’ job performance will have a clear avenue to be expressed. It also gives your employees the chance to see what actual customers are saying as well as the managers they have.

The client or customer base is the life blood of any healthy business. This is obvious from the standpoint of profits and fueling the engine of your business. Accepting customer feedback, though, means accepting that your customers are going to tell you what they’re feeling and what they’re thinking. It helps you break down the whole process of buying and make it better.
From beginning to the end. You’ll learn about each and every moment along the way during which the buying process can fall to pieces. There are plenty of opportunities during which improvements can be made.

In regard to your business, customer feedback is very valuable. It can help you improve your company in many ways. It is important that you give this a lot of thought. Those that do not, are really missing the boat. You have a better idea of what can be done. So doing something is imperative. It is imperative that you use the information that customers are willing to volunteer. This may help you make your business much more viable and profitable.

Drs. Christiaan Janssens MBA
Executive Coach CJ Coaching
CRO Akwa

Create & Sell Your Own Personal Brand

Create & Sell Your Own Personal Brand

Which zebra stands out?

Take a good look at this picture and let me know which one zebra stands out!  If you were to purchase the best one of these Zebras, what exactly would you be looking for in this picture?  How can you tell which one is the best for you? Take a really good look I promise you will see the difference.  Maybe you need to zoom the picture so you can see the difference much better.. go ahead and zoom it! Can you pick the one that stands out now?

I guess this would be a very tough and challenging task because to be quite honest they all look the same.  Not one of them is different from the others. The above picture represent exactly how most businesses look like.  If all you do is promote your company replicated website, people will not be able to tell what makes you different and why they should partner with you. What do I mean by replicated or generic website?

I am talking of the one that has your name or some numbers at the end? www.companyxyz.com/yourname. Relying on a company replicated website in your business will slow it in different ways.

1.  Search engines do not recognize replicated or generic websites so that means you are not getting any traffic from google or the other search engines.  When someone goes online looking for your products or services, search engines directs that person to the company’s main site. The company then decides who get the customer or the prospect based on where the person lives or some other criteria your company may have in place.

2.  If all you promote is your company’s replicated website, just like the above zebras photo, that website does not tell people who you are.  In fact thousands or millions of other companies have the same replicated sites.  So if I look at your site and others in your field, what would make me select you.

Now, I am in no way saying you should not have a company replicated site.  You should have one so you are able to service your existing customers and to get new.  What I am saying is that a simple replicated will not help you to grow your business. A good measure of that:

Take the last one week, or month or even better, look back at the last one year, how many new customers did you add from your company’s replicated website?  If you have another 5 or 10 years to wait and thousands of €, £ or $ to waste, then maybe personal branding and attraction marketing is not for you.  You must have more than one way of building your business and your marketing strategies and system have to be Top Notch!

Want to brand yourself? Yes? I promise you it will be very easy for hundreds or thousands of people to easily pick you out from the crowd or the masses who are all doing the same thing.  Take a good look at this picture and let me know if you can tell which one zebra is different from the others?  That is how easy it gets for those who are looking to find you.

One thing you have to constantly remember, branding yourself online is not about pitching your products or millionaire making company, it is all about you.  The focus has to be on “YOU” and what you can offer your audience in solving their problems.  Give them the answers or solutions to their problem and the recruiting will happen without any pressure or much effort.

From now on let your focus be on building a brand called “You Incorporated” and use that brand to build your business. Another advantage of branding yourself especially when you take your brand online is that you can quickly start driving targeted traffic to your own site.

This makes it possible for you to do business with customers around the country and to even find new customers all over the world.

Christiaan Janssens
Executive Coach
CRO @ Spa Akwa Belgium

How CRM Software Improves Sales Figures

How CRM Software Improves Sales Figures

Are you looking for a good way to get better sales figures out of your business? Of course you are! Well, one of the best ways that you can improve your sales is to make use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. CRM software is also known as Contact Management Software. CRM software is a kind of program that you can use to help you keep track of lots and lots of leads on customers and clients for your business. When you are trying to sell products to anyone, there is an important principle which you have to keep in mind: most sales are made after multiple communications back and forth between the seller and the buyer.

For example, the number of people who will purchase a product from you based solely on the first time that you contact them may be less than ten percent. Similarly, the next few calls or emails that you make to a given person may only have a chance of a few percent more in getting a response. However, you are gradually informing the potential client or customer with more information about your business and making them get gradually more interested in what you have to sell. When you finally get to somewhere around the fifth, sixth or seventh communication with the same customer, you will find that you hit the point where the majority of people who are going to buy finally make their purchase, based on the bulk of the information that you have given them and the fact that they now feel like they know you, that you are a competent company and that they can trust you to deliver the goods. This is why a good sales prospecting software is absolutely critical to your business.

When you are trying to sell your products to hundreds, even thousands of clients, the entire process can become very complicated very quickly. The best way for you to keep track of where you are in the communication process with all of these customers is to use automated customer management software, or CRM software. Because the CRM software automatically records all of the communication steps that you take, you can rest assured that you will not create confusion for your customers. It is easy to keep track of all of the things that you have sent to customers, when you have sent them, and when it will be a good idea to send them additional information. You can also track the issues that your customers have reported to you in order to provide them with better, more consistent customer service and improve your chances of repeat business. The auto industry figured this out very quickly and dealerships all over the country are now using an automotive crm software to help better keep track of new customers and track referrals.

All of these things which CRM software allows you to do help you to increase your odds of making the sale to every given customer, and when you take the effect of CRM software in the aggregate over the bulk of the customers that you are working with you will be able to enjoy much higher sales levels! Customers who would have been lost as a result of not being followed up with properly will now start to make purchases from you and you will enjoy the benefits of a more trusting and involved customer base which believes in your ability to keep up to date with their needs and provide them with the information which they need to have to make a good purchase.

Using CRM software is one of the best ways that you can boost your sales, giving your sales force the tools that they need to know what they are doing at every step of the way and never lose another lead to miscommunications or due to a failure to keep up to date with your customers’ sales status. Improve your sales figures at work with CRM software today!

Drs. Christiaan Janssens
Executive Coach
CRO @ Spa Akwa Belgium