Thursday 4 December 2014

Learn how to become an organisation that stimulates growth through your employees

In order for your organisation to thrive, there needs to be continuous growth for your employees. Stimulating your employees in there normal everyday tasks forces continuous personal development and gives individuals a sense of achievement and ownership for strategic initiatives.

Why would you want to be an organisation that consciously stimulates growth through your employees?


Firstly, employees keep doing the same thing day in and day out and soon they become complacent in work tasks as a result of lack of stimulation. This can result in mistakes and poor performance from your employees as a result of this complacency culture that develops. 

Secondly, the growth of an organisation is limited to a few key individuals that can come up with a number of innovations and strategic initiatives to propel a business forward. These individuals will not work in each department and may not necessarily have an ear on the ground like an individual that is working in that department. This may result in transactional strategies created for each department instead of transformational strategies that could give your organisation the competitive advantage you need.

Therefore: Imagine if you could get 5 people within a certain department to come up with 3 strategies. If you only implement 2 or 3 of those 15 strategies, your organisation will continuously grow and strengthen in each department.

How to become an organisation that stimulates growth through your employees:


1. Get ARTICLES online weekly for each department that is relevant to each department.
  • Example for sales department: What is the difference between benefit and feature?

2. Get your employees in each department to read these articles WITH A DEADLINE.
  • Read and report back to me by next week Wednesday.

3. Ask questions on these articles. 
  • Example: 
    1. How does this apply to our business? 
    2. Can we use anything from what you learnt in these article in our business, 
    3. If so, how and why?
4. Get employees to discuss their findings and results with each other in that department.
  • Our features are...
  • Our benefits are...
  • We can translate this to the customer by...

5. Come up with blueprints and strategic plans on how to implement ideas and concepts that were created. 
  • Need an implementation plan to see these ideas through or else they will just remain ideas.

6. On a monthly basis, get employees to read BOOKS on their relevant departments and present their findings to each other as well as you.
  • You can always learn more about each department.
  • Individuals often retain more information when they teach it to someone else.

In today's' information era, there is no excuse for a lack of personal education and development. 

Very often individuals just need accountability and they will do what is being asked and eventually you will not have to ask because the results will be seen. A culture that strives for growth and encourages strategy will propel an organisation to achieve monumental growth. 

Monday 24 November 2014

Are you maximising events and holidays with your brand personality?

In today's age, individuals are looking for connection in everything we do and it is no different when it comes to our purchasing behaviour and what we look for in companies. 

Consumers are looking to buy but NOT be sold. 

This distinction is crucial when you are coming up with marketing campaigns. Take a step back and ask yourself: "are you being sold?" Look to create a connection with your consumers and one way you can do this is with your brand character during events and holidays.

Do not be afraid to have some fun with your brand character. 

Use the holidays and events in the year to give your brand some character BUT make sure it does not dilute your brands image. 

You can see below how I changed our brands character for Christmas promotions but still maintained the image of our brand. Be careful not to take it too far but have some fun 

Infanta Foods Christmas Baker
Christmas Bakers Man for Infanta Foods

Infanta Foods Baker
Our All year Bakers Man For Infanta Foods

Monday 15 September 2014

Worlds number 1 wealth coach JT Foxx: 15 ways to grow and explode your business.

In business conceptual thinking is crucial! 

You must not JUST copy, but copy and make better or different.

JT Foxx and Marisa da Silva
Marisa da Silva and JT Foxx
See these 15 ways to grow and explode your business that I learnt and implemented from JT Foxx (Worlds number 1 wealth coach):
  1. Stay Small
    • Companies can afford to be sloppy when they get too big. Stay small in expenses but think big in terms of vision. It is crucial for you to maintain that stringent mindset.
    • We have implemented this mindset in our business and become a part of our culture by always asking "what will the return be?" This thinking has got us to think more strategic.
  2. Be the David v.s. Goliath
    • When you are the David, you have to be the best because you have no other choice. This constant fight will drive you to think more strategically. 
    • In our industry we are the David and this constant strive for being the best is how we have survived in our industry. Always think how can I be the best and how can I do this better-> this strive has revolutionised my business to always better who we are as individuals as well as our products and service offerings.
  3. Get the details right
    • Constantly ask how can I do better or be the best.
    • You can fix as you go along but make sure you are NOT over analyzing that you never actually take action.
  4. Must be inventive
    • Watch where you are spending. Finances are the thin line between success and failure-> must find creative ways to fund projects and growth.
    • Being inventive does not necessarily mean a new product but could be packaging previous products differently-> this allowed us to expand our basket to our customers and got them to try a wider variety of products. 
  5. Keep Moving
    • In business things go wrong all the time as long as you fail forward.
  6. Innovation
    • Differentiation is crucial! You do not have to be radical with a product offering. 
    • What we did is improved recipes or new packaging. 
  7. Trust your instincts
    • This is so crucial in business. 
    • Do not second guess yourself.
  8. Say yes
    • It may be scary but say yes to opportunities. Many opportunities will cross your path, you have to evaluate it and have the courage to say yes.
  9. Do business differently
    • Be bold! You have to be driven. 
    • Always think how can I be the best? How can I better this?
  10. Keep your ear to the ground
    • Listen to everyone, do not just act. Always look for opportunities- even the silliest things.
    • By keeping our ear to the ground with the help of coaching we have created training programmes for the bakery and made it user friendly with the help of infographics. 
  11. Make sure employees can make decisions quickly
    • Empower your employees to act autonomously. 
    • Always trust but verify so make sure you have a short string. If a problem arises and it takes to long to get to top management, may be too late.
  12. No such thing as bad publicity
    • Pop up and stand out. Dress boldly and use small quotes that catch readers attention in media. 
  13. Diversify your brand
    • Make sure your brand can diversify into completely different industries. Make it possible to do unrelated business 
  14. Have fun
    • If your organisational culture has a fun aspect, this creates a great environment to have employees thrive. 
    • With coaching, we added an idea board and if you have an idea and it is something we can implement the employee receives an award
  15. Negotiate everything in every way
    • Your negotiation skills are crucial for your business to grow and explode due to the need to form strategic alliances or for better deals as you will need all the help you can get.
These 15 steps are only some of the tips i have used in my business and they have had phenomenal results. Often it is just a small change you need in your business to take you to the next level. With the help of coaching from JT Foxx  (Worlds number 1 wealth coach) I have learnt to grow my business and think transformationally. This has changed my life and my businesses.

Friday 5 September 2014

8 Great Trade Show Tips To Stand Out and Be Seen

Trade shows are gaining more traction but the only problem is if you do not know what you are doing then it is easy to become lost in the trade shows.




Follow these 8 easy tips to stand out and be seen at a Trade Show:


  1. Strong company identification - Logo, Logo, Logo!
    • Make sure that your logo is on all promotional items! 
    • These events are all about creating brand awareness and reinforcing your brand in your consumers mind which is why you need to have your logo on as many surfaces as possible. 
      • Areas that must have your logo are:
        1. Your stand, 
        2. All Trade Show personnel's clothing and 
        3. Most importantly on walk away free promotional products. When people see your products in other peoples hands and would like to try that same product, they need to know which company it came from so make sure you have your company on your walk away products. This exposure at a show is the greatest because it will help to pull people to your stand and have people actively look for you.
    • If it is a marketing campaign, make sure that you have similar placement, font and colour schemes so that your brand is reinforced in your consumers mind and the ads tie up to each other. This repetition of similar placement helps with your brand reinforcement.
  2. Theme your Stand Decor for direction:
    • When you give your stand a theme, it creates a decor direction and helps with decor so that you know what to buy and what you are looking for. If you want to emphasise tradition-> go for a bit more rugged and natural. If you are looking for modern then you know clean cut and strong lines.
    • This will help to draw people to your stand.
  3. Move out and about:
    • Ask the event coordinators if you can walk around with samples of your products and hand out as people are moving between aisles. This is the greatest secret and not many people ask if you can walk around so by the time everyone else realises this, you have already captured more people.
    • Make sure you have beautiful promotion ladies, always more effective. 

  4. Trade show deals:
    • Create deals and packages that are unique to that trade show and make sure you use words such as exclusive, once-off offer, for today only, never to be repeated, discounted to... etc. 
    • All of this provides a call to action and that is crucial to convert the trade show inquiries into actual sales. This also serves as a metric for you to judge how effective the trade show was, what leads you got from it and which deals and packages were effective for future shows.
  5. Do not over showcase:
    • Often at Trade Shows, we try to show everything that we do as a company but less is more when it comes to your trade show showcase.
    • Make sure what you are showcasing is your signature line, revolutionary or never before seen and most of all easy to transport and have people sample it. 
    • If you have a great product, your product will sell itself so we need to make sure that it is easy for people to sample your product. Actually testing the product while at the show will help to secure potential customers while you have them there will you. Let them see it and play with the product.
    • Use TV's with powerpoints showcasing your products, give brochures and pamphlets when people want to see your complete product range. 
  6. Use social Media Campaigns
    • Get people to take a photo at your stand and post online, tag your company and whoever is the most creative with your stand or product then they will win a prize.
    • You can also have a fun cardboard cut out with your brand and have poeple take a photo with this cut out and tag your company. 
  7. Make friends with your neighbours:
    • Work together with the companies around your stand and refer each others companies. This will create more hype around your stands which will pull more people in. The busier your area, the more people stop and look.
  8. Business Card box:

    • Place a box for people to drop their business cards to win a prize (make the prize something people will desire, or something quirky). Then have people come back at a certain time(s) for the drawing. This will allow you to get a lot more individuals details to have follow-up emails to reintroduce your company.


Remember that a trade shows have so many brands trying to get sales and gain that brand awareness, you just have to be more strategic and more effective.

Friday 29 August 2014

Is the Sugar Industry all that sweet? - learn how to translate your business journey into a story

Always remember that facts tell but stories sell. 

Your business story is one of the greatest tools you can use to create an emotional connection with your business. As soon as you share the journey of your company, an emotional connection is formed. 

It is crucial to create that emotional connection and experience for your customers as this will help with loyalty. So many companies are pushing their message to your customers as to why they should buy from them and not you, but with that emotional connection to your company, this makes the persuasion more difficult. 

Tip: Create a picture with your story because visuals always have more impact. Read all about my companies sugar story below and the journey we have gone on.


The story of how our family business started:



When we first started in Swaziland, we had lost absolutely everything. We had managed to negotiate a sugar quota of 1000 tonnes with the Sugar Association. The Sugar quota was an unbelievable opportunity, but we were unable to buy a 34 tonne truck of sugar. We managed to get somebody else to buy 34 tonnes and we bought 6 tonnes of our own sugar from them. We then processed it for our bread premixes and would sell them in South Africa. We only had 5 products that we sold and those are still some of our popular products today.

When we fast forward to present day: All four of our family run the business which we currently manufacture 56 products, sell 250 products and have a sugar quota of 4500 tonnes. What started off as one 34 tonne truck once every 2-3 weeks to South Africa has grown to 7-9 trucks every week.

We are a company only growing from strength to strength and with second generation having joined, we are only growing stronger as a business and as a family.


A lot of people ask us "what is the potential of your company?" and our answer is simple: ENDLESS. 

Thursday 14 August 2014

Easy tips for educational marketing


 Educational marketing has received a lot more attention with the increase of competition in each industry. The need to educate the customer on your company and your product and services has become more crucial for your success. 


The key principle behind educational marketing is educate your customer on WHY to use your company or your product/service.

When you develop a product or service, you have specific wants and needs that your product or service is there to fulfill. All you have to do is highlight these needs you fulfill


Very often your customer does not see the full value or potential of your product until you have told them. This is all about reaffirming your company in your customers mind.


For example: In our bakery industry, a large problem in the bakeries is they want to do everything from scratch and not use a premix. If this becomes a trend in the bakeries then this will adversely affect our company so we have to actively reaffirm our customers on the NEED for our premix. I have highlighted 7 of the most crucial reasons for using our premixes and made it into a campaign.

To see more about my business go to: www.marisadasilva.co.za 

                      




3 tips for you to start your educational marketing:


  1. Make it easy: 
    • Make sure the customer remembers it when you are done. 
    • Pictures always works the best BUT make sure your pictures are appropriate. Your images need to reinforce what you are saying. 
    • Nothing to complex and keep it short.
  2. Make it relevant to your customers: 
    • Make sure that what you choose to showcase has your customer in mind. 
    • Your customer always wants to know "what is in it for me"-> make sure that the message is for them or else educational marketing is useless. 
    • Do not speak AT your consumer but rather engage WITH your consumer.
  3. Educate, Educate, Educate:
    • Add value to your customers and they will add value to you.
    • Everybody loves knowledge and education so make sure you do this often. 

The more you educate your customers, 

the more they know WHY you are different.


To see more about my business go to: www.marisadasilva.co.za 

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Showcase your signature line

A signature line for a business is your product line that you are most renowned for. 

This is often the first item that comes to mind when you think of your company. 

Some examples: 
  • ABI: Coca-Cola
  • Samsung: Galaxy Phone Series
  • Kellogs: Corn Flakes
  • KFC: Chicken Pieces
When you showcase your signature line remember that 
stories sell

"Welcome to our original product line that still has the exact same recipe as 34 years ago! This is the very first product that we manufactured as the lead innovators of a wet premix. we will be showcasing each line so that you can see the diversity of our bread premixes and see what has made it stand the test of time. We would love if you would join us while we go down memory lane."
  1. "Original recipe", "34 years," "stand the test of time" - All these words reinforce the history behind this product.
  2. Telling people it is our very first product is all about adding to the story of the company.
  3. Lead innovators provides status and establishes authority within the industry.
  4. Provide a call to action by asking to be a part of the journey. 


Then look at each product individually to showcase each as its own story.



Thursday 12 June 2014

6 tips for a call to action incentive

When you are introducing your product for the first time to prospective buyers, give them a call to action incentive.

Unfortunately, human nature passes onto business practices and we get caught up in what we doing and we end up saying I will do it just now. Very often, just now becomes never because we allow ourselves to continuously get distracted. Very often, someone may be interested in your product but keeps putting it off which is why you need to have a call to action.

This is an incentive to act NOW and try your product or service in a short period after your first point of contact.

Infanta Foods Introductory Voucher Example


  1. As you can see, we use the word EXCLUSIVE. This is so that they feel special and that you personalized this just for them. 
    • Other adjectives that can be used are rare, once-off, one-time-offer, never seen before etc. 
  2. Provide 2/3 incentives that make them want to buy more to gain more benefits. Use the words: IN ADDITION, so that people know it is extra. Tell your customers that because very often they will just scan over the offers so these words make it stand out and catch their attention.
  3. Give them a time period! This is the most crucial so that you give them a "Call To Action"
  4. Must be presented to be redeemable: You need the proof that they were actually at a specific event and physically received it. This gives you an indication of your return for particular events/tradeshows, for particular promotional bundles etc. 
    • This can all be used for analytics of your advertising return.
  5. Have a signature for authenticity and so that they can not just photo copy your voucher and number the voucher so you know how many you gave out and for tractability purposes. 
  6. Always have CONTACT DETAILS. Make it easy for your potential customer to contact you.

Sunday 1 June 2014

Tips On How To Generate Organic SEO's through "Set pages" settings

This is something so simple to generate SEO's for multiple websites that you have in an organic way.

On your search engine, go to your "Settings" and got to "Set pages". Add all of the URL's for your websites so that they automatically pop up when ever you open up your search engine. Do this for all your office, home and personal computers to organically generate your SEO's.


Sunday 25 May 2014

Raising the objection before they do

In any presentation, you need to know what objections people could potentially raise about your product or service and YOU raise that objection before they do. 

This helps you to answer the question for them. This makes the rest of your pitch more receptive because their objections have already been answered.

Example: "I know this is expensive but, the benefits of having these specialized breads outweighs that because of its ability to lower cholesterol. Can you put a price on health?" 

You control the message which is key!



Preparation, preparation, preparation


Preparation is crucial for any event! 

Never underestimate the power of preparation and visualization.

Any time you are having to do a particular presentation for a particular product to a particular organisation, ensure you are ADDING VALUE to them! It is crucial to either


  1. identify a problem and solve it for them or
  2. identify an extension of their current products or service that they have not seen yet.
Throughout your presentation, you need to reinforce what value you are adding so that their is no question with regard to what that value is. When you are able to demonstrate that you can add value to them, then you are already 3/4 of the way their. 

Remember: people are only interested when you add value to THEM!



Sunday 18 May 2014

Your Salary and Your Tax Bracket

It is crucial when you are looking to increase your salary that you do a tax calculation because what you may do is push yourself into the next tax bracket, but just at the entry level, and get a larger portion of your salary taken for tax.

Example: 

If your salary is R10 000 your tax payable is R793.33 because your annual salary is R120 000. This places you in the lower tax bracket because you only taxed on 18%.


If you push your salary to R15 500, this then makes your tax payable: R1902.33. 

This is because you now moved yourself into the next tax bracket by earning R186 000. You now get charged 25% just by increasing your salary by R5500.

Therefore:


R120 000 - (793.33 X 12) =  R110 480.04


R186 000 - (R1902.33 X 12) = R163 172.04

Even though you increased your salary by R66 000. You only walk away with R52 692.00 because a larger portion is going to tax because you are just at the entry level of the next tax bracket.

What you want to do is be the highest point in your current tax bracket. Therefore, the annual amount you should strive to earn is R165 600.00. 

This allows you to take a greater portion of your salary home by being the top level in your current tax bracket.