The network event has gone smoothly. You’ve had a great time, you’ve engaged with a few new contacts and you had a lengthy and insightful conversation with one of your targets. Great! You can probably call the night a success.
Although you’ve nailed the preparation and the event itself, you can’t rest of your laurels just yet. Generally underrated as an afterthought, following-up your new contacts after the event is an imperative step of the process.
According to the New York Times, research shows that almost a third of external hires are from referrals. Additionally two-thirds of new business comes from referrals. Another Nielsen study cites clients are four times more likely to buy when being referred from someone they know and trust.
So, what do you do with your pocketful of business cards? Well, they’re no value if you don’t utilise them. A networking event is just the initial beginning of a […read more]

We bet a lot of you set yourselves goals to achieve daily, monthly and yearly. However, how many of you have actually taken steps to achieve these goals?
Goal setting is something that gets thrown around a lot, but have you ever wondered the importance? Think of the saying ‘how can you get where you want to go until you know where you’re going’.  Setting goals is a fundamental component to long-term success.  Goals help you focus and allocate your time and resources efficiently and keep you motived when something may have led you astray. Additionally, Research indicates a direct link between goals and enhanced performance.
 

 
Developing an objective
Defining an objective is imperative. A clear objective will allow you to focus on what you want […read more]

So, there’s this crazy trick that helps you perform better when you’re studying or about to sit an exam. Spin around seven-and-a-half times (make sure it’s exactly this amount) while waving a blue and white polka dot handkerchief in the air. You should try it.
In all seriousness, studying can be a challenge. Even if you’re the brainiest person to grace the earth since Albert Einstein, every little bit of help can make all the difference.
We recently asked some of our students to share their best study tips; and no, they didn’t involve an over-indulgence of caffeine.

“Actually utilising the study guide. It can be overwhelming looking at all the questions and reading what you have to have done, but by following these guidelines it really does break it all down and makes it manageable.” – […read more]

You know what we’re talking about … we all have them. Yes, some more than others, but we’re all susceptible to a few days a year.
Bad days are demoralising. As things turn from bad to worse, you mope at your desk wishing you hadn’t of got out of bed in the morning.
So, what can you do about a bad day at work? Sometimes nothing can fix the mood or situation you’re in, but the below may turn a very bad day into an OK one.
 

 
Put it into perspective
Somebody out there will be having a worse day than you (unless of course, you are having the worst day in the world). Stop, take a deep breath and remember what’s most important in life. Chances are that what you’re stressed about is […read more]

Have you ever wondered why some people are just so damn successful? Is it something they eat or drink… are they blessed with incredible luck? Maybe; but they aren’t great attributors to success. Successful people encompass a number of qualities; one of these is what they do every morning. We’re not saying every successful person does the below, but a fair few do … so, get inspired!
Have you noticed that poor self-control and lapses in decision-making often come later in the day? That’s because early mornings offer a new dose of willpower and people tend to be more optimistic and ready to tackle challenging tasks.
 

Wake up earlier: Get your hand off that snooze button! Jump out of bed because let’s face it, that extra 10 minutes isn’t going to make a difference. Time is a precious commodity, so make the most of your morning […read more]

We are living in a time of constant change. Change in one’s career can strike at any time. Did you know? 1 in 4 workers has been with their employer for less than 1 year, while 1 in 2 workers have been with their employer less than 5 years.
When you start to see change occur in your career you may view this as an opportunity. It’s important to regularly stop and re-assess your goals; where do you want to be and what do you want to achieve.

There are many life strategies to help you grow and to better change your current situation:

Be innovative: it may be time to review your career and ascertain what some of the gaps are. Do you need to upskill?  To stand out from the competition you may need to undertake training or a qualification to […read more]

In the early months of 2015 we’re trying to inspire you to perform better in a professional environment. This results in productivity, better working relations, career progression and a better sense of well-being. So far we’ve posted blogs on the importance of personal brands, being more confident at work and the benefits of postgraduate study. This week, we’re giving you tips on a difficult skill to muster: assertiveness.

 
What is assertiveness?
Assertiveness is a communication style. It is being able to express your feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and opinions in an open manner that doesn’t violate the rights of others.
Often wrongly confused with aggression, assertive individuals aim to be neither passive nor aggressive in their interactions with other people.
Assertiveness enables an individual to act in their own best interests, to stand up for themselves without […read more]

Ask the majority of people for their advice on how to do well at work, and they’ll more than likely answer with something along the lines of “be more confident”.
Confidence is a fine line though. Be perceived as too confident by too many and you’ll be earmarked as arrogant. On the other hand, being too modest and not saying enough might result in you giving off the perception you’re lacking in confidence.
 

 
What is confidence and why is it important?
Essentially, confidence is knowing what you’re good at, the value you provide, and acting in a way that conveys that to those around you.
Its importance is justified in recent research, which shows when people are put in situations where they are expected to not do well, their performance plunges. Quite literally, they get into a […read more]

You might be an adviser with an outstanding technical knowledge of complicated financial products, however, if you can’t communicate these efficiently to your client, you’re not using this proficiency to maximum effect.
A financial plan that achieves all of a client’s objectives is inept if an adviser can’t ‘sell’ it to their client. Therefore, ‘soft skills’ are vitally important at all stages of the client relationship.
A recent CoreData Financial Planning Shadow Shop report revealed that the most successful advisers from a customer acquisition perspective were those who have the ability the make a great first impression and sell themselves to prospects.

However, the importance of ‘soft skills’ as part of the process doesn’t end there.   Once a relationship between an adviser and a client has been developed, this relationship must be nurtured through the trust gained from […read more]