Author: Sienna Anderson

Book a KONA Fit 4 Work workshop in January and receive a FREE Fitness Coaching session for your team

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Let Timothy Kitching, KONA’s Heath Expert, Make 2013 a Healthier You If you make only one new years resolution that you keep commit to this one as it will… 1.    Improve your decision making powers 2.    Decrease sick leave and save $$$ on costly medical bills 3.    Open your mind to new projects 4.    Increase staff motivation, retention and productivity This unique seminar will be held in your business for your team and is crammed with information to increase energy and productivity, clarity and focus for accurate decision making and improve overall performance. Healthy people means a healthy organisation. Give yourself and organisation a make over and hit 2013 early with this renovation special that can be tailored to suit your needs from a 1 hour conference presentation to a 4 hour workshop. We’ve left the rocket science for the scientists and trimmed the fat so the life changing message will benefit you and your organisation. Don’t let January be the start of you and your business racing towards an early grave Call or email Timothy at KONA on 1300 611 288 or info@kona.com.au and book a presentation. Overweight and inactive employees are 17% more likely to have sick days and suffer from depression than healthier colleagues. That’s costly isn’t it? Don’t get stuck in the same thoughts, routines, patterns and results! 2013 is the year to clear your mind, unclog your arteries and put HEALTH into Occupational Health & Safety. Stop poor health affecting your organisation. Special offer: 2013 won’t change by itself so book Timothy for a January Workshop and a FREE Fitness Coaching session for your team Your presenter has a life time of sport and fitness behind him, holds a Certificate IV in Fitness and is a previous volunteer speaker for the Heart Foundation. Make it happen today and call or email Timothy at KONA on 1300 611 288 or info@kona.com.au and book a presentation. Testimonial “Timothy is an excellent presenter and participants feel at ease with his style and manner. He delivers what he promises and participants finish his workshop with a new set of skills feeling confident they can apply to their work. “ Great Results, Expert, High Integrity Linda White, President Warringah Chamber of Commerce.

Kick Start 2013 with 2 Outstanding Marketing Workshops from KONA

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Don’t fritter away your Marketing Budget in 2013 • Are you sure how your marketing activities performed in 2012? • Do you have clear marketing objectives in place for 2013? • What process are you using to track ROI and your marketing results? Measuring Your Marketing for Success – ½ Day Workshop Don’t spend another cent of your marketing budget until you have attended this workshop. We will open your eyes to what you should have known years ago. This half day workshop for business owners, managers or those responsible for marketing will include: • Defining your key marketing objectives • Developing processes to track marketing activities • What to measure exactly • When is an activity successful • Measuring your Marketing ROI • When to change your strategy SPECIAL OFFER – Book a ½ day Marketing Workshop for January or February and receive a FREE follow up session at your place of business to ensure that you are putting your training into practice. Call or email Angela at KONA on 1300 611 288 or info@KONA.com.au to book your Customer Retention Marketing Workshop.

Kick Start 2013 with 2 Outstanding Marketing Workshops from KONA Group

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
How Do You Keep Your Customers Coming Back for More? • Are you so busy looking for new customers that you have forgotten about the ones you have? • Do you have a database of contacts that never gets used? • Are you losing more customers than you would like? • How sure are you to grow business through existing customers? Book a KONA Customer Retention Marketing – ½ Day Workshop Learn how to make the most of the customers and contacts that you already have. This workshop for business owners, managers or those responsible for marketing will include: • The loyalty model – what makes a customer disloyal, passive or an advocate • Utilising your database – identifying key segments for marketing • Mapping the customer experience & identifying opportunities • Retention campaigns explained • Communication – channels to use and creative tip In addition, Measure the strength of your relationships with your Major Accounts with the outstanding KONA Client Interlocking Process. This tool will challenge the way you perceive your key relationships and literally frighten some of your people into action SPECIAL OFFER – Book a 1 day Customer Retention Workshop for January or February and receive a FREE follow up session at your place of business to ensure that you are putting your training into practice. Call or email Angela at KONA on 1300 611 288 or info@KONA.com.au to book your Client Retention Marketing Workshop.

Get Prepared for the “War for Stand Out” in 2013

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
The 3 Major Problems Australian Businesses Will Be Facing in 2013 are: – Getting caught in the price war, where your product or services is becoming a commodity – Wasting time and money on marketing strategies and tactics that aren’t working for your business – Don’t know what to do next to position your products/services and grow your business. Master your Message to Master your Market Book one or both of KONA’s 2 Half Day workshops that will give you clarity and action on how to: Discover your single minded value proposition Define your grand purpose and what this means to your organisation Clarify the business/corporate vision and leveraging this in communication Own a unique and compelling marketing positioning Developing a communication master plan for 2013 Messaging that connects for any medium; face to face, blogging, article writing, collateral content etc Key Outcomes include: A clear understanding of the value your business provides that is relevant to your audience groups. Messaging idea generation that will improve marketing effectiveness and ROI. Communication master plan for 2013 with messaging for any marketing campaign or initiative. The tools and strategies to sell the value of your product or service quickly and easily in any situation. Perfect for CEOs and MDs, Sales Teams and Marketing Teams who need to ensure 2013 is better than 2012 and need to plan effective communication strategies and break the mould of doing the same activity year in and year out and those who know they are marketing without a compelling message. SPECIAL OFFER – Hope Is Not A Strategy so book a 1 day “War For Standout” Workshop for January or February and receive a FREE follow up session at your place of business to review workshop outcomes and resulting communication strategy for 2013. Call or email Sarah at KONA on 1300 611 288 or info@KONA.com.au to kick start your 2013 For more information go to https://kona.com.au/storytelling-training/.

A Healthy Make Over

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Are you tired of being tired? Has dragging yourself out of bed become a drag? Have your aches and pains become a pain? Are you sick of being sick? It takes as much energy and time to be unwell as it does to be healthy and fit. If you answered yes to the above questions it’s time to declutter your mind and body and have a makeover. A makeover will increase your energy; rip off the energy sapping kilos and put you in an exceptional head space. Here a few how to’s… 1. Decrease alcohol, takeaway and processed food consumption. They provide very few nutrients and clog your arteries. 2. Have fruit and vegetables daily, choose lean meat, fish, chicken, pork etc and watch the kilos disappear. 3. Set positive intentions so the messages you receive from your sub-conscious mind keep you focused and on track. State what you want to achieve. a. To weigh X kilos by date? b. To decrease x dress sizes by date? c. To lose x kilos by date? 4. Get moving: Start walking, dancing or and gym classes; find something that you enjoy and increases your heart rate and has you perspiring. 5. Drink plenty of water and have regular sleeping patterns. a. Water will take up space in your stomach so you eat less and keep you hydrated for optimal performance. b. 8 hours sleep Per Night will restore lost energy, give you clearer thinking and improved decision making skills, strengthen your coping mechanisms and set you up for a successful day. The human body is designed to consume natural foods and enjoy regular activity, when you observe these two simple principles you greatly increase your chances of producing excellent results. For more information on how KONA can improve the health, wellbeing and productivity of your employees and team call Tim on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au.

8 Days to KONA

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
The Hawaii Ironman in Kona is now only 8 days away and while trying to keep the excitement at bay, it is now starting to encroach into my day. Last weekend was my last big weekend of training so I have just started my taper which will hopefully give tired muscles a chance to recover and rebuild in time for October 13th. This is a good time as all of the hard work has been done. My weeks training in preparation for the 3.8km swim, 180kms bike and 42kms marathon run varies week on week depending where I am working, however it is typically: Saturday ride 4 -5 hours then run for an hour Sunday run up to 3 hours Monday an hour of swim or strength training Tuesday 2 hours cycling Wednesday swim 3-4 kms then run 90 minutes Thursday 2 hours cycling Friday run an hour and strength training A mate of mine who I sometimes train with rang me last week and said he had fallen asleep at a set of traffic lights on his way to work. Fortunately I haven’t had that happen (yet!) Recently I have been working with some wonderful clients and facilitating sales training, call centre and management training programs so have been balancing all of my Ironman training with international/interstate travel. To mix up my training and much to the neighbours amusement, I will often run pulling a car tyre and even wearing a wet suit top and woollen beanie to assimilate the heat of Kona. Maybe the heat is finally starting to get to me! Check out this amazing short video:

Public Speaking is the Good Guy

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
In many texts ‘Public Speaking’ has been incorrectly labeled as a bad guy; phrases like “most people are more fearful of public speaking than dying”, ” public speaking is the greatest fear for 90% of the population”, people describe it as “nerve racking, terrifying, scary” All this type of language reinforces their fears and if you are experiencing the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome, you are setting yourself up to flee. Before we cover a few ways to cope with the demands of public speaking and have you standing confidently let’s look closer at the effect of the negative language above. 95% of behavior is sub – consciously driven and negative language sits in the driver’s seat which leads to failure. Continual use of negative language expands the fear and when it’s time to present it can be overwhelming. Focusing on the negative aspect of anything is a one sided view. Here are a few suggestions to arrive confidently in the speaking area…
  • Look at public speaking as an opportunity. It improves your career, builds confidence, is useful in all communication and you are seen as a ‘leader’. Look for the benefits of public speaking that you will receive.
  • Delete the negative language from your vocabulary and replace the words fear & terror etc with energy – then it works for you. Energy In the speaking area motivates and inspires your audience and makes you feel more in control
  • Prepare and rehearse adequately – knowing your presentation will skyrocket your confidence.
Our role at KONA is to show you ways to succeed.  Our workshops are completely customised around your presentations, clients and people and are jam packed with ways to make your speaking journey as easy and successful as possible. Public Speaking is the ‘good guy’ and is crucial if you or your team need to deliver reports & proposals effectively, deliver sales training & conference presentations, team talks or products presentations and  it will add enormously to your organisation. We’re here to assist you, if you’d like more details please contact Tim on 1300 611 288 or info@kona.com.au

5 weeks to Kona

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

With only 5 weeks to go to the Hawaii Ironman I am in full training mode.

Last week I was in Singapore running a Sales Training course for an Asia
Pacific team so had the chance to stay a few extra days and did over 650 kms
on the bike and 52 kms run training in preparation for the heat and humidity
of the Kona lava fields.

It is crucial to prepared my kidneys for the increase in fluids I will need
to prevent dehydration, and prepare my body and mind for the assault of the
42 degree heat I will be racing in at Kona.

Distance Runners talk about “hitting the wall”

This happens typically around 25 kms into a marathon or 2 – 2.5 hours when
the body’s resources become depleted and the energy you have stored up over
the last few days has been burnt off

In a one day 227 kms race, apart from the obvious challenges of fitness,
strength and endurance there is a constant mental battle when the body and
mind are
fighting each other with the body trying to get me to stop and the mind
making me go on for just a bit longer.

Because of this food and drink is so important in a race that will take me
between 11 and 13 hours (or more if I have a bad day!).

This is when it is so important to keep grazing through the race as an
Ironman typically takes 3 or 4 times longer than any marathon.

An additional challenge is that when I feel good on the bike I forgot to eat
which means not too far into the future my energy will start to drop because I
haven’t consumed enough carbs.

By the time I realize this I then have to force food down which makes me
feel sick. A real catch 22 and another mental challenge to overcome.

Ironman racing is a never ending balance of taking food in without
overloading at that time.

Over the last 13 years I have tried all sorts of foods including roast
potatoes, ham sandwich rolls, Vegemite, bananas, crisps and in 3 IM races
had a tin of beans in-between the bike leg and marathon. (Not a smart move)
I even had a MacDonald’s the night before the old Forster Ironman and
surprisingly I had a good race on the back of a Big Mac and chocolate milk shake (and an awful
race on the back of a KFC!)

In addition I will eat bananas, muesli bars and high carb powerbars and gels
which are easy to carry and unwrap as I hurtle along at 30 kms an hour. One
of my sponsors is a wonderful company called 4 Life who have provided me
with some outstanding health supplements and I will drink their meal
replacement Nutrastart to keep refuelling. Nutrastart has also helped me
lose 6 kgs which will be a tremendous advantage during the bike and run legs.

Last year I learnt the importance of keeping my fluids up when I
collapsed with de-hydration in the Sahara having just completed the
6th leg of the MDS (Marathon Des Sables).

On the other side too much water or drinks like Gatorade etc will make
you feel sick or ‘flooded’ or give you cramps.

I thought standing up in front of a ‘traditional’ group of Sales People
running a Sales Training programs was tough but as I re-read this I can
really understand now why people often ask “so why do you do it?”!!

Stay tuned and thank you to everyone for your motivating messages, emails
and calls in anticipation for the biggest race of my life on October 13th.

The KONA Group
Because Hope Is Not A Strategy

1300 611 288
www.KONA.com.au

There are two 5 o’clocks in one day

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson

When I heard in April that I had qualified for the Hawaii Ironman in Kona, it gave me 5 months to prepare and plan for the biggest race of my life. However now with only 8 weeks to go I am in the middle of a heavy few weeks of training. Last week I swam for over 2 hours, rode over 9 hours and ran over 50 kms. This was in addition to presenting client sales and management training workshops, running a business and spending time with my family
 
People often ask me how do I fit it all in and still find time to train 16 hours a week leading up to a race.

I simply say that we all have the same amount of time every day – it is what you do with it, and how disciplined you are. Just as in business. Often the most successful people are the ones who just get on with it and do the hard work needed to be successful. They don’t take short cuts or look for the easy ways out or find excuses and blame others.

That is all I do with my KONA Group client training and Kona triathlon training.  I build my day around whatever sales training workshops, business development, swimming, cycling, strength and/or running I have to do that day and don’t get involved in low value activities or ‘stuff’ (I also mention that there are two 5 o’clocks in one day, and while I often see them both though please don’t expect me to be out partying after 10pm !!)
 
If you had to take your partner or child to the doctors next Wednesday you would make time in your diary so if your desire to achieve something is big enough you can always make time rather than excuses.

Race overview – Swim leg
Ironman Triathlon races start with a 3.8 kms swim and in most races you are allowed to wear wet suit. Most races that is except at Kona. Having grown up in Yorkshire swimming isn’t my strong leg so a Triathlon wetsuit, which is made of a 5 mms thick neoprene rubber, and is a lot tighter and smoother than surfers or water skiers wet suits, gives me a lot more buoyancy than just swimming in speedos. They also give plenty of extra protection which is absolutely needed.
 
Imagine being in the middle of 1800 people, all treading water, spread in a group no wider than the length of 2 tennis courts. Then the starting cannon goes off and the whole area turns into a mass free for all, like an industrial sized washing machine, full of thrashing arms, legs and bodies as we all swim over and into each other, trying to get to the first marker buoy without drowning.

To compound the situation your heart beat has suddenly been given a massive shot of adrenaline, mixed with fear of the day in front of us, and with your head submerged under water you gasp for breath trying to gulp in air rather than lungs full of salty water. All the while trying to not get kicked in the face or hit by a flying arm from a faster swimmer.

All pretence, bravado and BS is left behind as it is race on!

A few years ago I raced in the UK IM with a broken hand and a cracked rib which I’d damaged 6 weeks before the event having stupidly gone boxing training with a KONA Group client at EPAC in Adelaide. 200 metres into the swim start, no breath, no vision, and no direction I threw my right arm over and smacked it into the back of another swimmers head, bringing a scream of pain from my tortured oxygen starved lungs, in the spilt second before I wrenched a mouth full of air. That was a long day out.

Kona is unfortunately a non wetsuit swim which means no added buoyancy and probably an extra 10 – 15 minutes onto my usual swim time of 70 minutes. So in preparation I am spending time in the pool or gym with an aim of getting stronger and to come out of the water unscathed. Plus save as much energy as possible that I will be needing for the 180 kms bike leg and 42 kms marathon that follows.

In between planned trips to New Zealand, Singapore and around Australia running training workshops and Motivational Speaking at Client Conferences I plan to increase my swimming, running and cycling with a goal of swim training 6 kms a week, 400 kms on the bike and 60 kms a week running in the last 4 weeks leading up to my taper 2 weeks out.
 
And that is why there are two 5 o’clocks in one day!

Solving Poor Contact Centre Performance the ACTC Way

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
The Contact Centre (or Call Centre) has become a crucial component in the growth of many businesses today. Many commercial and financial industries around the world depend on Contact Centres to sell products, market services, manage appointments, collect debts and fees and handle sales enquiries. Experience in best practise Contact Centres are repeatedly showing that it is less about the number and speed of managing customer calls and more about the Quality of The Conversation and how Contact Centre teams actually ENGAGE with their customers over the phone However when a Contact Centre doesn’t achieve KPIs or performs poorly, the company can suffer a major setback. Not only can customer satisfaction be damaged, sales and profits can drop and internal relationships can be undermined. It is therefore critical to address poor performance in Contact Centres right away. And the best Performance Development/Sales Training solution to such dilemma is the ACTC Process. ACTC is KONA’s proven solution for Performance Development and stands for Assessment, Consulting, Training and Coaching. Repeatedly, clients who have implemented this 4-phase solution have found a huge boost in the performance and results of Contact Centre/Customer Service Consultant (CSCs) and Team Leaders which has led to:
  • Greater client and staff Retention
  • Improved CSat (Customer Satisfaction)
  • Reduced escalation
  • Increased first call resolution
  • Achievement of KPIs
ACTC Process solves Contact Centre performance problems in 4 stages: Phase 1: Assessment. When all the systems and processes are in place, the recognized problems will usually involve the lack of conversational skills of the CSCs with the customers. Many Contact Centre staff do not build immediate rapport with the customer, and many don’t handle conflict well. Culturally, some do not even comprehend the customers they are talking to because their probing and questioning skills are poor. When it comes to sales, many CSCs lack ownership of the call so that the customers aren’t convinced to commit into buying the product. Team leaders can also be lacking in their abilities. Many have been promoted from within and don’t know how to Coach their team. Assessing and identifying the specific capabilities and skill sets required to overcome these challenges is critical so that effective current and future strategies and Performance Development that will to address the problems. Phase 2: Consultation and Customisation. Your business is different to most others so your management team must identify the specific skill set which will help the CSCs as to how they can effectively engage with their customers going forward. With a well-planned Skills Matrix, the CSCs will now be able to fully grasp the true essence of their role and the different skills they will need, depending on if their role is inbound or outbound; sales-oriented or marketing focussed; retention or customer service Phase 3: Training Contact Customer Service and Sales Training Modules must be a) time bound so to not take your people away from the day to day business for too long, b) Customised specifically to their role and language (not some generic, off the shelf, by the manual, course) and c) delivered in a practical and experiential method, rather than a presentation, so that the CSCs and Team Leaders actually have to demonstrate the conversational skills they are required to use with customers They must be trained how to build rapport and find common ground; how to gather information by asking probing questions, to listen carefully, all before they match their services or offer to the customers need or close. They must learn the skills to convert sales by negotiating with the customer and by deftly handling any objections and to manage the call. When it comes to the Team Leaders, they must be trained to become coaches rather than superstar CSCs Phase 4: Coaching The last part of the ACTC methodology is crucial as Coaching ensures that everything learnt during training is demonstrated on the phone. Practical application of the knowledge is what makes a difference so regular coaching for individuals and small groups must be conducted. In the most effective Contact Centres the team leaders carry this out by listening to the calls, calibrating their quality and Coaching individual development plans for their CSCs.