SALES - Ever the Student

SALES

Ever the Student

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting April 2009.

It is said that “the best way to become a master at what you do is to combine ‘study’ with ‘practice’ for the rest of your life.”

It is also said that “knowledge is power” although strictly speaking, I believe that it is what you ‘do’ with that knowledge that makes you all powerful!

When I graduated college in 19 . . . , oh hell, it was lifetime ago, I was this fresh faced kid that had been to hell and back, but was a survivor. I was also done with ‘study’, I was done with sour faced adults who always thought that they knew what was best for me. I had the world in my future and the future in the palm of my hand. I was going to conquer the world. Yeah right!

The first reality check came from my first real job, and by that I mean something other than tending bar, or being a ‘shampoo’ girl in a hairdressing salon, or being a sales assistant in a clothing shop (all of which I had done to put myself through college). You see my first ‘real’ job was in Rhobank in the now Zimbabwe and I was working in the import/export outsourced division of the bank, called Freight International. Ironically this was in the middle of the 70’s and the middle of sanctions by the world against the then Rhodesia. I don’t think we could have imported a paperclip if we tried and as for our ‘exports’ well the world wanted tobacco – badly, so we found a way and they turned a ‘blind eye’. Tobacco and believe it or not graphite. For those who don’t know, graphite becomes the ‘lead’ in your pencil – strange commodity, I am sure you would agree.

The point is however, that although I was ‘done’ with my perception of ‘study’, the ‘study’ was certainly not done with me. We don’t come equipped to handle every job or task that comes along and certainly school and/or college and or university doesn’t even begin to give us the fundamentals of what we need for ‘life’.

I found that the more I learnt, to do the work that I had signed up for, the more my natural curiosity got the better of me and the more I wanted to learn – and learn I did. Numbers held a fascination for me – not in the way that they did for Einstein, but certainly no less of a passion. Numbers are easy for me to memorize and they somehow just stick there. For example the Rand/Dollar rate in 1977 was 1/1.12 – (yes folks, believe it or the Rand in those days was more valuable than the dollar $1.12 = R1), my how the wheel turns.

How about if you are adding up a whole bunch of numbers and you don’t balance and you are out by a number that is divisible by 9, go through the 9 times table – you have transposed for example 27 to 72 or 36 to 63 (depending on the number that you are out by).

Then of course if you are adding up a whole bunch of numbers and you don’t balance and you are out by ‘3’ then you have transposed either a 5 for an 8 or visa versa, or if you are out by ‘5’ then usually you have transposed a 3 for an 8 or visa versa.

Now as I get older, I find myself devouring information, as if there is no tomorrow. I am ‘challenged’ by the fact that there is still so much more that I want to learn and too little time to not only take it all in, but also to apply it.

Those who know me, know that I consider myself a techno-phobe, yet I am an internationally recognized blogger, I have what I would consider one of the most amazing websites on the planet (thank you Meryl of http://www.pixelmagic.co.za) and I have just learnt how to ‘tweet’ on twitter (which means of course that there are now even less hours in the day for me).

Not bad for someone who was determined not to do any more ‘study’ don’t you think?

I consider myself an expert in my field, I have more than adequate knowledge on some topics and an opinion on most. I continue to grow, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually on a daily basis and I use the knowledge that I have so painstakingly gathered over all these years, every day.

Through my writing, I know (judging from the testimonials on my website) that I have touched the minds and lives of many and in doing so, I have made a difference in the way that people do business and how they sell themselves and their products.

So, remember that ‘study’ is similar, but quite different to learning. Learn your craft and apply all that you have learnt in order to improve yourself and enrich the lives of others.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za