RTO Success Magazine June Issue

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PLAN TO SECURE TOP TALENT 6 steps to recruiting the right candidate

7 WAYS TO CUT LOOSE FROM OLD SALES THINKING STRUGGLING FOR GROWTH? Top 10 tips for fast growth in a post GFC economy

June 2012

$14.95 inc. GST

Demystifying AVETMISS, an Impossible Task?

RTO Success June 2012

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The region’s largest B2B event for buyers & sellers of education, work, youth and student travel

The Australia New Zealand Agent Workshop Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), April 17 - 19, 2013

Why you should attend • Meet some of the highest producing agents for this region • Easily develop a global network of high quality pre-screened agents • Expand international sales by appointing new agents / resellers • Renew & maintain existing relationships & sales channels • Create a more diverse & sustainable client nationality mix Supported by

For more information please contact Rod Hearps 2 www.rtosuccess.com.au rhearps@icef.com

Ph +61 7 5545 2912

www.icef.com/anza

From The Editor

Publishers Details

Welcome to Our Magazine!

RTO Success Magazine Issue 2 June 2012 www.rtosuccess.com.au

Dear Reader, "All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney Taking a dream and making it happen is not always the easiest thing to do. It can mean going outside the 'square' and thinking in different ways. It can mean working harder and longer hours and can push/pull you in directions that you normally wouldn't go.

This magazine was a dream of ours that we hoped would be received well by the RTO industry. We have been thrilled with the response we have had to the magazine, the comments and support has been absolutely wonderful. It is encouraging and has helped us believe even more strongly than before that this is a magazine that the industry needs.

In this months issue we look at how you can secure top talent for your business. We also look at "is it possible to 'demystify' AVETMISS?".

And we introduce Ari Galper, our featured contributor this month, who talks about 7 ways to cut loose from old sales thinking.

We would love your feedback. If you have something to say, would like to contribute to the magazine or have a suggestion for a contributor please email me at editor@rtosuccess.com.au. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time, have a wonderful month.

Published by: RTO Success Group Pty Ltd PO Box 8773, GCMC, Bundall QLD 9726 Suite 2, 160 Cotlew Street, Ashmore QLD 4214 Phone: 1300 031 312 ACN: 142 708 361 www.rtosuccess.com.au Publisher: Sandeep Sethi sandeep@rtosuccess.com.au Editor: Melissa Hamilton-Matthews editor@rtosuccess.com.au Copy Editor: Kendall James Advertising Manager: Grant Hutton advertise@rtosuccess.com.au Subscription: RTO Success Magazine is a monthly magazine Monthly - $14.95 Yearly - $179.40 Subscription Enquiries: subscribe@rtosuccess.com.au Art Director: Vimaljeet Singh Copyright: No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission.

The names, images and logos of any third parties and their information, products and services are proprietary marks and property of those third parties.

RTO Success Magazine does not lay claim to any third party intellectual property and nothing contained in this magazine shall be construed as conferring (by implication or otherwise) as RTO Success Magazine having any licence or right under any trademark or patent.

If you wish to seek request for permission to use the names, images or logos of any third party it should be in accordance with the individual copyright statement contained in that third party site.

Contribution: the views expressed in the RTO Success Magazine by external contributors and advertisers are not necessarily those of RTO Success Group Pty Ltd. Designed in Australia, printed in India.

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CONTENTS

June 2012 COVER STORY

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06 Plan to secure top talent In last month’s article we talked about “Staff Success - Staff priorities that can help your RTO grow”. In this month’s article we wanted to expand on that and talk about 6 steps for recruiting the right candidate.

18 In Focus Rod Hearps

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Rod's journey in the International Education Industry began as an English Language teacher right at the start of his career to operating his own Education Agency and stepping into more senior roles as Marketing Manager, Business Manager and finally as a principal of an English Language college through to developing the ANZA workshops with ICEF. With over 22+ years in the International Education Industry Rod has a great insight into the trends that have occurred over this period but also from a global perspective of the whole industry.

REGULARS

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10 Industry News 16 It’s Not News – 15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee 22 Book Summary – The 80/20 Principle 31 Survey of the Month 36 Facebook Marketing 40 Events 42 Inspire Me - Hands Across the Water 53 TechTools – Livescribe 60 Time Out

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26 56 7 Ways to cut loose from old 26 Struggling for growth?

Have you reached a plateau at a certain level and growth has become stagnant?

Do you believe industry and economy factors are making it impossible for your college to grow fast?

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sales thinking Is your Sales department stuck in 'old sales thinking'? Are they really making the sales you want them to? Maybe it's time to take a different approach? New Thinking = New Results.

This months featured contributor is Ari Galper and in this article Ari shows you how to change from the old sales mindset to a new sales mindset and become more effective in your selling efforts.

46 Demystifying AVETMISS, an impossible task?

When you think of AVETMISS do you just quietly or possibly loudly sigh and resign yourself to the fact that you will never really understand it? If someone asked you what does AVETMISS stand for or how it works what would you do? More than likely pass the buck by saying “ask so and so, they’ll explain it better” Or do you think that you don’t need to worry about AVETMISS because you have no government funding?

FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR Ari Galper is the creator of Unlock The Game®, a new sales mindset that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today. His personal insights on how to build trust between buyers and sellers continues to break new ground in the sales industry. Ari lives in Sydney with his wife Michelle and their three children. You can take a FREE TEST DRIVE of Unlock The Game by downloading Ari’s free audio seminar “7 Sales Secrets Even The Sales Gurus Don’t Know!” at www.UnlockTheGame.com.au RTO Success June 2012

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In last month’s article we talked about “Staff Success - Staff priorities that can help your RTO grow”.

In this month’s article we wanted to expand on that and talk about 6 steps for recruiting the right candidate.

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PLAN TO SECURE

TOP TALENT

6 steps to recruiting the right candidate

R

Recruitment is the ongoing process of selecting and employing the ‘right people’. You need to go beyond finding people who have the right qualifications and experience. To establish long term and mutually beneficial employment, you need to find candidates that fit the culture of your organisation. Building a successful organisation requires the skills and commitment of good people who support the values of your organisation and your objectives. Remember the most important asset of your business is the people that work for you.

Before we look at the 6 steps, consider firstly how do you reduce your hiring mistakes and avoid reactive recruitment? Generally you start a business with a plan to make money and grow. You put in place plans for what products & services you will sell & deliver them, sales targets & budgets.

But how many of you strategically look at how your business is going to manage the growth you plan?

Recruiting staff is part of business's growth and if your plan is to recruit staff then the best way to do this is to put a 12 – 36 month recruitment plan in place. This will help to analyse your business strategies and plans for growth over this time and what staff requirements you will have.

Then you need to look at how to recruit the right candidates. There are 6 main steps for recruiting the right candidates, this includes:

Step 1 - Define the job – The very first thing you need to do is clarify what job you are recruiting for.

You must consider the tasks the person will need to complete, who they will be working with, who they will report to and what are the skills required by someone to be successful in this position. Also remember to keep in mind the personalities that will fit your company's traits.

Step 2 - Attract candidates – Once you have clearly defined the position and abilities a person needs to do the job, you then need to attract candidates.

Almost 80% of all vacancies are not advertised.

Advertising the vacancy is the obvious choice but there are other alternatives to find the right candidate that include: i) Use personal and business networks – Think of all the groups and networks you belong to. This could include personal networks you belong to such as sports and/or recreation groups, church groups, business network groups. Don’t discount anyone, just because the person you talk to isn’t looking for a job they may know someone who would be perfect for the position.

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ii) Internal recruitment – promoting from within is a great strategy for rewarding and valuing good staff. Is there someone, already available to develop their skill set to do the job? iii) Recruitment agencies – there are many profit and not-for-profit recruitment agencies. Some specialise in certain industries or professions while others are more general. Remember to shop around so you find the right agency for you. Before taking on an agency have a clear idea about the services you expect to receive from them.

Step 3 - Managing applications – Now that you

have used your networks and advertised the job, how are you going to handle the applications? Think about the information that will help you decide who you wish to interview from the applicants. Depending on the job type, you can ask applicants to provide you with their resume or answer selection criteria to demonstrate their relevant qualifications, skills and experience. Don’t ask applicants to complete long and time-consuming applications as you could miss good people if the process takes up to much of their time.

Step 4 - Selecting candidates to interview -

Use a spreadsheet or table in a word document to list each candidate and map their skills, qualifications & experience to the selection criteria so you can see at a glance which candidates are best suited. Have an extra column for a person who is to review the applications and if their preference is too interview or not.

Step 5 - Conducting interviews – Take time

to plan your interviewing process. Think about things such as: a) Where are you going to hold the interviews? Make sure the interview is held in private where there is no chance of interruptions. b) Who is going to do the interviews? It is recommended to always have a minimum of 2 people in an interview and it is preferable to have a male and female interviewing. c) Think about the questions you are going to ask.

Questions should be open-ended to encourage applicants to discuss issues and demonstrate their abilities. d) Allocate adequate time for the interview. At least 30mins, preferably 45mins, and allow time for the interviewers to then discuss the candidate after the interview while their impressions are still fresh in their

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mind. Prospective employers should each have an interview worksheet that lists all the questions where they can write down the candidate’s answers and their thoughts/opinions of the answers as well as a overall rating/comments section. That way they can compare at the end of the interview with each other. e) Will the candidate need to bring anything to the interview? Will candidates need to be ‘tested’ as part of the interview process? You need to make sure you communicate these things to the candidate well in advance of the interview. f) What other things are you looking for/at when interviewing? For example personal presentation, body language and personality. g) When you are conducting the interview you should remember to: •

• • • •

• •

Familiarise yourself with the applicants resume & application prior to the commencement of the interview.

Introduce yourself and other interviewers.

Make the candidate feel at ease and

comfortable.

Give background information on the business and the position they have applied for.

Start with a general question and let the candidate do most of the talking. The interview is about them and whether they have the skills, qualifications and experience to fulfil the position, not about you and your abilities.

Invite applicants to ask questions about your business and the position.

At the end of the interview always inform the Candidate of the next steps. Such as how long will take for a decision to be reached, is there further interviews or reference checking required etc.

Step 6 - Selecting the right candidate and awarding the job – Depending on the position,

it is recommended that both the interviewers and relevant management staff should sit and discuss each applicant’s application, interview & reference checks to make the decision. Always answer, “Which applicant measures the best against the selection criteria and job description?” If no one is suitable it’s better to re-advertise the position or hold a second round of interviews, maybe with a different set of interviewers, before making a final decision. If you make a decision ring the candidate as soon as possible (make sure you don’t lose the right candidate) to offer the position as you can always send a formal letter later on.

“Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come.�- Victor Hugo Imagine if you could hire virtual administration staff for your college or institution Until now, this was not possible. We all know that employing and keeping capable staff with appropriate industry know-how is hard enough locally, let alone trying to employ someone half the world away

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For the first time in Australia, you can get trained, professional, outsourced Student Admin Staff on demand Virtual Staff that can - Check and respond to emails - Enter student data in your database - Manage student results and attendance - Communicate with employers and agents - Perform other routine tasks as directed All our staff are trained by our in-house industry experts with over 10 years experience in the VET sector. They are taught extensively about industry terminology and business processes They also have excellent written and spoken English, are very flexible and easy to deal with Available at a fraction of the usual cost with no long term contracts and you get guaranteed performance and results Next time you feel short-staffed and overwhelmed or simply wish to reduce your on-going HR costs, call us for an obligation free chat Mention this ad and we will give you one FREE week on your first mon

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Outsourcing and Printing Solutions ABN 28 096 593 298 RTO Success June 2012

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Territories through the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development over the next five years. Under this Agreement, the Government will have to implement a National Training Entitlement, this will be help improve participation and qualification completions and assure the quality of training delivery and outcomes. States and Territories will have to set strict criteria to ensure only quality providers with an established record can access public funding. States and Territories will be required to provide strategies that will continue to support and strengthen the public providers of vocational education and training over the next five years.

April April 17 - COAG Outcomes pave the way for skills reform At the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, held in Canberra on Friday 13 April last, national leaders made decisions that will ultimately impact upon the nature of the community services and health industries future workforce. COAG signed up to an ambitious set of reforms to the national training system; agreeing to a revised National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development ($7.2 billion) and a new National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform ($1.75 billion). Implementation Plans will be negotiated between governments by 30 June 2012.

These reforms, it is anticipated, will support Australian businesses and drive improvements in productivity by growing the pool of skilled workers, encouraging existing workers to up skill and supporting higher levels of workforce participation. The skills package is considered a significant breakthrough for business and employees as the Government shapes the new economy. At the meeting and as elaborated upon below, there was also reaffirmation of a commitment to a National Disability Insurance Scheme and discussion concerning school funding and Mental Health Reform.

REFORM BACKGROUND: The Government is providing, in total, almost $9 billion in funding to the States and Territories over the next five years to provide the skills that Australian business and individuals need to prosper in a rapidly changing economy. This is a $1 billion increase over the previous 5 years under the National Agreement and Productivity Places Program National Partnership.

The Government will provide $7.2 billion to States and

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The revised National Agreement includes the performance framework that will be used to assess progress against the COAG targets to: • Halve the proportion of Australians nationally aged 2064 without qualifications at certificate level III and above between 2009 and 2020 • Double the number of higher level qualification completions (diploma and advanced diploma) nationally between 2009 and 2020.

The Commonwealth Government will also provide $1.75 billion in funding under a National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform. This skills package is seen to better ensure that Australia’s national training system is able to respond to the needs of the Australian economy. This will ultimately help to lift productivity and competitiveness.

Under the package, it is envisaged that an additional 375,000 students (approximately) will be able to complete qualifications over the next five years. This will considerably help more Australians train, get a job, to change careers or to upskill for a better paying job.

The key elements of the $1.75 billion package include: • The creation of a National Training Entitlement, giving working age Australians guaranteed access to a government subsidised training place • The expansion of income-contingent loans to subsidised higher level qualifications in the vocational education and training system • Launch of the My Skills website, to ensure students and industry can make an informed choice about the training that suits them, and a student identified for the VET system • Measures to raise the quality of skills, training and outcomes.

As pointed out by the Prime Minister, the $1.75 billion

package is in addition to the $7.2 billion the government will provide to the States and Territories through the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development over the next five years. The reforms, it is expected, will provide the industry with a better qualified and flexible workforce overtime, and will assist in meeting skills shortages in key areas of the economy. The creation of a National Training Entitlement is anticipated to provide all working age Australians guaranteed access to a government subsidised training place, up to their first Certificate III. Students who have literacy and numeracy difficulties, who left school early, have a disability or workers who have suffered long term unemployment, will have improved access to training at a level that will have a significant impact on their employment and wage earning prospects.

Students will be able to access the Entitlement through training providers approved by States or territories.

Depending on where the training is carried out, the subsidised place, it is reported, could be worth up to $7,800 for some courses.

VET students studying subsidised diploma and advanced diplomas will have access to income contingent loans like those offered to university students through FEE HELP. The My Skills website, due to be launched later this year, will give students the information they need to make the right choice about the training that suits them. A new Unique Student Identifier will also be introduced so students will be able to access information about their training record from a single authoritative source.

The Government plans to work with the States and Territories to ensure courses delivered by the VET sector are subject to independent quality assessment and ensure students receive high quality training that meets the needs of industry and students. This includes strategies to improve the quality of VET teaching and training through the implementation of criteria specific to each state, including monitoring, performance, evaluation and quality indicators for providers. States and Territories will trial independent checks on the quality of training provider assessment practices over the next two years in order to underpin the introduction of a national system of independently assessed and validated VET qualifications.

States and Territories will have to set strict criteria to ensure only quality providers with an established record can access public funding.

can get the skills they need to get higher graded jobs in today’s economy, by introducing a national training entitlement for a government-subsidised training place upto at least the first Certificate III qualification.

• Reducing upfront costs for students undertaking higher level qualifications, by offering income-contingent loans for government-subsidised Diploma and Advanced Diploma students.

• Improving the confidence of employers and students in the quality of training courses, by developing and piloting independent validation of training provider assessments and implementing strategies which enable TAFEs to operate effectively in an environment of greater competition.

• Improving access to information about training options, training providers and provider quality on a new My Skills website, so students and employers can make better choices about the training they need.

• Supporting around 375,000 additional students over five years to complete their qualifications, and improving training enrolments and completions in high-level skills and among key groups of disadvantaged students, including Indigenous Australians.

NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME: At the COAG meeting, the Commonwealth and all States and Territories reaffirmed their commitment to a National Disability Insurance Scheme. They recognised a growing need to support the most needy and vulnerable people in the community, and that for many, lifetime support for income; accommodation and services are a necessity. COAG also acknowledged that change can only be achieved, step by step, over a number of years. In particular, current services and support must be maintained through any transition period. Also, it is essential that the support of family members, friends and volunteers is maintained.

SKILLS REFORM:

Approximately 70 per cent of disability care and support services are funded by state and territory Governments.

To develop a national scheme, it was recognised that the level and share of Commonwealth funding will need to increase. The national scheme will be cognisant of, and build upon, existing services, recognising that services are best managed and delivered as close as possible to those requiring them. The Commonwealth and the States and Territories will collaborate on its development and implementation.

• Ensuring working age Australians without qualifications

The diversity within and between States and Territories will

Key reforms include:

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need to be taken into account with each State offering a mix of services as either government-provided services, funded services from the not-for-profit sector or selfmanaged funding. Broad principles have been agreed and now require more detail and tangible progress. A careful and cautious approach will be taken to ensure that expectations remain realistic. All governments recognise the importance of identifying who will and will not be covered by the proposed reforms and what level of service will be provided. The early work will concentrate on achieving clarity and consistency in eligibility criteria, portability of benefit entitlements and funding of an NDIS. COAG released high-level principles that will guide governments’ consideration of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations on an NDIS. COAG asked its Select Council on Disability Reform to undertake further work on funding, governance and the scope of eligibility and support as a matter of priority, to enable COAG’s consideration at its next meeting in 2012. COAG also released a progress report which identifies some of the challenges associated with these complex reforms and the issues that need to be balanced in the design of an NDIS. The progress report will inform engagement with the community on an NDIS design over the coming months.

SCHOOL FUNDING REFORM: COAG noted the Commonwealth is pursuing school funding reform with the objectives of reinforcing reforms to improve school performance and ensuring equity in resourcing. The Commonwealth acknowledged the reform efforts underway across jurisdictions. It invited the participation of the States and Territories in developing advice for COAG on options for funding reform, in the light of the recent Review of Funding for Schooling (the Gonski Review). The Commonwealth shared with the States and Territories the high-level objective and principles that will guide its work on school funding reform.

MENTAL HEALTH REFORM: COAG signed a new National Partnership Agreement Supporting National Mental Health Reform. This agreement provides $200 million in Commonwealth funding, alongside investments by the States and Territories, to improve outcomes for people with severe and persistent mental illness.

Through the delivery of 16 projects across the States and Territories, more people with severe and persistent mental illness and complex care needs will be able to access supported accommodation and avoid emergency department presentations and associated hospital admissions, through better supports to maintain their

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recovery in the community.

Source:- https://www.cshisc.com.au/index.php

April 16 - National Strategy launches new website The National VET E-learning Strategy, an initiative aimed at strengthening the Australian training sector’s use of new learning technologies to improve workforce skill levels, launched their new website in late March.

The Strategy’s website http://flexiblelearning.net.au is an online resource for the three year (2012-2015) program of action that will play a key role in stimulating innovative approaches to increasing participation in training and employment, and use of the National Broadband Network for training delivery.

The National VET E-learning Strategy (which replaces the Australian Flexible Learning Framework) is the responsibility of the Flexible Learning Advisory Group, a key policy advisory group on national directions and priorities for information and communication technologies in the VET sector.

“Through this Strategy, we are supporting the development of e-learning programs that maximise the opportunities associated with the rollout of the NBN,” says FLAG Chair Raymond Garrand, Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology.

“In addition to capitalising on the NBN, we are supporting large-scale workforce development in industry, as well as extending participation and access for individuals through e-learning programs that deliver foundation skills and e-literacy.

Programs have been funded across these business areas in all States and Territories, through public and private training providers, industry associations and enterprises.

The Strategy’s projects have been developed across a diverse range of sectors, from trades, manufacturing and mining to agriculture, communities and aged care.

This new website features information on key business activities from programs funded under the Strategy, with contact details for projects across all States and Territories, links to e-learning support content and resources for industry.

“Used strategically, the new technological environment will provide unprecedented access to improved training and learning opportunities,” says Garrand.

For more information on the National VET E-learning Strategy, visit: http://flexiblelearning.net.au. For more information on the Flexible Learning Advisory Group, visit: http://www.flag.natese.gov.au/. For more information contact the FLAG Secretariat at flag_enquiries@natese.gov. au Source :- http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/

April 16 - Virtual trade show inspires students New technology is enabling business students to enrich their learning experience by attending trade shows and conferences without leaving their desks. In a project funded by the National VET E-learning Strategy, a virtual trade show is being developed in a virtual world, enabling students from virtual enterprises in different locations to share and learn from each other. Partnering with Virtual Enterprise Australia, TAFE NSW North Coast Institute identified the opportunity for students in business courses to complete the ‘trade show participation’ part of the course online and ‘live’ with others in their group.

“Having funding to build our own virtual world platform is a dream come true for us,” says Project Manager DeslieAnn Osborn from TAFE NSW North Coast Institute.

The Virtually Enterprising project will build a virtual enterprise training facility and trade show in a virtual world, where students can develop their skills together with learners from other virtual enterprises and collaborate together in the creation of a trade show that broadens and enhances their learning. A virtual enterprise is a simulated business that participants organise and run as a hands-on way of learning about business practices and procedures.

“This is a great opportunity for learners from virtual enterprises across the country to learn new skills and strategies from their counterparts without having to travel great distances at certain times of the year,” says Osborn.

“This means that students will benefit from seeing the ideas and innovations of students and teachers from other locations, and through communicating and collaborating on those ideas in the 'live' environment.”

This project has been made possible through funding from the National VET E-learning Strategy, whose NBN E-learning Programs provide opportunities to create innovative approaches to demonstrate the power of broadband to enhance outcomes for learners, and promote growth in broadband-based training as the NBN rollout proceeds. For more information contact Lye Goh at lye.goh@det.nsw.edu.au Source :- http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/

April 16 - E-literacy program supports homeless learners A blended model of online and face-to-face education is allowing disadvantaged and homeless students to learn new skills, gain qualifications and increase their opportunities for employment. Matthew Talbot Homeless Services (MTHS) – a special work of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW – is partnering with TAFE NSW Sydney Institute to use e-learning tools to support content development and course delivery for modules of e-literacy and foundation skills.

The project will also trial the use of mobile platforms and social networking in addressing the barriers to engagement, participation and completion in education faced by the homeless community.

“Since early 2009, TAFE Outreach at Ultimo College has been working with us to provide accredited education programs to disadvantaged learners, particularly the homeless and those at risk of homelessness,” says Brett Macklin, Operations Manager of Matthew Talbot Homeless Services.

“Studies show that many homeless people are adept and enthusiastic users of digital technology, and they find online environments to be a safe place from which to interact with the ‘real’ world,” says Macklin.

“Blended delivery of this type can enable ongoing supported, self-paced learning regardless of classroom attendance. The building of e-literacy skills in this environment can also bring the awareness of achievable vocational and training opportunities to those with little or no formal education.”

Both MTHS and TAFE Outreach are leaders in providing services to homeless and marginalised communities in New South Wales. By pooling resources, knowledge and infrastructure, they are developing an innovative approach to education for disadvantaged learners. This pilot is being developed as the first stage of a three-stage project that will eventually provide access to e-learning and online support for students in regional New South Wales. The project has been made possible through funding from the National VET E-learning Strategy, whose Partnerships for Participation program offers opportunities, through targeted funding, to develop e-learning approaches to improve the e-literacy, foundation skills and pre-vocational skills of individuals experiencing disadvantage.

For more information contact Brett Macklin at brettm@ talbot.org.au Source :- http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/

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April 13 - COAG signs up to skills for all Australians

term unemployed will have improved access to training at a level that will have a significant impact on their employment and wage earning prospects. Students will be able to access the Entitlement through training providers approved by States or territories to deliver publicly subsided training. Depending on where the training is carried out, the subsidised place could be worth up to $7800 for some courses.

The nation’s training system will be transformed after the States and Territories signed up to a $1.75 billion package to accelerate skills reform at COAG today. This skills package will ensure our national training system is able to respond to the needs of our economy, and will help to lift productivity and competitiveness. Around an additional 375,000 students will be able to complete qualifications over the next five years under the package signed up to at COAG. This will help more Australians get the training they need to get a job, to change careers or to up-skill and get a better-paying job. The key elements of the $1.75 billion package signed up to today are:

The creation of a National Training Entitlement, giving working age Australians guaranteed access to a government subsidised training place.

The expansion of income-contingent loans to

subsidised higher level qualifications in the vocational education and training (VET) system.

 Launch of the MySkills website, to ensure students and industry can make an informed choice about the

training that suits them, and a student identifier for the VET system.

 Measures to raise the quality of skills training and outcomes.

This $1.75 billion package is in addition to the $7.2 billion the Government will provide to States and Territories through the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development over the next five years. In total, that means the Government is providing almost $9 billion of funding to the States and Territories over the next five years. This is a $1 billion increase over the previous 5 years under the National Agreement and Productivity Places Program National Partnership.

Today’s reforms will provide industry with a better qualified and flexible workforce overtime and will assist in meeting skills shortages in key areas of the economy. The creation of a National Training Entitlement will see all working age Australians guaranteed access to a government subsidised training place, up to their first Certificate III. Students who have literacy and numeracy difficulties, who left school early, have a disability or workers who have are long

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In a second key reform, VET students studying subsidised diploma and advanced diplomas will have access to income contingent loans like those offered to university students through FEE HELP. This will enable up to 60,000 students per year to defer the upfront cost of tuition, so that cost will no longer be a barrier to training. Students will be able to defer payment for their study until they are earning in excess of $47,000 per annum. The My Skills website, due to be launched later this year, will give students the information they need to make the right choice about the training that suits them. A new Unique Student Identifier will also be introduced so students will be able to access information about their training record from a single authoritative source. The Gillard Government will work with the States and Territories to ensure courses delivered by the VET sector are subject to independent quality assessment. We will ensure students receive high quality training that meets the needs of industry and students. This includes strategies to improve the quality of VET teaching and training through the implementation of criteria specific to each state including monitoring, performance evaluation and quality indicators for providers.

States and Territories will trial independent checks on the quality of training provider assessment practices over the next two years in order to underpin the introduction of a national system of independently assessed and validated VET qualifications. States and Territories will have to set strict criteria to ensure only quality providers with an established record can access public funding. Skills Australia estimates that in the five years to 2015, Australia will need an additional 2.1 million people in the workforce with VET qualifications.

This skills package is a significant breakthrough for business and employees as we shape the new economy. It sits alongside our reforms in clean energy, broadband and tax redesign as the building blocks to equip our nation for the challenges ahead.

Source :- http://www.alp.org.au:6020/home/

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It's Not

NEWS

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INF O CUS Introducing

Rod Hearps

R

od has spent over 22+ years in the International Education Industry. He got involved in it right from the start of his career. He finished a Diploma of Teaching with a double major in Physical Education and Mathematics from Tasmania in 1985. Warmer weather, a jet setting air-hostess girlfriend and a desire to continue to grow and learn brought him to Griffith University in Queensland. Here he went on to finish his Graduate Diploma in Linguistics and started teaching English as a second language at an English Language school in Brisbane.

Not content with just teaching English he was also taking the students to activities and on tours over the weekend to the beach, nightclubs, and tours of the Gold Coast & Brisbane etc. He found this to be a brilliant introduction to what the industry had on offer. He also quite enjoyed his role with the students and it was a great way to have fun while learning.

Rod’s stint as an English teacher however was short lived, about a year after he started, the college he was employed at had shut its doors. Rod and his wife Cathy (yes, he married his air-hostess girlfriend) decided to start their own business taking international students on tours & cultural activities to places like the Great Barrier Reef, horse riding, scuba diving, parachuting, surfing and even farm stays.

They further expanded into organising home stay for their students and also did Group Study Tours which saw them deal with students from countries such as Japan and Korea.

They loved hosting the students and organising interesting activities for them including cultural visits to museums.

Journey from Teacher to Agent Pre Internet (early 1990s) was an interesting growth phase for overseas students and agencies in Australia. Rod wanted to be in the thick of the excitement and action. He soon decided that he was on the wrong side of the fence being an educator. He realised that the agency side of the business was not only lucrative but that the Agents were the actual key drivers for the industry with their active recruitment and dealing with the students. Rod and Cathy established a student agency in Australia as well as setup an office in Tokyo, Japan, managing applications and recruiting overseas students. Onshore they would provide

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the students the support and the backup they needed and their Japanese office did a lot of the sourcing of students and initial contact and application.

Rod believes that the development of Internet contributed to a real boom in the international students education industry as well. As internet grew, the role of the agents changed dramatically over the years. From a very high person to person contact the Agents and the Students began to rely on the internet a lot more now than they ever had in the past. Earlier when all the information was not so easily and publicly accessible the international recruitment was contact based and the Agent was in both a position of trust and authority. Australian organisations were at the forefront of recruiting agents and the internet brought a big rise in this section of the industry. Rod had a lot of success with adopting the internet and running his business online.

Rod launched a website called hyperstudy.com in 1999 and as an education agency they were one of the first to

create a website to source students. It revolutionised their business and within a year of creating a website, they went from getting students from just 2 countries to being able to recruit students from 40 different countries. As students in a lot of countries started using the internet and there weren’t many websites providing good information or resources, hyperstudy.com was one of the earlier adopters of the internet technology. Internet was such a game changer that Rod was able to streamline and shut down their office in Tokyo as it was a lot cheaper to run a website than running an office.

Upheavals of the 90s The mid to late 90s also saw another change that was simultaneously hitting the education industry. It was the commencement of the previously off-shore agencies setting up their own local offices in Australia. It created for local education agencies the same challenges that were already prevalent overseas. Things such as price wars and open discounting, which was also making international students aware of the commission structure that was in place between institutions and agents. This led to immense pressure on institutions to increase their commission rates to keep up with the demands of the off shore agencies. The agencies were giving a huge chunk of their commission away to the students in the form of discounts and this was also putting pressure on institutions to give bigger commissions. Rod felt that this was quite disruptive for the industry and it changed the relationship that the students had with student agencies. Rod wished to see better self-regulation and better standards being upheld. Since the agents industry was largely unregulated, Rod contributed and was responsible for setting up one of the very first agency industry bodies in Australia.

He was involved in the formation of International Education Consultants Association in 1997 to promote the professionalisation, regulation and the building of standards to help create a base and standards within the industry. Rod at the time also felt that his days as an agent were numbered as the reputation of the agents had taken a big dive by the behaviour of some of the new entrants within the industry.

Leap into management He decided to take a leap and go into helping an English college in Surfers Paradise. He went from an initial role in marketing to within a couple of months ending up as a Principal, Business Manager and Marketing Manager. Since Rod was already committed to working in and around the international education industry being an educator was a very beneficial step to rounding out this skills and gain a deeper understanding across the various sections of the industry. When he started the college had less than 25 students and was struggling financially. Rod used his wealth of experience gained in recruiting students and in managing a company and put them to good use. Within a year the college had grown to over 125 students and was

profitable. It also was a wonderfully positive and learning experience for him working with a much bigger revenue and budget, larger staff and managing a much larger organisation than the small agency that he was used to.

Rod’s professional journey continued to diversify into new services. His love for travelling, exploring new cultures and developing new aspects and services for the education industry has kept him innovating and growing in many new directions. He founded EdMedia which was a lead generation and marketing company for education organisations. One of his key pieces of advice is “Make sure you are at the leading edge, not the bleeding edge.”

Be an early to market player, but not so early that it is not financially viable. He could see the trends and used his expertise to build one of the first lead generation companies. From there on in, Rod progressed on to help develop the ANZA Workshop with ICEF (ICEF connects educators, education agents, work and travel professionals and industry service providers to key markets and networks worldwide). ANZA is a unique annual event for Australia and New Zealand that connects Agencies with Education Organisations locally. The event itself has been growing for the past few years and this model has been so successful that it has been adopted in the USA as well for ICEF. Being involved with ICEF has given Rod a very global and international view of the whole industry.

When the world’s your oyster... you get a global prospective When asked about the state of the industry and for Australia in particular, Rod believes that for a small country like Australia we have certainly had a very good run in the International Education arena. Up until 2009, Australia was really punching above its weight and our student recruitment was quite robust when compared to US and Canada. However, since 2009 he believes due to our education policy not being in line with our immigration policy, we have been turning away from that market in a big way. Australia has declined very dramatically from the position of being an early adopter. The scene internationally has changed to a very large extent.

Countries that were originally supplying a lot of students are now actively competing to getting overseas students themselves.

Countries such as Canada and the USA are on the rise and they have benefitted from Australia’s decline. The number of students worldwide has only increased but the barriers and obstacles placed by Australia (to entry) makes students look at other parts of the world. Not just to the historically well regarded countries like the USA, UK, Canada and New Zealand but a lot of new emerging countries are building their own international education markets that never existed before. China and India for example very originally source countries but they are now positioning themselves as destination countries for students from place like Africa or the middle east. US has had a big change in its RTO RTOSuccess SuccessJune June2012 2012

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education culture as well where for the first time the USA organisations are dealing with and entertaining student agencies as a valid part of the student recruitment process.

The visa processing for the USA for students has also been made easier which has given the USA and others a big headway into the student numbers lost to Australia.

Australian market to boomerang? Be a long time coming...

Over time, according to Rod unless Australia really looks to reverse the trend we will continue to lose market share worldwide. Countries such as Malaysia and Singapore are becoming very active in international education with governments making public declaration of how much they aim to increase their international education industry size to a certain point by a certain date. These kinds of declarations have made international education a lot more prized and a much harder fought arena whereas Australia has effectively been going backwards in terms of its market penetration and its reputation as a destination country. Rod believes some of the other common factors such as the high Australian Dollar are not really the main considerations for an international student (as they certainly can afford to come here) but our education policy that has decoupled from the immigration policy is the real reason.

Rod believes that another new trend that is underway now is Transnational Education. This is the Australian (and others such as UK and the USA) providers are establishing their campuses in other countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Russia and China. The source country is where they deliver 1-2 years degree programs and the students can then do their final year in the destination country. In some cases, the entire course is done and delivered overseas with the students getting a degree or a diploma from the foreign counterpart. As a result of this twin country approach to education, it helps to lower the living cost and for the students to still access the overseas education while staying at home. This trend over time will only grow and could pose further erosion to the overseas student numbers. However, with every adversity he sees opportunity. He believes that organisations that will really grow and thrive are the ones that will actively embrace this trend and setup multiple locations and campuses overseas to source their students and deliver their courses.

Rod believes that for a student wishing to study languages Australia will always be a very attractive destination for students. We do have a good impression in their mind that they are going to study English in a country where English is spoken and also that they will experience cultural diversity and also be in an entertaining and native environment. There will always be a languages and travel based education market for Australia. For vocational institutes however, he advises that if a student is commendable in English and there isn’t any need for them to study English the students can benefit through the transnational model.

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Rod has continued to innovate and grow in his work with ICEF and the ANZA workshop. He sees further growth within the international education industry and feels that certification, regulation and growth of industry bodies and better regulation of education agencies can only add to the value of the industry. Further development of Education Agency Training Courses by various countries, institutions and industry bodies are major trends that he sees developing in the next few years. He thinks that the ground we have lost in the last few years will be very hard to claw back and we may do it in absolute number terms but it would be very hard if not impossible to do in terms of market share percentage.

Global citizen still calls sunny Queensland home...

While Rod enjoys travelling and meeting people from across the world, he still very much enjoys his family home at Mount Tamborine in Queensland. Professionally he sees a majority of his role as someone who is a connector and brings people together. He enjoys conversing and putting people together that in his words “should be doing business together” and watching his them grow and do business together. Rod’s humanitarian side is quite commendable as well. He has been involved with a few projects in Philippines and Laos, helping children from very poor families to learn language and computer skills find employment and support their families. He believes in supporting causes where children can be educated and empowered to break the cycle of poverty and unemployment.

He considers himself quite lucky that he has been able to travel extensively with his wife Cathy and also able to take their three children across the world. International house swaps and living for months in Europe have allowed the Hearps family to truly enjoy places like France, Germany and gain a much deeper insight from having lived there instead of a short trip.

Like a lot of us, Rod is now seeking more balance in his life and would love to spend more time doing things with his family and children before they all grow up too much.

He muses that he would love to make the most of it and while he has lost his hair and can’t surf as well anymore, he certainly would love to make the most of his time with his family and kids.

Rod sees himself continuing down the road of international education and is happy to continue to learn and grow by continuing to innovate, travel and immerse himself in international education movement for people around the world. He is excited by the constant learning and studying of trends evolving within the international education industry around the world. We wish you the very best in this exciting journey Rod.

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Those who analyse the reasons for their success know that the 80/20 rule applies.

Eighty percent of their growth, profitability and satisfaction comes from 20 percent of the clients. At a minimum, firms should identify the top 20 percent to get a clear picture of desirable prospects for future growth.

Vin Manaktala “The 80/20Principle: The Secret to Success

by Achieving Less”

“Pursue those few things where you are amazingly better than others and that you enjoy the most.”

For businesses “The 80/20 Principle” is an exceptionally useful paradigm to understand and put into practice, because it encourages continuous self-awareness and prioritisation, which is “How Successful Businesses Flourish”.

The principle States, quite simply, that 20% of efforts lead to 80% of results. Whether you know it as the “Pareto Principle” or the “Principle of Least Effort” it’s an incredibly powerful concept.

“The 80/20 Principle, like the truth, can make you free. You can work less. At the same time, you can earn more and enjoy more. The only price is that you need to do some serious 80/20 thinking.” ~ Richard Koch 22

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Pareto & 80/20: It’s everywhere!

Business: Strategy

80/20 thinking with practice enables us to spot the few really important things that are happening and ignore the mass of unimportant things. It teaches us to see the wood for the trees.

The 80/20 Principle suggests that your strategy is wrong. If you make most of your money out of a small part of your activity, you should turn your company upside down and concentrate your efforts on multiplying this small part.

It was 1897 when Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, was studying wealth and income distribution in 19th Century England. During the course of his studies, he discovered that the majority of land and income was controlled by a minority of the population. In fact, 20% of the population controlled 80% of the wealth and income.

On further analysis, mythical lore says that he found that this principle held true not only in different countries and different time periods, but also in contexts such as his garden—where he discovered that 20% of his peapods yielded 80% of the peas that were harvested!

Ever thought?

“So there you have it. Think 80/20 and act 80/20. Those who ignore the 80/20 Principle are doomed to average returns.

Those who use it must bear the burden of exceptional achievement.” ~ Richard Koch This principle also implies to our daily lives, as follows: • 20% of criminals account for 80% of crime.

• 20% of motorists account for 80% of accidents.

• 20% of married individuals account for 80% of divorces.

• 20% of your carpet probably gets 80% of the wear.

• 20% of streets account for 80% of the traffic.

• 20% of product flaws account for 80% of problems.

• 20% of clients usually account for 80% of profits.

• 20% of clothes in your closet are worn 80% of the time.

• 20% of beer drinkers drink 80% of the beer.

Applying the Principle!

As Koch States: “20% of what we do leads to 80% of the results; but 80% of what we do leads to only 20%. We are wasting 80% of our time on low-value outcomes.”

Rather than pursuing every available opportunity, Koch suggests “we calm down, work less and target a limited number of very valuable goals where the 80/20 Principle will work for us.”

1. Where your revenue comes from?

2. Where you spend your time?

It is almost certainly true that you make at least 80 percent of your profits and cash in 20 percent of your activity, and in 20 percent of your revenues. The trick is to work out “which” 20 percent.

Ask yourself are you wasting time on activities you know aren’t yielding the results you want? If yes, then stop and, find the 20% of stuff that’s working and do more of it.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ~ Richard Koch A surprising number of people spend a lot of time with people they don’t like. This is a complete and utter waste of time. It’s not enjoyable, it’s tiring.

Executives may suspect that some customers and some products are more profitable than others, but when the extent of the difference is proved, they are likely to be surprised and sometimes dumbfounded. Koch’s incredible passion for creating your ideal life is “palpable” and it can be achieved by following these 6 simple ideals.

1. Be Unreasonable: Everything you want should be yours i.e. the type of work you want, the relationships you need, the social, mental, and aesthetic stimulation that will make you happy and fulfilled, the money you require for the lifestyle that is appropriate to you, and any requirement that you may have for achievement or service to others. If you don’t aim for it all, you’ll never get it all. To aim for it requires that you know what you want.

So, to apply the 80/20 Principle to creating your ideal life is simple. Have a look at these questions:    

What do we want?

What’s your ideal?

What do you absolutely LOVE to do?

What comes to you effortlessly?

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    

With whom would you love to spend your time?

What would you be doing throughout the day?

How much would you make?

Where would you live?

Would you be able to hike or meditate or sit in your sauna whenever?  What you want or, would you have a boss telling you what you can do when?

When we have a handle on what we want, we can start to look at whether what we have and what we’re doing matches up with these ideals.

2. What’s Easy? It is important to focus on what you find easy. This is where most motivational writers go wrong.

They assume you should try things that are difficult for you.

“I do not believe that you should devote overly much effort to correcting your weaknesses.

Rather, I believe that the highest success in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths.” Martin Seligman from Authentic Happiness: 3. Relationships: Relationships help us to define who we are and what we can become. Most of us can trace our successes to pivotal relationships.

News flash!!! 20% of your friends/loved ones probably account for 80% of your enjoyment and satisfaction. Might sound harsh, but why wouldn’t you spend a lot more time with the group that gives you so much pleasure and a lot less time with the other?

“For both personal and professional relationships, fewer and deeper is better than more and less deep.” ~ Richard Koch The action implications should be plain.

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

Go for quality rather than quantity.



Spend your time and emotional energy reinforcing and deepening the relationships that are most important.

Self-actualising people have these especially deep ties with rather few individuals.

Their circle of friends is rather small. The ones that they love profoundly are few in number.

Partly this is for the reason that being very close to someone in this self-actualising style seems to require a good deal of time.

Devotion is not a matter of a moment. ~ Abraham Maslow from Hierarchy of Needs.

4. Learning: Koch shares a story of the wisdom his tutor at Oxford shared with him. First, he advised him not to attend lectures because; “Books can be read far faster but never read a book from cover to cover, except for pleasure.

When you are working, find out what the book is saying much faster than you would by reading through. Read the conclusion, then the introduction, then the conclusion again, and then dip lightly into any interesting bits.”

Several years ago, I taught the 80/20 principle to a friend’s 10-year-old daughter who was struggling in school. She learned to read the conclusions, check out the graphs and charts and pictures and leading questions, and then read and mind map the content. Her C’s went to A’s in about a month and a half. And, more

importantly, she liked herself and was learning a lot more.

So, unless you’re reading a book for pleasure, read the conclusion then the intro, check out the graphs and pictures and then the conclusion again and maybe some sections a little deeper if you find it particularly interesting.

5. Your Diet: Yes, your diet. If you’re like most people, you might get a little confused by all the conflicting information the experts share these days. Why not 80/20 your diet?!? The reality: 20% of your healthy eating habits account for 80% of your health gains. The obvious stuff that we all know we should be doing but few of us actually do.



Are you drinking enough water?



Eating breakfast?



Eating a lot of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables?



Avoiding refined foods and refined sugar?

You do these things and you’re 80% there. And, you’ll be surprised how quickly your energy will increase.

6. Focus: Whenever you spot a 20 percent activity, run to it, surround yourself with it, immerse yourself in it, patent it, and make yourself its expert, worshipper, high priest, partner, creator, propagandist, and indispensable ally.

Make the most of it. If the most appears to be more than you can imagine, multiply your imagination.

Conventional wisdom is not to put all of your eggs in one basket. 80/20 wisdom is to choose a basket carefully, load all your eggs into it, and then watch it like a hawk.

80/20 principle in an RTO Sales & Marketing Analyse your marketing mediums, do you focus on too many different mediums? Using the 80/20 principles which ones are performing better? Put more effort and focus on these mediums only.

What training packages are you marketing? Which ones are performing and which ones aren’t? Is it time to change your scope?

What about your website? Could you apply the 80/20 principle to it? Step's to achieving this: a) Figure out what’s your main goal and/or call-to- action (the 20%). b) Round up all the rest of the things and elements on your site that don’t pertain to your main goal/call-to- action (the 80%).

Training & Assessment: Is there ways to implement the 80/20 principle for your training & assessment? Look at how trainers/assessors can have easy access to student’s information, whether they are in the class room or when they are onsite with the student. Would introducing iPhones or iPads/ tablets assist them to access student’s details via the internet?

HR/Admin Most of your business is taken care of by a small

It’s amazing how many people hedge their bets. What about you? Are you holding back from pursuing your dreams? Hedging a bit and waiting until just the right time?

minority of your employees. 20 percent of your

Discover what you’re most enthusiastic about, and focus your energy on how you can serve the world by sharing your gifts with that enthusiasm! Well, what are you waiting for? Choose your basket carefully, load all your eggs into it, and create your ideal life!

know what to do and often just take care of things.

employees shoulder 80 percent of the responsibility and work. They're the team leaders, PA's or the old, trusty, reliable staff you've had for years, the ones who Sometimes, these people will be obvious; other times, it'll be a bit harder to figure out who they are. Figure out who these people are and reward them.

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Struggling for Growth?

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Top 10 tips for fast growth in a post GFC economy Have you reached a plateau at a certain level and growth has become stagnant?

Do you believe industry and economy factors are making it impossible for your college to grow fast? One of my mentors once said to me - Either you are arguing for your current reality or you are busily building a new one. Which one would you rather?

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Here are some steps that I have seen make all the difference in any business that took them seriously and applied them.

and Suppliers all come and go but it is your systems and processes that will over time build an anchor of reliability and success you can bank on.

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Be Daring and aim for a big goal. Go for a bigger number than incremental five or ten percent growth.

Declare it and define it for the next one, two and five years. Declare it to key team members. Not so big that you never expect to achieve it and start to sabotage yourself, but big enough that you know it will make you and your team stretch. It may make you uncomfortable to start with but that's where the growth is. Ask any personal trainer... there's always more possible (to give) than what any person initially expected. Stretching those thinking muscles fosters an environment where it is clear that you are going somewhere and building something great. Mediocre companies attract mediocre clients and staff, great companies have great people in and around them.

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Redefine your organisation as a marketing firm.

As much as you are in the training business and you may be delivering training in x, y or z, unless you really see yourself as a firm that is in thebusiness of marketing (and acquiring and urturing clients) first and foremost, you will under-sell yourself. I don't mean being so marketing oriented that you building empty hype and not being inyour integrity. However, unless you are really focussed on being out there and find ways to be in front of your potential clients, you will be at the mercy of market circumstances. Be at the mercy of the economy and you will find it hard to grow beyond the average. You must absolutely know that it is your marketing and what sort ofmethods you have to acquire clients that can make a big difference.

3

Systematise. Business is simple. Get clients, deliver your service and rinse and repeat. Delivering in Business is all about doing the right things over and over with precision. You don’t have to be pedantic about every little thing but know for a fact that it is your systems, your staff, your processes and your workflow that all add up to make a huge impact to your bottom line. Having a huge turnover may be gratifying to the ego but it is the profits and the kudos you win from your repeat and loyal client base that truly count over time. Both of these cannot be achieved without having reliable systems and processes. Staff, Clients

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10, 100, 1000. This carries on from the above point about systemising. Think of your business as 10 steps from start to finish. Write them down. Identify which one are the two to three weakest points within the business. Take those two or three and expand each one of them into 10 tasks each as well. Repeat the process to take it to a further level if required. Most of the difficulty in business is when a certain “process” has not been “thought out” enough. If you were serious in getting this drill down process happening on a regular basis, you will find weak points within the business to evolve and become strengths. It takes time but it is definitely worth it to ensure a strong business that can survive any threat.

5

Focus on Returns. Everything in business is a cost or an opportunity. The cost of exploring any new opportunity can be measured and when the budgets are tight, it is easier to go after a lot of smaller wins rather than focussing on one big venture. Try new things, be prepared to fail and fail cheap. Initiatives that gain traction should be supported and those that are not successful should either be modified or shelved.

Returns should be measured from every new initiative and only the ones that stack up commercially be kept going. Down economy is not a time for pet projects or for items that are a constant drain to cash flow.

6

Outsource. It is not a dirty word. You can save a lot of money in the process and also create more quality jobs locally. Besides, why would you want to bore your key staff with mundane routine repetitive activities when they can be done by someone remotely for up to one tenth of that cost! The more cost effective you are in delivering all those things that are chewing up your valuable staff time, the more you can put your staff to work on doing things that matter. Like networking, building new marketing funnels, building relationships, talking to customers and so on. There is a reason why the top end of town all over the world uses outsourcing and multiplies their output.

7

Innovate. There is always a better way to do things. Faster, cheaper, with more personalised

human touch. It is simply a matter of being open to new ideas, learning from those that are doing it better and also being humble enough to know that you need to improve. This innovation can be done in all areas of your business. How you approach new clients, how you nurture and promote your unique brand, how you train and encourage staff to perform. Each key area of your business should be examined at least once every three to six months or you run the risk of becoming a stale business with bored and stagnant employees, clients and soon our revenue and profits follow suit.

8

Build Culture. Companies that can retain and attract quality staff thrive in tough or good times alike.

Companies that have a genuine culture (which goes beyond just making the money) are a lot more successful at keeping the right staff. Create vision documents if you don’t have them, get buy in from staff, involve them in creating a mission statement, have a regular get together where you simply talk about how to make things better and have everyone part of a shared vision. The more a company is clear on where it’s going, what it stands for and what it gives back the more supported and encouraged its team will feel to deliver on its mission.

9

Have fun. Create and foster an atmosphere that encourages fun, laughter and individual expression.

Business is meant to be fun! After all, where else do you get to create so freely, come up with new ideas and affect the lives of people you come in contact with. The more your people, your clients, your suppliers have happy interactions with you and your organisation, the easier it will become to stretch and grow. Business is all about people, serious is suffocating and happy people go the extra mile. Try it!

10

Just do it. Foster a culture of genuine action within your organisation. A lot of the points mentioned above may sound simple and you may have heard it from time to time (or may even know it quite instinctively and logically), the question it comes down to is... how much of the above do you actually do?

The psychology of winning only comes from doing. Test, measure and improve but continue the doing cycle.

Too much emphasis on analysis or strategy or endless meetings are not the ultimate answer. It’s not what you know; it’s what you do that ultimately separates the winners from runners up.

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Of The Month 1. In the current financial year what are your staff numbers? (Only one answer please)

1 - 10 10 - 30 30 - 50 Over 50 100+ 200* 2. Of your current staff numbers what percentage is full time? (Only one answer please)

None At least 10% No more than 25% Approx. 50% Between 50 to 75% 100% Not sure 3. In the current financial year how many new staff have you recruited? (Only one answer please)

None 1 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 20 20 to 50 50+ 4. What were the reasons for recruiting in the current financial year? (Multiple answers ok) New positions were created Replace staff (due to staff promotions) Replace staff (staff had left) Other Not sure 5. Have you ever considered 'outsourcing' or 'virtual assistants' as part of managing job responsibilities? (Only one answer please) Yes No RTO Success June 2012

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6. Of the staff you recruited what percentage of them have you been able to retain? (Only one answer please)

None At least 10% No more than 25% Approx. 50% Between 50 to 75% 100% Not sure 7. In the current financial year, of the new staff you have recruited, have any started a traineeship? (Only one answer please)

Yes No Not sure 8. Do you have any of your 'current students' working within your RTO? (Only one answer please) Yes No Not sure 9. How do you recruit staff? (Multiple answers ok) Promote from within the business Recruitment Agencies Online job sites (Seek, CareerOne, MyCareer etc) Word of mouth/networking Advertise in Newspapers Review past resumes for skills matching Social Media Head hunting 10. What is the average demographics of your staff? (Only one answer please) 18 to 25yrs 25 to 35 yrs 30 to 40 yrs 40yrs+ 50yrs+ 60yrs+ Mix of the above

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11. In the current financial year, of the vacancies you were recruiting for, what was the percentage that were not filled?

(Only one answer please)  None At least 10% No more than 25% Approx. 50% Between 50 to 75% 100%  Not sure We didn't recruit 12. How difficult have you found it to be recruiting staff for your RTO? (Only one answer please) Very difficult Difficult Have not had any problems recruiting staff Not sure 13. What positions do you find harder to reruit for in your RTO? (Multiple answers ok) Junior Positions Academic Staff Middle Management Senior Management Compliance Staff IT staff Not sure 14. What is the average retention rate of your staff? (Only one answer please) 1 to 6months 6months to 1year 1 to 2years 2 to 4years 5years+ Not sure 15. In the current financial year have you recruited any of your graduated students? (Only one answer please)

Yes No Not sure

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16. Of the candidates applying for your positions, what is the average percentage of suitable applicants that you have found? (Only one answer please)

None At least 10% No more than 25% Approx. 50% Between 50 to 75% 100% Not sure We didn't recruit 17. In the current financial year, of the new staff you recruited what % had qualifications & skills matching to the job role they were hired for? (Only one answer please) None At least 10% No more than 25% Approx. 50% Between 50 to 75% 100% Not sure 18. In the current financial year, of the new staff you have recruited who had qualifications what level of qualifications did they have? (Multiple answers ok)

Certificate I Certificate II Certificate III Certificate IV Diploma Advanced Diploma Associate Degree Bachelor Degree Bachelor Honours Degree Graduate & Vocation Graduate Certificate Graduate & Vocation Graduate Diploma Masters Degree Doctoral Degree 17.This 18.

is a private survey that you can pull out of the magazine and answer and then either mail (RTO Survey PO Box 8773, GCMC, Bundall QLD 9726), fax (07 3009 0485) or scan & email to editor@rtosuccess.com.au You can also go to www.rtosurvey.com.au and go to Survey of the Month to answer this survey online.

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iSURVEY iWIN iPAD

Visit our website www.rtosurvey.com.au and complete the survey for your chance to win an iPad

The ultimate survey and research website open for all in the VET industry. www.rtosurvey.com.au is an online Q & A website researching all the latest trends and asking questions from all in the RTO Industry.

Go to www.rtosurvey.com.au for your chance to win!

Polls, Questions and Insights for the RTO Industry RTO Success June 2012

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k o o b e c Fa g n i t e k r a M

Top Tips for getting the most out of Facebook A lot of experts tell us that Facebook Marketing and Social Media Marketing is about connecting and socially engaging with your clients, customers and readers. What works when running a marketing campaign does not translate well to Facebook. In fact if you were to employ a campaign mentality to Facebook it could back-fire and get you negative publicity instead . Facebook is all about building long term relationships and building your brand. It is where your customers will go to find out more about your business, and how well your business stacks up in the peer review of the social media world.

At Facebook, everything the boffins behind Facebook do is about making it more open and connected.

Facebook allows marketers to stay connected with people throughout their day whether they are on

their computers or mobile devices, at home or at work, watching TV or shopping with friends. This allows businesses to create rich social experiences build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing – word of mouth but there is a lot of confusion out there, so let us clear some of it up.

Top Tips for Marketing on Facebook Here are a few tips by which you can leverage Facebook and help it feed a constant stream of new contacts, leads and potential clients and make yourself stand head and shoulders above your competition in the process.

First Things First… Do you have a Facebook Fan Page The first step to do would be to get yourself a fan page built if you haven’t already done so. Once you create a page on Facebook, you are not just creating a page but you are establishing your identity. This will take you along way in developing relationships with fellow users and in positioning your business. Your profile should be as informal as possible. Make the page easy to view and add a lot of photos, multimedia and other things that

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can help promote interaction and comments. Remember, Facebook is about connecting with people on a personal level as if you are having a face to face conversation with them. Engaging with your audience for a small amount of time will have great impact on the number of fans on your Facebook page. Use tools such as Wildfire Interactive to measure your Facebook marketing growth, so that you can adjust your social media strategies where needed.

Any tool that can help you to measure unique users, fans, conversions and click counts will help you to keep an eye on what is working and what’s not.

Create Activity and Interest After creating a page, don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. Send out invites to all the current clients /student base and make sure all the trainers and staff are present in the group as well. Give existing students and new students plenty of reasons to like your page by giving them incentives such as freebies, discounts, special deals and any other items that work well with your current marketing and sales goals. Make it a point to spread your posts in such a way that it is not wall to wall sales promos. Mix it up with status updates, things happening at the college (you can create events for that) and also something educating, uplifting or humorous also goes a long way to building rapport and interest.

Respond and build relationships Facebook and all the new social media works best when it is a two way street. To help build long term loyalty and relationship, the more you respond to activity that happens on your page the better. Make sure that you celebrate every milestone with your group even if it’s something small. Thank them if they contribute with a good response or resource. Create an ongoing schedule of programs where you provide opportunity to receive special offers, information because you cannot expect to satisfy your audience by posting only a handful of status updates. The more you keep the activity current, the better the buzz for your Facebook page.

most Facebook users check are photo updates. Another greatway of doing this would be to invite some students (as long as they are trusted and responsible) to become co-administrators of your Facebook page and allow them to post updated photos to the main fan page as well.

Build Current and Alumni Student Group Pages Facebook Groups allow people to come together around a common cause or activity to express their views. One of the best features of groups is the ability to send messages directly to members’ Facebook inboxes.

It’s a great way to form a community and help your brand image. You can create closed groups where new participants have to be invited to be a member. The good thing here is that you can send bulk invites to your students, while it is manually done on Pages. Groups are better for hosting quick active discussions and for posting updates that relate to a particular group of people only.

You can also write about current student only events here as well. Ask your audience to post questions that they wish to ask and answer them where required.

Public and Private Events Facebook Events can help you connect with your target audience and invite them for your events, even if they aren’t on your list or one of your fans. Events can be created individually or even from Profiles and Pages.

Facebook also gives you a choice between making an event Public and Private. If you want to invite only an exclusive list of students, choose the ‘Private’ option and the event page won’t be visible to anyone except those you choose. If you’re planning an open day or doing some sort of celebration or holding a special event, choose to make that event public and also invite your current fan base to invite anyone that they feel could benefit as well.

Public events can also be marketed using paid ads to show the event as an ad to people that meet a specific criteria such as region, age, gender and specific keywords etc.

Photo Albums and Videos

Secure your custom URL before it’s gone

Photos and videos are a great way to showcase the human element of your organisation. It is general human nature that we all love a sneak peek and to find out what goes on behind the scenes. Every college event, student get together and more should be shared and posted on the Facebook site. Photos and Videos go a long way to humanising your page. It also has the added advantage that it makes your fans spend a lot more time on your page. Did you know that one of the first things

Custom URLs also known as “vanity URLs” are made available once 25 people have like your Facebook page.

This allows a user to create an easy to remember Facebook URL such as Facebook.com/yourcollegename instead of the long numerical URLs that are initially assigned to pages. This option can be found by clicking on “Edit Page” in the top right corner of your Facebook page, then choose your username in the “Basic Information” section.

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Make sure you do it as soon as possible. Secure your URL as they are prime piece of Facebook real estate, once they are gone, they are gone. A carefully chosen URL might also give you a chance to gain a lot bigger fan base.

Create a custom landing page

A simple but clever strategy for getting fans to sign up with you is to give them something special and unique for becoming a fan. To do that, you have to build one of those cool “click like to get our exclusive content” custom landing pages. Generally these were beyond the reach of a non technical person but now there are great easy to use apps creating custom landing pages. One of these is called Static HTML Plus and you can find it at bit.ly/zeropage. This is a great app as it’s completely free, has no ads or branding from the app, and even allows you to create distinct content for fans and non-fans. You can insert any HTML into your custom landing tab including videos, images, or opt-in forms.

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When, What day, What sort of content?

Research has shown that posting content on Facebook is all about timing and precision. When to post and what to post, this is directly proportional to the no. of users clicking “Like” button on your Facebook Fan page. Here are some trends:

As a marketing tool, Facebook is here to stay. Many people give up as they don’t get the desired result immediately, i.e. a huge increase in sales or a big impact quickly. However, consider marketing on Facebook as a step by step process: you first build trust, traffic and eventually over time the sales and referrals will come. When viewed and executed as a 12 month gradual evolution rather than a 30 day campaign, the results from targeted advertising and building a complete Facebook strategy will far exceed your expectations.

We hope you take some of these top Facebook tips and put them to use within your organisation.

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for organisations who are considering applying for registration to deliver VET accredited courses and/or issue recognised VET qualifications to domestic students in Victoria. This seminar includes information about the RTO registration process in Victoria.

EVENTS Skills Australia and ISC Joint Conference: The Future of Work When: 3/10/2012 to 4/10/2012 Where: Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Sydney Australia Details: Save the date for the joint Skills Australia and Industry Skills Council joint conference The Future of Work.

21st National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference (No Frills) 11-13 July 2012, Adelaide, South Australia Co-hosted in 2012 with TAFE SA, the 21st staging of this popular annual conference (known colloquially as ‘No Frills’) will be an opportunity to celebrate, collaborate and connect; and as it’s our big anniversary, we plan to add some ‘frills’.

Keynote speakers: • Robyn Archer AO, Creative Director - Centenary of Canberra (2013), Artistic Director - The Light in Winter (Federation Square, Melbourne), Chair - Adelaide College of the Arts Advisory Board • Professor David Finegold, Senior Vice President for Lifelong Learning and Strategic Growth at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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• Adrian Smith, Chair, South Australian Training and Skills Commission

Cost – There is no charge to attend this session

Financial management guidance sessions Event Name – Financial management guidance session Event Dates – Thursday 10 May 2012 Thursday 9 August 2012 Thursday 25 October 2012

The conference program will be staged at TAFE SA’s Adelaide Campus and the Adelaide College of the Arts on Light Square in the heart of the Adelaide CBD.

Event Time – 2.00pm - 4.00pm

Call for papers and presentations has closed.

Event Location – Theatrette located on Level 2, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne 3000

Registration opens 27 March 2012.

Further details are available on the conference website www.nofrills. ncver.edu.au

AQTF pre-registration information sessions Event Name – AQTF pre-registration information session Event Dates – Thursday 3 May 2012 Thursday 2 August 2012 Thursday 1 November 2012 Event Time – 2:00 - 3.30pm Event Duration – 1.5 hours Presenters – VRQA Event Location – Theatrette located on Level 2, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne 3000 Description – An information seminar

Presenters – Grant Thornton, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisory, on behalf of VRQA

Description – All potential applicants for initial registration must attend a VRQA Financial Management Guidance Session prior to applying for registration as a registered training organisation. These sessions will provide guidance on the financial management requirements related to the VRQA Guidelines for VET Providers - Guideline 1 Governance, Probity and Compliance with Statutory Requirements.

Registration – Please allow sufficient time before the session commences to register as a signed-in participant.

Cost – There is no charge to attend this session

Financial management guidance sessions Event Name – Financial management guidance session

Event Dates – Thursday 10 May 2012 Thursday 9 August 2012 Thursday 25 October 2012 Event Time – 2.00pm - 4.00pm Event Duration – Grant Thornton, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisory, on behalf of VRQA Event Location – Theatrette located on Level 2, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne 3000 Description – All potential applicants for initial registration must attend a VRQA Financial Management Guidance Session prior to applying for registration as a registered training organisation. These sessions will provide guidance on the financial management requirements related to the VRQA Guidelines for VET Providers - Guideline 1 Governance, Probity and Compliance with Statutory Requirements.

Registration – • Bookings are essential. A maximum of 2 representatives from each organisation will be accepted.

• To book, you must complete the registration form (Word - 137Kb) and submit it before 12.00 pm on the day prior to the session.

• A confirmation email will be sent to the email address you provide.

Cost – There is no charge to attend this session

AQTF pre-registration information sessions Event Name – AQTF pre-registration information session Event Dates – Thursday 3 May 2012 Thursday 2 August 2012 Thursday 1 November 2012 Event Time – 2:00 - 3.30pm Event Duration – 1.5 hours Presenters – VRQA

Event Location – Theatrette located on Level 2, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne 3000 Description – An information seminar for organisations who are considering applying for registration to deliver VET accredited courses and/or issue recognised VET qualifications to domestic students in Victoria. This seminar includes information about the RTO registration process in Victoria.

Registration – • Bookings are essential. A maximum of 2 representatives from each organisation will be accepted • To book you must complete the registration form (Word - 144Kb) • A confirmation email will be sent to the email address you provide Cost – There is no charge to attend this session

ALEA NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2012 Friday 6 to Monday 9 July The SMC Conference and Function Centre, SYDNEY, New South Wales HURRY - EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 15TH MAY! Literacy, Language, Literature, Learning is a conference designed to bring educators together to share and examine language and literacy challenges of the future.

The conference offers literacy educators opportunities to enrich their pedagogical practices and professional growth through national and international literacy networks.

Speakers include : Don Leu Mem Fox Steve Layne Barbara Comber Rob Tierney Jack Manning Bancroft Catherine Beavis Bev Derewianka Alison Davis Beryl Exley Jackie French

Libby Gleeson Lorraine Rowles Janet Scull Alyson Simpson Pre-Conference Institutes are an optional extra on Friday 6 July from 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm.

ACPET 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE The Australian Council for Private Education and Training 2012 National Conference is currently open for online registration. Please read the registration information carefully before beginning the online registration.

ACPET 2012 National Conference registration includes: • Attendance at all sessions during the conference (30–31 August) • Catering in the exhibition area during the conference (30–31 August) • Name badge and pocket program • Satchel • Welcome to Sydney Reception (Thursday 30 August) • Conference dinner and ACPET Awards for Excellence (Friday 31 August) Please note that while social functions are included in the full registration rate you must register to attend. Entry will be by ticket only.

ACPET 2012 National Conference Day registration includes: • Attendance at the sessions on that day only • Catering in the exhibition area on that day only • Name badge and pocket program • Satchel Please note tickets can be purchased for the social functions separately.

For more information, visit http:// www.acpet2012.com.au/ RTO Success June 2012

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Inspire ME Featured this month –

Helping beautiful children who want so little but need so much.

Hands Across the Water was founded by Peter Baines, a former Detective Inspector of the NSW Police who was deployed from Australia to Thailand to assist with the identification of the victims who died following the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004.

Peter spent 3 months leading international forensic teams in Thailand. He was deeply touched by the number of children left orphaned by the disaster and was inspired to set up an organisation that could make a significant difference in the lives of these children.

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The original goal in forming Hands was to raise enough money to support the construction of a home for 32 children who had all lost their parents or whom had been rendered incapable of caring for their children.

A founding non-negotiable principle of those running Hands was that “100% of all donations would be spent on the projects and not one cent of donors money would be used for administration or fundraising”.

All costs that are incurred in the running of the charity are absorbed by Peter and other Board members. This is a unique position in the charity sector right now.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE KIDS "HANDS" SUPPORTS Hands supports and runs four orphanages, two located at Baan Tharn Namchai, in the southern region of Thailand, one located at Yasothon, five hours north of Bangkok and the fourth located on the Thai-Burma border at Kanchanaburi. There are 72 children who permanently reside at the Baan Tharn Namchai orphanage. Many lost both of their parents and siblings during the tsunami.

Many of these children also lost their extended families and now have no one to care for them and no option outside of the orphanage.

The second orphanage that we opened in January of 2009 which was quickly filled.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY RAISED GO? Every cent donated goes directly to the children and the projects approved by the Hands Board. In addition to the building of the infrastructure that is required, Hands also runs sponsorship programs and scholarship programs to fund the education of these kids.

Some of the boys who now call Baan Tharn Namchai home.

One of our recent projects is the establishment of a Rubber Plantation. This is a significant step towards self sustainability and is complimented by a number of other agricultural activities.

There are 78 children who live at Home Hug, the orphanage located at Yasothon. The home is for children who have been affected by HIV. The children who live there are either HIV positive or their parents have HIV and have passed away. The centre at Kanchanaburi takes care of 48 kids.

The reason we ride 800km's through Thailand is captured in her smile.

opened in Aug The first home that we built and was of 2006

ust

In January of 2011, Hands opened a community and health centre for the community of Baan Nam Khem which is located about ten minutes drive from our current orphanages. The new building was constructed at a cost of $1.5m AUD and it provides an environment where young mothers and others at risk can come stay, learn and RTO Success June 2012

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develop skills they would have previously got from their parents if they were alive. This is one of the many examples of the needs that still exist years after the tsunami. We are also actively involved in the education of the children and indeed the staff of the orphanage. In a joint venture partnership with Victoria University we are providing education opportunities in Thailand and in Australia.

In November 2010, Hands undertook a major overhaul of the Yasothon orphanage. The beds were replaced ensuring the kids each have their own bed, a kitchen and laundry was built and each of the buildings was painted inside and out. It is our intention to give the children a home that is not only functional but inviting.

Hands has committed to the continuing support of the orphanages until they are self sufficient.

ARE DONATIONS TAX DEDUCTIBLE? Yes, donations are tax deductible. Hands has received Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR).

HOW CAN I SUPPORT HANDS? There are many ways you can support the wonderful work that Hands is doing. The Hands team is constantly looking for motivated and inspirational people who would like to invest their time and skill in raising much needed funds.

More information on opportunities is available on the Hands website. You can also become a member of your local Hands state chapter. These chapters run fundraising events within each of the States. If you wish to become an active member of a state chapter, please email team@ handsacrossthewater.org.au.

You can also make a one off donation via the website or can choose to sponsor a child. The ongoing cost of supporting each child is $100 AUD per month, or $30 AUD per month for the visiting, non-residential children.

And just like all donations, every cent of the sponsorship goes directly to the children: not one cent is spent on administration. Further information on our child sponsorship program can be found at the Hands website.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PETER ironment for The kids now have a safe and loving env ned community their "sleep time" at our recently ope centre.

Peter Baines is one of Australia’s leading Socialpreneurs having founded the fastest growing boutique charity in the country, Hands Across the Water.

Peter and the Board of Hands are shaking up the charity

PRINCIPLES & VALUES OF HANDS • Do not operate from nor impose a religious or political view point; • Respect the culture of those who work with; • Rather than seek to raise money, the charity aims to “give experiences” to those they come in contact, because its via giving experiences that you get engagement; • Do not spend donors money on administration or fund raising; and • The Directors of Hands do not receive payment in any form and cover all of their own expenses including travel costs.

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At our rubber plantation with one of the girls rescued after having been abandoned by her mot her and no one to care for her.

sector having raised over $6 million without spending one cent of donor’s money on administrative costs since its inception four years ago.

His passion for Corporate Social Responsibility began after witnessing the devastating effects of the world’s worst recorded tsunami on Boxing Day of 2004.

After returning to Australia, Peter formed Hands Across The Water to raise funds for, and awareness of, the children of Thailand who were left orphaned.

Today Hands Across the Water is one Australia’s fastest growing boutique charities and continues to produce amazing results.

TIMELINE & ACHIEVEMENTS January 2005: Peter was deployed to Phuket to lead the disaster victim identification efforts.

October 2005: Hands was formed.

August 2006: First orphanage opens October 2008: 40 acre rubber plantation purchased.

Provides income and sustainability.

November 2008: Deductible Gift Recipient Status awarded to Hands.

January 2009: Inaugural Bangkok to Khao Lak bike ride raises nearly $200,000 AUD.

"By choosing to do things differently what was once considered insurmountable becomes possible."

January 2009: Second orphanage is opened at Baan Tharn Namchai.

Peter has touched the lives of many through his work and he continues to do so through his compelling keynote presentations, in which he takes the audience from laughter to tears as he tells his story and shares the lessons learnt from making a real difference for many and realising his dream.

"One of our jobs...is to make the kids smile again"

Peter has completed university studies in forensic science, law and management and spent 22 years in the NSW Police leading forensic teams in the investigation of some of the world’s most horrendous crimes and disasters.

Today Peter spends his time helping businesses build effective CSR platforms to create goodwill, staff engagement and sustainable change.

January 2010: Second Bangkok to Khao Lak bike ride raises nearly $400,000 AUD

March 2010: Construction of community centre commences at Baan Name Khem April 2010: Hands agrees to support HIV children and orphanage in Yasothon located 530km north east of Bangkok.

October 2010: Hands agrees to support 52 kids at Kanchanabury in a new centre.

January 2011: Third and fourth bike ride run back to back and raise over $500,000.

January 2011: Community centre opens at Baan Nam Khem June 2011: Baines heads to Japan following the tsunami and earthquake.

August 2011: Young Hands is formed.

October 2011: Hands Across the Kitchen Cook book launched.

December2011: Hands commits to a new project at Chantaburi which will become a home for children rescued out of the sex trafficking industry.

gkok to Khao At the end of our 800km ride from Ban Lak in January of 2011

January 2012: The Hands team launches a new ride and rides from Nong Khai to Yasothon and then two days later they ride another 800km from Bangkok to Khao Lak and combined raise over $600,000 RTO RTOSuccess SuccessJune June2012 2012

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Demystifying AVETMISS, an impossible task?

When you think of AVETMISS do you just quietly or possibly loudly sigh and resign yourself to the fact that you will never really understand it? If someone asked you what does AVETMISS stand for or how it works what would you do? More than likely pass the buck by saying “ask so and so, they’ll explain it better” Or do you think that you don’t need to worry about AVETMISS because you have no government funding?

When the AQTF standards were released in 2010, the statement in Condition 6 that “The applicant must have a student records management system that has the capacity to provide the registering body with AVETMISS compliant data.” saw many ‘Fee for Service’ RTOs hit the panic button, especially CRICOS registered RTOs. Not only did many not have a Student Management System, to them the word AVETMISS was from a different language, even planet.

With the move for many to ASQA and the NVR system, they may have removed this statement from the National Vocation Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 but you will find that this statement has been added to the DPR (Data Provision Requirements 2011). There is no escape from the fact that all RTOs must EDUCATE themselves and their staff in relation to AVETMISS. AVETMISS (Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard) doesn’t have to be confusing or complex nor does it need to be stressful for staff at submission time.

Let’s take a look and see if we can make it simpler for you.

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Overview When you do AVETMISS data submissions you are submitting information in a set of data files (don’t panic, we’ll get to this really soon) that shows the training activity that you provide.

In simple terms the data you provide relates to your students (in the standards and elsewhere they are called Clients) and the data includes:

Who they are

Student (Client)

Where they study What they study

Who they are: information such as the student’s age, gender, demographic information, indigenous & disability, prior education information as well as where they live.

Where they study: information such as your RTOs name, address, contact person as well as what type of provider you are, such as government or private provider.

What they study: this information relates to a student’s course of study, what units of competency or modules they are studying, when they started and when they will finish their study for each unit of competency/module.

How was the training delivered (classroom, workplace etc), how it was funded and the results (outcome) achieved for each unit of competency/ module.

All this data is then broken down into a number of files that are called NAT files and they are identified by a number for example NAT00010, NAT00020 and so on. Each file then has specific information in it that relates to the 3 areas for the student as previously mentioned.

For each RTO, based on if you have ‘funded’ students or just ‘fee for service’ will then determine extra information (standardised settings) that is required that relates specifically to the type of qualification/course and the units of competency/modules as well as for ‘funded’ what type of funding your RTO is receiving for training a student.

NAT Files Simply put a NAT file is a .txt file (you will also know it as a notepad file) and looks something like the image on the page:

A NAT file can have one line of data in it, such as the NAT00010 or like the example above, the NAT00120 has many rows of data. To a novice it seems to have just letters, numbers, some symbols and even empty spaces but this all adds up to meaningful data.

For all States other than Western Australia (they merge the data into 2 files only) there is a set of 10 NAT files that are as follows:

NAT00010 – Training Organisation file – this will have data in it relating to your RTO ID and name, address information and main contact person and their contact details.

NAT00020 – Training Organisation Delivery Location file – this will have data in it relating to the locations that you deliver training. If your RTO only has one delivery location then it would have the similar information in it as the NAT00010.

NAT00030 – Course file – this will have data in it relating to each course/qualification that is listed in the NAT00120. For example, you may deliver training in 10 courses/ qualifications BUT for the specific submission period you may only have data in 5 of these courses/ qualifications so they will be the only course/qualification codes that list in both the NAT00120 and this NAT file. Also a course/qualification code may repeat itself many times in the NAT00120 BUT in the NAT00030 it must only be listed once.

NAT00060 – Module/Unit of Competency file – this will have data in it relating to each module/unit of competency listed in the NAT00120.

In the same fashion as the NAT00030 a module/unit of competency code may repeat itself many times in the

NAT00120 but in this NAT file it must only be listed once.

NAT00080 – Client file – remember a client is a student. This will have data in it relating to each student listed in the NAT00120. A student cannot be listed in the NAT00080 and NOT be in the NAT00120 and/or NAT00130.

The information in this file relates to the student, such as their unique Identifier, name, DOB, gender and

specific information such as their Indigenous status, highest year they completed in High School and what year that was. Are they working or not, do they have any disabilities or prior educational achievements etc?

It does NOT contain their address information it only shows the Suburb in which they live.

NAT00085 – Client Postal Address Details file – for each student listed in the NAT00080 they will have in this file their unique Identifier, name, address and contact details such as phone, mobile, work and email address listed.

NAT00090 – Disability file – in the NAT00080 file there is a field of data for Disability and it shows a Y or N. If it displays as a Y in the NAT00080 for a student then that student will be listed in this file with an Identifier as to the type of disability they have.

NAT00100 – Prior Educational Achievement file – in the NAT00080 file there is a field of data for Prior Educational Achievement and it shows a Y or N. If it displays as a Y in the NAT00080 for a student then that student will be listed in this file with an Identifier as to the type of prior educational achievement they have.

NAT00120 – Enrolment file – this

NAT file will generally always have more data in it than any of the other NAT files. For each student listed in the NAT00080 they will be listed in this file for each course of study (if a student was completing and starting 2 courses of study in the one year they could be in this file multiple times) each module/unit of competency and the relevant information for it. Please be aware that each State has different RTO Success June 2012

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interpretations of whether ALL modules/units of competency should be listed for the student or only ‘current activity’ should be listed. You need to make sure you understand what your State/s requires.

NAT00130 – Qualification completed file – this NAT file will list students that have completed their

studies and if they were awarded a qualification or not. Please be aware that each State has a different interpretation of whether a student should be listed here if they were not awarded a qualification, in essence they only want to see the students that were issued a qualification. You need to make sure you understand what your State/s requires.

Each number, each letter, each symbol in the NAT file adds up to valuable data that provides information that is used to shape policy, monitor VET activity, evaluates initiatives and helps to plan for the future of the industry.

Data management As you can see the NAT files require a large amount of data from different areas of your business. Managing that data and making sure it is ‘clean data’ is one of an RTOs biggest problems.

We have previously talked about data management in an article called ‘The Devils in the Data’ (May 2012 issue) and in this article we identified ways to manage your data. We looked at samples of problematic data and how you can better manage it.

Some suggestions were: 1. Review your data quality management policies and procedures

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on a regular basis to identify improvements.

qualifications, competencies etc in the one go.

2. Monitor your data with random daily or weekly data quality checks.

The rule should be 10% of all data entered that day/week should be randomly checked.

For each error you need to look at the specific information it is telling you such as:

3. For AVETMISS data files get to know

What is the error in the data?

them, understand their structure and what each piece of data means and then over time you will be able to open each NAT file and do a scroll down glance and you will be amazed at how easily you can view and pick up data problems.

Error Reports This is where people get the most confused. Errors tell you that there are problems with specific data but of course you have to decipher the error first to know what data has problems.

Depending on what State you are reporting in will determine what format you see your errors and what they mean. For example in Queensland your validation errors are emailed to you in both a pdf and excel format whereas in other States you log into your account and view the errors online.

For Queensland error reports, at first you will want to use the pdf as it is easier to view but overtime it is recommended that you get comfortable with the excel version as you can sort by the errors (the pdf is organised by the NAT file numbers) and you can then filter on each error to work through them a lot faster and also see where the same error is repeated for relevant students,

What NAT file is the error in?

Let’s look at some simple examples to help you better understand this.

Above is a QLD error report (this is a pretend RTO). The first thing you should do is identify what NAT file is the error relating to and you can find this highlighted in red above.

We know it relates to the NAT00020 which is to do with the Training Organisation Delivery Location. Then you should read the ‘Description’ & ‘Supporting Details’ to see if you understand what the problem is with your data. In this error it is relatively simple in that it is saying that the State ID that is entered in the NAT00020 is not linked to the Postcode given in the NAT00020.

AVETMISS uses the Australia Post list for address Suburb, State & Post Code matching, a user has entered in the RTOs database a State (that would link to a State ID) but the post code they have entered does not match that Suburb & State link. They would need to go back to their database, identify what suburb, state & postcode was entered and check the Australia Post website for the correct information, fix this up and then resubmit their data once all errors have been fixed.

If a similar error was in the NAT00080 (Client File) it would look like the above sample. In the NAT00080 they

give you a better ‘Supporting Details’ information, they are saying that the postcode submitted was 4514 and the Suburb was Delonies Creek. If you do a search on the Australia Post website (post code search) there is no suburb of DELONIES CREEK BUT 4514 does link to DELANEYS CREEK. Another simple error to understand would be:

that Module, in the RTOs database, has Schedule Hours = 0 (which is wrong) yet they say that the student attended study for 10 hours for this module. Luckily in this scenario there was only 2 student’s linked to that module, imagine if there had been 500 student’s linked to that module?

There would have been 500 entries for each student for this one error.

in this process. It will mean a faster turnaround in a successful validation of your data as well as less panic and confusion.

Standards documents As part of resolving submission errors & deciphering them, you will need to become familiar with the Standards documents for the ‘structure’ of NAT files. This means you need to really understand and be familiar with the data that is in each NAT file. The

This error relates to the NAT00060

These types of errors cause staff at RTOs to panic because they can

(Module/Unit of Competency file) and it is saying for the Module code of BSBDIV601A the funded hours of 60 that the RTO entered is wrong (see the image on the bottom of the page). It then shows in the ‘Supporting Details’ what they are expecting to see ie: 70 hours. The RTO would have to change this in their database system so that it is correct.

end up with error reports that are hundreds of pages long. They also believe that they have to fix the problem hundreds of times, where in fact generally by going to the module in your database and changing the number for this setting it should in fact fix the problem then for every student. Please note this does however depend on what Student Management System you are using.

hardest one generally to understand and be comfortable with is the NAT00120.

A more frustrating and stressful style error (this is an error from Victoria) is one where the same error number repeats itself (possibly hundreds of times) for the one Module or even Course in the NAT00120. An

From experience error reports are the most uncomfortable part of the AVETMISS data submission process for people. Trying to decipher some errors is stressful and overwhelming where people have repetition

From NCVER there are 2 documents you will need that are:

example of this is on the next page, you can see for the Module code of SROODR002A it has repeated itself twice but for different Client Id’s. The actual problem is that for

of errors as discussed above. It is recommended that you have consistency in who does your data submissions and error reports so that they become, overtime, ‘experts’

is in it) of the file.

You can find the standards documentation typically on the websites of each State & Territory Training Authorities as well as on the NCVER website of www.ncver.edu. au under Statistical Standards > VET Providers.

AVETMISS VET Provider Collection specifications – this explains each NAT File and the structure (what data

AVETMISS Data element definitions – this is like a dictionary that explains each field that is in the NAT file.

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Let’s look at a sample of each document: AVETMISS VET Provider Collection Specifications Each NAT file with start on a new page and be broken down into different sections. The most important section and the one that you will spend the larger part of your time in is the ‘Field Table section’ as highlighted.

The Field table will explain the following: What data is required in the file?

What position the data is in.

What is the length of each piece of data?

What type of data it must be, for example N (numerical), A (alpha) or D (date).

As you can see the image shows the NAT00080 which we know is the Client File. The first piece of information required in that file is the Client Identifier which is in position 1 and has 10 characters (length) and is an alpha type characters required.

This means without looking you should know that the next piece of data doesn’t start in the NAT00080 until position 11 and this is Name for encryption which translates to the student’s name.

This table becomes really important when errors are saying that data is wrong or missing. To learn to become comfortable it is important to be able to see the wrong or missing data for yourself in the NAT file. To do this you have to be able to open the NAT file and go to that specific position in the NAT file for that student. To do this you have to open the NAT file in notepad or another application that allows you to read the file easily, for example EditPlus.

In the first image on the next page you can see that the NAT00080 has been opened (let’s say you had an error stating that the postcode did not match the suburb for the student) and the cursor is on the last row of data in position 86 which is where the POSTCODE for the student commences. You can see it is postcode of 4226 (4 characters in length) and then it is quiet easy to

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see the word SOUTHPORT in the file at the end of the row. If you do an Australia Post search the postcode for Southport is NOT 4226 it is 4215.

It is always recommended that you do randomly check your data files for the errors that you are getting as there has been known times where RTOs data is correct it is the systems validating the data that are wrong.

Please note this NAT file was opened in an application called EditPlus (you need to purchase this application) which helps users to find the data positions easily. If you use Notepad it is not as easy to identify the position of data, you have to put your cursor at the beginning of the row and count as you hit your right hand arrow (on your keyboard)along the row until you reach the required position. Each hit of the arrow counts as 1 character/ position.

student management system does) it is not their unique identifier that the government issues to them for funding etc.

PLEASE NOTE: for this article we downloaded and used the documents from the NCVER site. This site provides you with the national set of data requirements. Most States follow the national set of data requirements BUT then also have extra data requirements after the national set.

For example the national data file structure for the NAT00120 finishes in

position 123 but Victoria for example has extra information it wishes you to submit that will come after position 123. You must always download the documents from whichever state you are submitting data to so that you make sure you understand not only the national data requirements but the state level requirements as well.

We hope this has helped to ‘demystify’ AVETMISS a little for you AVETMISS isn’t that difficult to understand but don’t tell the ‘powers that be’ this, they’ll make it even harder.

AVETMISS Data Element Definitions As mentioned before this document is a bit like a dictionary, it lists all the field names in the NAT files and explains what those fields are and any rules around them. Earlier we showed NAT00080 file structure in the AVETMISS VET Provider Collection specifications and we mentioned that the first field of data in that file is the Client Identifier. If you then search for the word Client Identifier in this document you will see this: It gives you an explanation of that field of data and rules etc. The client identifier in this case is actually the Student Number for a specific student that you issued to them (or your

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TechTools Featured this Month The Livescribe paper-based computing platform consists of a digital pen, digital paper, software applications, and developer tools. Central to the Livescribe platform is the Smart Pen, a ballpoint pen with an embedded computer and digital audio recorder. When used with Anoto digital paper, it records what it writes for later uploading to a computer, and synchronizes those notes with any audio it has recorded. This allows users to replay portions of a recording by tapping on the notes they were taking at the time the recording was made. It is also possible to select which portion of a recording to replay by clicking on the relevant portion of a page on-screen, once it has been synced to the Livescribe Desktop software. Jim Marggraff, inventor of the LeapFrog FLY Pentop computer and creator of the LeapPad Learning System, left Leapfrog in 2005 to form Livescribe.

flash memory that captures handwritten notes, audio and drawings.

Smart Pen Livescribe’s Smart Pen is a Montblanc-size computer with advanced processing power and substantial memory for handwriting capture, audio recording, and additional applications.

A Livescribe Smart Pen is about the size and weight of a large pen (5/8" x 6 1/8"), and is equipped with a removable ball-point ink cartridge, a microphone to record audio, a speaker for playback, a small OLED display, and internal

Livescribe sells two versions of its Smart Pen: the Pulse and the Echo. The Pulse, released in March 2008, is available with either 2 or 4 Gigabytes of flash storage. The 2 GB model holds about 200 hours of audio depending on recording quality settings. The Echo, released in July 2010, comes with either 4GB or 8 GB of memory. The Echo integrates with the Desktop software via a standard RTO Success June 2012

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micro USB cable and can connect to headphones with a 3.5-millimeter jack. The Pulse requires a special USB cradle and uses a less-common 2.5mm headphone jack.

How does a Smart Pen record audio?

A Smart Pen has an embedded microphone to record clear sound. It also comes with a 3-D Recording Headset, making it possible for users to capture multi-directional, far-field audio. Practically speaking, Smart Pen records all the sounds that your ears can hear.

Recorded audio format The Smart Pen records audio in a high quality AAC format.

Users can export audio from the Livescribe Desktop into different formats to use and share in other ways. The Mac version of the Livescribe Desktop exports to AAC and the Windows version of the Livescribe desktop exports into MP4 or WAV.

Benefits of a Smart Pen A Smart Pen combines all four modes of communication — reading, writing, speaking and listening — in the simple, low cost, and convenient format of pen and paper. A Smart Pen solves the burden of information overload in its ability to capture information, and makes it easily accessible and shareable. In the case of taking notes during a discussion or lecture, the Smart Pen records the conversation and digitises the handwriting, automatically synching the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the Smart Pen replays the conversation from the exact moment the note was written. Notes and audio can also be uploaded to a computer where they can be replayed, saved, searched and sent.

How to use a Smart Pen? A Smart Pen is used the same way one would use a regular ballpoint pen. To start a Paper Replay session, one must tap on a “Record” icon located on the dot paper. To stop recording, simply tap on “Stop” on the dot paper with the Smart Pen.

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Storage Capacity and Battery Life If you are writing and recording audio at the same time, Smart Pen can operate for over 5 hours before it needs to be recharged. If you wanted to record just the audio or your handwritten notes, Smart Pen can record audio for over 6 hours or your writing for over 12 hours.

How do you upload information to your computer?

Smart Pen comes with a USB mobile charging cradle that, once connected, easily transfers notes onto the computer.

Simply place the Smart Pen on the cradle. The Livescribe Desktop software will recognise the hardware and transfer the audio and ink from the Smart Pen into a digital notebook on the computer.

Livescribe Desktop software The Livescribe Desktop allows users to backup, search, and replay notes from their computer. Users can export their notes into a PDF or audio file. It is also the gateway to the Livescribe Community, where users can upload and

Industry Infocus 2

convert notes into interactive Flash movies and share them online or through Facebook.

Can you convert handwriting to text?

Livescribe has partnered with Vision Objects to develop handwriting recognition software called MyScript for Livescribe that converts ink handwriting to text in 26 languages. The text can be copied into multiple applications including Microsoft Word or other word processor, e-mail, text files, and more. MyScript for Livescribe is available for purchase and download at http:// www.visionobjects.com/handwriting_recognition/pulse/ pulse.htm for both Windows and Mac users. Consumers can download a 30-day free trial or purchase the application for $29.95.

other content. Pencasting enables users to share notes, drawings or other content online as interactive Flash movies. Pencasts can be embedded onto a blog, a web page, or shared via Facebook. See some examples at www. livescribe.com/community or at http://www.livescribe. com/blog/2009/05/01/the-best-science-pencasts-fromthe-livescribecommunity/.

Support Registered users have a one-year limited warranty. In addition, customers can utilise an online knowledge base at www.livescribe.com/support , or e-mail customer support at cs@livescribe.com Australia: +61 2 8014 9242

Livescribe Application Store

System Requirements

Livescribe’s Application Store, currently in beta, is where users can browse through, purchase, and download a variety of applications created for Smart Pen. The Application Store is connected to Livescribe’s Online Store for quick and simple purchases. Users can browse through application categories or search for a specific application using the search box. Users can also read customer reviews and see ratings prior to downloading an application.

Windows XP™ SP3, Windows Vista™ or Windows 7 operating system OR Intel based Mac with Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later, including 10.6 600MHz CPU or higher 300 MB minimum free disk space Available USB 2.0 port

Type of Applications

Livescribe’s paper-based computing platform is well-suited for anyone who uses pen and paper. College students are a key audience, because keeping track of their classroom lectures and discussions is so critical to success in school.

A broad set of professionals across multiple industries (i.e. journalists, lawyers and legal aides, salespersons, consultants, educators, and many other professionals) who spend much of their time in situations like meetings, seminars and interviews make up the other half of our users. You can find more information at www.livescribe. com/education.

The Application Store (currently in beta) offers application categories ranging from productivity tools, foreign language tools, study aids, games and entertainment.

Currently, Livescribe offers three types of applications: Open Paper Applications – These apps enable users to draw their own controls using the Smart Pen, and work with any Livescribe dot paper notebook or flip pad.

Use of Smart Pen

Pre- Printed Applications – These apps work with custom, pre-printed Livescribe dot paper that is specially designed for use with the app (e.g. a workbook, stationery, or credit card calculator) Desktop Applications– Integrate with Livescribe Desktop (e.g. Myscript transcription software)

Application Cost Users are able to install free and/or purchasable applications. Paid application prices range from $0.99 to $99.99.

Livescribe Online Registered users receive 500MB of personal online storage on the Livescribe Community to share notes, drawings and RTO Success June 2012

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7

Ways to Cut Loose from Old Sales Thinking

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Sooner

or later, we all backslide into old ways of thinking about selling that lead us down the wrong path with potential clients.

A few weeks ago, I had a phone conversation with Julie, who has been struggling with the old-style selling methods that her manager insists are the only way to sell their company’s technology solution.

Regardless of what product or service you’re selling, you should be able to relate to her dilemma.

Outdated sales skills fail to address the core issue of how we think about selling and unless we get to that core and change it once and for all, we’ll go on struggling with the same counterproductive sales behaviours.

And we’ll continue believing that we’re always just one new sales technique away from the breakthrough we’re looking for.

New Thinking = New Results Maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Maybe we need to analyse our thinking and identify why we’re not making more sales.

Take a look at the table below and think about your current selling mindset.

How would your selling behaviours change if you changed your sales thinking?

Old Sales Mindset

New Sales Mindset

Always start out with a strong sales pitch.

Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

Your goal is always to close the sale.

Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

When you lose a sale, it’s usually at the end of the sales process.

When you lose a sale, it’s usually at the beginning of the sales process.

Rejection is a normal part of selling, so get used to it.

Hidden sales pressure causes rejection.

Eliminate sales pressure, and you’ll never experience rejection.

Keep chasing prospects until you get a yes or no.

Never chase prospects. Instead, get to the truth of whether there’s a fit or not.

When prospects offer objections, challenge and/or counter them.

When prospects offer objections, validate them and reopen the conversation.

If prospects challenge the value of your product Never defend yourself or what you have to or service, defend yourself and explain its value. offer. This only creates more sales pressure.

Let's take a closer look at these concepts so you can begin to open up your current sales thinking and become more effective in your selling efforts.

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1 Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

When you call someone, never start out with a minipresentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer.

Instead, start with a conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves. For example, you might say, “I'm just calling to see if you are open to some different ideas related to preventng downtime accross your computer network?"

Notice that you are not pitching your solution with this opening phrase. Instead, you're addressing a problem that, based on your experience in your field, you believe they might be having. (If you don't know what problems your product or service solves, do a little research by asking your current customers why they purchased your solution.)

2 Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

If you let go of trying to close the sale or get the appointment, you’ll discover that you don't have to take responsibility for moving the sales process forward.

By simply focusing your conversation on problems that you can help prospects solve, and by not jumping the gun by trying to move the sales process forward, you’ll discover that prospects will give you the direction you need.

3 When you lose a sale, it's usually at the beginning of the sales process.

If you think you’re losing sales due to mistakes you make at the end of the process, review how you began the relationship. Did you start with a pitch?

Did you use traditional sales language (“We have a solution that you really need” or “Others in your industry have bought our solution, you should consider it as well”)?

Traditional sales language leads prospects to label you with the negative stereotype of “salesperson.” This makes it almost impossible for them to relate to you with trust or to have an honest, open conversation about problems they're trying to solve and how you might be able to help them.

4 Hidden sales pressure causes rejection.

Eliminate sales pressure, and you’ll never experience rejection.

Prospects don’t trigger rejection. You do -- when something you say, and it could be very subtle, triggers a defensive reaction from your prospect.

Yes, something you say.

You can eliminate rejection forever simply by giving up

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the hidden agenda of hoping to make a sale. Instead, be sure that everything you say and do stems from the basic mindset that you’re there to help prospects identify and solve their issues.

5 Never chase prospects. Instead, get to the truth of whether there’s a fit or not.

Chasing prospects has always been considered normal and necessary, but it’s rooted in the macho selling image that “If you don’t keep chasing, you’re giving up, which means you’re a failure." This is dead wrong.

Instead, ask your prospects if they’d be open to connecting again at a certain time and date so you can both avoid the phone tag game.

6 When prospects offer objections, validate them and reopen the conversation.

Most traditional sales programs spend a lot of time focusing on “overcoming” objections, but these tactics only create more sales pressure.

They also keep you from exploring or learning the truth behind what your prospects are saying.

You know that “We don't have the budget,” “Send me information,” or “Call me back in a few months,” are polite evasions designed to get you off the phone. Stop trying to counter objections. Instead, shift to uncovering the truth by replying, “That's not a problem.” No matter what the objection, use gentle, dignified language that invites prospects to tell you the truth about their situation without feeling you’ll use it to press for a sale.

7 Never defend yourself or what you have to offer. This only creates more sales pressure.

When prospects say, “Why should I choose you over your competition?,” your instinctive reaction is to defend your product or service because you believe that you are the best choice, and you want to convince them of that. But what goes through their minds at that point?

Something like, “This ‘salesperson’ is trying to sell me, and I hate feeling as if I'm being sold.”

Stop defending yourself. In fact, come right out and tell them that you aren’t going to try to convince them of anything because that only creates sales pressure. Instead, ask them again about key problems they’re trying to solve.

Then explore how your product or service might solve those problems. Give up trying to persuade. Let prospects feel they can choose you without feeling sold.

The sooner you can let go of the traditional sales beliefs that we’ve all been exposed to, the more quickly you’ll feel good about selling again, and start seeing better results.

INDUSTRY

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Please send ads to advertise@rtosuccess.com.au

Classifieds - Jobs Vacant

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We are passionate, thrive on a challenge, driven to succeed and serve at the highest levels. Above all, we want the journey to be fun and rewarding for all involved.

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Loves to talk on the phone and build relationships. You have a calm, confident manner and experienced in dealing with business clients. You love variety and would like to be part of a fun, dynamic and growing team.

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RTO Success June 2012

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Accountant Assets Capital Cash Company Credit Customers Debit Debts Employees

Firm Fixtures Income Interest Inventory Investment lawyer Lease Liabilities Loan

Management Owner Partner Payroll Product Profit Record Risks Salary Sales

Scale Service Stock Supplies Taxes Work

RTO Success June 2012

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Coming Next Month

7 Common Mistakes around Training & Assessment Strategies that are costly at Audit

Tech Tools - Things you should know before running a Google Adwords campaign

Student Management Systems, what to look for when purchasing one

July 2012

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Master Lists - get organised and get things done

SEO the old and the new

Finance metrics, key measurements to know within your RTO Attendance Monitoring, why most people get it wrong

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Advertise now with RTO Success and give your business the exposure that it deserves Visit www.rtosuccess.com.au today for more details

The ultimate business building resource for fast-tracking your RTO’s Success RTO Success June 2012

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TIME TO REST ASSURED, ‘TEAMS’ HAS YOUR COLLEGE COVERED Ad 2

TEAMS is the ultimate feature rich & easy to use software that will take your RTO management to the next level. Using TEAMS allows automation of your marketing and reduces admin costs. Get compliance ready and access comprehensive reports at your finger tips!

 AVETMISS Compliant  Email, SMS & CRM features  Timetable & Attendance  Competency Counts & Surveys  Complete Student Financials

Contact RTO Software on 1300 305 302 for an online demo or a detailed proposal.

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