Why do people in the C-Suite listen to you? The same reason they look to us: targeted solutions. You’re smart, creative, and persistent, so you see business opportunities others miss. You also know how to charm the gatekeeper, impress CEOs and immediately earn their confidence. These qualities make you an ideal Business Development Manager for Terrapinn, a global market leader in producing B2B events and are known for creating world class products and services for its clients and business partners.

Our purpose is to give our customers the relationships and big ideas to do different and better business. As a Business Development Manager, you will be in charge of handling a portfolio of events and managing all sponsorship sales for specific events.

As one of our top sales professionals, you will:
• Manage a portfolio of events across a variety of industry sectors.
• Sell sponsorship and exhibition packages via telephone and face-to- face meetings.
• Deliver great customer service and ensure success of your events.
• Research and prospect for potential clients.
• Effectively apply Terrapinn’s best practices, processes, and methodologies.

Reaching and persuading C-Suite people demands more than just sales savvy. To be successful at Terrapinn, you must have:
• A positive mindset and solutions focused approach to sales.

• Quantifiable track record (2-4 years) in a b2b sales and business development capacity
• Ability to focus on customers’ needs.
• Ability to conduct research and think analytically.
• Commercially minded and have business acumen.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Interpersonal, relationship management and networking skills.
• Excellent planning/time management/self-organization and self discipline.
• Initiative – proactive and able to work independently.
• A Bachelor’s degree

At Terrapinn, you’ll find powerful resources for career-long success, such as:

• All the elbow room to turn your insights into solutions and profits

• A competitive base salary, plus uncapped commissions and other incentives

• Travel opportunities, nationally and internationally

• Opportunity to learn and grow and realize your career aspirations

• World-class training, constant support, and a promote from within culture

Take the next step and click on this link to apply on line – select one of our global offices and attach a copy of your resume and we look forward to talking with you.

Why do C-Suite people listen to you? The same reason they look to us: targeted solutions. You’re smart, creative, and persistent, so you see business opportunities others miss. You also know how to work with the gatekeeper, engage with decision makers and immediately earn their confidence. These qualities make you an ideal Business Development Manager in our South Africa business.

As one of our top sales professionals, you will:
• Be responsible for selling solutions across a wide geo and varied industry sectors.
• Sell learning and development solutions via telephone and face-to- face meetings.
• Nurture and manage our client relationships.
• Research and prospect for potential clients.
• Effectively apply Terrapinn’s best sales practices, processes, and methodologies.

Reaching and persuading C-Suite people demands more than just sales savvy. To be successful you must have:
• A positive mindset and solutions focused approach to business development.
• Quantifiable track record (2-4 years) in a b2b sales and business development capacity
• Ability to focus on customers’ needs.
• Ability to conduct research and think analytically.
• Commercially minded and have a sense of business acumen.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Interpersonal, relationship management and networking skills.
• Excellent planning/time management/self-organized and disciplined.
• Initiative – proactive and able to work independently.
• A tertiary degree

At Terrapinn, we’ll offer you career-long success, such as:
• All the elbow room to turn your insights into solutions and profits
• A competitive base salary, plus uncapped commissions
• Travel opportunities, nationally and internationally
• Opportunity to learn and grow and realize your career aspirations
• World-class training, constant support, and a promote from within culture

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to: gina.bester@terrapinn.com  or apply online by clicking this link. Also have a look at our website www.thembatrainingcompany.com

For many, failure as something we think negatively about and to avoid. I am not suggesting you seek or invite failure but accept that failure is an inevitable part of life. None of us have succeed without having experienced “failures”. Our opportunity is to be open to what we can learn from failing. Failure is our best teacher. In a recent HBR article Scott Edinger shares 5 ideas on how to successfully learn from one’s mistakes:  

1. Acknowledge the failure and put it in perspective. You can’t begin to bounce back from a mistake if you don’t admit you’ve made it. As obvious as it sounds, it’s clearly not always easy to do. Research shows that owning up to their mistakes is the key factor separating those who handle failure well from those who don’t. Those who were derailed perseverated and didn’t talk to others about it. They made little attempt to rectify the consequences. Those who weren’t derailed did the opposite: They admitted their mistakes, accepted responsibility, and then took steps to fix the problem. And afterwards, they proceeded to forget about it and move on.
2. Look for causes, not blame. If you’ve caused a problem, the good news is that you have control over that cause. By focusing on finding the cause(s), rather than assigning blame (with all the value judgments that go with that), you take control and move to prevent similar failures from happening again. Thinking in terms of causes rather than blame is similar to adopting what Carol Dweck describes as a "growth-oriented" rather than a "fixed" mind-set. A fixed mind-set tends to leave us helpless and ready to wilt in the face of a challenge. A growth mind-set puts us in a position to press on toward success.
3. Before you wrack your brain to think up an appropriate response, take a break. Get away from the task at hand for a while and let your brain refocus. None of us is designed to work 24/7, but in the wake of failure, it’s often hard to stop thinking about what’s happened. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, this is probably the last thing you should do. Engage in other pursuits. Spend time doing something different, read, or simply get some rest. Physical activity is a plus (we’re all familiar with the effects of endorphins on brain activity). It doesn’t matter how long of a break you take: five minutes, five hours, five days. The point is to let your mind wander. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with.
4. Get some help. Feeling down is normal. Prolonged periods of despair are not. If you find you can’t get into that growth-oriented mind-set no matter how much of a break you take, find some way to express your feelings in the company of someone you trust. That could be a friend, a colleague, a mentor, or a therapist. There’s no shame in seeking help when you’ve suffered a setback. And therapy no longer carries the stigma of being damaged that it used to. To prove that, I’ll admit here that I’ve gone to therapy at times in my life when I’ve felt particularly down, and it has helped immensely. See, no stigma.
5. Refocus your efforts and take action. Nothing will make you feel quite as good as taking action and finding even a modicum of success in that action. It may take some time to reach that success, but you certainly won’t have any until you start trying. One of the ways we feel better is to exert influence and control over a situation, and creating a plan of the actions we intend to take is a sure-fire way to start feeling that control. Create your plan and get specific about what you’ll do to reach your new goals. While you can’t change what’s happened, you have options for the future, and as you refocus your efforts, think about what would be best from this point forward.

next time you fail think about these 5 points and recognise the opportunity to learn and bounce back, wiser, more confident and more determined.

Have you ever thought about what feedback would be of greatest value to you? Give this a go and ask someone whose opinion you value and prepared to act on, the following 3 questions:

1. What should I STOP doing that’s limiting my ability to be more successful?
2. What should I START doing to enable me to be more successful?
3. What should I SUSTAIN – continue doing to be successful?

I hope this proves to be a valuable exercise. Why not share what you’ve learnt from asking others these questions.

At Terrapinn we put our neck out and guarantee you that you will:

1. Learn – you’ll never stop learning about new things and building your skills and knowledge you’ll use for the rest of your life
2. Grow – we NEVER appoint leaders externally. All our leaders are developed from within Terrapinn – no exceptions
3. Be Creative – you make the difference. It’s your event, it’s your show, they’re your client’s – it’s up to you to make it all happen
4. Travel – advance your career and work abroad, travel internationally to other Terrapinn events and associated events
5. Fun – we love to party with our mates. Come join us

Have a look at the career opportunities across our global businesses at http://www.terrapinn.com/vacancies.aspx or apply now on line at  http://www.terrapinn.com/application.aspx

Why make it more difficult than it needs to be. Here’s some advice on what NOT to do at an interview.

1. Watch your manners – don’t work into the interview and not acknowledge those present. Common sense!
2. Clueless – do your research. At least have a look at the website and get a sense of what the company is about and be prepared to share your thoughts and perceptions having looked at the website
3. Don’t try to be too smart – be yourself. Don’t try too hard to impress – it’s obvious when you are. 
4. Don’t negotiate – not at the fort interview. You would be expected to ask about the package but don’t negotiate – leave that until later once you have assessed the role, your suitability and their interest in you.
5. Manage the time – know how much time the interviews have and make sure your responses are focused and clear. Don’t waste time.
6. Be passionate – show your passion and empathy – this builds credibility and demonstrates your ability to establish rapport.
7. Be honest – tell the truth about why you have decided to leave your current role – honesty with discretion is the best policy
8. Don’t be defensive – rather than feel a need to defend yourself, seek clarity on why an interviewer feels they way they do about you.
9. Faking – don’t fake your resume. It’s simply not worth it.
10. How you look – be sensitive to what they would expect to show up in. First impressions will always matter.

Good luck – and remember not to make these mistakes.

We accept that Terrapinn has a responsibility to the broader communities we serve. We accept we have a responsibility to make society a better place for all, one in which all people suffer less, find greater meaning and live happier lives.

It is for this reason Terrapinn sponsors and is closely aligned to Essential Education. The aim of Essential Education is to empower children, youth and adults to make a positive difference in the world through developing their innate capacity to be kind and wise and to live in a way that will bring peace and wellbeing to themselves and the people around them. 

Essential Education functions to create a more peaceful world by providing resources, training and connection that enables people to set up Essential Education programmes in their own community: in schools, hospitals, hospices, prisons, workplaces and at home

Have a read of the latest Newsletter to find out more about how Essential Education is making the world a better and happier place for all.

Hi I’m Martin Izzard and jointed Terrapinn in March this year as a Digital Content Executive for the 12 Hour MBA Training Company. I graduated with a degree in Film and Video from the University of Wales, Newport last September and was looking for the right job which I have found at Terrapinn.

At the end of my first two weeks, I have really hit the ground running, both shooting a training video and editing one previously shot. My input and ideas have been seriously listened to and already I feel like a valued member of the team. I came to the job with a base of knowledge about producing content but each day has taught me something and I have gone home each night with a new sense of professionalism and love for my industry of work.

It’s very exciting to work for such a creative company and my first editing task features content with Bernard Desmidt, the Global Talent Director, where he talks about what the company looks for, values and how it strives to make this a great place to work. This has really put into perspective how great Terrapinn is to work for.

Tell us about your career path and how you found yourself at Terrapinn?

I have my Honours in Psychology. When I finished university, I decided to put my degree in psychology into good use as a restaurant manager – one of the few opportunities available to a small town gal J Thankfully, I decided that that was not how I wanted to spend my time, or the best years of my life, and I made the decision to move to Johannesburg. The rest, as they say, is history! I joined Terrapinn close to 6 years ago. I started as a Conference Manager, worked my way to Senior Conference Manager within a year and half, and within 3 years became GM of the Telecoms and Enterprise Team. Its been a fulfilling journey that has taught me much about my own strengths and weaknesses.

What have you enjoyed most about working at Terrapinn?

My team, my events and being onsite. Being at the event is the best part of the job in my opinion. It’s  where everything comes together and the magic happens!

What advice would you give a graduate who is just starting their career?

Don’t be afraid to take chances and initiative. In a world where so many people think that success is just going to come to them, employers are looking for individuals who make their own success and are hungry to achieve.

What do you do for fun?

Rockclimbing; reading; dancing; chilling with my mates. I’m a very social being and enjoy the company of others. I love a good night out on the town – I believe in working hard and playing hard!

What would you say are your greatest achievements?

I have a can do attitude. I set my mind to do something and I usually achieve my goals. A few more noteworthy ones are overcoming my fear of snakes and heights – yes I’m afraid of heights and love to rock climb! Professionally that would be building a very rewarding career for myself and finding my fit in the corporate jungle.

What book are you currently reading?

The Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind

What is your untold secret?

I’m an adrenaline junkie – fast cars; extreme sports; anything to get the blood pumping!

Hi, my name is Melanie Botoulas and I’ve just started at Terrapinn as a Business Development Manager. I completed my BCom Strategic Management Honours degree at the end of last year, and to start at a company like Terrapinn for my first corporate job has been absolutely amazing!

The training has been so helpful and I have really learnt so much. It is a very thorough process that ensures you have all the tools to get started right away. Every day is a new experience with so many new skills to be acquired. I work with such a brilliant team who really help me and make me feel so welcome.

I have started working on my first event, Submarine Networks Africa 2012, that is being held in May. It is really exciting to be dealing with industry executives and key business players and to learn more about the submarine networks industry!