What's Up With Jacques de Villiers?

Book Review: Media Appearance Secrets - Clive Simpkins

Media Appearance Secrets - Clive Simpkins, marketing and communications strategist

As death and taxes are inevitable, if you’re a CEO of a half-decent company, you (or your company) will be called before the Fourth Estate at some stage on your watch.

Of course, if you don’t know what Fourth Estate is, you really need this book - Media Appearance Secrets. It'll help you get into the mind of the media so that when you are called (and you will be), you are prepared.

You’ll discover how to handle the media in a crisis; how to write a credible press release; what to do at a media conference; how to look credible on TV, radio and in the print media, and even how to write a brilliant speech with the registered CuePhrase System. And, that’s just in the first 170 pages (it’s 236 pages).

Clive Simpkins doesn’t bill himself as the speaker coach and facilitator for thinking people for nothing. Media Appearance Secrets is no airport read that you can whisk through in an hour. Neither the book, nor the language is dumbed down to cater for the lowest common denominator. You’ve got to be able to keep up. You’ve got to study it, absorb it and implement it for it to be a success for you. And Clive is a language artist, so keep a dictionary nearby. The diversions caused by looking up a word that you don’t understand will be worth it. You’ll walk away a lot smarter for it.

In my opinion,this body of work is probably 100 pages too long. Luckily there are 361 pictures in it to help break up the copy and give you pause for reflection.

But, having read Clive’s book, Change your thinking, change your life, which was just short of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I understand the nature of the beast. He puts his heart and soul into writing. He wants you to get the best possible information and won’t risk leaving anything out so that you’re not short-changed.

It is well worth adding Media Appearance Secrets to your marketing and public relations arsenal.

Jacques de Villiers is The Business Generator specialising in sales training, marketing, Internet marketing and public relations.

ANC Youth League's Floyd Sivambu is mampara of the week

Mampara of the week, ANC Youth League spokesman, Floyd Shivambu recently accused Helen Zille of sleeping around. Accuse your 14 year old of "sleeping around" and watch the blushing, floor gazing and general discomfort (and, feel your blood pressure start to rise). Because, even a child knows what "sleeping around" means.

Floyd battles to grasp the ramifications of his words when he tries to explain what sleeping around means. In his opinion, when he accused Helen Zille of sleeping around, it did not necessarily mean that she was having sex. Come on Floyd, even a child gets your meaning.

It is obvious that the more level-headed ANC leaders tried to coach this chop how to slither out of the defamatory statement (I'm surprised he hasn't been sued yet) he made against Zille. Watch how ineffective he is at trying to justify his comments in a radio interview with 702's Ruki DIreko.

God help us if this bumblemeister gets out of the ANC Youth League incubator and actually gets a leadership role in our parliament one day.

Here's the link: http://www.zoopy.com/video/w55/sleeping-around-is-sleeping-around

Jacques de Villiers is a business generator, motivational speaker, writer and consultant in SA

Use the same standard to judge Mugabe and the Dali Lama

Recently, the Dali Lama's Visa application was rejected for a peace conference in 2010. The reason was that he could take the focus off the World Cup 2010. We all know that China screwed us on this one.

Surely, then, the same argument should be used for King Mswati III and Robert Mugabe. With the public outcry to their presence at the Presidential inauguration, surely it would detract from this auspicious occasion, wouldn't it? Or is it just me being difficult?

Jacques de Villiers is a business generator, motivational speaker and writer in South Africa.

Why motivational speakers shouldn't act

As a business builder and motivational speaker, I sometimes get asked to do the craziest things. Some of them I can't mention on this blog ;-). Check out this clip where I try and act like an irate client for my favourite client, COID Support. It goes to show that one should stick to one's knitting. Acting is certainly not my forte.

Garth Strachan, ANC MEC is this week's mampara

Losing the Western Cape is a bitter pill that the ANC finds hard to swallow. After the DA had the majority last time, the ANC tried everything in its power to destabilise the DA.

Now, with an outright DA majority, the ANC's failure in the Western Cape is highlighted even more.

Instead of trying to discredit the DA, the ANC should be looking to working with its opposition to give the people of the Western Cape a better life. Yes, if the DA slips up, take them to task. Try and catch them doing things right and not doing things wrong. If everyone works together, all the constituencies in the Cape can benefit.

Garth Strachan's rhetoric in Sunday Times (3 May 2009) shows that he is more interested in toppling the DA than helping the people of the Western Cape. "Garth Strachan, an MEC in the ousted ANC adminsitration confirmed that the party would put maximum pressure on Zille's provincial government, using service delivery issues to mobilise communities against it." Come on Garth, grow up and start looking for solutions rather than trying to discredit the opposition.

And, Garth, a further thought for you. Isn't the lack of service delivery a legacy left by you and your provincial government? Do you think the DA  or any other party for that matter can fix up your mess overnight? So, why don't you help the DA fix up the mess you made. That would work for me and for the people of the Cape.

Jacques de Villiers is a motivational speaker and citizen of South Africa.

Workmans compensation specialists hire Jacques de Villiers

COID Support, workmans compensation specialist has hired Jacques de Villiers to market its COID claims management business.

COID Support is a specialist in helping employers meet their Workers’ Compensation obligations.

So, if your company is battling to become compliant with the Compensation Commissioner, reduce your COID risk, trying to recover monies due to you and looking to speed up the claims process, you should seriously consider the services of COID Support.

COID stands for Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases.

Jacques de Villiers is an marketing expert specialising in public relations and Internet marketing.

Protea Hotels - Fire and Ice

As a motivational speaker I get to travel quite a lot. Recently, when in Cape Town, I've been staying at Protea's Fire and Ice Hotel in the centre of town. I've stayed there three times already and intend staying there again when I'm back in Cape Town.

The staff gives great service (above and beyond the call of duty). The staff brought me popcorn at 12 am (don't ask ... long story).

The hotel just seems to go the extra mile. And, since a picture is worth a thousand words. Just to put it into context ... I gave the reception my business card and this is what they did with it. Pretty neat, huh?

This is a great example of the extra mile.

Jacques de Villiers is a sales trainer and knows lots of motivational speakers. And, now he is a raving fan of Protea Hotels's Fire and Ice.

The Icarus Complex

A while ago I saw an advert for a parachuting outfit called Icarus. I thought it was rather an unfortunate name for a company. As you know, Icarus, the son of Daedalus (if you care --- he built the Labyrinth of the Minotaur at Knossos and seriously upset King Minos), flew too near the sun with wax-attached wings, fell into the sea and drowned.

Not a great safety record and not a name I’d highlight for a parachute company. I suppose the lesson is to know your Greek before choosing a name.

Jacques de Villiers is a motivational speaker in South Africa.

Sales lesson from Jacob Zuma's acquittal

Jacob Zuma slipped the noose because he made the NPA stay in the ring too long. As the seven year saga progressed, Zuma started winning more and more rounds as the NPA made mistake after mistake. And, today (6 April 2009) the knockout punch came. All charges were dropped against him.

The same can be said for Robert Mugabe. His stalling tactics eventually made Morgan Tshangari look like a filibuster holding up progress. People actually forgot that the MDC actually won an election rigged to favour Zanu-PF. In the end, it looked like Tshangari was the problem and not Mugabe.

I reckon Judge Hlope is going the same route. Keep it going for long enough and your opposition is going to get tired, falter and fail.

The lesson I take away from this from a sales and marketing viewpoint is that the longer you stay in the ring, the more chance you have of being knocked out.

In other words, the longer the sales cycle is, the more chance you have of making a mistake and losing the deal. Companies that sell on a long sales cycle (six to 24 months) risk offending a key player, reneging on promises and letting the cracks show.

Thus, the goal must be to shorten the sales cycle so that there's less chance of making mistakes detrimental to the deal.

Jacques de Villiers is a motivational speaker and sales trainer.

China bends South Africa over a table and shafts us

The latest debacle with not allowing the Dalai Lama a visa for the Peace Conference in 2010 shows that the South African government is bowing to Chinese pressure. And, the genocidal (more than a million Tibetans murdered already) China is smiling broadly as it bends us over the table and gives us one where the sun don't shine. They've managed to buy the SA government off and as we all know, this is not difficult.

The limp-wristed argument that the Dalai Lama's presence will detract from the World Cup 2010 just doesn't wash. Even the most hysterical supporters of the ANC-led government must see that it is a shambolic smoke-screen.

The Dalai Lama's presence in South Africa would have elevated our status, not detracted from it, in the eyes of the world. We are, afterall, the poster child for reconciliation, aren't we?  That's a mantle we shouldn't carry lightly.

I've got to take my hat off to our Minister of Health, Barbara Hogan for taking a stand against this travesty. At least she's shown us her mettle and written a line in the sand: "I'm no ANC Acolyte".

I think this debacle has backfired on the government as it has created more publicity about their murderously stupid ideology than it should have. I'll bet the Dalai Lama issue has knocked the World Cup off the front pages of the world stage ... just what the SA government feared would happen. Once again, a half-cocked strategy that has sprung to life and created a Frankenstein that we now have to deal with. I'm sure the sophisticated nations of the world must be shaking their heads as they watch South Africa drop its name once again - its murderous stance on the people of Zimbabwe, its stance on HIV Aids (although Hogan seems to be a buoy of hope in a sea of stupidity), a government so corrupt that it just ranks second on the corruption scale after Angola, Xenophobic violence, a shambolic justice system that allows criminals to use every loophole to keep themselves out of jail, where criminals have more rights than victims, everytime someone in authority is questioned it is labelled racist and so on. After 15 years of ANC-rule it seems that we have gone backwards.

On March 18, 2009 I wrote a piece called The World Is Kak Scared Of China. You might just want to read it again to get context as to why the SA government's stance is unconscionable.

Jacques de Villiers is a motivational speaker and a sometimes horrified world citizen.