Exciting times for health and safety industry
This year, Africa’s Occupational Safety and Health exhibition (A-OSH Expo) will be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from May 12 to May 14. Formerly known as OSH Africa, the exhibition has been rebranded to better represent its Africa-centric strategic direction.
Its organiser, Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, has added a host of new features (including a mobile app to be launched soon), which it shared with the media at a briefing held on February 27, at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park.
At the briefing, Gary Corin, Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery’s MD, gave exhibitors tips on how to get the most out of their stands this year. He highlighted the importance of pre-show promotional tactics; getting the technical aspects right at the show itself; selecting the right staff to man the stand; and that of the post-show follow-up strategy, which is often neglected.
Then Justin Cohen, a motivational speaker, gave the keynote speech, offering valuable advice to sales people on fostering successful business relationships through the power of connection – or ubuntu. He spoke about what he calls social motivation. “You can get almost anything you want from people when you help them get what they want,” Cohen explained.
“There are three ubuntu principles. First, you have to express appreciation. Then, you have to engage in power listening – ask open-ended questions to draw out information, listen with positive body language, and paraphrase back what you’ve heard. Last, make the client feel like the centre of your world. People like to feel important and valued,” Cohen continued.
He also explained the concept of what he calls “Madiba magic” – make eye contact, smile and have positive posture. “Two important things to remember are to ‘serve before you sell’ and to ‘seek to understand before you are understood’,” concluded Cohen.