I have undergone yet more training in my graduate programme! Last week, I travelled to RB Headquarters in the UK to undergo a session to develop my presentation skills. RB focuses heavily on presentation skills. A big part of our jobs involves presenting our work to people – both external and internal. I learned some very useful and insightful tricks to master this art. And it really is a form of art!

In this post, I would like to share some of the very interesting insights I got from my training.

First, we were asked to prepare a compelling case and present it in four minutes. A compelling case is when you present something to a client or a group of people to convince them to take a specific action. I decided to use  my field sales experience as an example and transfer the experience  and personal tricks I learned in closing deals. Our presentations were recorded  so we could be given useful feedback as to how to improve. (I will share them later on.)

In every presentation you may have a different aim and may need to find a different way to convey your message to the audience. I learned there are four different ways to tell your specifics.

1. Tell a story
This involves using a similar example from a past experience to project your goals into the current situation. This is a very useful way to attract the audience’s attention. You don’t need to have the exact same situation but let’s admit that everybody likes to hear a nice story!

2. Use multiple perspectives
This is actually self-explanatory. This technique depends on opinions of others and can be very useful when you present a new product to different departments in the company such as sales, planning, consumer insights etc. It is an exemplary tool to show the different benefits that can be derived from your proposal.

3. Paint an ideal picture and show ways to achieve it
Throw a bait to attract attention. You can do this by describing an ideal situation to the audience and using visual elements to achieve impact. This has to be followed up by explaining your offer and showing them how to achieve this goal and how it will affect them should they opt not to seal the deal!

4. Point out potential risks
As the name suggests, this is a risky choice! In this scenario, you should start by pointing out the benefits of your case to the other party (So far, so good!). Then you share the potential risks that they might face upon choosing your offer. To conclude, show what you can do collaboratively to reduce the possibility of these risks. A project can have many risks from monetary to political, from personal to operational. The positive side to this is that you will acknowledge such possibilities at the beginning which will allow you to paint an honest picture and show your transparency to the other party.

“RB focuses heavily on presentation skills. A big part of our jobs involves presenting our work to people – both external and internal.”

After undergoing this presentation session, we received feedback on our presentations: the structure, how we conveyed our message, how we interacted with the audience, and our body language.

The feedback I received described how I used some deliberate hand gestures in order to look dynamic. This was very much appreciated – you shouldn’t just stand there and talk . During my presentation, I was peeking on at my notes which affected my credibility. Even though I knew what I was talking about and I didn’t need any notes, having those notes made me dependent on them. I realised that I need to make more eye contact with the audience in order to get their involvement.

After gathering this feedback along with the training, we were asked to deliver the same presentation the day after we presented. In my next post, I will share how my presentation went on the second day.

Stay tuned!

The next Malaysia Management Trainee (or Graduate Programme, as they call it on other parts of the world )  intake is just around the corner. The Malaysia Management Trainee Programme is a one-year course which gives you the opportunity of working within the Sales and Marketing divisions at RB. In this article, I will share a few insights of what to expect in this programme and how you should prepare if you plan to join RB.

“The managers and directors at RB will like to get to know you a little better and also see if your personality suits the company.” 

Undoubtedly, you need to prepare a good résumé to ensure you stand out in the selection process. If you are shortlisted, you will undergo a full day selection process. Let me break it down for you on what happens on that day.

Firstly, you will start off with an essay writing test with a small case study based on a situation to determine your thinking process and English writing skills.

Secondly, there will be a multiple-choice mathematical and English test. This test is the dealbreaker that you must pass in order to go through the next round in the selection process. Here is a tip, in order to pass this test, you need to put in plenty of practice! This will help you to get used to the way questions are asked and give you an idea about time management. You can ask the HR person at RB to send you links to the online practice material for you to try before you take it on the big day.

Thirdly, once you pass both tests, you will undergo a group assessment to evaluate your level of negotiation skills and how you interact with others. You will be assessed by a panel, so do not be nervous and just do your best. The last task in the selection process is to be interviewed by two RB managers. It is a gruelling one-day process, so remember to stay positive and keep your energy and spirits up.

If you get shortlisted, you will be called in for a second interview by the Sales and Marketing Directors. This is followed by a third interview by a HR Director.

In summary, for all 3 interviews, the Managers and Directors will want to get to know you a little better and also see whether your personality suits the company. Here is a tip for you, please refer to my first blog regarding Unveiling the Secret to Land a Job at RB.

Once you have done your part, all you have to do is sit back, relax and wait for the good news. If you made it … congratulations! You have passed the finish line to join RB. However, the actual race of your bright career ahead has only just begun and you’d better start sprinting.

“Design management ensures that your brand strategy is implemented consistently throughout the different media to communicate your brand.”

Design Management

There are a number of different definitions for design management. In the simplest terms, design management is the profession of managing design – but there’s much more to it. Managing design leads to a lot of interactions with other disciplines. Here at RB, the design management team works with the Brand Marketing teams, R&D team, Supply and other designers to bring projects to life.

A Design Manager focuses on a number of different things. Firstly,they are responsible for aligning the brand strategy with the design strategy. Working on worldwide international brands also forms part of the responsibilities of a Design Manager. One also needs to ensure that the quality and execution of these designs are consistent and maintained. Most importantly, a Design Manager always explores and implements ways to differentiate and strengthen the brand in order to make it stand out from competitors.

What Does Design Do For a Brand?

Design is one of the most effective ways to attract the consumer to your brand (not a biased opinion ).  It helps communicate your brand attributes and what your brand stands for through giving definition or voice. Design touches a number of different media from 2D graphic labels, 3D bottle designs, advertising, in store displays and a lot more. Design management ensures that your brand strategy is implemented consistently throughout the different media to communicate your brand.

What do we do here at RB?

One of the biggest challenges in today’s business landscape is differentiation on shelf. Therefore, one of the things we do as a design management team is continuously attempt to add value to our brands through unique design proposals. This essentially means we focus on building even more iconic brands that are recognisable throughout all the different touch points. We are here to translate what our brands stand for into what you can call design DNA, connecting with the consumer on a more emotional level. This can range from the design of the brand or even the colours of the brand.

As a teaser. see if you can recognize the brands below!

Entering as a graduate into RB, I have worked in different roles including Sales, Marketing and Trade Marketing.

During my time in Sales, my daily activities included interviewing people in different channels and stores and assist them to sell RB products. It was not an easy job given that the prompted awareness of the RB brand is not very high in some cities in China. I realised it is a hard process and I was often turned down despite the fact that we try very hard to convince them that our product is exactly what they need. During my early days, a very frequent answer I received from different people is “I don’t know your brand and therefore, I don’t want your product.” At the beginning, I wasn’t very confident when tackling this adverse situation. I always felt frustrated to interview stores the whole day with a heavy bag on my back.

Gradually, as I gained experience I started to learn and enjoy the process of communication with potential clients. I picked up greater confidence and I started to achieve better results. My efforts were rewarded at the end of my tenure in Sales. I enjoyed the way I persuaded clients and became better at problem-solving.

“RB has taught me a lot and I think it is a wonderful place for young people to show our talents.”

During the first two weeks in Trade Marketing I had no idea of what the role of a Trade Marketer was and how it cooperated with other commercial teams. My mentor, Jasper, told me that Trade Marketing finds the most valuable business opportunities within Sales and Marketing and put them into practice. It is also responsible for running the Sales and Marketing team in a smooth fashion.

My first task was to perform some analysis on Durex’s pack size and find out a potential business opportunity. Last week, I left Trade Marketing and have just moved onto Marketing to increase my knowledge.

Marketing is a challenging job. It is dynamic and involves a variety of ingredients. In just my first month, I have felt challenged to my limits. Priorities have changed and at times I feared I was going to be explode. For example, the Chinese government wanted to buy Durex for public affairs purposes. Being the leader of the project, I was required to bring Supply, Finance, Category and Government Affairs into this project. It was a big ask to manage all of them together. However, two months into this role, I started to get a lot support from my manager. I have led several projects on my own now. I would also like to mention an interesting project. I was in charge of designing a gift product where I had to combine two dice and have them packed in a beautiful case. One die featured a different posture on each of its sides. The other had a different place on each surface – like bed, shower, table etc. By casting both dice together, the combined result of the dice would indicate the caster’s way to enjoy pleasure. The project was very successful.

Looking back at the past two years, my capacity has been challenged a lot. At the same time, I have learnt a lot of new things and experienced bitterness and happiness. RB has taught me a lot and I think it is a wonderful place for young people to show our talents. Before I round off, I would like to use the quote by former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs to portray what we need to do in order to shine at RB. We need to “Stay hungry! Stay Foolish!”.

Sometimes, it is not easy for a person to move beyond their comfort zone. This can be stressful. Often, you will find you are vulnerable, inept or in a risky situation. Also, you might have fear of failure. If you can manage to overcome the fear and take action positively, the chances you will succeed are very high. If you do not try, you will never know. RB is all about seizing the opportunity when it present itself. Thus, by stepping away from the comfort zone, it will enhance your experience and point of view. I can tell you this from experience.

“Be patient in learning, be confident in your goal, persevere and stay positive. Soon you will find yourself breaking out of your comfort zone at RB!”

Are you bold enough to take action? Essentially, this points back to my first blog post Unveiling the Secret to Land a Job at RB. You can be sure that RB will choose people who are just like them. To be able to survive in this challenging environment, you will have to be motivated and you will have to be ready to go the extra mile. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and also in what you are doing. By doing so, your self-esteem will grow and you will find yourself with new opportunities all over the place.

This is not to say that one should be a blind optimist. You need to know what your objectives are to have a clear idea what motivates you in doing a task. I talk about this in my second blog post Be SMART. You should know what you need to learn, understand why, what you are doing and what you can do to take action and move beyond the comfort zone. Be patient in learning, be confident in your goal, persevere and stay positive. Soon you will find yourself breaking out of your comfort zone at RB!

Till the next post!