Leadtrekker is delighted to welcome a new face to the team! While we can sing her praises and talk about why we’ve chosen her, we’d prefer to let her do the talking.
Let’s start with your name.
Anél du Plessis
Who are the three most influential mentors in your life, and why?
I’m lucky to say that the first people that come to mind are my parents. They’re both exceptionally hardworking, and have imparted their knowledge and values onto me in unique ways. I definitely gained a strong foundation from them both, and I still learn from them today. My dad is extremely organised, and has literally never missed a day of work. My mom has a keen eye for detail. She is brilliant at being considerate; phoning clients on their birthdays etc. They each have a different approach to being successful and I’m glad that I could experience both.
Kobus Oosthuizen – CEO at SA Franchise Warehouse
Everything I know, in and around the franchise industry, I’ve learned from my previous employer. Kobus has been in the franchise industry for many years, going back to 1996 where he was the co-founder, CEO and majority shareholder of Butterfly Holdings. Kobus taught me that I should walk the extra mile and leave my customers more than satisfied.
-Belinda Bradley – Franchise Consultant and Trainer
Belinda and I used to work together at SA Franchise Warehouse. She’s a fantastic trainer and you just can’t help but to want to listen to whatever she’s saying. She has been involved in the franchise industry for more than 21 years, and I was lucky to have her as a mentor for a few of them. Among many other lessons, she taught me to communicate more effectively, and to have confidence.
What are some of your hobbies?
– I like taking part in outdoor activities, and if they’re muddy… even better! I’ve participated in a few trail runs and races, like Muddy Princess and Warrior Race. I love it!
– I also like participating in rifle shooting sports with my hubby.
– I adore spending time with my son, hubby and my friends.
Name one thing on your bucket list:
– That’s easy… Greece! With everything inside of me, I want to travel to Greece. I want to see and eat everything it has to offer!
What’s your favourite thing to say?
– “Everything in life happens for a reason.”
I truly believe this.
What are three of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in sales?
– Prepare and brace yourself for the answer “No”. It’s a big part of sales. Understand and accept that what you have to offer may not be for everyone; that’s okay! What matters is that you keep pushing forwards, because every “No” will bring you one step closer to a “Yes”.
– Celebrate and treat every small victory like you just won the Rugby World Cup. Small victories add up, and your daily wins will ultimately lead to a lifetime of successes.So, keep that champagne on ice, always.
– Aftersales is just as important as initial sale. Listen, care for and appreciate your customers. You’ll end up doing more sales to referrals than having to find new customers from scratch.
Give us a brief overview of your career up until this point.
I have pretty much always been in sales. I started off working in a call-centre; I learned a lot doing sales telephonically, but I soon realised that I was more passionate about interacting with people face to face. I became a Sales Executive and soon worked my way up to Regional Manager. I adored having a team to motivate and chase sales with me!
After a few years in Marketing, I moved over to SA Franchise Warehouse where I worked closely with Kobus Oosthuizen as a Business Development Manager. Here, my portfolio consisted of 25 Franchises, in 11 different franchise industries. This gave me such a fantastic insight into different business models. We had Business Development Training sessions each month, for one week long where we would run these training sessions specifically for franchisees that have been approved by a Franchisor. With the knowledge I gained over those two years, I could fluently speak the franchise language and learned the ins and outs.
A short while later, I became a Franchise Sales Assistant for another company. I needed a tool to push all of my leads into one platform and then to manage all of my franchise enquiries from there. One of my clients from Cash Converters told me about their system that does just that, so I called her to find out more. This is where I was introduced to Leadtrekker. I started doing some research and basically couldn’t find a better proudly South African solution. I implemented and started using Leadtrekker and fell in love with it within the first week. It’s the kind of solution that anyone in the franchise industry would go absolutely nuts for! I enjoyed the product so much that I realised I wanted to help share it with as many people as I can. And here I am!
What do you consider to be your biggest professional achievement?
Doing sales for a magazine and growing the companies invoicing with 94.4% in an 18-month period. I had a constant 5.2% growth, per month for 18 months.
How do you resonate with Leadtrekker?
I believe that Leadtrekker is the perfect solution for any business generating leads. It made my work easier, and I wanted to share it with as many people as possible.
What is your goal for/at Leadtrekker?
There are so many things to do, but you only have so much time. We all know that sales people generally (no offence) aren’t great at admin. Leadtrekker assists and streamlines your admin processes. I hope to reach as many people as possible and to educate them on why Lead Management is so important.
We’re excited about the experience that Anél can bring to the team, and look forward to many successful years with her.
“Because of her vibrant character and positive demeanor, we knew that Anél would quickly become an integral part of the Leadtrekker team.
If her sales results from her first few months are anything to go by, we have high hopes for this absolute go-getter!”
Wayne Swart, Co-Owner and Creator of Leadtrekker
