The 7½ key non-technical

skills for international

credit professionals!Angus Farr

1Networking

Broadly

Thinking about what to do:

• Before

• During

• After

In particular

Building rapport – ‘3-step’ questions:

• Situational

• Personal

• Business

2Presenting

Broadly

Managing the five key elements:

• Message

• Self

• Delivery

• Audience

• Materials

In particular

Dealing with awkward questions:

• Repeat

• Reflect

• Deflect

• Defer

3Negotiating

Broadly

Understanding a little about:

• Definitions

• Contexts

• Outcomes

• Stages

• Skills

In particular

Bargaining positions:

• Ideal

• Realistic

• Fallback

• And don’t forget your BATNA

4Personal impact

Broadly

Understanding the importance of:

• Words

• Voice

• Non-verbal communication

In particular

Body language should be:

• Congruent

• Confident

• Comfortable

5Strategic thinking

Broadly

Develop a ‘toolkit’:

• Business planning models– PEST, 5 Forces, BCG, Ansoff, Pareto, 5M

• Strategic financial literacy– key ratios and margins– investment appraisal (ROCE v PB v NPV)

In particular

Growth (Ansoff) matrix

Existing markets

New markets

Existing products / services

Market penetration

Market development

New products / services

Product development Diversification

6Managing time

Broadly

Urgency

Importance

Criticalactivities

Interruptions

Distractions Important goals

In particular

Urgency

Importance

Do it!Delegate it?

Dump it?Diarise it!

7Managing performan

ce

Broadly

Understand why ‘performance gaps’ emerge in the first place:

• Can’t do it!

• Didn’t know!

• Won’t do it!

Training and development

Feedback and expectations

Motivation

In particular

Constructive feedback:

• Descriptive rather than evaluative

• Structured – SAC

• Agreed

• Focussed on improvement

7Developing

yourself!½

The 7½ key non-technical

skills for international

credit professionals!Angus Farr

angus@trainingcounts.co.uk