BEI successfully provides training in helping people ‘move up the ladder’.  Apply the ‘Ten tips’ illustrated below in your work and personal lives and you will increase your chances of being ‘the person of choice.’ (These were developed through the consolidation of input from various groups of participants in Brenda Eckstein International workshops.)

1. Develop your competitive advantage Firstly identify your unique talents.  What are you able to offer that few others can?  Then develop these talents so that you cement a competitive advantage.  See how you can match your competitive advantage with the needs of the other person or the organisation. 
2. Build positive ongoing relationships We all prefer to deal with people we know and trust. Use your conversation skills to help build positive relationships, and then actively sustain those relationships.  Treat networking as a process and not as a transaction.  Promote yourself, maximise your influence.
3. Communicate effectively Get your point across effectively by first being sure what you wish to communicate.  Then convey it clearly in the most appropriate, effective and efficient manner. Check that your message has been perceived and understood correctly.
4. Become an expert listener Become valued as an ‘expert’ listener so that others know they can depend on you to understand and follow through on instructions correctly.  Active listening will help you to process and remember facts and also enable you to be more empathetic.
5. Be reliable Build up a history of following through on expectations and on your promises by completing all assignments efficiently and effectively.  Consistently meet or exceed people’s expectations of you.  People need to know that they can depend on you.  Make sure your performance is always exemplary.
6. Exercise professionalism Be professional in all your behaviour.  This includes being punctual, respecting other people, their privacy and their time.  Present a professional image in all your actions and in your appearance.
7. Recognise and optimise opportunities Actively look for ways in which you can be of assistance to others.  Find areas where you can help solve problems.    Also look for opportunities to pursue activities that you really enjoy or are good at.  Maximise those opportunities.
8. Be approachable, friendly and yet polite Make sure that people find it easy to approach you to ask for help, or to share ideas.  Be friendly and easy work with.  Be respectful and polite.
9. Practise honest and ethical behaviour Show that you are a person of integrity and that you can at all times be relied on to actively promote and practise honesty.  Be ethical in all that you do.  Do not tolerate complacency in this area.  Do the right thing.
10. Be properly informed Have the correct facts ‘at your fingertips’. Consciously make an effort to learn all you can about your job and the functions of all with whom you interact.  Research and learn as much as possible about your product and services, your company, its competitors and the industry.