GAC Corporate Academy has joined forces with the world’s most advanced maritime academic facility, the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI). GAC has an established business with NMCI through its GAC Training and Services Solutions (GTSS) entity, providing a range of Maritime, Transport and Commodity Training Courses targeted at GAC’s client base.

Christer Sjodoff, the Group Vice President of GAC Solutions has played a key role in the development of this strategic alliance and says that there are many benefits to the GAC Group; "There is a great deal of synergy between GCA and the NMCI, and for us the relationships means improved learning and development for all Shipping, Marine, Solutions and Logistics functionalities as well as our products and services."

Damien O’Donoghue, GCA’s General Manager, is equally enthusiastic about the potential in this collaboration, saying "There is potential for GCA courses to gain access to international level of accreditation and recognition. Discussions are underway on introduction of industry-specific maritime and logistics programs for GAC employees, delivered by NMCI and GTSS. It introduces the potential for advance-standing in NMCI programmes for GAC employees successfully completing GCA courses."

NMCI and GCA both stand to benefit greatly from the collaboration. GTSS courses are now being marketed through GCA, and GCA is lending its wealth of e-Learning expertise to the GTSS venture. Damien O’Donoghue points towards a bright future for GCA, saying; "This strategic partnership is a major step forward in the international recognition of GCA as a leader in corporate e-Learning, as well as giving a whole new dimension to our offerings."

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The Sales Development Programme (SDP) has been developed as a strategic approach to improving GAC’s sales focus across the company, as part of the VY-GV objectives.

There are three courses that build a complete approach to achieving excellence in sales ie. Fundamental Sales Skills (FSS), GAC Sales Handbook (GSH) and Profitable Customer Relationships (PCR). These address:

• sales skills
• sales processes
• sales growth and retention

A few testimonials to the invaluable learning that the SDP courses are enabling in the capacity of our sales staff:

Fundamental Selling Skills

"Following the fundamental rules of selling will lead to sales success faster than applying any high pressure sales techniques. Hence to me sales fundamentals play a vital role in order to be successful in my career and doing smarter, result oriented sales. I always faced difficulties in handling objections, mainly due to the price factor. But after having completed the module on Sales Psychology, objections and empowering questions, I feel much stronger to face and resolve the objections."

Nadia Sameer - GAC Marine Logistics (GML)

"Like a steam engine there has to be a driving force but there also has to be tracks that guide the train in the right direction, GAC people are the drive and the sales fundamentals are the tracks that will guide us to the right results."

Steve Carr – Freight Manager, GAC Manchester

"For me the FSS has been an opportunity to reflect on how I perform my job. Most of the lessons have contained information which I have already tried to store in my head before, but perhaps not always have had practical application to…. so for me the course has helped me to step away from routines and to focus on quality, and it will definitely be important for future sales success. I particularly liked the module on Sales Psychology. I haven’t been looking much into that subject before, so I felt I learnt a lot in the module. I also feel I need more practice in the “overcoming objections and empowering questions” area, highlighted in the course."

Peter Österman – Marketing Manager Shipping, GAC Sweden

GAC Sales Handbook

"I started reading the GAC Sales handbook, which is completely new to me and I have to say there are some really good new techniques and processes available. In the future I will collect more information of the company and do also some research with the office already handling this client and collecting the information, what the potential client is focusing on."

Thies Holm - Operations Manager - GAC Dubai

"With the GAC Sales Handbook at my disposal, I have learned to utilise additional resources and techniques and my approach is more methodical, focused and exacting to the client’s requirements."

Patrick Lim - GAC Philippines

"The sources of information template in the GAC Sales Handbook direct you to where you can find out that information in addition to what we are told by the customer. This will enable us to come across as prepared and professional and a company worth doing business with."

Adaku Achonu - Client Service Supervisor Logistics, GAC Nigeria

Profitable Customer Relations

"The new Toolshare is definitely helping to make the planning and strategising easier. My planning of marketing efforts is now more structured and I’m sure will have a higher success rate."

Gerrit Laubscher, General Manager, GAC Angola

"For a better understanding of our business deals, the training materials we used such as "Four types of Customer Relations: One Shot Deal, Transaction Satisfaction, Reliable Relationship, and Partnership Power, Customer Pyramid, 80/20 rules, Customer Satisfaction (CSF1) based on Vision-Y-GacTime and Customer Tool Kit" all are very important in learning how to go out of the box to entertain the customers and thereby make profit and retain the long relationship with the top clients. "

Moly George, HR & Administration Supervisor, GAC Qatar

"This course has improved my perception regarding the amount of influence we have at a local level over our customers profitability. It has reminded me that we must be constantly vigilant not only when focusing on providing the best possible service to our clients, but also in keeping a check on our expenditure and being efficient about it. It has also reminded me of the importance of our regular clients, and how they can be more profitable. I would have to say that this course is the best I have done yet through the GAC Academy."

Guy Hazelwood, Port Manager – Gladstone, GAC Australia

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Danielle is a consultant facilitator who began her involvement with GCA in early 2010.

She combines a love of facilitation with her sales focus and a passion for strategic planning and evaluation. The common denominator of these three is people, and Danielle is strongly committed to helping people grow and building their motivation to exceed.

"As facilitator of the new GAC Sales Handbook (GSH) course, I bring my interest in optimizing sales processes to the fore. By understanding and using the templates provided by the Handbook, it can not only improve but also standardize the sales approach throughout the GAC World. The course also provides the perfect opportunity for sales staff to get to know each other and share their sales experiences, building a real learning community. This is a great way for participants to improve the GAC best practice and support each other in their sales roles. So far I am incredibly impressed with the wealth of experience that our sales staff possess in the course, and greatly admire their willingness to learn.

Last year I worked on the 2010 GAC Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESS), and am currently preparing for the 2011 ESS. My preoccupation with the process has been to ensure that the survey gave as many people as possible the chance to express their views openly about how well GAC was meeting its VY-GV strategic objectives. I have also been committed to presenting the results in a way that was most useful for the company to make improvements accordingly. This year the survey is shaping up to be even better, providing a great opportunity to compare how GAC is progressing towards its objectives.

On the side I run a freelance writing company in my adopted country of Pakistan (I am originally from Australia), providing internet marketing services to companies looking to increase their online traffic. It is a role I have relished for the last three years, as it has given me the opportunity to train young Pakistani writers in international standard writing and professionalism.

I feel very blessed to be part of GAC in this dynamic time of growth and look forward to getting to know many more of you as I spend more time here. "

Sivasankar Kushal is Business Manager with GAC in Oman. In recent years he has completed an impressive seven GCA courses, all with outstanding results. We asked him about his secret to success and how the courses have helped him. "I have completed the IGW (Introduction to the GAC World), BCI (Business Communication in the Information Age), PPD (Personal and Professional Development), HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment), GLB (GAC Logistics Business), SAO (Shipping Agency Operations), ITG (IT in the GAC World). I suppose the secret to my high results has been commitment, being sincere and giving my best input. I must say it was not easy to find time during my daily busy work schedule. Work is always first priority. But when I am doing a GCA course, I make it a point to find time to participate, even if it has to be after office hours. Planning my day is the key to getting my coursework done as well as my regular work. If it happens to be an extremely busy day at work, I catch up in the evening after office hours. When I am in GCA, I concentrate only on the course. The courses I have done have helped in my role as Business Manager in many ways! GCA courses have helped me learn more about GAC shipping service, logistics services and most importantly gain lot of knowledge from experiences of colleagues in GAC family from around the globe. I believe that knowledge is power. Basically my area of work is liner shipping. Through the courses I have enhanced my knowledge in various areas of shipping and logistics activities which helped me to understand customer requirements more appropriately and give them more cost effective solutions. I have utilized services from various departments of GAC to meet my customer’s requirements so overall the difference to the bottom of the line has been clear and tangible. There is a great deal of benefit than can be gained out of GCA for both individuals and for the organization. Those who do the courses can apply what they learn from GCA in their day to day work like I do, and talk to their colleagues about the benefits of doing a GCA course. I am sure this will motivate others also to go for GCA courses. Be sincere and committed to what ever you do, prioritize your work to find time. I strongly believe that 'Nothing is Impossible'." Back to top