Mama Money: Agent Spotlight - Sonia Baloyi

Area: KZN

Secret talent: Art and Dance

Theme song: Timi Dakolo- Everything (amen)

Tell us about yourself.

I am 31 years old. My Parents were born in Mozambique, and I was born and bred in Port Elizabeth. 

I joined Mama Money in 2019 as an agent and was promoted to super agent after 3 months. Shortly after that, there was a vacancy in KZN in 2020; I applied, got the job and relocated, starting as a mega agent on 1st September. This was the first time I came to Durban and the first time I moved and lived away from home.

Day to day, I work with agents and super agents. I plan strategically for the teams, aligning company goals and objections with our daily activities, such as data analysis and interpretation, team building, and helping customers and agents with transaction processes when required. 

This helps the team and myself develop effective and efficient performance culture. 

During the midweek, we work in town and engage with people in salons, smaller shops, street vendors and kiosks. We also run permanent spots where people can expect to find our agents if they need assistance. 

During weekends we do mass outreach, where we travel in big groups to different communities to register as many customers as possible.
 

What parts of Mama Money's mission and values do you connect with?

Authenticity - I can be myself, and I enjoy what I do.

Responsibility - I know I am responsible to the company, the KZN team and the customers I serve.

Customer and community - It gives me pleasure to help people and make life easier in any way possible.

Togetherness - There is a spirit of Ubuntu at Mama Money - you can't do it alone. I grew up being told, "it takes a community to raise a child". 

What's your favourite part of being a Mama Money agent?

Everyone at Mama Money is here for the same purpose - to help communities. Working with different communities is something I enjoy a lot. 

I also appreciate that Mama Money is flexible for agents; for example, I could study and keep working in construction when I started.

The company is very welcoming; it's like a family- you feel at home, and everyone is one under the Mama Money umbrella. 

You can't enjoy what you do without being yourself, and MM allows you to be authentic. If you are not comfortable with where you are, how can you convince an agent to join Mama Money or a customer to use our services? 

My blood is green!
 

How have you grown professionally while on our team?

Many challenges tested and helped me while working at Mama Money; sometimes, I could quickly get comfortable and can lose authority. I've learned to separate work from social and am still learning to manage a team and manoeuvre different behaviours and attitudes.

With the travel involved, I've also learned how to plan efficiently while bringing effective results.
 

When you are at work, how do you motivate yourself?

I have to be motivated to motivate my team. If not, how can we convince a customer?

Therefore, I find reasons to keep me going- whether at work or home.

I set goals for myself in alignment with the company goals and find something to motivate me.

I use every part of my life to motivate the other part- like using home and personal elements to motivate work. This is why I can get up in the morning and make myself proud even when I'm at my lowest.

In terms of successes, which accomplishments are you most proud of?

Being a Mama Money Mega Agent and being trusted is a huge responsibility. I never thought I would ever manage a province team for a company. This position revealed strengths and abilities I didn't even know I had. One of those is resilience - one of my strongest points.

Who are some of your biggest inspirations? 

My Mother and late Father.

What's the best advice you can give someone who just started as a Mama Money agent?

You need to have patience and find the drive to keep motivated. 

Always be ready to adapt, as there are ups and downs like any other job. 

Agents get paid a commission. Therefore the more customers we register, the greater the earning potential, which allows us a lot of growth potential. It's easy to want to give up when you don't have customers who send money but keep on going as the sky is the limit when you work with Mama Money.