Training Workshops

We at The Business Practice offer a variety of training workshops a sample of which we have outlined below. Our approach to training your team in whatever area you feel appropriate is to meet with you and design a bespoke day or half day workshop which will meet the specific needs of your team.

The topics below are an indication of what we do but please feel free to contact our Award Winning Coaches to design a bespoke workshop for you to address your training needs.

We have also delivered training as part of professional CPD programs.

Sales Training

When I look at the sales function of any business I look at it from a tactical and a strategic point of view. The tactical approach uses techniques to achieve an immediate or short-term gain i.e. a sales call, a sales meeting, an advertisement, a direct marketing piece etc. The strategic approach however uses a carefully defined and detailed plan to achieve a longer term goal. We need both approaches working together to have a sales function working correctly.

Strategic V Tactical approach

The strategic approach differs from a tactical approach in that it is aimed at the 90% of your target market who may not be considering your service right now but can be ‘educated’ with ideas they may not have considered previously to generate buyer interest. This strategic approach is especially important in today’s market because the traditional tactical approach will not give us enough business. This is because a tactical approach is only effective on people who are already looking for or have a tentative interest in your service. Unfortunately in these recessionary times people may have closed their minds to spending their money on this type of spend and only a strategic approach will change this. This is the big difference I find when working with my clients in sales. Research has shown that 90% of executives are tactical in their approach (9% strategic and 1% are both) and I work with them and their team to become more strategic to open up their target market to those who may not have previously been thinking of using their service or alternatively have stopped using their service for budgetary reasons. It is imperative therefore that we work with you and your team on a strategic approach to your business development and execute our strategy tactically. I will explain this concept in more detail with practical examples in our initial meetings.

During the good times salespeople didn’t really have to work very hard to get a sale over the line. Their prospects’ resistance was lower and in some cases the salesperson just had to turn up and take the order. Things have certainly changed recently and instead of blaming the economy salespeople need to go back to the basics of sales and start to really SELL instead or being just order takers. For many it was a long time ago since they last experienced this and for those newer to sales this is a complete shock.

This is where Sales training comes in.

Things you and your team will learn…..

  • How to identify and target an ideal prospect for your firm
  • Conversion techniques, rapport building skills and communication strategies
  • Why having a clearly defined Sales Process is a key to success in selling
  • How the sales process should flow
  • How to sell to the four key personality types
  • How to get customers to sell themselves
  • How to overcome any objection
  • How to set up a sale from the first contact
  • How to ask great questions
  • How to ask for the sale time after time

Results will you see…..

  • A shorter sales cycle
  • Increased sales and a more accurate sales forecast
  • A clearly defined, predictable and proven sales process for any economic condition
  • A positive attitude, mindset and belief system for your team
  • A sales ‘dashboard’ with a clear set of performance indicators
  • A clear understanding of how to measure these
  • The visibility of who is performing well, who isn’t and why?
  • A predictable way to improve sales
  • An early warning system to highlight problem areas
  • A sales management meeting structure
  • Weekly/daily sales plans
  • Proven strategies in each area of The Business Practices’ ‘Business Profit Equation’
  • Loyal Customers not just satisfied ones

Customer Service Training

Customer Service training will improve your Team's ability to deliver excellent customer care to every customer every time. There a two key reasons why this is so important to your organisation:

  1. In Business we spend six times as much money attempting to attract new customers to our businesses than we do to up-sell, on-sell and generally over service our existing customers
  2. 68% of customers who stop buying from an organisation does so simply because of a perceived indifference. The business actually didn't do anything wrong, the customer just thought the organisation didn't care enough

Things you and your team will learn…..

  • Why customer satisfaction is not enough
  • How to use the ‘Ladder of Loyalty’ to create Raving Fans of your business
  • How to generate referrals consistently
  • Handling problem Customers or challenging situations - the right approach, what to say and how to say it
  • The importance of follow-up for the Customer
  • How to build a positive, Customer focused attitude in the Team;
  • How to build skills and continuously improve
  • Understanding our Customers – seeing the world from their shoes; Positive Customer focus
  • Questions - good ways of asking questions vs bad questions
  • The Structure of a Customer Service Call - The stages of the call; Timing the call effectively through the different stages
  • Beginning a call, creating a positive first impression; Good greeting & voice tone
  • Active Listening - hearing the Customer & good listening responses
  • The power of using the Customer's name
  • The importance of continuously building good Customer Service skills
  • Simple yet effective techniques to get your customers talking about your business.

Team Training

You'll learn the 6 key areas to focus on in order to create a successful team, how to build a supportive and productive culture, their various working styles together with a practical hands-on tools you can use.

You and your team will also discover how to effectively communicate with each other, how to work with and show respect for others, and just as importantly, how to continually maintain self-respect

In my experience though, the speed of change within an organisations’ team will be restricted for one or more of the following areas:

  • Lack of agreed common purpose
  • Problems around team leadership
  • Lack of trust and openness
  • Unfinished business or baggage between members of the team
  • Poor communication
  • Unclear roles and expectations (KPI’s)
  • Inefficient use of time
  • Inability to deal with conflict constructively
  • Ones inability to handle change

Most, or if not all team members will be dealing with a combination of these areas at any one time while working within the team context. And thus to collectively achieve a common goal for the business is sometimes a daunting task. This is where the strength of team coaching and training comes into play.

All of these issues can be addressed and dealt with within the safe confines of the team training environment. Team members are able to gain knowledge from their colleagues, are encouraged to share ideas and give feedback, and are able to become aware of their personal and skill shortfalls within a safe environment. By re-enforcing the values of the business regularly in the sessions, the vision and mission of the business can be achieved sooner. Key signs of change within the team would be improved motivation and cohesiveness of the team.

These are the benefits you will receive from my team training...

  • You will be able to focus more and work ‘ON’ your business rather than in the day to day operations.
  • Enhanced individual and group problem solving ability
  • Improved team decision making
  • Improved productivity and efficiency and a results focused attitude
  • Reduced stress and conflict in working relationships
  • Better team output
  • Improved communication
  • Greater understanding of the team members “self”
  • A common purpose
  • Less personal attacks between team members
  • Better control over team members emotions
  • An awareness of team members impact on their environment
  • More open dialogue
  • Team feeling better about the company
  • Conflict address sooner
  • More trust and empowerment
  • Higher emotional intelligence
  • Achievement of agreed business deliverables
  • A momentum of improvements in standards

Also we do many bespoke Team Alignment Workshops. Each Team Alignment workshop is different and is designed especially for that Team. Our experienced Coaches will work closely with you to design the right Team Alignment day so that it achieves the maximum benefit for you and your Team.