607 AI courses in Leeds

This very practical one-day programme provides participants with the skills and knowledge required to be an effective member of the procurement team and to enable them to procure a wide range of resources for the organisation, in a compliant and cost-effective manner. It also empowers them to be able to collaborate with all key stakeholders. By the end of the programme participants will be able to: Understand the basic concepts of good procurement practice Apply a range of tools and techniques for developing scopes of work and specifications Apply various methods to select and evaluate suppliers Develop robust contract award strategies Appreciate the commercial importance of effective procurement and opportunities to reduce cost and add value Develop appropriate procurement strategies depending on risk and value Appreciate the legal aspects of procurement 1 Welcome Introductions Aims and objectives Plan for the day 2 The basics of procurement The concept of total cost of ownership v price The procurement cycle The roles of the customer and the contractor Impact upon profit 3 Specification process Importance of effective specifications Specification development process Types of specification Team approach Use of performance specifications Early supplier involvement (ESI) / early contractor involvement (ECI) 4 Quality Concepts and practices Defining 'fit for purpose' Conformance to requirements Compliance to standards Role of the supplier Quality assurance tools and techniques 5 Procurement methods RFP RFQ ITT Negotiated procurement Strategic partnerships Outsourcing 6 Tendering How to undertake a formal tendering process Business case to award Critical stages in the process Risks and benefits 7 Tender evaluation How to undertake a quotation analysis Tools of analysis Use of VFM models Role of the customer Comparisons around cost, quality, and delivery 8 Supplier selection and evaluation Developing critical selection criteria Using the 10Cs model Importance of effective selection process Weighting systems Importance of validity and evidence 9 Capital equipment procurement Life cycle cost issues Payback calculations Compatibility issues Maintenance and training issues After-sales support 10 Supplier relationships Corporate social responsibility issues Communication 360 feed-back Open and ethical Initial understanding Clear and fair terms and conditions 11 Close Review of key learning points Personal action planning

Many people have a misconception about networking events, and lose out on new business opportunities as a result. They either don't appreciate the real benefits and techniques of networking and don't attend events, or they attempt to 'sell on the first date', causing resentment. You can either attempt to make a sale for a quick buck (which is particularly likely to backfire at a networking event), or you can try to open a long-term relationship, creating new opportunities and a high lifetime value customer (which is how it's meant to be done). Networking, when done properly, is an excellent tool for referrals. But you have to appreciate that it's done on the basis of giving rather than receiving and this doesn't always come naturally to sales professionals. The old saying that it's about getting to 'know, like and trust' is still true. This workshop is about having your prospects and customers getting to know, like and trust you, and building that lifetime value as a result. By the end of this programme, participants will be able to: Understand what networking is - networking etiquette Know how and where to network Clarify their objectives - why network Use the 4 basic questions to start a conversation Build rapport quickly and easily Answer the question 'What do you do?' effectively in a few seconds Deliver a 60-second pitch Break into a group Prepare for a network meeting Identify opportunities Use tools to assist in networking 1 Introduction Aims and objectives 2 What is networking? Why network - objectives and goal setting Networking etiquette Preparation - online and offline tools to use Identify networking opportunities - where to network Know what you have to offer 'Know, like and trust' - the process 3 What do you do? Answer in 5-10 seconds Create and deliver a 60-second pitch Who is your target market? 4 Starting a conversation Breaking into a group Building rapport The 4 questions to start a conversation Moving on 5 Communicate and engage LISTEN - 4 types of listening skill Ask powerful questions Influence - don't sell What can you do to help others - give to get 6 Power of referrals Who can give you referrals? When to give or ask for referrals Have a referral system Showing appreciation 7 Social media and other online tools Using LinkedIn and other social media Online directories 8 Next steps Following up Arranging one-to-one meetings Developing relationships

When staff are new to sales it can seem daunting, especially when they have targets to meet. If the staff you need to promote your products and services get it wrong then it can knock their confidence and negatively impact how your customers see you as an organisation. This programme provides staff with the basic skills they need to sell. This course will help participants: Profile customers Research and identify potential new customers Use the consultative sales process Build effective rapport with customers Identify customer needs through effective questioning and listening Position products and services effectively Close the sale or gain commitment to further action Manage their customer portfolio to maximise sales 1 Introduction Aims and objectives of the training Personal introductions and objectives Self-assessment of existing sales skills Overview of content 2 Knowing your customers Who are your customers, and what do they want from you? What are your strengths, compared to your competitors? Who are your new potential customers? How do you communicate with new customers? What do you need to know about your customers before you start to sell? Making the initial approach Planning your pipeline - keeping the customers coming 3 The four-step sales process Overview of the consultative sales process Key benefits of using the consultative sales process Focusing on behaviours not targets The behaviours of a good salesperson Common pitfalls and mistakes Personal strengths and weaknesses 4 Building rapport First impressions - Mehrabian theory of communication Short cuts to building rapport Looking out for clues as to how the customer is thinking Looping back to keep the conversation flowing Acknowledging past communication Dealing with emotions such as anger Setting the agenda to keep control Getting past gatekeepers 5 Questioning and listening How to ask open questions to uncover information Left brain questions When closed question can be useful What stops us listening? The four levels of listening How to develop your listening skills 6 Presenting products and services to customers When to present Using benefits not features Making it personal Using reciprocity The tendency towards the middle Using consistency 7 Gaining commitment Testing the water Dealing with objections using ACLEO Asking for the business Getting referrals Ending with a personalised close Following-up 8 Managing your customer pipeline Spotting opportunities for cross-sales Managing your portfolio Maximising sales proactively Review meetings Customer satisfaction measures and surveys Mystery shopping 9 Putting it all together Skills practice Personal learning summary and action plans

Do you hear yourself saying the same thing over and over again? Do you want to bring some new skills to your role? If you have been in a sales role for some time it is easy to fall into a comfortable pattern. This workshop will help you incorporate advanced techniques drawn from NLP, behavioural science and social psychology into your existing skills. This course will help you: Use the consultative sales process to achieve more cross-sales Employ advanced rapport-building skills Assess the buying preferences of a customer Articulate the link between customer goals and needs Identify your customer's needs and wants Use advanced questioning techniques to gather information Resist the temptation to tell when it would be better to ask Identify communication preferences Given various scenarios, present a product to the explicit need of a customer Appreciate the impact of the language used during this stage of the sale and decide what language is appropriate with a variety of customers Handle objections positively Close the sale or gain commitment to further action 1 Introduction Aims and objectives of the training Personal introductions and objectives Self-assessment of existing sales skills Overview of content 2 Understanding yourself and your customers Personal communication style and what this means in a sales situation Wants versus needs What motivates people to buy Using social media tools such as LinkedIn Managing your portfolio to maximise sales Preparing to sell 3 The sales process Overview of the consultative sales process Review personal strengths and weaknesses as a salesperson Habits of top-performing sales people Common pitfalls Articulate sales goals 4 Building rapport 11 decisions that customers make in the first 9 seconds Spotting buyer communication preferences Building rapport with a wide variety of customers Dealing with emotions Keeping control 5 Questioning and listening Assumptions and how they trip us up Structured questioning Looking for cross-sales Honing your listening skills Identifying buyers' motivation Using summaries to move the customer forward 6 Presenting products and services to customers Choosing the right time to present Using features, advantages and benefits Tailoring your presentation of products and services to match buyer preferences and motivations 7 Gaining commitment When to close Dealing with difficult customers 5 things to avoid when handling a customer objection 8 Managing your business The link between service and sales Using customer surveys Winning back lost business 9 Putting it all together Skills practice Personal learning summary and action plans

Maximising the team's sales capability is the key aim for any sales manager. When sales people struggle to hit their targets, it falls to the sales manager to provide support and help colleagues to find their way again. One of the most effective techniques for sales managers to improve and maintain sales performance is by providing live sales coaching. Sales coaching encourages sales people to find their own solutions and take responsibility for their own development. This course will help participants: Develop people to fulfil their sales potential Provide motivational feedback Identify strengths and weaknesses of their team members Understand personal learning styles Identify and adapt for different personality styles Prepare and conduct on-the-job observations Motivate sales people to greater performance 1 How is sales coaching different from sales training? What is coaching? Discover how coaching empowers sales people Learn the best time to use sales coaching Decide which people should be coached first Creating a development plan 2 Understanding learning, behavioural and communication styles Use practical tools to help you assess individual styles Tap into the essence and energy of the person you are developing Understand your own learning, behavioural and communication preferences Develop a strategy to adopt for each member of your team Discover what motivates you and your salespeople to perform Appreciate how this knowledge will improve your sales conversion 3 Using the GROW coaching model Learn the secrets of a successful coaching session Discover the importance of SMART objectives and instructions Understand and capture what coachees are currently doing right Develop their problem-solving and decision-making skills Help your colleagues crystalise their plans and actions Provide follow-up opportunities to embed the learning 4 Giving motivational feedback Understand why effective feedback is so powerful in sales Learn key models for motivational feedback Discover how to manage and structure more difficult conversations Understand the power of positive reinforcement Encourage sales people to coach and support colleagues 5 Putting it into practice Use realistic scenarios to provide opportunities for practice Discover what it feels like to be coached Receive immediate feedback on your coaching style Share common performance issues with fellow sales managers Create a personal development plan 6 Preparing on-the-job observations and joint visits Build a strategy for coaching and team development Prepare an observation template for effective coaching Learn the key elements of preparation for your next coaching session Agree common areas to focus on with coachees 7 Action planning Personal action plans

We've all sat through far more bad presentations than good ones, but knowing what 'good' looks like is easier than successfully replicating it. Sales presentations are a performance and, as salespeople, fluffing our lines can cost us a lot more than hurt pride. Having discovered and understood the specific needs and burning issues our prospect has, then this course will help any salesperson avoid dropping the ball and instead wowing their prospects with a high-impact, tailored and compelling case for purchase. This course will help participants: Prepare mentally and physically for stand-up presentations Use voice modulation and bullet-pointing to demand attention Avoid boring their prospects Master the do's and don'ts of PowerPoint Deal more effectively with technical hitches and prospect's interruptions Use eye contact and engagement to avoid prospects 'tuning out' Deploy best practice essentials for presenting with colleagues Steer through the toughest Q&A 1 Preparing your presentation Mindset Knowing your objective(s) Vocal warm-up techniques Assembling pre-agreed benefits Time management Room set-up Technical preparation 2 How to open your presentation Vocal energy Summary and agreement of prospect's needs How to have posture and confidence Use of humour What to do with those dreaded hands Confident v non-confident body language 3 How to get and keep people's attention Bullet pointing Linking benefits to specific, stated needs Practical exercise - formulating and delivering tailored benefits Being selective with features Third party reinforcement and case studies 'Watering the garden' eye contact technique Practical exercise - participants practise 'sharing out' eye contact to audience How to handle a prospect's negative body language Handling interruptions 4 Presenting in groups Credentialing all participants Role delineation for group presentations Edifying other participants' messages - do's and don'ts How to maintain energy when not speaking Practical exercise - good and bad practice when not speaking Teamwork in Q&A sessions How to hand over professionally 5 PowerPoint do's and don'ts Use of visual aids Good and bad PowerPoint slides How to make PowerPoint work for you Classic PowerPoint errors Avoiding and handling technical problems Good and bad flipchart practice 6 Closing and / or achieving next action steps Power of summary Good Q&A practice Handling objections Practical exercise - handling objections on one's feet Creating consensus among prospect panel What to do when prospects disagree with each other When to trial close How to close on next action steps 7 Wrap-up Key learning points from each participant Action steps to be implemented on next presentations

Take your sales people from average to high performance. Motivate and develop experienced sales professionals with some new insights and learning. Applying NLP principles, techniques and models, this workshop will introduce the core attitudes and behaviours that differentiate the excellent sales person from the average one. The programme will help participants: Understand and adopt the mindset and beliefs needed for sales excellence Build rapport and connect with buyers at a deeper and more personal level Recognise some of the thinking and language patterns that make each individual unique Ask powerful questions to further understand the unique world of the individual and how they make decisions Apply tools and techniques to empathise with clients - seeing things from their perspectives Tailor their sales approach to the individual buyer's style, and talk in their language Influence with integrity and sell to organisations and individuals successfully 1 Introduction Aims and objectives of the programme Personal introductions and objectives Workshop overview 2 An introduction to NLP and sales excellence with NLP An overview of NLP and applying it to selling The pillars of NLP The NLP model of communication The difference that makes the difference 3 Building enhanced rapport Defining rapport and why it is important when selling Going beyond the initial small talk Building relationships with individual decision-makers Matching and mirroring Levels of rapport 4 Understanding the buyer's personal buying map How we take in, filter and process information How we judge others based on our own experiences of the world The different ways in which we communicate when selling Recognising and understanding the language and thinking patterns of others Adapting your sales communication style to different buyers 5 Making sense of the buying process How we filter information through our senses Understanding how we see, hear and experience the world Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic buyers Listening for key insights What different buyers want from you to help them to buy Applying sensory awareness to the sales process 6 Successful sales mindset The connection between thoughts and actions The sales beliefs of excellence Identifying negative thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back How to change your mindset Adopting the sales beliefs of excellence 7 Powerful questions Reviewing and honing your questioning skills Understanding the questions that great sales people ask Avoiding assumptions Clean language questions Getting to the bottom of it - precision questions Turbo-charging how you qualify 8 Influencing with integrity Understanding empathy Stepping into the buyer's shoes Speaking the buyer's language Tailoring your sales approach to the individual Match, pace, lead - how to take your buyer with you 9 Putting it all together Personal learning summary and action plans

Telephone selling can be a challenge. It can be a pressured environment and sales professionals need to be able to maintain peak performance in order to meet - and preferably exceed - their targets. This programme will help make it easier for them. The expert trainer covers the whole process, to help participants see it from their customer's perspective. The focus is on how to use a practical understanding of sales psychology, and of the nature of the telephone sales conversation, to help make it easier for customers to buy. This programme will give your team the skills to: This course will help participants: Understand why people buy - and how that makes it easier to sell Manage the sales process better Steer their sales calls to a more positive outcome Recognise - and respond to - customer buying signals Meet and overcome objections Choose the most appropriate techniques for closing with confidence Enhance their resilience Improve their communication skills on the telephone 1 Introduction Aims and objectives Overview Self-appraisal of current skills and development areas 2 The sales approach What selling means Why selling is like nature 3 The telephone as an instrument of communication Qualities of the telephone How telephone communication differs from face-to-face Advantages and drawbacks of the telephone How to optimise selling over the telephone Communication techniques to help you stand out from the crowd 4 Creating a relationship Professional telephone etiquette Building a rapport Connecting with the customer so that they feel you are on the same wavelength 5 The structure of a sales call Opening the call - creating a positive first impression Effective questioning to gather information and establish need Identifying and presenting the features and benefits of the product or service Matching the benefits to customers' needs Recognising and responding to buying signals Anticipating, meeting and overcoming objections Closing the sale and asking for the order - different closing techniques The importance of testimonials - how to obtain them and when to use them 6 Listening skills The challenges of accurate listening How to enhance listening skills Ensuring the customer feels heard and understood through empathetic listening 7 Shaping and using a script Developing a script to increase levels of confidence Leaving the door open 8 Managing the campaign Organisation and call planning Identifying your target market group Planning who and when to call Logging constructive information 9 Personal management The importance of persistence Is there a time to back off? Stamina - optimising energy levels Bouncing back 10 Practising the new information Pulling the details together Practising in a supportive environment 11 Action planning Personal learning summary and action plan

Fraud should not happen, but it does. It can happen at the highest to lowest levels in an organisation. Recent surveys show that incidents of fraud are not decreasing. Fraud costs companies money and, perhaps even more importantly, reputational damage. The losers are not just the shareholders, suppliers, customers, etc, but society as a whole. This programme shows why frauds happen, how organisations put themselves at risk and what they can do to prevent it. This programme will help directors and others understand: The motives for committing fraud Directors' responsibilities for identifying and reporting fraud What types of frauds there are How frauds are perpetrated How they can be prevented How regulators deal with fraud Above all, the principal objective of this programme is to help make your organisation as secure as possible from the threat of fraud. 1 Motives for committing fraud - drivers of fraud Session objective: to understand why people might commit fraud Drivers of fraudulent behaviourAmbitionGreedTheftConceit? And more! 2 Accounting mechanisms that allow fraud Session objective: to review the elements of the accounting, internal control and management processes that allow creative accounting Income or liability? Asset or expense? Coding errors and misclassification Netting off and grossing up Off-balance sheet items 3 Structures that allow fraud Session objective: to consider company and trading structures that allow frauds to be perpetrated Group structures Trading structures Tax havens Importing and exporting 4 Interpretations and other non-compliance that allow fraud Session objective: to look at how creative interpretations of law and accounting practice may permit fraud The place of accounting standards Accounting policies Trading methods The place of auditing standards 5 Money laundering Session objective: to review what constitutes money laundering Types of money laundering Identifying laundering Preventing laundering 6 Preventing fraud - proper management structures Session objective: to review the place of proper corporate governance Corporate governance Company management structure Audit committees The place of internal audit 7 Preventing fraud - proper accounting Session objective: to review best accounting and auditing practice Accounting standards Internal accounting policies Adequacy of internal controls Internal audit 8 Preventing fraud - regulation Session objective: to look at how regulators aim to prevent fraud The regulatory environment Financial services regulation 9 Conclusion Course review Open forum Close 10 Course summary - developing your own cost action plan Group and individual action plans will be prepared with a view to participants identifying their cost risks areas and the techniques which can be immediately applied to improve costing and reduce costs

The work of a technical team is invariably challenging and often unpredictable. Definition of the work can be problematic, timescales can be hard to estimate and the right technical approach difficult to select. Staff involved in this type of work usually have very high levels of specialist knowledge in their field and have high expectations of those who lead them. In addition to the challenges of the work, the team leader often has to balance the need for professional excellence with financial and commercial considerations and to ensure that team goals are realistic by being an effective negotiator with other project and senior managers. These characteristics make technical team leadership a demanding and complex activity. This programme aims to help participants develop the skills needed to become an effective technical team leader. The objectives of this programme are to help participants: understand the significance of leadership skills and their impact on team performance review the key skills needed to be an effective, 'multi-dimensional' team leader and learn how to develop, adapt and apply them in practice learn how to identify the preferred leadership style for the context and organisational culture and how to develop personal style versatility understand the role of the project leader in building an effective team and the skills required to promote and sustain team performance gain a better understanding of the interpersonal skills needed to motivate individual team members and harness the full potential of the team DAY ONE 1 Technical teams and leadership What is a leader? How much can leadership be learned? The team environment and the impact of leadership skills The characteristics of high performance teams and their leaders Some useful models and theories of leadership explored Types of leadership; choosing how to use leadership power Evaluating personal leadership style; how to develop style flexibility 2 Essential skills for team leaders 3 key dimensions of effective leadership: inwards, outwards and upwards Developing and promoting a 'team vision': strategic thinking skills The vital role of communication skills and how to develop them Understanding others; emotional intelligence skills Being a visible leader; behavioural and influencing skills Building effective relationships; the importance of trust and respect DAY TWO 3 Leading inwards to build the team The role of leadership in developing team performance Understanding individuals in the team; recognising team role preferences Managing conflict and promoting positive team dynamics Setting standards, maintaining discipline and rewarding performance Harnessing team potential: building motivation within the team Promoting team learning; the team leader as coach / mentor 4 Leading outwards and upwards to support the team Negotiating realistic team goals; effective influencing skills Gaining empowerment and support from the key stakeholders Leading upwards: knowing when and how to take the initiative Building team credibility within the organisation; helping the team deliver Becoming an effective team player in leadership teams Building and maintaining rapport with influential stakeholders