The fundamental tool to identify waste, create effective process flow, reduce process cycle times, and implement process improvement.
This half day course is designed to help staff working in statutory agencies, and local representatives, understand the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), how the management of European funding for Social Inclusion is changing and requiring more partnership working, and the opportunities and issues that arise in working in partnership with the VCS.
This half day or whole day course is designed for those who are new to either working in or with the voluntary and community sector, including staff, councillors and committee members working in statutory agencies. It will help you understand how the sector works, the various legal forms of organisations, issues of governance and sustainability so that you are able to work more effectively in partnership with the sector and understand its funding needs. The half day course covers the basic information; the longer course can include further subjects such as the use of volunteers and typical issues that face trustee boards and management committees.
This half day course is designed to help participants who need to write or revise policies and procedures for their organisations. It will help them to develop effective structures for the writing and design and ensure that they meet key legal and good practice requirements on some of the most important policies such as health and safety, equal opportunities and financial procedures. It will also look at the process of consultation and implementation so that the policies obtain “buy-in” and commitment from staff and volunteers.
PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance Standard for Organisations) is a quality standard designed for the voluntary and community sector. Organisations can choose to use the criteria as a self-assessment tool or can go on to external accreditation and gain the Quality Mark at one of three levels, all of which are recognised and approved by the Charity Commission. This half day course provides an excellent introduction to this quality standard, which is now used by some statutory authorities as a pre-requisite for funding.
This half day course is designed for voluntary and community organisations and those involved in community development who need to write funding applications and want to ensure that their bids are clear, focussed and meet the funders’ criteria.
This half day course is designed to help participants learn more about the new legal form for charities, the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), which was introduced in January 2013. The session will set the context and background to the introduction of the CIO, explore its potential benefits (and weaknesses) when set against the company limited by guarantee structure and introduce the two constitution models – the Foundation version (where only trustees are members) and the Association model (where the organisation’s membership is wider). By the end of the course participants should have a deeper knowledge of the subject so that they are able to make a more informed choice as to whether this legal entity might work for their organisation.
This half day course is designed for new treasurers, general trustees and management committee members or staff who work in smaller organisations to understand the basics of how to manage the finances within a voluntary or community organisation. It covers all the essential issues ranging from drawing up a budget to ensuring that the organisation has sound financial procedures.
A relaxed and informal Blackwork Embroidery course in the lovely setting of a converted 18th Century cotton mill in Warwick Bridge, Carlisle. This course has been designed to guide the complete beginner or act as a refresher for those who may have dabbled in Blackwork embroidery in the past. We will cover the history, styles of Blackwork embroidery, threads and techniques.
'Selling' doesn't work. You've got to help customers buy. And that means engaging with the customer in a positive way, showing that you understand their requirement and giving them confidence that your product or service is the best possible way of meeting that requirement. This may sound painless but there's more to it than meets the eye and it's all too easy to get it wrong. You need to follow a process. This programme will help participants: Understand 'how buyers buy' and align their selling activities accordingly Recognise the difference between 'latent pain' and 'active vision' opportunities Conduct effective pre-call planning and research Stimulate interest and establish credibility with your prospects Get prospects to share / admit high priority pain Engage in consultative dialogue that promotes the differentiating strengths of your offerings Gain access to 'power' people within an opportunity Effectively qualify and disqualify opportunities based on objective decision criteria Better control and manage sell cycles Improve their chances of winning competitive opportunities Shorten sales cycles and avoid 'no decision' Negotiate the steps leading to a successful sale 1 An introduction to selling Understanding the key points that encourage a customer to purchase from us The difference between consultative selling and a transactional sale Understanding the roles that trust and empathy play in a sale Understanding how tricks and manipulation can sink a sale Vital pre-meeting research that must take place before a conversation Understanding how the customer sees us and why positioning is important 2 Structuring the sales conversation process Defining a set process for structuring a sales call with a chance to demonstrate understanding How the first minute of a conversation can destroy a sale Understanding BPO objectives for a sale How a step-by-step sales conversation process helps win more sales Understanding the mis-match between the customers buying process How our sales processes can lead to mistakes 3 How and why people buy An insight into the emotional factors behind how people arrive at purchasing decisions Using research from neuroscience that shows how sales people can really make mistakes Understanding how people make decisions about larger purchases Understanding the stakeholders in companies and their buying motives How to analyse the stakeholders and determine a win-plan 4 Understanding the funnel Studying the sales and buying process to understand the ratios of sales to prospects and better forecasting Understanding the role of forecasting in sales analysis Why many forecasts are nearly always wrong Understanding the stages of a sales process How 'verifiable outcomes' can really change forecasting 5 Questioning techniques Understanding the different questioning techniques and when they should be used Using the 'knowledge tree' as a framework for questioning Understanding the use of real empathy to help customers uncover their needs How effective research can really empower your questions How to ask 'high gain' questions How to ask difficult questions without feeling intrusive 6 Features and benefits How to practically apply them in a sales scenario How to align the benefits to customers' business goals Really understanding the difference and how to demonstrate true economic benefits to a customer How to discover business goals, and align value propositions to these How to craft an effective value proposition for a customer Using the SAR storytelling method to really engage customers to align their thinking patterns Using the latest neuroscience research that explains what customers are really thinking 7 Overcoming objections How 'confirmation bias' can hinder any sales conversation How the CLARA method of responding to customer concerns can dramatically improve the chances of customers responding to us in a positive way Practising the method to become comfortable and congruent with it 8 Closing the sale A deep dive into what closing is How different sales have different closes How too many closing methods can destroy a sale How to lead up to a close with a logical sequence of questions Using the ACSAT trust method of closing A clear methodology with a chance to practise the skills in a fun way