53 Counselling Skills courses in Edinburgh

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

Effective communication is a skill. This half-day workshop is very interactive - participants can practise their communication skills in a positive, supportive environment. 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives The definition of effective communication Exercise: sending a message 2 Verbal communications Effective communicators - who are they? What skills or attributes do they have? Listening skills, clear use of words, presence, eye contact, body language 3 How good a listener are you? Exercise: listening skills questionnaire and evaluation 4 Impact versus intent - what did you really mean to say? Attitudes influence behaviour and behaviour breeds behaviour Exercise: 'I never said she stole money' The need to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation 5 The 5 key principles to effective communication Exercise: 'What would you say?' 6 Written communication What makes an effective written communication? Kipling's 6 Honest Men: who, what, where, when, why and how Planning to write an email 7 Fuzzy meanings Probabilities for misunderstandings and misinterpretations 8 Practical exercise Hone written communication skills and put into practice hints and tips from the session 9 Review of key learning points and objectives

This workshop-based bite-size will provide space to explore some practical tools and ideas on how to be more resilient when faced with challenging and tough situations. There is an opportunity to do a self assessment and bring it to the day as a means to identify areas to work on and begin to master skills that will enhance resilient thinking. There will be time to explore what resilience is and understand the range of practical tools and techniques available that can be used beyond the workshop itself. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Discuss and evaluate their personal strengths and areas for development in being more resilient at work Understand what resilience involves and how to identify and challenge their own beliefs that undermine resilience Understand the four aspects of resilience - confidence, adaptability, building support and maintaining a clear perspective Understand how to use resiliency tools to help to cope better with the challenge of change Review and evaluate their learning and have an action plan to take back and implement in the workplace 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Identifying current challenges in relation to work How we handle these challenges 3 Defining resilience and how and why it helps our personal effectiveness and thinking 4 Resilience skills and how to develop them 5 Learning a resilience tool that promotes new ways of thinking / working 6 Review and evaluation of learning Action planning

This highly practical one-day workshop has been designed specifically to help maximise sales where customers make contact by telephone. When customers contact us direct they have clearly already considered the possibility that they might buy from us, but we're still only half-way to making a sale. Unless we fully understand their needs and make it easy for them to buy, we may not secure the business. This workshop concentrates on the telephone skills and techniques needed to achieve the most positive outcome in any inbound customer call. A combination of excellent customer service skills and savvy sales awareness techniques will increase our chances of a successful outcome for both parties. The programme features the unique INBOUND model, to help remember the key principles for effective inbound telephone sales: Initial impressions Needs of the customer Bring them with you Open up the conversation Understand the triggers Narrow down the solutions Decision time! The programme also covers how to deal with difficult calls and challenging people - after all, every complaint is a sales opportunity! This programme will help participants: Create the perfect interaction with any customer making contact by telephone Make every call count Build rapport quickly in any situation Handle difficult calls and challenging people Create sustainable and profitable relationships Increase your sales conversions 1 The inbound sales process Each customer who contacts us will be at a different stage of the sales process. Some might be making general enquiries whilst others will be ready to commit, having made most of their decisions already. Sales and customer service people need to be ready to find out the stage the customer has reached before helping them to make the right decision for them 2 Engaging with the customer Having clarified where the customer is on their journey to making a purchasing decision, our next responsibility is to create and build a trusting relationship on both sides. This involves establishing rapport quickly to ease the communication process, thus enabling smooth transactions, both now and in the future 3 Questioning and listening skills for gathering information Developing these skills requires practice so that the communication becomes natural for the customer. This helps the customer to feel comfortable with us and work with us towards an effective solution. We discuss different types of question and how to use high-gain questions to uncover key information. Active listening will ensure that we can really help customers get what they need 4 Overcoming objections and excuses If we have followed the process properly and really understood the customer, then there should no further objections or barriers to completing the transaction. The reality is that there will still be the occasional issue that needs clarifying, so we need to prepare for possible objections and questions that customers might have. This includes probing objections so that we fully understand the customer's perspective before constructing suitable responses or solutions 5 Gaining commitment and ending the call Customers want to gain a solution to the issue they are facing and the sooner we can help them achieve that the better. Guiding the customer and helping them to believe in their own decision is part of our role. This section is dedicated to getting commitment all the way along the process, not just at the close 6 Dealing with difficult and challenging situations The realisation that everybody is different, with different personality types, different ways of looking at the world and different goals, is key to understanding sales. With this is mind we discuss these differences and how we adapt our approach to ease communication and maintain trust and understanding 7 Action plans Course summary and presentation of action plans

This course is designed specifically to help improve your collection rates. The UK's leading trainer in the subject uses practical examples and case studies to show how to use debt collection techniques that really work. This programme will help participants to: Understand debtors and communicate with them effectively Improve their telephone and writing skills Appreciate the key legal issues Track down 'gone-aways' Improve their collection rates 1 Giving credit and collecting debts The benefits when you get it right The cost of getting it wrong 2 Analysing yourself The importance of making the right 'first impression' Assessing your own personal communication style and how this affects your results How do you (or might you) look in the debtor's eyes? What would you like to change? 3 Analysing your debtors Types of debtorThe delaying debtorThe genuine debtorThe cashflow or hardship problem debtorThe ones who never intended to pay Spot the most common reasons and excuses for non-payment - and learn how to deal with them 4 Understanding debt recovery and the law Data protection issues County Court suing enforcement methods Human rights and debt recovery Retention of title matters 5 Telephone skills for debt recovery A 7-point plan which works every time Learning by example: listening to and analysing some pre-recorded (or live) collection callsWhat was done well?What should have been done differently?Did the collector recognise opportunities?Did the collector create opportunities where seemingly none existed?Did the collector negotiate well or not at all? 6 Writing skills for debt recovery Key phrases to avoid What to include A sample letter which gets results in over 90% of cases 7 Tracking down the 'gone aways' A unique debtor-tracing plan Why spend money on external tracers when you can find those 'gone away' debtors for yourself? 8 Course review The traps to avoid Key personal learning points

If you're looking to move to the next level in your career in sales, then understanding how to maximise your sales results, using a consultative and structured approach, will be key to your success. In order to develop the competitive advantage that enables you to stand out from the crowd, it is important to understand the tools and techniques to take your selling to new heights and build the confidence to apply them in work-based scenarios. We have developed this programme to be practical, fun and interactive. Learners will gain a range of practical skills that they can take back and apply to the workplace straight away, that will have a positive impact on sales and customer satisfaction. This course will help participants: Develop a structured and client-focused approach to creating high quality sales opportunities and account growth Learn persuasion and influencing skills to better define needs and develop opportunities Understand how to have better sales conversations, presentations, and proposals - leading to higher order value and increased sales Develop advanced sales questioning skills and techniques; understand the importance of listening Understand how to add value at all stages; plus gaining competitive advantage Develop proven ways to overcome and reduce price pressure Know when to use options and upselling when presenting products and solutions Develop techniques and skills for improved negotiation and closing 1 Advanced Selling - How to Increase your sales results Review of pre-course data and questionnaire The AVC model of increasing your sales results Creating a sales growth plan to achieve higher sales targets Mapping the accounts and products for targeted growth 2 The Four Cs to structure a sales call Research before the meeting or call; setting objectives, planning and preparation How to gain instant rapport and taking control - including online meetings Qualifying and initial questioning skills Creating an agenda and first-meeting structure: Four Cs Planning and practice sessions 3 Building bigger and better sales opportunities How to use questions to 'build' more opportunities Learning and using high-impact and third-level questions Advanced sales questioning techniques: five questioning techniques Qualifying and gaining commitment to the next stage Planning and practice sessions - advanced questioning skills 4 Presentation and persuading skills best practice Compelling benefits and reducing perceived risk - key messages to deliver Helping the customer choose your proposition by using options Professional and effective presentation skills Writing compelling sales proposals that improve your conversion rate Planning and practice session - presenting your solution 5 Overcoming concerns and client questions Proven techniques for answering client objections and concerns How to isolate, prioritise and answer objections, including price Overcoming delay and procrastination Planning and practice session - answering client concerns 6 Gaining commitment and closing the sale Knowing when to close for commitment How to ask for commitment professionally and effectively Key negotiation skills around the closing process - getting to 'yes' Checklist of closing and negotiation skills Practice session

The often-used phrase, 'just the receptionist', completely misrepresents the role. An excellent receptionist is a most valuable resource for any organisation. This programme has been designed specifically to deal with the essential skills necessary to represent the organisation to the best possible effect. It will also help you get the most out of your working day. There are six key reasons to take part in this workshop. It will help you: See your role in a new light Develop your communication skills Deal with different types of customer and situation Boost your confidence Cope in a pressurised environment Get more satisfaction from your working day 1 Introduction Workshop objectives and personal objectives The challenges of 21st century communication What makes an excellent point of Reception? And why is it so important? Who and where are our customers? As a customer, how do you like to be treated? What makes people feel valued? Objective and subjective aspects of customer service 'Micro moments' that shape the relationship 2 Communication on reception Definition of communication Barriers to good communication The 'recipe' of verbal, vocal and visual aspects of communication Differences between communicating face-to-face and on the telephone Communication 'leaks' The primitive human response The impact of visual communication - body language, gesture and facial expression Voice - tone, speed, volume, pitch, clarity, inflection, pacing Words - positive words and phrases compared with negative terminology Professional greetings face-to-face Steering the conversation with effective questioning 3 Telephone excellence How we use the telephone Qualities of the telephone Non-verbal communication on the telephone - what aspects can be 'seen' by the other person? Professional telephone etiquette Taking and leaving messages - key points that can help customers, colleagues and the organisation Clarifying information 4 Listening skills for accuracy and relationship building How accurate are your listening skills? What are the challenges for accurate listening? Active / empathetic listening 5 Creating a rapport by 'style flexing' Understanding how different people communicate Shaping our message to the other person so that they feel understood How changing situations can alter communication needs 6 Confidence and assertiveness Recognising different styles of behaviour - aggressive, passive and assertive Qualities of assertive communication - verbal, vocal and visual Assertive techniques - basic, persistence, negotiation / empathetic Demonstrating confidence 7 Coping in a pressurised environment Words - the most useful ones to use with stressed people and identifying the 'red rag' words Challenging situations - what do you find difficult and how do you respond? Dealing with outbursts of anger Bringing non-stop talkers back from their tangent Constructive ways to say 'no' 8 Pulling it all together Action plans Summary of key learning points

We all tend to have challenges throughout our lives that cause varying levels of pressure. It is healthy and essential that people experience such challenges because up to a certain point an increase in pressure improves performance and quality of life. Too much pressure can be harmful and affect our health and wellbeing. This participative half-day workshop will explore the causes and impact of stress and provide an opportunity to learn some new ideas and techniques to cope with it. Practical tasks and exercises will be used to promote discussion and participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences and approaches. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Understand the causes and symptoms of stress and how to spot them Become more aware of personal habitual behaviours and approaches that get in the way of dealing with stress productively Learn ideas and approaches that help you to cope with the thoughts, emotions and physical feelings that happen in stressful and difficult situations Review and evaluate learning and have an action plan to take back and put into practice at work 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Stress Its sources and effects on you Defining stress, its signs and symptoms 3 Exploring your 'default' habits Their consequences in stressful situations 4 Dealing with perception Strategies and approaches for coping with stress 5 Setting goals with positive outcomes Review and evaluation of learning Action planning

Increasing sales is the core of objective for all salespeople and it is vital they are given the tools and techniques to thrive in this highly competitive environment. The landscape within which salespeople operate is ever shifting, and now more than ever it is recognised that the key to successful selling is understanding the customer's needs and working collaboratively with them to achieve their objectives. This highly practical programme has been developed to support salespeople to develop their all-round sales skills using a customer-focused approach. The course will be fun and informal, using practical exercises to help new and experienced salespeople ensure they are equipped to deal with the challenges of selling. This course will help participants: Develop core sales skills such as building rapport, questioning and presenting benefits Identify the roles and goals of key contacts and recognize the importance of consultative selling Understand how to achieve sales by uncovering needs, matching benefits and promoting value Understand how to structure and control a customer interaction and set clear objectives for each account Develop techniques for handling objections, questions and staying positive Master the art of closing a sale and gaining agreement Understand tactical selling and how to build multiple contacts and relationships Develop skill and confidence in selling to both new prospects and existing customers 1 Consultative selling - key principles for success Recognise the importance of consultative selling and being client-focused Build the right processes to achieving sales targets - questions before features Assess your core sales skills; building rapport, asking questions, presenting features and benefits, closing 2 Consultative sales call skills How best to structure and control a customer meeting or call to be client-centric: Four Cs The importance of setting clear objectives for each call and account Setting the agenda and pre-call preparation Planning sessions 3 Your mission, message and meaning - comparative advantage Defining sales messages and USPs; positioning value and quality not price Knowing your target product and services and their value to the customer Understanding your customers buying role and qualifying the opportunity 4 An effective sales meeting - part 1 Opening the sales interview - and building rapport Gaining and retaining the full attention of the customer Probing and identifying real needs using effective sales questions Planning and practice sessions for consultative selling 5 An effective sales meeting - part 2 Matching customer needs and wants to products and services available Presenting your product or service using features, advantages, and benefits Recognising and responding to buying signals and other sales opportunities Planning and practice sessions 6 Closing the sale successfully Anticipating objections and seeing them as positives, including price objections Handling objections using proven methods and models How and when to ask for the sale professionally Follow up and follow-through Planning and practice sessions

'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