631 Courses in Birmingham

In our constantly changing environment, if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got - and that's not enough! Building a strategic marketing plan is a powerful way to take a step back from day-to-day activities, review the opportunities available to your business and your products, and build a roadmap of tactics that will set you apart from the competition. In this workshop, we look at how to build a customer-focused strategic marketing plan to pin-point your milestones to success over a 12-month period. This programme will help participants to: Understand the key questions that a strategic marketing plan should answer Understand the value of customer and competitor insight and how to develop actionable insights to guide your plan Conduct a market analysis and identify the barriers and drivers to success Learn how to build a customer buying journey and how to identify the most valuable customers Develop a customer-focused strategy and customer engagement plans Develop core messages and winning tactics to engage with your key customers Identify the key metrics to review and measure to keep your plans on track 1 Situational analysis Introduction to marketing strategy Market and competitor analysis and insight generation Understanding the customer buying journey How to segment customers to identify your most valuable customer opportunities Identifying the barriers and drivers to your success 2 Strategy Introduction to strategy How to build strategic imperatives and SMART objectives How brand vision and positioning drive customer focus A guide to building key message themes 3 Tactics, messaging and measurement Introduction to building customer-focused tactics How to build a customer-engagement plan How to build key messages and a customer-focused tactical plan A practical guide to developing key metrics to review success and keep your plans on track Actionable outcomes Throughout the programme we will use your own product examples to build your plan, participants will: Learn best practice examples of strategic planning Discover market and customer opportunities to strengthen your competitive edge Create a strategic plan that can be implemented immediately within your business Start planning compelling marketing messages to reach the right customer at the right time Receive immediate feedback on your strategic marketing plan Have the opportunity to share common issues and solutions with colleagues in the group

Successfully closing a sale and negotiating the best outcome for the business is a key skill for all salespeople, and often an area that is overlooked. Investing in this skill will have a positive impact on interactions with customers, both new and existing, and lead to improved sales performance. Whilst understanding how to reach a conclusion with a customer faster means increased efficiency and more time to invest in sourcing new business. We have developed this programme to be practical, fun and interactive. Participants will learn proven techniques for influencing, persuading and negotiating with clients, gain increased confidence and clarity when reviewing contract terms and prices, and understand how to structure and manage sales negotiation and contract review meetings. This course will help participants: Learn a structured and proven approach to the negotiation of contract terms Apply the key principles of negotiation, playing the person and the problem Create a contract negotiation strategy - from opening to close Recognize and put to use proven negotiation tactics and techniques Learn how to embrace conflict positively - to 'say no, then negotiate' Plan and prepare for any commercial negotiation conversations Understand the stages of negotiation and how to move through them 1 Closing and negotiating from a position of personal power The eight steps of a sales or commercial negotiation Ten ways to resist price pressure How to draw on sources of power when you have less authority The six principles of influence and persuasion and how to use them 2 Effective negotiation - planning and theory How to plan and structure your negotiation for a successful and quick conclusion Influence: knowing how to 'push or pull' to win an argument Achieving a BATNA - a range of practical skills and techniques Case study: planning for a client negotiation around contract or price issues 3 Effective closing and negotiation - practice and reality Higher-level questioning techniques to investigate and solve problems Listening to lead - active listening and structuring your conversation The most common 'unforced' negotiation mistakes and errors Case study: setting objectives, sources of value, trading concessions 4 Sales negotiation tactics and playing the game How high - how hard - how soon; why now How to identify hidden or perceived currencies and values How to use these to establish a higher base price Negotiation best-practice checklist and summary

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

Trade barriers are going up across the globe. And cybercrime is on the increase. The link between the two? The value of trade secrets. As countries become increasingly protectionist as regards international trade, so their IP law has been changing, with the result that companies that previously would have sought protection through patents are opting to go down the trade secret route instead. But is this a high-risk strategy? Technology is changing and this is having an impact on forms of commercial co-operation. Collaborative or open forms of innovation by their very nature involve the sharing of intellectual property (IP), and in many instances this IP is in the form of valuable confidential business information (ie, trade secrets). Little surprise, then, that trade secrets disputes have increased accordingly. At the same time, the changes in technology make trade secrets more vulnerable to attack, misappropriation, theft. So just how effective are the legal protections for trade secrets? How can organisations safeguard the value in their IP (increasingly, the single biggest line in their balance sheets)? This programme is designed to help you address these issues. Note: this is an indicative agenda, to be used as a starting point for a conversation between client and consultant, depending on the organisation's specific situation and requirements. This session is designed to give you a deeper understanding of: Emerging trends in trade secrets protection and exploitation The current situation in key jurisdictions Recent case law How leading companies are responding The importance of trade secret metadata Different external stakeholders and their interests Key steps for effective protection of trade secrets Note: this is an indicative agenda, to be used as a starting point for a conversation between client and consultant, depending on the organisation's specific situation and requirements. 1 What are trade secrets? Definitions Examples Comparison with other forms of IP (patents, confidential information, know-how, copyright) 2 Current trends The various changes taking place affecting trade secrets - legal changes, trade wars, cybercrime, technology, commercial practice The current position in the UK, Europe, USA, China, Japan, Russia Corporate best practice 3 Trade secret disputes - how to avoid them Trade secret policies, processes and systems Administrative, legal and technical protection mechanisms The role of employees The sharing of trade secrets with others 4 Trade secret disputes - how to manage them Causes Anatomy of a trade secret court case 'Reasonable particularity' 5 Related issues Insurance Tax authorities and investigations Investor relations 6 Trade secret asset management roadmap Maturity ladder First steps Pilot projects

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

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

No-one in business will succeed if they are not financially literate - and no business will succeed without financially-literate people. This is the ideal programme for managers and others who don't have a financial qualification or background but who nonetheless need a greater understanding of the financial management disciplines essential to your organisation. This course will give the participants a sound understanding of financial reports, measures and techniques to make them even more effective in their roles. It will enable participants to: Overcome the barrier of the accountants' strange language Deal confidently with financial colleagues Improve their understanding of your organisation's finance function Radically improve their planning and budgeting skills Be much more aware of the impact of their decisions on the profitability of your organisation Enhance their role in the organisation Boost their confidence and career development 1 Review of the principal financial statements What each statement containsOutlineDetail Not just what the statements contain but what they mean Balance sheets and P&L accounts (income statements) Cash flow statements Detailed terminology and interpretation Types of fixed asset - tangible, etc. Working capital, equity, gearing 2 The 'rules' - Accounting Standards, concepts and conventions Fundamental or 'bedrock' accounting concepts Detailed accounting concepts and conventions What depreciation means The importance of stock, inventory and work in progress values Accounting policies that most affect reporting and results The importance of accounting standards and IFRS 3 Where the figures come from Accounting records Assets / liabilities, Income / expenditure General / nominal ledgers Need for internal controls 'Sarbox' and related issues 4 Managing the budget process Have clear objectives, remit, responsibilities and time schedule The business plan Links with corporate strategy The budget cycle Links with company culture Budgeting methods'New' budgetingZero-based budgets Reviewing budgets Responding to the figures The need for appropriate accounting and reporting systems 5 What are costs? How to account for them Cost definitions Full / absorption costing Overheads - overhead allocation or absorption Activity based costing Marginal costing / break-even - use in planning 6 Who does what? A review of what different types of accountant do Financial accounting Management accounting Treasury function Activities and terms 7 How the statements can be interpreted What published accounts contain Analytical review (ratio analysis) Return on capital employed, margins and profitability Making assets work - asset turnover Fixed assets, debtor, stock turnover Responding to figures EBIT, EBITEDIA, eps and other analysts' measure 8 Other key issues Creative accounting Accounting for groups Intangible assets - brand names Company valuations Fixed assets / leased assets / off-balance sheet finance

This intensive one-day training programme has been developed to help those involved in producing specifications create high quality documents in an organised and effective way. The programme explains the primary purpose of specifications and the importance of understanding the context in which they are used. It focuses particularly on how to develop and structure content and write requirements that are clear and concise. The methods and techniques presented will provide a practical foundation course for those new to the topic whilst offering new insights to those with more experience. The objectives of the workshop are to: Review and discuss the role and purpose of specifications Present a structured approach for organising and producing specifications Explain each of the key steps involved in creating effective specifications Review some methods for assisting in defining requirements Explain how to define the scope and develop the structure for a specification Present methods to assist the writing and editing of specifications Review how specifications should be issued and controlled 1 Introduction Course objectives Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Specifications in perspective The role and purpose of specifications The impact of specifications on commercial performance The qualities of an effective specification The five key steps of 'POWER' writing: prepare-organise-write-edit-release 3 Step 1: Preparing to write Defining the purpose the specification; integrating the specification and contract Deciding how to specify: when to specify in functional and technical terms Getting the right people involved at the right time; engaging stakeholders Applying procedures for writing, issuing and controlling specifications 4 Step 2: Organising the specification content Scoping the document: scope maps, check lists, structured brainstorming Clarifying requirements; separating needs and desires Dealing with requirements that are difficult to quantify Useful techniques: cost benefit analysis, Pareto analysis Deciding what goes where; typical contents and layout for a specification Creating and using model forms: typical sections and sub sections 5 Step 3: Writing the specification Identifying and understanding the readers needs Choosing and using the right words; dealing with jargon Important words; will, shall, must; building a glossary Using sentence structure and punctuation to best effect Understanding the impact of style, format and appearance Avoiding common causes of ambiguity; being concise and ensuring clarity 6 Step 4: Editing the specification Why editing is difficult; how to develop a personal editing strategy Key areas to review: structure, content, accuracy, clarity, style and grammar Editing tools and techniques 7 Step 5: Releasing and controlling the specification Key requirements for document issue and control Final formatting and publication issues; document approval Requirements management: managing revisions and changes 8 Course review and action planning What actions should be implemented to improve specifications? Conclusion

When managers have too many decisions to make, it can have a serious impact on the speed and efficiency of the organisation. When those decisions are commercial ones, the results can wreak havoc with the bottom line. Often the problem arises when those below them or in operational areas of the organisation aren't equipped or allowed to make a decision for themselves. Issues get passed back up and that wastes time. This programme provides a solution, giving your entire team the skills to: And most importantly, they'll be able to do this in line with the broader aims and commercial objectives of the business. By the end of the programme participants will be able to: Fully appreciate the importance of effective decision-making in business Use the five-step 'Stop, Think, Act!' decision-making process Stop leaping to conclusions Really understand the situations and decisions they are dealing with Identify good options Evaluate those options Make decisions and then put them into action Apply these tools and techniques to all their decisions in future 1 Understanding the business we work in What are the critical factors in our business? What is the SWOT analysis for our business? 2 Understanding what decision-making is 3 Background Culture of 'having to be doing' To change things we have to think about it! We are paid to make decisions! 4 Recognise the opportunity to make a decision 5 The 'Stop, Think, Act!' technique 6 STOP! Recognise the opportunity to make a decision Don't leap to conclusions Get ready to think Initial questions:Is this my decision? (Do I have the authority?)Who is this going to affect? (Do they need to be included?)When do I need to make the decision? (What's the timeline?) 7 THINK! The 3 Cs - making sure we understand the decisions we have to make What is the context of this decision?What is the overall situation?Why is this decision important?What do we need to achieve?What will success look like? Do I have clarity about the decision I need to make?Can I write it down?Can I express it clearly in two sentences? What are the criteria?What are the critical commercial factors that we will use to select our options?What will we use to measure the business success? 8 ACT! Identifying options What data do I need to collect?Issues with today's overloadIdentifying what will help you Select optionsHow many options?Must match your criteriaMust achieve success'Decision compass' exercise Analyse optionsTabular methodRisk analysis (likelihood v effect)Head, heart and gut (is there any organisational history/bias that we are up against?) Making your decision Taking it to actionFirst actionsPlanning how to make it happen

This programme concentrates on the core planning skills needed to develop sound practical project plans in a team environment. This enables the plan to be modified should requirements change or difficulties arise. The programme also gives participants the confidence to practise those skills and apply them in the work environment and deliver their projects more successfully in the future. Participants learn fundamental project management concepts and terminology, demystifying the project management process, and, in particular, how to: Break a project down into manageable sections and ensure nothing is left out Understand and apply estimating techniques to develop realistic estimates Sequence work effectively and carry out critical path analysis to determine project duration and which tasks to pay closest attention to Manage project risk effectively to protect project value Monitor, control and re-plan the project to best keep it on track Close out the project and ensure the project comes to an orderly end 1 Introduction Self-introductions and personal objectives Course objectives Sharing of project issues 2 Project management concepts Characteristics of a project and what should be kept as operational responsibilities Understanding the triple and quadruple constraints - and their limitations Prioritising requirements through the MOSCOW technique Product v project life cycle Key project roles and responsibilities - the importance of sponsorship and clarity of roles 3 Starting a project, and the importance of the terms of reference / project brief Avoiding the pressure to 'just do it'! The importance and benefits of planning The best time to learn! Initial project documentation - the BOSCARDI approach 4 Breaking the work down Understanding alternative breakdown structures such as the product breakdown structure and work breakdown structure Guidelines for creating a work breakdown structure to ensure the full work scope is identified 5 Estimating Alternative estimating techniques and associated confidence levels Further considerations - loss and resource factors 6 Organising the work Use of network diagrams to develop a clear sequence of work Critical path analysis and calculating the project duration and task float - and usage 7 The management of project risk Understanding the nature of project risk The risk analysis and risk management processes How to best manage threats and opportunities Running a risk workshop Using the risk register 8 Scheduling the work The importance of the Gantt chart and understanding its limitations The Gantt chart layout and using alternative views such as the tracking Gantt Using alternative dependencies 9 Resource issues Assigning resources and resolving resource overloads Crashing and fast-tracking your project and potential issues to look out for 10 Controlling the project The control cycle and alternative feedback mechanisms Alternative progress reporting Assessing the impact The importance of re-planning The benefits of control Change control - the importance of impact analysis The steps of change control and the use of the issue register 11 Closing the project The project closure checklist Reviewing the project - things to avoid Developing meaningful lessons and ensuring they are applied effectively The post-project review - its importance to the organisation