35 Courses in Manchester

'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

About this Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) This 3 half-day Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) course highlights the impact of the introduction of renewable energy, digital technologies and new operational flexibility solutions in the electricity trading market. These advancements facilitate unique opportunities and challenges for cross border trading of electricity. Most countries in Asia, have designed their own portfolio of climate actions with an accelerated penetration of renewable energy (or by importing renewable energy into their local grids). These changes are taking place at unprecedented speed and add further complexity to the operation of electricity trading markets, while presenting new opportunities. The Asian market, can tap into its vast potential of solar, wind and geothermal energy sources. A global, unified vision is emerging to support each of countries' energy needs and decarbonization goals. This VILT course will highlight priorities of each country to achieve its energy goals. The main operational flexibilities of each type of renewable resource are discussed in detail. The course also discusses the main components of Power Purchase Agreements and advancements in digitalization and how digital technologies can influence the energy market and cross border electricity trading. Key Takeaways: New Energy Market Design Cross Border Trading PPAs Mechanisms and Examples of PPAs The Increased Penetration of Renewable Resources in the Power Systems and How It Stimulates Cross Border Trading How Digital Innovation Drives Energy Markets and Cross Border Trading Training Objectives Upon completion of this VILT course, participants will be able to: Be familiar with the global vision of One Sun, One World, One Grid Understand the major trends reshaping the energy markets Learn how innovative digital technologies change the energy markets Understand why sustainable energy markets require a tighter coordination between transmission and distribution system operators Engage with each other to design the energy market of the future Target Audience This VILT course will benefit policy makers and regulators from energy agencies, transmission companies and utilities as well as power system engineers and power system operators from control centre and ISO. Training Methods The VILT will be delivered online in 3 half-day sessions comprising 4 hours per day, including time for lectures, discussion, quizzes and short classroom exercises. Course Duration: 3 half-day sessions, 4 hours per session (12 hours in total). Trainer Your expert course leader is a Utility Executive with extensive global experience in power system operation and planning, energy markets, enterprise risk and regulatory oversight. She consults on energy markets integrating renewable resources from planning to operation. She led complex projects in operations and conducted long term planning studies to support planning and operational reliability standards. Specializing in Smart Grids, Operational flexibilities, Renewable generation, Reliability, Financial Engineering, Energy Markets and Power System Integration, she was recently engaged by the Inter-American Development Bank/MHI in Guyana. She was the Operations Expert in the regulatory assessment in Oman. She is a registered member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, Canada. She is also a contributing member to the IEEE Standards Association, WG Blockchain P2418.5. With over 25 years with Ontario Power Generation (Revenue $1.2 Billion CAD, I/S 16 GW), she served as Canadian representative in CIGRE, committee member in NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada), and Senior Member IEEE and Elsevier since the 90ties. Our key expert chaired international conferences, lectured on several continents, published a book on Reliability and Security of Nuclear Power Plants, contributed to IEEE and PMAPS and published in the Ontario Journal for Public Policy, Canada. She delivered seminars organized by the Power Engineering Society, IEEE plus seminars to power companies worldwide, including Oman, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Portugal, South Africa, Japan, Romania, and Guyana. Our Key expert delivered over 60 specialized seminars to executives and engineers from Canada, Europe, South and North America, Middle East, South East Asia and Japan. Few examples are: Modern Power System in Digital Utilities - The Energy Commission, Malaysia and utilities in the Middle East, GCCIA, June 2020 Assessment of OETC Control Centre, Oman, December 2019 Demand Side management, Load Forecasting in a Smart Grid, Oman, 2019 Renewable Resources in a Smart Grid (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, GCCIA, Saudi Arabia) The Modern Power System: Impact of the Power Electronics on the Power System The Digital Utility, AI and Blockchain Smart Grid and Reliability of Distribution Systems, Cyme, Montreal, Canada Economic Dispatch in the context of an Energy Market (TNB, Sarawak Energy, Malaysia) Energy Markets, Risk Assessment and Financial Management, PES, IEEE: Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Portugal, South Africa, Japan. Provided training at CEO and CRO level. Enterprise Risk methodology, EDP, Portugal Energy Markets: Saudi Electricity Company, Tenaga National Berhad, Malaysia Reliability Centre Maintenance (South East Asia, Saudi Electricity Company, KSA) EUSN, ENERGY & UTILITIES SECTOR NETWORK, Government of Canada, 2016 Connected+, IOT, Toronto, Canada September 2016 and 2015 Smart Grid, Smart Home HomeConnect, Toronto, Canada November 2014 Wind Power: a Cautionary Tale, Ontario Centre for Public Policy, 2010 POST TRAINING COACHING SUPPORT (OPTIONAL) To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer individualized 'One to One' coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers. They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help you achieve your goals faster. Request for further information about post training coaching support and fees applicable for this. Accreditions And Affliations

About this Training Course  This 3 full-day training course will introduce participants to the Microsoft Power BI® software solution for extracting, manipulating, visualising and analysing data. This is a very practical, hands-on course that takes participants through a series of exercises which help users understand the Power BI® environment, how to use the key areas of functionality, and how to apply the tools it contains to design and produce analyses of their own data. The first two days focus on learning the key concepts and practising these using clean, simple datasets. The third day provides participants with the opportunity to apply what they've learned to their own data. This makes the course far more relevant and meaningful for them, it allows our facilitator to help them structure their data models, queries and DAX formulas correctly, and it allows our facilitator to help them solve any additional problems that may arise but which were not covered as part of the standard the course. In addition, at the end of the day, each participant walks away with something of real, practical use for their job role. Many previous participants have remarked that they obtained the most value from the course during the third day because otherwise, they wouldn't be able to do what they need to do. This is an introductory course and although it does not assume any prior experience with Power BI®, participants will gain much more from the course if they have at least used Power BI® a little prior to attending. Participants who have taught themselves Power BI® will also benefit from attending as the course will fill-in a number of gaps in their knowledge and will also extend what they know. A general understanding of databases, Excel formulas, and Excel Pivot Tables is useful though not essential. Comprehensive course notes, exercises and completed solutions are included. Microsoft® PowerBI® is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Training Objectives Upon completion of this training course, participants will be able to: Confidently use the Power BI® solution, including Power BI® Desktop, PowerBI®.com and the Power BI® Gateway Extract data from a variety of data sources and manipulate the data extracted so it is ready for analysis Combine data sources together and gain an introductory understanding of the M language Write formulas using the DAX language for generating custom columns, measures and tables Design reports and dashboards using a wide range of both built-in and custom visuals Publish reports and dashboards to PowerBI®.com Share reports and dashboards with others using PowerBI®.com Customize reports and dashboards so that different user groups automatically see their own personalized views Target Audience This training course is intended for: Financial Analysts Accountants Budgeting and planning specialists Treasury Risk Managers Strategic Planners This is an introductory course and although it does not assume any prior experience with Power BI®, participants will gain much more from the course if they have at least used Power BI® a little prior to attending. Participants who have taught themselves Power BI® will also benefit from attending as the course will fill-in a number of gaps in their knowledge and will also extend what they know. A general understanding of databases, Excel formulas, and Excel Pivot Tables is useful though not essential. Comprehensive course notes, exercises and completed solutions are included. Course Level Basic or Foundation Trainer Your expert course leader has a Masters (Applied Finance & Investment), B.Comm (Accounting & Information Systems), CISA, FAIM, F Fin and is a Microsoft Certified Excel Expert. He has over 20 years' experience in financial modelling, forecasting, valuation, model auditing, and management reporting for clients throughout the world. He is skilled in the development and maintenance of analytical tools and financial models for middle-market companies to large corporates, at all levels of complexity, in both domestic and international settings. He has trained delegates from a wide variety of Oil & Gas companies including Chevron, Woodside, BHP Billiton, Petronas, Carigali, Shell, Nippon, Eni, Pertamina, Inpex, and many more. He provides training in financial modelling for companies throughout the Asia, Oceania, Middle East and African regions. Before his current role, he spent 6 years working in the Corporate and IT Consulting divisions of a large, multinational Chartered Accounting firm. He is the author of a number of white papers on financial modelling on subjects such as Financial Modelling Best Practices and Financial Model Auditing. Highlights from his oil and gas experience include: Development of economic models to assist Decision Analysts modelling for a wide range of scenarios for multinational oil & gas assets. Auditing and further development of life of project models for Chevron's Strategic Planning Division analysing their North West Shelf assets. Development of business plan and budgeting models for multinational oil & gas assets. Development of cash flow and taxation models for a variety of oil gas companies. Consulting on Sarbanes Oxley spreadsheet remediation and risk assessment. POST TRAINING COACHING SUPPORT (OPTIONAL) To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer individualized 'One to One' coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers. They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help you achieve your goals faster. Request for further information post training support and fees applicable Accreditions And Affliations

Understanding how to plan for capacity, be able to forecast and manage budgets is a critical skill in today's leadership and management environment. This programme will not only support your understanding but will also help you to practically put the learning into practice.

In today's competitive business world firms are under unprecedented pressure to deliver value to their shareholders and other key stakeholders. Senior executives in all parts of the organisation are finding that they need some degree of financial know how to cope with the responsibility placed on them as business managers and key decision-makers; monitoring and improving business performance, investing in capital projects, mergers and acquisitions: all require some degree of financial knowledge. The key financial skills are not as difficult to learn as many people believe and in the hands of an experienced senior executive they can provide a formidable competitive advantage. After completing this course delegates will be able to: Understand fundamental business finance concepts; understand, analyse and interpret financial statements: Profit Statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow Statement Understand the vital difference between profit and cashflow; identify the key components of working capital and how they can be managed to generate strong cashflow Evaluate pricing decisions based on an understanding of the nature of business costs and their impact on gross margin and break-even sales; managing pricing, discounts and costs to generate strong business profits; understand how lean manufacturing methods improve profit Use powerful analytical tools to measure and improve the performance of their own company and assess the effectiveness of their competitors Apply and interpret techniques for assessing and comparing investment opportunities in capital projects, business acquisitions and other ventures; understand and apply common methods of business valuation Understand the role of business finance in formulating and implementing competitive business strategy; the role of budgeting as part of the planning process and the various approaches to budgeting and performance measurement 1 Basic principles Delivering value to key stakeholders Accounting concepts, GAAP, IFRS and common terms Understanding and using the balance sheet Understanding and using the profit statement Recognising the vital difference between profit and cashflow Understanding and using the cashflow statement What financial statements can and cannot tell us 2 Managing and improving cashflow Sources of finance and their advantages and disadvantages What is working capital and why is it so important? Managing stocks, debtors and creditors Understanding how working capital drives business growth Understanding and avoiding the over-trading trap Unlocking the funds tied up in fixed assets: asset backed loans and leasing 3 Managing and improving profit Understanding how profits generate cashflow The fundamental nature of costs: fixed and variable business costs Understanding gross margin and break-even How common pricing methods affect gross margin and profit Effective strategies to improve gross margin Using value chain analysis to reduce costs Lean manufacturing methodsUnderstanding Just-in-time, 6 Sigma and Kaizen methods Improving profitEffective and defective strategies 4 Measuring and managing business performance Measures of financial performance and strength Investor behaviour: the risk and reward relationship Return on investment (ROI): the ultimate measure of business performance How profit margin and net asset turnover drive return on net assets Why some companies are more profitable that others Understanding competitive advantage: cost and differentiation advantage Why great companies failWhat happened to Kodak? Using a 'Pyramid of Ratios' to improve business performance Using Critical Success Factors to develop Key Performance Indicators 5 Budgeting and forecasting methods Using budgets to support strategy Objectives and methods for effective budgets Using budgets to monitor and manage business performance Alternative approaches to budgeting Developing and implementing Balanced Scorecards Beyond Budgeting Forecasting methods and techniques Identifying key business drivers Using rolling forecasts and 'what-if' models to aid decision-making

Budgeting is more than mere vague oversight. Budgeting should deliver the corporate strategy, add shareholder value and lead to a well-run business - for the benefit of all involved in it. Effective budgeting leads to real control - effective day-to-day operational control and more. This course demonstrates what proper budgeting and operational control can do. This course will help ensure that participants: Appreciate the importance of the budgeting process Take ownership of it Use it as a daily working tool - not an annual exercise - to help run their part of the operation Improve their reporting against budget Ensure their delivery against budget 1 Objectives of budgets The budget process Stages - what is the prime aim of a budget? What is forecasting? ObjectivesPlanningImplementation 2 Budget and cost control focus Choosing objectives Links with corporate strategy Links with resource management Can the accounting systems cope? 3 Traditional budgeting and control Benefits and drawbacks The process Control and feedback Reporting - what can be expected? 4 Advanced budgeting and control Understanding the business process Taking out costs Cost awareness ZBB - as valid as ever 5 Reports Reports for action The purpose of a report Content - deliverables and feedback Culture is so important

Power BI is a powerful data visualisation program that allows businesses to monitor data, analyse trends, and make decisions. This course is designed to provide a solid understanding of the reporting side of Power BI, the dashboards, where administrators, and end users can interact with dynamic visuals that communicates information. This course focuses entirely on the creation and design of visualisations in dashboards, including a range of chart types, engaging maps, and different types of tables. Designing dashboards with KPI's (key performance indicators), heatmaps, flowcharts, sparklines, and compare multiple variables with trendlines. This one-day programme focuses entirely on creating dashboards, by using the many visualisation tools available in Power BI. You will learn to build dynamic, user-friendly interfaces in both Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service. 1 Introduction Power BI ecosystem Things to keep in mind Selecting dashboard colours Importing visuals into Power BI Data sources for your analysis Joining tables in Power BI 2 Working with data Utilising a report theme Table visuals Matrix visuals Drilling into hierarchies Applying static filters Group numbers with lists Group numbers with bins 3 Creating visuals Heatmaps in Power BI Visualising time-intelligence trends Ranking categorical totals Comparing proportions View trends with sparklines 4 Comparing variables Insert key performance indicators (KPI) Visualising trendlines as KPI Forecasting with trendlines Visualising flows with Sankey diagrams Creating a scatter plot 5 Mapping options Map visuals Using a filled map Mapping with latitude and longitude Mapping with ArcGIS or ESRI 6 Creating dashboards High-level dashboard Migration analysis dashboard Adding slicers for filtering Promote interaction with nudge prompts Searching the dashboard with a slicer Creating dynamic labels Highlighting key points on the dashboard Customised visualisation tooltips Syncing slicers across pages 7 Sharing dashboards Setting up and formatting phone views Exporting data Creating PDF files Uploading to the cloud Share dashboards in SharePoint online

This course starts with data transformation strategies, exploring capabilities in the Power Query Editor, and data-cleansing practices. It looks at the Advanced Query Editor to view the M language code. This course focuses on advanced DAX measures that include filtering conditions, with a deep dive into time intelligence measures. Like the M query language, DAX is a rich functional language that supports variables and expression references. This course also looks at the creation of dynamic dashboards and incorporates a range of visualisations available in Power BI Desktop and online in the AppSource. The course finishes with a look at setting up end user level security in tables. 1 The query editor Split by row delimiter AddDays to determine deadlines Advanced query editor 2 Fuzzy matching joins Matching inconsistencies by percentage Matching with transformation table 3 Logical column functions Logical functions IF, AND, OR Using multiple conditions Including FIND in functions 4 Editing DAX measures Make DAX easier to read Add comments to a measure Using quick measures 5 The anatomy of CALCULATE Understanding CALCULATE context filters Adding context to CALCULATE with FILTER Using CALCULATE with a threshold 6 The ALL measure Anatomy of ALL Create an ALL measure Using ALL as a filter Use ALL for percentage 7 DAX iterators Anatomy of iterators A closer look at SUMX Using RELATED in SUMX Create a RANKX RANKX with ALL 8 Date and time functions Overview of functions Create a DATEDIFF function 9 Time intelligent measures Compare historical monthly data Create a DATEADD measure Creating cumulative totals Creating cumulative measures Visualising cumulative totals 10 Visualisations in-depth Utilising report themes Create a heatmap Comparing proportions View trends with sparklines Group numbers using bins Setting up a histogram 11 Comparing variables Visualising trendlines as KPI Forecasting with trendlines Creating a scatter plot Creating dynamic labels Customised visualisation tooltips Export reports to SharePoint 12 User level security Setting up row level security Testing user security

This course is designed for those already using Power BI Desktop and are ready to work with more comprehensive elements of analysing and reporting in Power BI. The course maintains a balanced look at data analysis including the Power Query Editor, with a deep dive into writing DAX formulas, and enhanced dashboard visualisations. The aim of this course is to provide a more complete understanding of the whole Power BI analytics process, by working with business examples that will equip you with the necessary skills to output comprehensive reports and explore Power BI's analytical capabilities in more depth. 1 The Query Editor Grouping rows in a table Split row by delimiter Add days to determine deadlines The query editor 2 Fuzzy Matching Joins Matching inconsistencies by percentage Matching with transformation table 3 The Query Editor M Functions Adding custom columns Creating an IF function Nested AND logics in an IF function 4 DAX New Columns Functions Including TRUE with SWITCH Using multiple conditions The FIND DAX function The IF DAX function Logical functions IF, AND, OR 5 Editing DAX Measures Making DAX easier to read Add comments to a measure Using quick measures 6 The Anatomy of CALCULATE Understanding CALCULATE filters Add context to CALCULATE with FILTER Using CALCULATE with a threshold 7 The ALL Measure Anatomy of ALL Create an ALL measure Using ALL as a filter Use ALL for percentages 8 DAX Iterators Anatomy of iterators A closer look at SUMX Using RELATED with SUMX Create a RANKX RANKX with ALL 9 Date and Time Functions Overview of functions Create a DATEDIFF function 10 Time Intelligent Measures Compare historical monthly data Create a DATEADD measure Creating cumulative totals Creating cumulative measures Visualising cumulative totals 11 Visualisations In-Depth Utilising report themes Applying static filters Group data using lists Group numbers using bins Creating heatmaps Comparing proportions View trends with sparklines 12 Comparing Variables Visualising trendlines as KPI Forecasting with trendlines Creating a scatter plot Creating dynamic labels Customised visualisation tooltips Export reports to SharePoint

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the principles and practice for leading and managing a portfolio of smaller projects in a multi-project / multi-task environment. It presents a range of practical methods and techniques relevant to the smaller project scenario, using exercises and case studies to show how these can be applied. The scope of the programme includes: The course also emphasises the importance of the leadership and team-working skills needed by project managers and team members in carrying out their roles. The principal training objectives for this programme are to: Explain and demonstrate the key principles of successful project management Demonstrate a range of useful project management tools and techniques Define the role, and help participants understand the skills required by, the project leader Provide a structured framework to help participants manage multiple projects Identify opportunities to improve project management within the organisation DAY ONE 1 Introduction (Course sponsor) Why this programme has been developed Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Managing smaller projects Projects and project management Lessons from past projects; the essential requirements for success Differences between projects; characteristic project life cycles Key issues and challenges of smaller projects The multi-project world; project portfolio management 3 Project exercise Syndicate teams plan and manage a small project Review of the project exercise: What are the keys to successful management of small projects? 4 Setting up the project Getting organised Managing the definition process Identifying and managing project stakeholders Working with the customer to define the scope and agree deliverables 5 Case study 1 Defining the project scope and deliverables Syndicate teams define the scope and deliverables for a typical project 6 Project planning The importance and cost benefit of effective planning Planning the plan; deciding how detailed a plan to create Packaging the work and estimating timescales and costs Developing project / resource schedules; setting milestones for control v Identifying and managing critical path activities 7 Case study 2 Creating the project plan Syndicate teams develop and analyse the project plan DAY TWO 8 Managing project risks Identifying risks to the project outcome, timescale and cost Evaluating risks and adopting an appropriate risk strategy Defining risk ownership; keeping a simple risk log Keeping risk management up to date; staying pro-active Integrating planning and risk management 9 Project control Managing change, minimising scope creep Selecting the data needed to provide early warning of problems Monitoring performance easily with 'S' curves and slip charts Using trend forecasting to assess true project status Running project review meetings 10 Managing a multi-project portfolio Understanding the world of multiple projects Establishing ownership of project / programme management Classifying projects and creating the 'master schedule' Defining and applying project lifecycle management Resource management: essential pre-requisites and mechanisms Project prioritisation criteria and techniques; pain / gain analysis 11 Managing the multi-project team Characteristics of small project teams / part-time team membership Clarifying line and project management responsibilities Implementing effective manpower planning Establishing professional working practices in the team Developing project management competences in the team Establishing team roles and integrating team members 12 Course review and transfer planning (Course sponsor present) Identify actions to be implemented individually Identify corporate opportunities for improving project management Sponsor-led review and discussion of proposals Conclusion