Any successful business manager will tell you that you never get the deal you deserve - you always get the deal you negotiate! This two-day workshop includes recent research and practical techniques from the Harvard Business School Negotiation Project and provides a unique opportunity to learn and practice these skills in a safe environment using up to date materials and life-like practice negotiation case studies. This course will help participants to: Understand the basics of negotiation Develop negotiating skills Increase their business acumen Develop their communication skills Learn the models, techniques and tools for an effective negotiation Identify the barriers to agreements Close the deal 1 What is negotiation? Key skills for negotiation Types of negotiation Win-lose negotiations versus Win-win negotiations Wise agreements and Principled Negotiation 2 Four key negotiating concepts BATNA - Best alternative to negotiated agreement Setting your reservation price ZOPA - Zone of possible agreement Creating and trading value 3 Business acumen Understanding pricing, gross margins and profit Knowing the key points on which to negotiate 4 A Four Phase Model for negotiation Nine steps to successful planning Discussing a deal - creating and claiming value Making and framing proposals Bargaining for the winning deal 5 Effective communication Effective questioning Active listening skills Understanding and interpreting body language Barriers to effective communication 6 Understanding influence and persuasion Influencing strategies Ten proven ways to influence people Six universal methods of persuasion Understanding why people do business with other people 7 Negotiating tactics Tactics for win-lose negotiations Tactics for win-win negotiations Effective team negotiating Understanding and using powerv What do you do when the other side has more power? 8 Barriers to agreement Common barriers to agreement The Negotiators Dilemma Dealing with die-hard negotiators Dealing with lack of trust 9 Potential barriers to cross-border agreements Understanding business methods and practice in other cultures Figuring out who has the power and who makes decisions Recognising and dealing with cultural differences What's OK here might not be OK there 10 Closing the deal Four steps to closing the winning deal
The IFS Residential Conference is held biennially and brings together tax practitioners, academics, policymakers and people from business and the third sector to discuss an area of the tax system from a variety of angles.
Unlock the Power of Teams: Elevate your leadership with our Building and Leading Effective Teams course. Learn the art of collaboration, communication, and synergy to create high-performing teams that drive success Course overview Duration: 1 day (6 hours) Everyone works in teams today in one way or another. Whatever we do in the workplace we need to interact with another person or a number of people at various times. It is important that we know how to communicate, how to listen, how to work together and how to overcome conflict when it arises in our workplace. Challenges are often created by a lack of trust, poor conflict handling skills, a lack of shared vision and confusion over roles and responsibilities. This course will help delegates understand how to encourage more productive team working in the workplace. By the end of the course delegates will be able to describe what makes a High Performing Team and realistically assess their current strengths and weaknesses. Delegates will also be able to identify and plan behavioural changes that will improve the team’s performance. The course is experiential based with lots of learning by doing activities, reflecting and discussion. This will allow team members to get to know/improve their knowledge of team colleagues and energise or re-energise teams. Objectives Know more about their colleagues Be able to describe what makes a high performing team Understand the importance of playing to different strengths and skills Recognise the need for clear and effective communication Content The Importance of Team Work The importance of teamwork The ‘third dimension’ – how working together has the potential to achieve more The dangers of an overly competitive workplace culture Psychological Safety Team Development Models Stages of Team Development Behaviours at each stage Dysfunctional Teams – what does good and bad look like Characteristics of high performing and elite teams Teaming and Leadership Skills Teaming competencies Active Listening Proactive Language Values and Beliefs Building Mental Fitness of Teams Becoming an inspirational leader Establishing a climate of psychological safety Team Challenges The importance of Accountability The Team Charter Smart Teams:Building TrustBuilding CollaborationOvercoming ConflictGaining CommitmentDeveloping Shared Goals The importance of shared goals Effective Team communication
The work of a technical team is invariably challenging and often unpredictable. Definition of the work can be problematic, timescales can be hard to estimate and the right technical approach difficult to select. Staff involved in this type of work usually have very high levels of specialist knowledge in their field and have high expectations of those who lead them. In addition to the challenges of the work, the team leader often has to balance the need for professional excellence with financial and commercial considerations and to ensure that team goals are realistic by being an effective negotiator with other project and senior managers. These characteristics make technical team leadership a demanding and complex activity. This programme aims to help participants develop the skills needed to become an effective technical team leader. The objectives of this programme are to help participants: understand the significance of leadership skills and their impact on team performance review the key skills needed to be an effective, 'multi-dimensional' team leader and learn how to develop, adapt and apply them in practice learn how to identify the preferred leadership style for the context and organisational culture and how to develop personal style versatility understand the role of the project leader in building an effective team and the skills required to promote and sustain team performance gain a better understanding of the interpersonal skills needed to motivate individual team members and harness the full potential of the team DAY ONE 1 Technical teams and leadership What is a leader? How much can leadership be learned? The team environment and the impact of leadership skills The characteristics of high performance teams and their leaders Some useful models and theories of leadership explored Types of leadership; choosing how to use leadership power Evaluating personal leadership style; how to develop style flexibility 2 Essential skills for team leaders 3 key dimensions of effective leadership: inwards, outwards and upwards Developing and promoting a 'team vision': strategic thinking skills The vital role of communication skills and how to develop them Understanding others; emotional intelligence skills Being a visible leader; behavioural and influencing skills Building effective relationships; the importance of trust and respect DAY TWO 3 Leading inwards to build the team The role of leadership in developing team performance Understanding individuals in the team; recognising team role preferences Managing conflict and promoting positive team dynamics Setting standards, maintaining discipline and rewarding performance Harnessing team potential: building motivation within the team Promoting team learning; the team leader as coach / mentor 4 Leading outwards and upwards to support the team Negotiating realistic team goals; effective influencing skills Gaining empowerment and support from the key stakeholders Leading upwards: knowing when and how to take the initiative Building team credibility within the organisation; helping the team deliver Becoming an effective team player in leadership teams Building and maintaining rapport with influential stakeholders
Effective communication in the workplace is part and parcel of our daily lives, but not everyone is a natural. Do you find it tough standing up in front of people? Does the thought of engaging with audiences in any setting fill you with anxiety? Is doing a remote video message to colleagues on Zoom or Teams a tough call? Do you do it regularly but need some professional guidance on whether it’s working? At CoComms we can improve every aspect of your performance and offer a range of tips and techniques to help manage these environments and keep your audience engaged and interested. Public Speaking and Presentation Training In a professional setting it’s vital to come across as dynamic, trustworthy, credible and real. You want people to trust you and in turn get behind your vision or plan or proposal. If you can achieve this you can improve your confidence, your engagement and your prospects. Our training is designed to hone your presentation skills so whether you are pitching for work, taking colleagues through change or speaking to a new audience, you can do it with a clarity and confidence that makes your messages clear and insightful. The training includes: Perfecting your slides Working to produce a clean, easy to navigate slide deck that give logic and flow to your presentation. Developing your storytelling We use our journalistic techniques to show you how to build a story to keep your audience engaged with a well-structured and entertaining presentation. Calls to Action Make sure it is clear what you want to achieve and what you want from your audience. Rehearse and Review We film and then playback a range of practical presentation exercises so we can review your performance and work to make any improvements. Conference and Panel Training The audience at a conference may be a captive one, but that doesn’t mean they are always listening and engaging with what you have to say. We can make sure your keynote speech or panel contribution is memorable, appreciated by your audience and beneficial to your business. Our training looks at preparing for and delivering a speech from start to finish and includes: Defining your big ideas What is it you want to say and what do you want your audience to remember? Develop your narrative and script How can you get across your message using storytelling. Choosing the right language How vibrant and energised language can make the difference in your speech. The tips and tricks to make sure your speech is memorable How vocabulary and delivery techniques ensure your words are heard. Controlling the message How to deal with unhelpful questions and return to the main aspects of your story. Stakeholder Communication Training Engaging effectively with stakeholders with clarity and confidence can make all the difference to your relationships. A successful “town hall” meeting can win over your sceptics, convince those who are unsure and build a common goal between your business and stakeholders. Our stakeholder communication training prepares you for these vital meetings and includes: Focusing the meeting We look at how to control the meeting so the important business is covered and how to prepare for any questions or comments you may receive. Keep control of the conversation We teach you conversational techniques to focus on the main points without being too assertive or dismissive. Rehearse and Review We use video and practical role-play exercises to assess your performance and look for ways to improve. Breaking down the information We look at how to present facts and figures without overwhelming (or boring!) your audience. Our techniques will help you narrate the message in a clear and comprehensive way. Making an impact Using our journalistic experience we will work with you to develop your presentation skills to make the biggest impact and demonstrate credibility and authority. Video Calls for Business The world has changed. Now is the time to ensure your business is changing too. Many in-person meetings, conferences, networking events and clients hosting are, for now, a thing of the past. These face-to-face interactions have been replaced by video calls, webinars and online events. So, how do you develop contacts, maintain relationships and manage your team in this new virtual world? How do you look and sound confident, be heard, and build trust and credibility through a computer screen? At CoComms, we are online communications experts and our years of experience in broadcasting mean we understand how to engage a virtual audience. Interactive and practical training We work with you through a variety of scenarios to analyse your performance on video calls. Feedback on your performance We offer supportive, positive feedback and share our tried and tested techniques so you can improve. Make Video Calls work for you Through our training you will become more confident, more productive and more dynamic on video calls. Contact us If you have a query regarding any of our services or would like to book a consultation for free initial advice and guidance please get in touch
The IFS Residential Conference is held biennially and brings together tax practitioners, academics, policymakers and people from business and the third sector to discuss an area of the tax system from a variety of angles.
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
Understand what diversity and inclusion is and how to manage it affectively in the workplace. Course overview Duration: 1 day (6.5 hours) Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace will help you develop an understanding of why diversity and inclusion is important to a business, what it is and how individuals and teams can work effectively together and harness the power that comes from valuing diversity and promoting inclusion. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Describe why diversity and inclusion is important in teams and organisations Explain and overcome unconscious bias and other beliefs that cause exclusion and impact the workplace Recognise your own diversity and understand the value of diversity and inclusion in teams Develop an Action Plan to create an inclusive work climate Content Understand Diversity and Inclusion What the Equality Act 2010 says about diversity Understanding protected characteristics Learn how to create an optimum climate to unlock the power of a diverse teams Understanding Yourself and Unconscious Bias Identify your own unique characteristics and how these could impact your performance Examine self-limiting beliefs and how these can impact personal performance Experience how unconscious bias impacts our information gathering, problem solving, judgement and decision making Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Team Climate Understand the importance of respect, the role of trust and what valuing diversity really means Apply the ABC Model to the creation of a diverse climate:Awareness – be alert, self-aware and aware of othersBoundaries – understand how things can go wrong when working with others: boundaries, banter and bullyingCoaching – learn listening and coaching skills to promote inclusion Create an achievable, personal action plan that can be applied immediately in the workplace to improve diversity, promote teaming and create an inclusive work climate
This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the status of an authorised economic operator in the export and in import of goods. This includes the advantages of the status, trusted trader, and the process securing the authorised economic operator status.
Learn the skills and mindset to become a business partner, align your expertise with the organisational goals, drive growth, and shape the future of your company. Course overview Duration: 1 day (6.5 hours) This is a highly interactive and practical course which will help you to understand the role of Business Partnering and the key skills needed to be successful in the role. The course is designed specifically to give you an opportunity to explore the role and test a range of techniques to improve your strategic working as well as your influencing and relationship building skills. This course is aimed at individuals who work cross-functionally and with other people to achieve business results and is particularly helpful for those who engage frequently with senior managers and executives. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Describe the role of Business Partner and the benefit to the business Develop stronger engagement with all internal and external stakeholders Influence without authority Build positive relationships Handle robust conversations Be forward thinking, not reactive Act as a change agent Communicate with confidence and credibility Content Understanding the role of the Business Partner What is Business Partnering from an individual, departmental and business view Using a psychometric test to look at where your strengths are and how you can use them effectively in the role Developing Relationships Creating a powerful first impression. Communication skills Understanding different communication styles Being more proactive in developing key relationships Stakeholder engagement Presenting ideas in a confident and articulate way Understanding and developing trust Connecting with people Networking Influencing and Negotiating Influencing and persuading others Dealing with conflict and difficult conversations Becoming a trusted advisor/Business Partner Advanced questioning skills and techniques to get to the root of a problem Strategic Thinking Develop the mind-set and strategic capability to play a more proactive leading role in the business