165 Business Case courses

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 overload * Identifying what will help you * Select options * How many options? * Must match your criteria * Must achieve success * 'Decision compass' exercise * Analyse options * Tabular method * Risk 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 action * First actions * Planning how to make it happen

Generating new leads and new business can be both time-consuming and frustrating. It's not easy - it takes skill, careful preparation and the creation of effective models and methods, even perhaps using formal approaches and scripts. Once generated, a new lead or enquiry must also be carefully managed to maximise the potential revenue it can generate. But it's crucial to get it right. If your company can afford not to worry about getting new business - congratulations! If your company is completely confident that it is performing at peak potential in generating new leads - again, congratulations! But if your company is working in the real world, couldn't your team do with some help, to become even just that little bit more effective, to make the process just that little less painful? This highly practical, intensive workshop gives sales teams the proven strategies and tactics they need to build a sustainable new business pipeline. This course will help participants: * Develop a clear and consistent process for new business development and lead-generation * Master the secret of effective new business development and lead-generation - 'only sell the appointment or next stage of the sales process, not your product or service' * Set and achieve the right level of new business development and lead-generation activity to achieve your personal and organisational sales goals * Apply the key principles of effective prospecting and pipeline management using a proven toolkit and approach * Overcome the most common 'put-offs' when conducting telephone or face-to-face business-development and lead-generation activities * Develop an engaging telephone voice and manner - and a 'networking personality' * Qualify potential opportunities with more accuracy on a consistent basis * Prioritise opportunities and manage their time when sourcing new business * Discover online sources of leads, contacts and referrals * Overcome psychological blocks to cold or warm calling - theirs and the client's * Identify potential prospects - and decision-makers and influencers within target prospects - with greater accuracy * Make outbound sales or appointment calls with improved confidence, control and results * Improve the conversion of calls to appointments by using more effective questions and sales messages * Get past gatekeepers and assistants more effectively * Make the most of your CRM software and systems 1 ONLINE MARKETING - WHAT WORKS! * Workshop overview and learning objectives * Choosing your social media channels * LinkedIn for sales and marketing * Designing and implementing an effective new business email campaign online * Creating a lead-generation strategy online - with case studies * Avoiding common mistakes in social media marketing * Case study: 'Best practice in social media sales and marketing' * Using blogs and video-based marketing (eg, YouTube) * New trends and how to keep your finger on the 'social media' pulse * Twenty essential websites and online marketing tools 2 MAKING APPOINTMENTS BY TELEPHONE * Planning the call, telephone techniques, integrating with email and online marketing * Developing a clear and consistent process to appointment-making * Setting and achieving the right level of telephone activity to achieve your appointment goals * Applying the key principles of effective prospecting and pipeline management generation, using a proven toolkit and approach * Overcoming the most common 'put-offs' to seeing or engaging with you * Overcoming psychological blocks to cold or warm calling - yours and the client's * Identifying potential prospects - and decision-makers and influencers within target prospects - with greater accuracy * Making outbound sales or appointment calls with improved confidence, control and results * Improving conversion of calls to appointments by using more effective questions and sales messages * The five keys to developing an engaging telephone voice and approaching manner 3 POWER NETWORKING * Strategies for networking and B2B referral-based marketing * The importance, and different types, of networking * How to work a room - preparation and strategy * Communication dynamics in networking - the power of the listening networker * Assumptions when networking * Business networking etiquette * Making connections, asking for cards, contact details and referrals, gaining follow-up commitments * Building relationships - follow-up and follow-through 4 DEVELOPING NEW LEADS * Strategies for first-time sales calls * Gaining rapport and opening first-time and new business sales calls effectively * Advanced consultative selling - questioning techniques to quickly and efficiently uncover opportunities, need areas and preferences * Presenting your solution to a new or first-time customer - creating an enthusiastic and compelling personalised and persuasive summary of your proposal * Value message - differentiate your solutions clearly and accurately, with tailored value statements * Presenting the right initial USPs, features and benefits and making them relevant and real to the customer * Smart ways to position price, emphasise value and be a strong player without being the cheapest or leading on price * Learn and use advanced techniques to determine customer needs, value and decision-making criteria in depth on a first-time call 5 ORGANISED PERSISTENCE - CRM AND PROSPECT-TRACKING * Organised persistence - sales tracking, following up on 'sleeping' customers, gaining referrals, time and territory management * Maintaining a good database for maximising new business ROI * Developing a contact strategy with different types and levels of contact * Analysing your contact base using state-of-the-art software and tools * Making the most of your CRM systems and solutions * Understanding that your attitude makes a difference when sourcing new business * Setting SMART objectives for new business development and lead-generation * Practical exercise - setting personal development and business goals * Time management tips to improve daily productivity * New business pipeline management strategies for peak sales performance 6 WORKSHOP SUMMARY AND CLOSE * Practical exercise - developing your new business action plan * Review and feedback

Businesses that don't control their costs don't stay in business. How well are you doing? Is everyone in your organisation sufficiently aware of costs, managing them effectively and maximising opportunities to reduce them? If there is scope for improvement, this course will help get you back on track. It will demonstrate that cost reduction is so much more than cost control and cost cutting. True cost management is about being aware of costs, seeking to reduce them through good design and efficient operating practices whilst taking continuing action on overspending. This course will develop the participants' skills in: * Being aware of costs at all times * Seeking cost reduction from the start (including life-cycle costing) * Appraising projects / production to identify and take out risk * Understanding real budgeting * Using techniques such as ZBB and ABC where appropriate * Ensuring cost reports lead to action * Managing a cost reduction process that delivers Benefits to the organisation will include: * Identification of cost reduction and business improvement opportunities * Better reporting and ownership of costs * Greater awareness and control of everyday costs 1 INTRODUCTION - THE COST MANAGEMENT PROCESS * The risks of poor cost control * Capital and revenue costs * The importance of cost awareness * The importance of cost reduction * Cost management - the key aspects * How to build a cost management and control process checklist for your areas of responsibility 2 COST REMOVAL - TAKING OUT COSTS * Cost awareness * Costs of poor design / poor processes * Value engineering * Removing redundant costs 3 THE NEED FOR COMMERCIAL, TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL APPRAISALS * Understand the problems before cash is committed and costs incurred * Making the effort to identify commercial and technical risk * The time value of money - DCF techniques for long term projects * Cost models for production processes and projects * Costing models - project appraisals * The use of spreadsheets to identify sensitivity and risk * How to focus on risk management 4 BUDGETING - PROPER BUDGETING CHALLENGES COSTS * The philosophy of the business - are costs an issue? * The importance of having the right culture * The need for detailed business objectives * Budgetary control measures * Designing budget reports - for action 5 ZERO-BASED BUDGETING (ZBB) - THE PRINCIPLES * Much more than starting with a clean sheet of paper * What ZBB can achieve * The concept of decision packages - to challenge business methods and costs * Only necessary costs should be incurred * A review of an operating budget - demonstrating what ZBB challenges and the costs it may lead to being taken out 6 AWARENESS OF OVERHEADS AND OTHER COSTS * Definitions of cost - direct and indirect * Dealing with overheads - what is meant by allocation, absorption or apportionment? * The apparent and real problems with overheads * Different ways of dealing with overheads * Review of overhead allocation methods and accounting and reporting issues 7 OVERHEADS AND PRODUCT COSTING * Activity-based costing (ABC) - the principles * Where and how the ABC approach may be helpful * Know the 'true' cost of a product or a project * Should you be in business? Will you stay in business? * Identifying weaknesses in a traditional overhead allocation * How ABC will help improve product or service costing * Identifying which products and activities should be developed and which abandoned 8 COST REDUCTION CULTURE * The need for cost reports * What measures can be used to identify over-spends as early as possible * Cost control performance measures and ratios 9 DESIGN OF COST CONTROL REPORTS * Reports should lead to action and deliver * Selecting cost control measures which can be acted upon * Practice in designing action reports 10 COURSE SUMMARY - DEVELOPING YOUR OWN COST ACTION PLAN * Group and individual action plans will be prepared with a view to participants identifying their cost risks areas and the techniques which can be immediately applied to improve costing and reduce costs

The market for professional services is becoming increasingly competitive, with some firms and individuals becoming very effective at winning new work, leaving others lagging way behind. Given the choice between spending time on client work and business development work, we all tend to choose that which we feel to be easier, more attractive and more aligned with our image of ourselves. We stay within our comfort zones, we focus on client work, and we only resort to business development work when we have to, which can also lead to 'feast or famine' syndrome. The programme will help participants: * Understand the professional business development approach and the style that is appropriate for their business and their clients * Follow a process to guide their conversations and business development meetings * Prepare thoroughly for a business development meeting/contact with a client to ensure they use their time efficiently and maximise results * Create a great first impression and professional opening to a conversation * Ask open questions and listen effectively in order to spot opportunities, understand needs and progress the opportunity * Identify and understand buying and decision-making processes and criteria * Skilfully and confidently handle questions and objections * Sell the benefits of their services and approach over those of their competitors * Progress the sale by agreeing next steps and gaining commitment appropriately 1 INTRODUCTION * Aims and objectives of the programme * Personal introductions and objectives * Workshop overview 2 AN INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND SELLING FOR PROFESSIONALS * What is selling? * Who are you selling to? * The buying experience * What clients want * The four-step business development process * The business development cycle and pipeline management * Upselling and cross-selling as well as winning new clients 3 NETWORKING AND GENERATING LEADS * What is networking? * Networking objectives * It's not what you know but who you know * Asking for referrals and introductions * Making appointments from networking activity 4 OPENING THE SALES RELATIONSHIP/SALES MEETING * What potential customers are thinking * Judging first impressions * Creating positive first impressions * Building rapport and creating interest and impact * Earning the right 5 CORE COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR PROFESSIONAL SELLING * Overcoming barriers to listening * The art of listening * Questioning refresher * Types of questions * Questioning funnel 6 UNDERSTANDING AND IDENTIFYING NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES * Identifying the questions to ask to identify needs and opportunities * Questions to move us through the buying and selling process * Understanding their buying processes * Asking questions that position you as a 'trusted adviser' * The questions that give you a competitive advantage * Knowing when you have asked enough questions 7 INTRODUCING SOLUTIONS * Tailoring your 'pitch' to the client * Speaking the client's language * Using features and benefits * Applying the benefit cycle 8 HANDLING OBJECTIONS AND CONCERNS * Identifying the typical objections and concerns * Understanding why clients raise objections and concerns * Following a structure for handling objections * Handling the price objection 9 GAINING COMMITMENT * Knowing when to close * The art of checking * Recognising buying signals * Small c and big C 10 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER * Personal learning summary and action plans

Duration 2 Days 12 CPD hours This course is intended for It is appropriate for Managers, Executives, Project Managers, Business Analysts, Business and IT stakeholders working with analysts, Quality and process engineers, technicians, managers; supervisors, team leaders, and process operators. Overview Describe business process improvement (BPI) business drivers.Plan, manage and close requirements for a Business Process Improvement project Understand the essential elements of a successful BPI initiative.Identify candidate business processes for improvement.Understand the essential elements of a successful BPI initiative.Identify candidate business processes for improvement.Apply a methodology to business process improvement projects. This 2-day course aims at introducing its attendees to the core values, principles, and practices of Business Process Improvement. INTRODUCTION - A BUSINESS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT (BPI) OVERVIEW * Why are we here today? * What is BPI? * Benefits of BPI * Specific challenges/obstacles and successes * Process improvement examples: * Industry specific examples * Famous debacles to avoid and successes to emulate * Your role in helping to identify problems OVERVIEW OF THE JOINER 7-STEP METHOD * What is the Joiner 7-Step Method? * Walkthrough of the Joiner 7-Step Method * Template: Introduce and review Process Improvement Template * Case Study Exercise: Read and discuss introduction to the Case Study STEP #1: INITIATE THE PROJECT * Types of business problems typically encountered at insurance companies and banks * How to recognize a business-related problem * Identifying the gaps (delta between current and future states) * Ownership of the project and the business problem * Defining measurable success criteria * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Problem Statement section (Step #1) of the template STEP #2: DEFINE CURRENT SITUATION * What are symptoms of a problem? * Looking for symptoms of the problem * Performing Stakeholder Analysis * Technique: View a RACI Matrix * Defining the impacts caused by the problem * Technique: Business Process Modeling (As-Is) * Understand how to draw an As-Is Business Process Model * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Define Current Situation section (Step #2) of the template STEP #3: IDENTIFY ROOT CAUSES * What are root causes? * Performing Root Cause Analysis * Technique: Fishbone Diagram using the cafeteria example * Case Study Exercise: Discuss a Fishbone Diagram * Technique: Pareto Chart (discuss and show example) * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Identify Root Causes section (Step #3) of the template STEP #4: DEVELOP SOLUTIONS * Identifying options for problem resolution * Avoid jumping to conclusions * Technique: Brainstorming * Case Study Exercise: Conduct a Brainstorming Session * Recognizing pros and cons for each option * Technique: Kempner-Tregoe (?Must-Have? vs. ?Nice-to-Have?) * Case Study Exercise: Determine best solution using a ?simple? Kempner-Tregoe model * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Develop Solutions section (Step #4) of the template STEP #5: DEFINE MEASURABLE RESULTS * Prototyping the solution * Technique: Business Process Modeling (To-Be) * Measuring results against the success criteria (Step #1) * Case Study Exercise: Review changes to an As-Is Business Process Model * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Define Measurable Results section (Step #5) of the template STEP #6: STANDARDIZE PROCESS * Defining how the process will be documented * Plan and understand organizational readiness * Discuss how employees are empowered to identify and act upon their ideas * Identifying follow-up needs (i.e., training) for the staff that will be impacted * Technique: Communication Plan * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Standardize Process section (Step #6) of the template STEP #7: DETERMINE FUTURE PLANS * Monitoring the process for Continuous Process Improvement (The ?Plan-Do-Check-Act? Cycle) * Understand how to sustain the improvements made by the Joiner 7-Step Method * Technique: PDCA form * Case Study Exercise: Complete the Determine Future Plans section (Step #7) of the template GOING FORWARD WITH A PLAN OF ACTION * Identifying process problems in your organization * Individual Exercise: Name three (3) possible areas for improvement * Prioritize and define the next steps * Individual Exercise: Using a new template complete Step 2 & Step 3 for one possible area for improvement you have identified *