85 Influence courses in Birmingham

The need for key staff to have commercial skills is paramount, as the public sector is increasingly opened up as a commercial market, in which organisations compete against each other and the private sector for contracts. Generating additional income and being commercially aware is vital for this to be a success, and is what many public sector organisations are looking to do. This programme will help you: * See commercial awareness as not just another skill-set, but as a different mind-set * Use a variety of tried-and-tested commercial, analytical decision-making techniques and tools * Define your commercial objectives * Develop a strategic focus * Start looking at service clients as market segments * Analyse, in a competitive context, your service offering * Plan a commercial strategy, prepare for its implementation and see it through to execution 1 WHAT IS COMMERCIAL THINKING? * Understand what it means to be a commercial thinker * Identifying commercial opportunities often involves not only a different skill set but also a different mindset; looking at the services that you provide 2 DEFINING STRATEGIC COMMERCIAL OBJECTIVES * Defining your key commercial objectives * Prioritising your strategic objectives * Two key strategic planning tools: * Resource and Competency Matrix * PESTLE * How to apply these tools to your particular situation 3 DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC FOCUS * Decision-making on how to compete in the markets identified by your strategic objectives requires a strategic focus * Developing strategic focus * A tool for helping you to make those decisions: using the Ansoff Matrix 4 DEFINING CUSTOMER TARGETS * How to think more commercially by understanding who all your customers are and how they differ from each other * how to apply the principles to your areas to identify the type of customers you have and their key characteristics - Customer segmentation * Who are your customers? How do their needs vary? - Scenarios 5 THE COMPETITIVE MARKET PLACE * Understanding the competitive forces at play * Different types of competition * Analysing your competitive environment using Porter's 5 Forces model 6 MEETING STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS * Two simple models to help you identify the key stakeholders who could influence your commercial environment * How to use your stakeholders to help you achieve your commercial objectives 7 IMPLEMENTATION - SYSTEMS, STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES * Effective commercial activity involves working with others to implement ideas and strategies * What do you need to have in place before you implement your commercial strategy? * How to health-check your organisation prior to implementation using the McKinsey 7S framework 8 IMPLEMENTATION - PEOPLE AND CULTURE * A good commercial strategy only works if the people involved buy in to the ideas and if the culture of the organisation is conducive to the effective implementation * How the latest thinking in behavioural economics can help you develop your culture and people to work commercially 9 TOOLS AND CHECKLISTS * Be more commercial within your sphere of influence using a commercial checklist to help you * Using the checklist as a benchmark against the most commercially aware organisations * Using the checklist as a health check - both corporately and individually

If you are a Mental Health First Aider or MHFA Champion you have skills for life that support you and the people around you. We believe that mental health should be treated equally to physical health - and just like physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid training should be kept up to date. The four-hour MHFA Refresher course will empower you to: * Keep your awareness of mental health supports current * Update your knowledge of mental health and what influences it * Practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan OUTLINE * About mental health * Stress and factors that influence mental health * Mental health continuum and stigma * Frame of reference and non-judgement * Reintroducing ALGEE * Warning signs of mental ill-health * Depression and anxiety * Suicide and first aid for suicidal crisis * Psychosis and first aid for severe psychotic episodes * Practising our MHFA sills * Self-care, wellbeing and recovery

Learners develop an essential understanding of caring for people with dementia, and covers the benefits of positive communication, use of medication, and importance of highly individualised, person-centred care

Effective communication is a skill. This half-day workshop is very interactive - participants can practise their communication skills in a positive, supportive environment. 1 WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES * The definition of effective communication * Exercise: sending a message 2 VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS * Effective communicators - who are they? What skills or attributes do they have? * Listening skills, clear use of words, presence, eye contact, body language 3 HOW GOOD A LISTENER ARE YOU? * Exercise: listening skills questionnaire and evaluation 4 IMPACT VERSUS INTENT - WHAT DID YOU REALLY MEAN TO SAY? * Attitudes influence behaviour and behaviour breeds behaviour * Exercise: 'I never said she stole money' * The need to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation 5 THE 5 KEY PRINCIPLES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION * Exercise: 'What would you say?' 6 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION * What makes an effective written communication? * Kipling's 6 Honest Men: who, what, where, when, why and how * Planning to write an email 7 FUZZY MEANINGS * Probabilities for misunderstandings and misinterpretations 8 PRACTICAL EXERCISE * Hone written communication skills and put into practice hints and tips from the session 9 REVIEW OF KEY LEARNING POINTS AND OBJECTIVES

This is an essential programme for any member of staff whose role requires a high level of attention to detail. The focus is specifically on the handling of text and data, whether at the input stage or when collating information into reports and documents for use by others. The session looks at both prevention and cure. For 'prevention', it focuses on understanding how common errors occur and on developing an awareness of the factors which influence our level of attentiveness. It introduces key psychological theories around attentiveness including the 'capacity' and 'bottleneck filter' models. And it looks at how working styles can affect attention to detail. For 'cure', the programme looks at how to minimise the effect of stress on concentration as well as introducing a number of tools and techniques for promoting accuracy - at both the input and the checking stages. Particular attention is paid to proof-reading techniques. By the end of the session, participants will: * Appreciate why errors occur * Understand how stress and other factors can affect focus and accuracy * Know how to improve accuracy and reduce errors when handling text and data * Be able to proof-read text and number-based documents more accurately 1 THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURACY * The impact of mistakes * Why accuracy is so important * Main reasons why errors occur 2 ATTENTIVENESS THEORY * The 'capacity' and 'bottleneck filter' models * Selective attention * Chunking - big picture / little picture 3 PREPARING FOR ACCURACY * Working styles - how they affect detail-orientation * Identifying and minimising the impact of stress on concentration 4 PRACTICAL STRATEGIES * How to improve accuracy and reduce errors when inputting text * Managing interruptions and distractions * Proofing text and numbers

Dementia affects around 820,000 people in the UK. This figure is likely to rise to one million by 2025 and two million by 2051. It is one of the main causes of disability in later life and with research being desperately underfunded, it costs the UK over £26 billion a year. Understanding dementia and the person-centred care that is required is fundamental to high quality care.

In the fast-changing world of business, and especially IT, everyone in the organisation should be involved in sales. One of the best ways is to give the customer an outstanding experience. The customer experience is the competitive battlefield of today. Sales may be won or lost here. You can either close a sale for a quick buck, or open a long-term relationship to create a high lifetime value customer. By developing excellent communication skills, rapport and, most of all, a desire to serve and listen to the needs of the customer to the best of their ability, both sales teams and other IT professionals will create trust, nurture relationships and develop awareness of other opportunities with the customer. By the end of this course, participants will be able to: * Understand the power of a positive customer experience in developing sales opportunities * Recognise and develop a sales opportunity when it arises * Engage with customers and develop rapport and trust * Use verbal and non-verbal communication skills and pick up on signals * Ask powerful questions - and listen to the answers * Create 'magic moments' for the customer * Turn a complaint into an opportunity * Know when to ask for referrals and testimonials * Pass on leads to the relevant people 1 INTRODUCTION * Aims and objectives * Beliefs about sales 2 BUILDING RAPPORT * First impressions * Short cuts to rapport * Finding common interests 3 SELLING OR SERVING? * Managing emotions and behaviour - Transactional Analysis * Moments of truth - creating 'magic moments' * Speed sells - the follow-up 4 MEETINGS * Planning a successful meeting * Pre-meeting connection and assistance * Sales meeting failure reasons * Right v wrong mindset 5 COMMUNICATION - VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL * The 3 Vs - Visual, Verbal, Vocal * Picking up on signals * 7 power questions * Questioning techniques * LISTEN - 3 types of listening skills 6 INFLUENCING * 6 levels of influence * Framing to change perspectives * Turning complaints into opportunities 7 REFERRALS * The power of referrals * How and when to ask for a referral * 5 steps from rapport to referral 8 PRESENTATION AND PITCHING (OPTIONAL SESSION) * Basic presentation structure and delivery * Creating powerful impressions * Creating a 60-second pitch * The elevator 10-second pitch - answering 'What do you do?' * Sales presentations * Emotion v Intellect - how to engage * Using visuals

Successful account management requires time and investment to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and develop new business opportunities. Ensuring you are equipped with the right tools to approach every customer interaction in a structured way will help you have productive relationships with your clients. Whether you're new to account management or experienced in business development and looking to expand your skillset, understanding how you can maximise customer relationships will be key to your success. We have developed this programme to be practical, fun and interactive. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and practice a number of key skills that will see successful results, and are encouraged to bring real life examples to the course so that learning can be translated to real world scenarios. This course will help participants: * Learn how to plan growth and increase revenue from existing accounts * Develop skills to build and develop essential relationships to increase value and visibility * Learn how best to create loyalty and customer satisfaction * Identify how to set account targets and development plan for building contacts and cross-selling * Develop persuasion and influencing skills to better define needs and develop opportunities * Learn how to add value at all stages; plus gaining competitive advantage * Develop an up-selling, cross-selling strategy 1 PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT * Introduction to the PROFIT account management model * Using practical tools to measure account performance and success * Planning your account strategy - red flags and green lights 2 RELATIONSHIPS FOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT * How to build and manage key relationships * Producing a 'relationship matrix' * Developing a coach or advocate 3 SETTING OBJECTIVES FOR YOUR ACCOUNT * Developing an upselling cross-selling strategy * Setting jointly agreed goals, objectives and business plans * Planning session 4 FEEDBACK AND RETENTION - BUILDING LOYAL AND SATISFIED CUSTOMERS * How to monitor and track your customer's satisfaction * Building a personalised satisfaction matrix * Customer service review meetings 5 INFLUENCE * Getting your message and strategy across to C-level contacts * Being able to better develop a business partnership within an accountes 6 TEAMWORK AND TIME MANAGEMENT * Working with others to achieve your account goals * Managing and working with a virtual team * Managing your time and accounts effectively 7 GAINING COMMITMENT AND CLOSING THE SALE * Knowing when to close for commitment * How to ask for commitment professionally and effectively * Key negotiation skills around the closing process - getting to 'yes' * Checklist of closing and negotiation skills * Practice session

Many people have a misconception about networking events, and lose out on new business opportunities as a result. They either don't appreciate the real benefits and techniques of networking and don't attend events, or they attempt to 'sell on the first date', causing resentment. You can either attempt to make a sale for a quick buck (which is particularly likely to backfire at a networking event), or you can try to open a long-term relationship, creating new opportunities and a high lifetime value customer (which is how it's meant to be done). Networking, when done properly, is an excellent tool for referrals. But you have to appreciate that it's done on the basis of giving rather than receiving and this doesn't always come naturally to sales professionals. The old saying that it's about getting to 'know, like and trust' is still true. This workshop is about having your prospects and customers getting to know, like and trust you, and building that lifetime value as a result. By the end of this programme, participants will be able to: * Understand what networking is - networking etiquette * Know how and where to network * Clarify their objectives - why network * Use the 4 basic questions to start a conversation * Build rapport quickly and easily * Answer the question 'What do you do?' effectively in a few seconds * Deliver a 60-second pitch * Break into a group * Prepare for a network meeting * Identify opportunities * Use tools to assist in networking 1 INTRODUCTION * Aims and objectives 2 WHAT IS NETWORKING? * Why network - objectives and goal setting * Networking etiquette * Preparation - online and offline tools to use * Identify networking opportunities - where to network * Know what you have to offer * 'Know, like and trust' - the process 3 WHAT DO YOU DO? * Answer in 5-10 seconds * Create and deliver a 60-second pitch * Who is your target market? 4 STARTING A CONVERSATION * Breaking into a group * Building rapport * The 4 questions to start a conversation * Moving on 5 COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE * LISTEN - 4 types of listening skill * Ask powerful questions * Influence - don't sell * What can you do to help others - give to get 6 POWER OF REFERRALS * Who can give you referrals? * When to give or ask for referrals * Have a referral system * Showing appreciation 7 SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER ONLINE TOOLS * Using LinkedIn and other social media * Online directories 8 NEXT STEPS * Following up * Arranging one-to-one meetings * Developing relationships

Take your sales people from average to high performance. Motivate and develop experienced sales professionals with some new insights and learning. Applying NLP principles, techniques and models, this workshop will introduce the core attitudes and behaviours that differentiate the excellent sales person from the average one. The programme will help participants: * Understand and adopt the mindset and beliefs needed for sales excellence * Build rapport and connect with buyers at a deeper and more personal level * Recognise some of the thinking and language patterns that make each individual unique * Ask powerful questions to further understand the unique world of the individual and how they make decisions * Apply tools and techniques to empathise with clients - seeing things from their perspectives * Tailor their sales approach to the individual buyer's style, and talk in their language * Influence with integrity and sell to organisations and individuals successfully 1 INTRODUCTION * Aims and objectives of the programme * Personal introductions and objectives * Workshop overview 2 AN INTRODUCTION TO NLP AND SALES EXCELLENCE WITH NLP * An overview of NLP and applying it to selling * The pillars of NLP * The NLP model of communication * The difference that makes the difference 3 BUILDING ENHANCED RAPPORT * Defining rapport and why it is important when selling * Going beyond the initial small talk * Building relationships with individual decision-makers * Matching and mirroring * Levels of rapport 4 UNDERSTANDING THE BUYER'S PERSONAL BUYING MAP * How we take in, filter and process information * How we judge others based on our own experiences of the world * The different ways in which we communicate when selling * Recognising and understanding the language and thinking patterns of others * Adapting your sales communication style to different buyers 5 MAKING SENSE OF THE BUYING PROCESS * How we filter information through our senses * Understanding how we see, hear and experience the world * Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic buyers * Listening for key insights * What different buyers want from you to help them to buy * Applying sensory awareness to the sales process 6 SUCCESSFUL SALES MINDSET * The connection between thoughts and actions * The sales beliefs of excellence * Identifying negative thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back * How to change your mindset * Adopting the sales beliefs of excellence 7 POWERFUL QUESTIONS * Reviewing and honing your questioning skills * Understanding the questions that great sales people ask * Avoiding assumptions * Clean language questions * Getting to the bottom of it - precision questions * Turbo-charging how you qualify 8 INFLUENCING WITH INTEGRITY * Understanding empathy * Stepping into the buyer's shoes * Speaking the buyer's language * Tailoring your sales approach to the individual * Match, pace, lead - how to take your buyer with you 9 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER * Personal learning summary and action plans