All companies sell today in markets with growing complexity, competition and client satisfaction demands.  Recognisable challenges can be summarised:

• Long, protracted and complex customer buying cycles
• Difficulty in identifying the decision makers, influencers - and lack of close relationships
• Understanding the decision making criteria
• Need to respond to most market opportunities to keep the pipeline ‘above water’, making controlled growth difficult
• Emphasis shifting from value of immediate opportunity to value of longer term relationship
• Winning the tender is only the start of a long, hard negotiation on terms
• Customers talk partnership while negotiating hard on your margin
• Reasons for losing are not always clear

Most successful businesses in this environment have a strong focus on Demand Generation.  They use advanced Relationship Development and Management skills and techniques to create clear added value in the eyes of their clients.  The best become trusted advisors with their clients choosing to lock on, and their competitors getting locked out.

One major question facing executive leadership today is “Do we have the strategies, knowledge and skills to create our own market opportunities, client relationships and winning propositions, or will our competitors do it better?”  This is where we deliver value.

How we deliver the programme

Each conduct of this programme is configured to the unique needs of the business or unit running it.  We ask for clear, visible sponsorship from the senior executive accountable for business growth.  We develop with the sponsor a specific set of required outcomes and then select the content needed to achieve the result.  This typically involves prioritising the available content and developing some new around specific performance needs.

Over three intensive days we move between group discussion and tuition to practice calls perfecting technique.  We use recently retired senior execs to role-play themselves as call takers. The result is a very high level of skills transfer and an immediate change in client relationship behaviour.

What this programme will cover

• The critical value of planning for client meetings
• Questioning and listening techniques
• Interpersonal styles and how to use them
• Problem solving in executive relationships
• Empathic listening
• Emotional intelligence
• Client relationship strategies
• Managing tension and stress
• My Action Plan – turning new skills and ideas into increased performance

What participants will bring back

• A realistic insight into the top-of-mind issues amongst industry leaders and their likely perspectives
• An appreciation of how people buy from people they like – it’s all about relationships and chemistry
• The ability to persuade people more effectively by using questions instead of statements
• An appreciation of the very different information needs of different types of individual, how to identify them and adapt to them
• The confidence to use a fresh, more satisfying approach to managing relationships and selling
• Well practised skills in planning, questioning, listening and strategising
• The skill and confidence to effectively position oneself, the organisation and its value propositions
• A personal action plan which recognises new levels of the many relationship selling skills and how to develop them further
• The motivation for each participant to increase performance and win-rate
• AND an immediate contribution to existing relationships and opportunities