Sales and Marketing

Cathy Edwards Ovington, facilitator

Maximum 20 participants
Whether you're an inside or field salesperson, maximizing effectiveness on the phone will maximize your sales success. This course is a great introduction to Client-focused Selling, and a good refresher for those who already practice a Client-Focused Sales approach. Participants will learn to:

Day 1

• Think "out of the box" to build rapport long-distance
• Identify key opportunities or challenges that will get and keep your client's attention
• Leave a voice mail message that motivates a quick call-back
• Use e-mail, fax, overnight and other mail options to boost phone sales
• Ask questions that intrigue clients & yield valuable information
• Employ communication techniques to command your client's full attention & build agreement
• Identify the competition and gain advantage - without bad-mouthing

Day 2

• Identify client goals that you can support
• Turn features into compelling benefits
• Present benefits in support of client goals
• Turn objections into opportunities (featuring Objection Jeopardy)
• Identify and persuade key decision makers
• Create a customized proposal your client wants to buy
• Manage expectations: Set the stage for continued success

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Boot Camp
Days:(5)

Cathy Edwards Ovington, facilitator

Maximum 10 participants
Boot Camp is a total-immersion program in Client-Focused Selling, appropriate for those in sales, sales management and strategic marketing. It provides a solid foundation from which to build successful client strategies and customized sales presentations. As a participant, you will drive the sales process from start to finish by:

• Brainstorming on client strategy
• Leading a discussion to identify client challenges and goals
• Matching product benefits to client goals
• Working with your client to build a customized proposal that maximizes business opportunities

Core sales skills are strengthened as you keep your client engaged in discussion, turn objections into opportunities, and close on critical points throughout the presentation. By Thursday, you will develop and deliver an interactive presentation customized for a key client.

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Competitive Maneuvers
Days:(2-3)

Cathy Edwards Ovington, facilitator

Maximum 7 participants. Prerequisite: Boot Camp
Each Competitive Maneuvers session builds on the Client-Focused Selling process learned in Boot Camp. You will again "bring" along a key client to work with; your role-play presentations will be customized to this client. Each Competitive Maneuvers has a different focus, and each requires only Boot Camp as a prerequisite. These classes are typically scheduled in a half-day, full-day, half-day format.

Competitive Maneuvers: Positioning vs. Direct Competitors
This course will emphasize positioning your product effectively versus your direct competitor. You will practice delivering your own product UVP (Unique Value Proposition) as well as your competitor's. (You will BE the competitor!) You'll learn to turn competitive challenges to your advantage without bad-mouthing the competition, and practice handling objections quickly and efficiently in Objection Jeopardy. Preparation package will include tools for developing your UVP and your competitor's. In the final presentation you will deliver a presentation that clearly positions your product as the client's best choice.

Competitive Maneuvers: Selling an Integrated Product Package
This course is appropriate for sales and marketing professionals who sell a combination of products. You will learn to effectively position and sell the benefits of individual product strengths, and to explain the synergies realized with an integrated purchase. By the end of the course you will develop and deliver an integrated proposal.

Competitive Maneuvers: Using Research Effectively
This course helps you better understand and use available research to your advantage. For starters, we'll discuss why clients are often skeptical about research, and then practice a method for presenting research so that clients find it more relevant and believable. Through role-play you will position your product and support key selling points by effectively incorporating research into your presentation, and by developing effective sales tools incorporating research.

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Baseball Series
Days:(1/2 - 1)

Cathy Edwards Ovington, facilitator

These may be designed as half-day or full-day classes. Each focuses on sharpening a specific skill area. They are appropriate for salespeople and sales managers at all levels of experience.

Camp 1: Quick Pitches
Sometimes you have just five minutes with a client - perhaps on the phone or at an event. Or you have 60 seconds to leave a voice mail that inspires a response. In this camp you'll practice getting key points across quickly - with and without client interaction. Maximum 6 participants.

Camp 2: Hitting The Curve Ball
You're expecting a fastball, but instead you get a curve ball. When you prepare for one scenario and that doesn't happen, how to you adjust and respond? For this camp you will work with case studies of unexpected scenarios and awkward situations that salespeople have actually faced. Through role-play and brainstorming we'll find creative strategies to help you hit the curve ball out of the ballpark. Maximum 10 participants.

Camp 3: Gold Glove Defense (Handling Objections)
Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. This camp includes a review of objection-handling techniques, the opportunity to brainstorm objection strategies in small groups, objection role-playing and objection baseball -- all to help you move around the bases without getting tagged out! Maximum 8 participants.

Camp 4: Bringing In The Closer
How many times have you played well for 7 or 8 innings, only to walk away without a win? This camp will focus on using the closer to successfully bring in the sale. It includes an inning or two on presenting a powerful proposal. Maximum 8 participants.

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Client-Focused Selling
Days:()

Cathy Edwards Ovington, facilitator

Client-Focused Selling is a sales approach that focuses, from start to finish, on the client. It depends on first understanding a client’s most urgent challenges and goals before presenting your product. You then customize your sale based on client needs. This interactive and consultative process is the best way to sell any product. It is especially effective when selling intangible products, like services or advertising space, or when selling technical or complex products. It works well for all types of salespeople, with all types of sales styles.

The courses below have at their core a commitment to Client-Focused Selling. This approach is explained and practiced with in-class exercises and role-playing. All the while, salespeople strengthen basic sales skills that are key to sales success. Because each sales group has unique needs, each session is customized to concentrate on the skills most beneficial to that group. Additionally, the trainer works to develop skills and expertise that participants can immediately apply. To this end, examples, practice exercises and role-plays will be drawn from actual or typical situations the salespeople encounter.

The sales skills below are incorporated into the courses that follow. Courses can be developed or customized to meet the most urgent needs of your sales team. When deciding which courses to take, a good place to start is in defining training goals for your team. Answer this question: What skills or abilities do I want my salespeople to learn or improve on by the end of this training session? Use the skill list below to help identify your priorities.

Client Analysis: Use critical thinking skills to identify client’s top marketing challenges and goals
Get your client’s attention immediately with a specific, customized opening
Formulate intelligence-gathering questions that clients like to answer
Actively listen and get agreement throughout your presentation (to build rapport, get buy-in on key points, scope out sales opportunities, and minimize objections)
Develop voice messages, e-mails and letters that motivate response
Set sales goals for maximizing progress on each sales call, to shorten your sales cycle
Organize a logical presentation that builds momentum
Identify and develop key concepts (that your presentation depends on)
Get agreement on client goals (before introducing your solution)
Deliver a 3-minute mini-pitch, benefit-driven and customized to client goals
Develop and sell a proposal that makes sense
Close and define next steps
Handle objections effectively – without getting defensive
Position and sell against a specific competitor (align, differentiate and show advantages)
Customize your presentation with relevant examples, logic, analogies, support points, sales tools, and research
Handle curve balls effectively
Upgrade clients: from identifying opportunities to presenting proposals
Sell the synergies of integrated products

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