Chat Support Software

For management training, sales training and customer care training 01509889632 or request call back

My basket (0) | login
PTP, management, sales and customer care training

Filter Courses

Archive: Oct 2018

  1. How to perfect your CV ahead of job interviews

    A concise, well-structured and informative CV is absolutely crucial for ensuring you make it through to the interview stage of a recruitment process. Most employers make decisions about CVs in a matter of seconds and it takes just a few errors or a lack of information for yours to end up in the wrong pile. So, how do you perfect your CV ahead of job interviews to ensure that you make it through to a face-to-face?

    Be concise

    Your CV has roughly eight seconds to work its magic on the person viewing it, so a lengthy tome is going to be almost useless. In terms of your career, focus on the best bits and the headlines, ensuring that everything is relevant to the role you’re applying for – you don’t need to tell your entire career history.

    Say why you’re the best person for the job

    You may think that the skills and experience in your CV make it clear why you’re the best person for the job but a potential employer may not make the same links. A personal statement is a short, direct paragraph that sets out exactly why you are the ideal candidate, making the connection in case the employer hasn’t.

    Make sure your CV is up to date

    You’re wasting a huge opportunity if your CV doesn’t have all your most recent experience on. Employers tend to be suspicious if all the experience listed is old and out of date so take the time to keep your CV up to date. You’ll also need to explain any gaps in your career timeline – find a positive way to illustrate time spent on something that wasn’t work and why this has been valuable to your development and growth in the long run.

    Never lie

    Yes you should always use your CV to reflect the best possible version of everything you’ve achieved. However, embellishing or lying about what you’ve done and what you’re capable of just means you’re likely to get caught out at interview or when your references are checked.

    Don’t be that person…

    … who ends up in the “no” pile simply because they didn’t check the spelling. Employers will always be put off by spelling and grammar errors so it’s just not worth letting such unnecessary mistakes slip through the net.

    If your CV is online, include keywords

    If your CV contains keywords that are relevant to the sector you work in and the role that you’re looking for then you’re much more likely to get employers coming to you.

    Make your CV stand out

    There are a number of ways you can do this, including identifying any statistics, figures or other ways of quantifying what you’ve achieved to give your CV more credibility. Remember that the CV needs to look good and flow easily so pay attention to paragraphing, use bullet points and apply a little bit of graphic design so the end result is professional and easy to understand.

    Your CV is the key to the door of the interview room so don’t neglect it. With a great CV you’ll be able to increase the opportunities that are available to you and find that dream role. Take a look at our Half Day Masterclass in Brushing up your CV Writing and Interview Skills for more tips.

  2. How to improve your consultative selling style

    According to Gallup, less than half of customers feel that their needs are adequately addressed by sellers. This is a big issue for sellers, not just with respect to customer satisfaction levels but also whether the best use is being made of resources and effort in terms of results achieved. If you want to be more effective at selling then it’s crucial to understand how to meet the needs of the customer – and there is no better way to do that than with a  consultative selling approach.

    Why use consultative selling?

    Consultative selling focuses first and foremost on building a relationship with the customer. It’s from that relationship that insights and trust can be built so that it becomes possible to position more compelling solutions for the customer. A consultative approach works best for everyone, as the customer gets what they need and the seller achieves results. While it’s not always the easiest approach to master       there are lots of ways to improve your consultative selling style.

    Don’t overdo the questions

    Yes, it is crucial to question the customer so that you can understand what their problems are, which will enable you to position the best solution. However, a barrage of questions will quickly make a customer disengage. The key is to pick your questions carefully, don’t waste them, and balance those questions with insights so that you come across as credible and the questions feel like a logical next step from your insight sharing.

    The value of knowledge

    Consultative selling is much more of a conversation, which means that knowledge gaps or a lack of industry understanding can be easily revealed. So, it’s important to ensure that you have done plenty of research about the business and the sector in advance – the conversation may be short so you need to be ready to impress.

    Establish reliability

    If you’re selling over the phone then building credibility can be a challenge. However, if you can establish yourself as reliable and knowledgeable then you are half way there. An easy way to demonstrate this is to ensure that you achieve at least one follow-up after the call. The important element here is not the follow-up itself but the fact that you deliver on it. This will establish credibility, reliability and give the customer reason to believe you can deliver.

    Learn how to communicate without being dominant

    If you’re dominating the conversation, customers can quickly switch off. Moments of silence can provide emphasis and it’s crucial to listen as well as speak. Ideally, a consultative selling conversation is one that is guided by a seller who is concise and well-informed.

    View every piece of feedback as valuable, even the negative

    Although you might hear an obstacle when someone articulates negative feedback, what is actually being communicated is a need. Effectively, even negative feedback is useful when it comes to refining customer need and identifying how the relationship could progress.

    Our Consultative Selling course is ideal for those who are looking to develop a selling style that achieves both better results and stronger relationships.  Get in touch for more advice and course options today.

  3. How can you improve your key account management?

    Key accounts are those that are the most valuable to the business. These are the clients whose loss would make a significant impact, whether that’s purely financial or reputational too. Given their importance to any enterprise, it makes sense to invest time and resources in key account management that nurtures these critical contacts. But how do you make sure that key account management is generating more sales and entrenching longer-lasting relationships, as opposed to increasing cost and lowering margins?

    Key account management – the when and how

    When you adopt key account management – if you haven’t already – depends on your particular business. You may choose to wait until you have a dedicated key account team or until it’s obvious that your competitors are reaping the rewards of this kind of investment. For key account management to be really beneficial, a relatively long sales cycle is required and this type of programme often works best where there is upselling and cross-selling potential.

    It’s important to make the distinction between key account management and selling – sales is often a very short-term perspective whereas key account management is all about prioritising the future. Identifying key accounts isn’t just about revenue. Other criteria may also be important, such as cultural fit, solvency, the possibility of becoming a channel partner and product fit.

    Improving key account management

    Make sure your team has the right skills

    Effective key account management is all about the people who you assign to do it. They should have an in-depth understanding of the client company, from strategy to market position, and able to provide custom services, offers and products, as well as handling both short and long term planning. The right training can make all the difference when it comes to generating real ROI on key account management investment.

    Delegate different responsibilities

    Separate your key account management team from your sales team. As already noted, the two are not the same thing.

    Create a customised key account management plan

    The purpose of the plan is to help you identify where the opportunities lie when it comes to growth, what the potential obstacles are to that growth, as well as where competitors present a threat. Key information for the plan includes account targets and strategy, as well as information about the customer, such as business plan and financial health.

    Be selective in terms of the accounts that you focus on

    Define your key accounts using a set of established selection criteria and regularly review whether these are providing the right foundation. You’ll also need to review the accounts you define as key accounts fairly frequently, as relationships can change over time.

    Have an infrastructure

    A CRM is essential to ensure that you can keep track of interactions with key accounts and make sure every opportunity for growth is taken.

    Track and measure

    What you’re looking for is a constant upward trend in terms of the account’s engagement and loyalty. Part of the process will be regularly checking in with the client to get their feedback about their experience with you.

    A sound key account management process is essential for any business – our Developing Major Accounts course can help any of your salespeople currently trying to develop skills in this area to deliver more to the business overall.

  4. 5 personal skills that every successful administrator needs

    Administrators are the unseen heroes of almost every business. They not only keep the wheels of the business ticking over but have the knowledge and insight to suggest innovative change within an organisation. With the right combination of experience, ability and personal skills, an administrator can become crucial to the future success of the business.

    5 key person skills administrators need to have

    Strong communication

    The ability to clearly communicate, both in writing and verbally, is essential for an administrator. You might be the first person clients or customers come into contact with, as well as the reference individual for all the teams internally. Given the range and diversity of people you’re likely to have to deal with it’s essential to be able to clearly and concisely communicate with each one, whether you’re explaining or persuading.

    Able to handle the pressure

    As an administrator you will often find yourself in challenging situations, whether you are stretching the limits of your skill set or dealing with individual demands. Being able to handle any pressured situation with composure and calm is an important skill for an administrator. You’ll need to be able to assess the situation and make decisions on your feet in order to find the right solutions.

    Embracing the new

    Being an effective administrator requires a desire to get into the latest technology and systems so that you are primed to identify the best option for the business. Knowledge of key systems, such as Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel is a basic requirement and a breadth of understanding when it comes to everything from payroll through to PowerPoint will also be incredibly useful. The most valued administrators are often those who are always testing out new ideas and willing to learn new systems and processes so as to be of benefit to the business. For example, an administrator with a sound understanding of social media who is able to kick start this channel for an employer – and explore its potential for the business – will be a huge advantage.

    A cost effective mindset

    Every business is always keen to make cost savings. An administrator with a natural eye for opportunities to reduce costs and introduce efficiencies will be a huge asset to any organisation. The person in an administrator role is often privy to a wide range of information and insights that others in the organisation may not have. As a result they are often perfectly placed to be able to suggest cost cutting solutions that could prove to be invaluable to the business.

    Always having one ear to the ground

    Being an industry insider is a crucial skill for an administrator, both when it comes to understanding the language of the sector and the systems and technology that support and drive it. Being in touch with industry trends and able to identify those that might be beneficial to the business is also a great skill to have.

    Our Effective Administrator course is designed to help nurture all the key skills that are likely to be most useful to an administrator in developing a long and fruitful career. Get in touch today to find out more.

In-House Training with PTP

PTP stands for Practical Training for Professionals and our aim is to make our training as practical as possible so delegates can return to the workplace with skills they can implement immediately. PTP now delivers training to over 40% of the FTSE 100.

What you get for your money

What is 1-to-1 training?

1-to-1 training can be based on any of the 100 plus courses that PTP provides, it includes an initial telephone conference of up to 1 hour, a 1/2 day (3.5 hours) on-site one to one training session at your premises with one of PTP's expert trainers and then a further telephone conference call of up to an hour within 2 weeks of the on-site visit.

You have the option of a line manager being involved in both telephone conferences, the second telephone conference which can be for feedback and action planning is generally scheduled during the on-site visit.

Who does 1-to-1 training suit?

Individuals taking on a new challenge or responsibilities. Professionals who want a trusted "sounding board" and thinking partner. Executives or managers who want to enhance their leadership effectiveness to achieve organizational and career success. Executives and professionals wanting to compete successfully but still retain balance in their life. Individuals who want to understand their blind spots so that they don't stand in their own way on their path to success. Executives and Professionals who want to improve their interpersonal skills so as to be more effective with bosses, peers, subordinates, or people in general. How much does 1-to-1 training cost?

A 1-to-1 training session costs from as little as £400 + VAT and will include an initial telephone conference of up to 1 hour, a 1/2 day (3.5 hours) on-site training at your premises and then a further telephone conference call of up to an hour within 2 weeks of the on-site visit.

What is U-Choose?

Choose from any of the 150 plus courses that PTP provides, and choose from 1 of our 50 plus UK wide training venues. You must book for 2 or more delegates and at least 4 weeks in advance, but that’s it, the course you want where you want it. The reason we ask for a minimum of 4 weeks notice is to enable us to market the course you have scheduled to other companies and organisations. However, if we fail to sell any additional places we guarantee to run the course just for you.

How much does U-Choose Training cost?

U-choose costs the same as our normal open courses i.e. the normal delegate rate. This includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day, framed certification and comprehensive training notes. A U-Choose booking can only be confirmed once we receive payment which can be made via credit/debit card, BACS or cheque. Payment is due at least 4 weeks before the date you request. Please note to be eligible for U-Choose you must book a minimum of 2 delegates on the same course & date.