Business Skills TrainingCourses > Business Skills Training

Our Business Skills courses are practical, relevant and enjoyable. Our course materials are accredited by the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM), this provides assurance that our courses meet a professional standard. We deliver highly effective learning solutions with proven quality results.

Course programmes include:

• Assertiveness
• Change Management
• Coaching Techniques
• Communication Skills
• Customer Service Skills
• Decision Making
• Finance
• Leadership
• Negotiation
• People Management
• Problem Solving
• Professional Presentations
• Sales
• Time Management

Advantages of using Indicia Training for Business Skills training include:

• Class sizes are kept to a minimum (averaging 6 delegates) allowing time for individual needs to be met
• Instructors are qualified and recognised as experts in their particular disciplines
• Pre and Post course support is provided with every class
• All training is practical, interactive and designed to improve business performance
• All courses can be tailored to the individual needs of each organisation
• Courses can be delivered at our training centres or at client premises
• Courses are designed to equip delegates with the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed
• Highly interactive training in a friendly, supportive and enjoyable environment
• Balanced programmes using a wide range of coaching skills
• Equal emphasis on individual learning and group participation
• By matching high quality training to an efficient operation we provide clients with excellent value for money and a real return on investment

Course details Course dates

Advanced Presentation Skills

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

Because people do things for their own reasons, you must motivate and inspire people from their perspectives, not yours. If you speak to their real needs, they will be compelled to listen, and listen well.

Advanced Presentation Skills

Duration

1 day

Course Content

1. Know what your purpose in giving this presentation is - in 10 words!

•    To inform?
•    To instruct?
•    To entertain?
•    To inspire or motivate?
•    To activate?
•    To persuade?

2. Understand the focus of your audience

•    Prepare carefully, so that your listeners know that you have considered them and their needs/interests
•    Make the audience want to listen to you; devise an intriguing opening and a title that you know will fit the audience
•    Present your ideas dramatically; use stories, examples and facts to make people remember what you say
•    Show clearly how your ideas affect the people in your audience and what the benefits are. Bridge the gap between the facts and their interest in those facts
•    Use appealing words: discovery, easy, guarantee, health, love, money, proven, results, safety, save, you
•    Draw people in by asking them to study or think about these ideas further. Use phrases such as: Just imagine ..., If you think about..., For example ..., etc.
•    Ask the audience to act on your presentation; what should the next steps be?

3. Decide on a structure and stick to it

Take charge of your presentation from the outset and be responsible for organising and leading your session. A clear structure shows confidence, helps you to remember what you will say, and makes it easy for the audience to follow your points.
Choose one of the following:

In sequence
Present the information as a sequence or process. This could be a chronological sequence if that is appropriate to your topic.

Problem and solution
This can be used to encourage people to take action.
•    Where we are now: symptoms of the problem
•    Analysis of the problems (where, why, how)
•    Possible solutions

Contrast and compare
Often this is used to help an audience to evaluate alternatives by examining differences and similarities

In categories
Useful if there is no obvious sequence or process involved. Try and invent interesting categories.
Example: Walking for the unfit; Walking for seniors; Walking for adventurers
Remember that less is more. If you can make your most important points stick in the minds of your listeners, you have done a good job. If you overwhelm them with detail, they may switch off - they certainly won't remember it all.

4. Sound and look confident

When we're nervous we speak more quickly than usual. In fact, you need to slow right down to give your listeners time to hear and take in what you say.

Speaking more slowly will make you sound immediately more confident and in control.

If you give your first and last sentences high impact, your energy will take your audience with you.

Use words that your audience will understand - they may not have the technical knowledge to follow all you say; how will this make them feel?

You may have your favourite relaxation techniques; if so, take time out to use them. It will pay dividends. Here is one we like - the trick is to keep breathing!

Look confident - feel confident:
•    Stand in a neutral position, feet hips' width apart, knees slightly bent.
•    Distribute your weight evenly; feel the solid ground under your feet
•    Let your shoulder blades drop; let your head sit easily without tension

To loosen up neck and shoulders:
•    Breathe in and lift your shoulders to your ears. Hold your breath and count 5
•    Relax your shoulders and let go of the breath at the same time.
•    Now lift and hold again; let go in 2 stages...
•    Then in 3 stages...
•    Then in 4 stages...
•    Keep checking your shoulders to make sure they're relaxed.

Breathe into your diaphragm
•    Empty the air right out so you feel completely empty.
•    Hold it like that for 5
•    Then breathe in "through your feet"; feel the air filling your body from the floor up.

Speak out
•    Once you're loosened up, stretch and yawn like a cat.
•    Feel your voice resonate through your whole body to open your mouth, throat, and lungs.
•    Now sigh hugely with relief!

5. Answer questions confidently

When you are asked a question, take a few seconds to think:

What is the questioner asking for?
•    Reassurance?
•    More information?
•    Clarification?

This is an opportunity to provide something extra.
If you really don't know the answer, stay calm, and tell the person you will come back to them and when.
Then do it.

Course details Course dates

Advanced Selling Skills

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

This course focuses particularly on the reasons why people buy and how you can build the business of your existing client base and the tools you can introduce to help you win new business whilst reducing the sale cycle timescales.

Advanced Selling Skills

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

This course focuses particularly on the reasons why people buy and how you can build the business of your existing client base and the tools you can introduce to help you win new business whilst reducing the sale cycle timescales.
This course is a practical and highly participative programme. It analyses the logical sequence for building sales. Great consideration is given to fundamental questions about the nature of persuading the various types of customer and an insight into each juncture of the sales cycle.

Course Objectives

The aim of this course is to develop the skills required to achieve repeated success by improving selling techniques.

Upon successful completion of this course, delegates will have the necessary skills to:

·                Control the sales interview by recognising and responding to the different ways customers like to communicate including simple body language tips

·                Demonstrate the benefit of selling by objectives

·                Identify and sell the benefits of their products using a consultative approach

·                Appreciate how sales people can use knowledge of the buying decision making process and decision making unit to influence the decision to purchase in their favour.

·                Practice a simple structure for handling objections

Target Audience

Account Managers and Salespeople with experience of selling (either telephone or field sales) who wish to develop their communication skills will benefit from this course. Alternatively, this course is equally suitable for salespeople who have received formal training in the past and wish to introduce some fresh ideas and change their approach.

Course benefits

·                Learn how to move away from the basic selling relationship to a consultative selling and relationship-based customer retention model

·                Develop your knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your consultative selling role

·                Learn relationship selling skills which will help you build sustained relationships with important customers by pro-actively anticipating their needs

·                Develop your consultative selling competencies which will maximise the business relationship with your clients

·                Sharpen your interpersonal skills and communication behaviours to manage the relationship more effectively

Course details Course dates

Assertiveness Skills

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

Being assertive is being able to express yourself with confidence without having to resort to passive, aggressive or manipulative behaviour.
By developing assertiveness and becoming aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, we can modify our behaviour for greater effectiveness in social and business interactions.

Assertiveness Skills

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

Being assertive is being able to express yourself with confidence without having to resort to passive, aggressive or manipulative behaviour.

By developing assertiveness and becoming aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, we can modify our behaviour for greater effectiveness in social and business interactions.

This course will provide guidance on how to become more assertive and build self-confidence, which in-turn will help delegates to achieve greater work effectiveness and productivity, whilst putting them in control of their daily activities and making them more able to overcome stressful work and life situations.

Target Audience

This course is suited to anyone that needs to develop their assertiveness skills and improve communication with others.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, delegates will have the necessary skills to:

·                Explain what assertiveness is and what it means for us and those around us

·                Appreciate that everyone has rights as an individual and that you can stand by those rights

·                Take a positive approach in communicating more effectively

·                Improve their self-esteem

·                Appreciate which words to use to get the most out of interactions with others

·                Follow a set process for approaching situations in an assertive manner

Course Contents

What is Assertiveness?

·                A series of activities relating to what assertiveness means and, perhaps more importantly, what it means to the participants.

My Assertiveness Goals

·                A chance for the participants to review what they want to get out of the session and where they would like to end up with regard to their approach to assertiveness.

How Assertiveness Works

·                A look at human reactions and the reasoning behind them culminating in an activity that looks at the participants own observations in relation to assertive behaviour.

My Assertive Rights

·                A review of the rights we have as individuals followed by a commitment to the rights by the participants.

Taking a Positive Approach

Looking at key methodology, including:

·                Giving and Receiving Compliments

o      A review of typical responses to compliments and their negative consequences, followed by an opportunity to develop new, positive responses.

·                Improving Self-Esteem

o      An in-depth review of each individuals positive aspects.

·                New Challenges

o      A set of challenges to take participants out of their comfort-zone and into the realm of possibilities.

·                Effective Communication

o      A look at what makes effective communication with some modelling of behaviours.

Approaching Assertiveness

·                A look at the four cornerstones of being assertive with a chance to practice these behaviours.

The Words You Use

·                Understanding the key areas of effective communication.

·                Covering the areas of; Disclosing Your Feelings, Being Clear, Being Persistent, Empathising and Working Towards a Wise Outcome.

Preparing to Be Assertive

·                A chance to understand and practice a set process of 'scripting' in order to develop an effective and natural approach to assertive interactions.

Assertive Review

·                An activity that solidifies the reasoning behind wanting to become assertive, whilst demonstrating that it is not an unachievable outcome

Course details Course dates

Communication Skills

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

This course is delivered using discussion groups, group & individual exercises. It provides an opportunity for all delegates to learn from others experiences, what works in their job environment, as well as the theory of communication skills.

Course details Course dates

Communicating Difficult Messages

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

This workshop has been developed in order to help your participants improve their abilities in communicating difficult messages. It will help them to identify the best method of relaying information taking into account the message and the individuals involved and enable them to improve their communication skills through practical application.

Communicating Difficult Messages

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

This workshop has been developed in order to help your participants improve their abilities in communicating difficult messages. It will help them to identify the best method of relaying information taking into account the message and the individuals involved and enable them to improve their communication skills through practical application.

There is also a focus on helping participants to handle the communication of difficult messages to sometimes-difficult individuals. The key aim is to ensure participants have the confidence, knowledge and skills to effectively communicate to their teams.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, delegates will have the necessary skills to:

·                Identify the best method of communicating for the topic

·                Prepare and structure effectively in order to communicate a difficult message

·                Use techniques to overcome personal barriers to communicating difficult messages

·                Manage awkward behaviours and difficult personalities Facilitate effective communication sessions

Course Contents

Methods of Communication and How Best to Use Them

·                This interactive session looks at the different messages that the participants might be required to deliver. The participants are then encouraged to consider the best method of communicating that message.

Preparing to Communicate

·                What People Want

o     The five elements that the receiver of a difficult message needs satisfied and how to meet them.

·                Structuring Your Message

o     Reviewing a set structure for delivering a message and how it works in practice.

·                Internal Statements

o     Examining our internal statements and how our thoughts affect our actions. What to do to overcome this.

Awkward Behaviours

·                Identifying why people act the way they do and establishing methods of managing difficult personalities.

Facilitation Skills

·                Playing the role of facilitator as opposed to simply 'presenting' information to your team. The effectiveness of this approach.

Preparation for Communication

·                A chance to use the skills learnt to prepare for communicating a difficult message.

Communication Practice & Review

·                Practicing communicating a difficult message with peer review.

Course details Course dates

Coaching Skills for Managers

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

Coaching has become a vital tool for anyone that wants to get the best out of their team. This session has been developed to provide delegates with a structured approach to coaching in the workplace.
The key aim of the course is to ensure the delegates as leaders drive results by supporting their team members in their learning, enabling them to develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to successfully deliver their job responsibilities and goals.

Coaching Skills for Managers

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

Coaching has become a vital tool for anyone that wants to get the best out of their team. This session has been developed to provide delegates with a structured approach to coaching in the workplace.

The key aim of the course is to ensure the delegates as leaders drive results by supporting their team members in their learning, enabling them to develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to successfully deliver their job responsibilities and goals.

Target Audience

This course is ideal for all Managers and Leaders that are required to develop and coach team members.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, delegates will be able to:

·                Define what coaching is and explain its role in the workplace

·                Explain the managers role in the coaching process

·                Know when they have created a positive coaching environment

·                Follow a specific procedure for coaching success

·                Use the GROW model to provide successful coaching conversations

·                Use coaching communication skills to good effect

·                Identify coaching opportunities and appreciate which style to use.

Course Content

What is Coaching

·                A review of what coaching is and the key skills required of a good coach.

My Experience

·                A look at the delegates own experience of having been 'coached' in the past

·                Examining their feelings and the positive and negative aspects.

Mine Field

·                A fun activity that allows delegates to practice the skills of a coach and review the learning points.

The Manager as Coach

·                A look at the role of the manager and how coaching fits into this.

The Coaching Environment

·                Examining the environment in which positive coaching can take place. One where staff can feel challenged and supported enough to achieve positive results.

A Procedure for Coaching Success

·                Providing delegates with a set structure to create a results-driven environment in which coaching plays an integral part.

The Coaching Conversation

·                Explaining the GROW model and specific questions based around this in order to enable delegates to carry out effective coaching conversations

·                There is also a chance to put the skills into practice.

Questioning

·                Looking at different questioning methods, the advantages of each and asking delegates to provide examples.

Whose Agenda?

·                Encouraging the delegates to help the coach explore issues by encouraging rather than telling

·                A chance to practice their questioning in a safe environment.

Active Listening

·                Understanding what active listening is and how to ensuring they use it.

Coaching Opportunities

·                Identifying what coaching opportunities there are in the workplace and then applying the skills from the course to a coaching practice session.

Review of Session

·                Creating an action plan to embed learning.

Course details Course dates

Coaching at Work

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

Coaching has become a critical element of team development and yet it is rarely understood and often implemented poorly. This training session will provide participants with a core understanding of the methods of coaching and provide them with some basic skills that will enable them to practically carry out coaching in the workplace.

Coaching at Work

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

Coaching has become a critical element of team development and yet it is rarely understood and often implemented poorly. This training session will provide participants with a core understanding of the methods of coaching and provide them with some basic skills that will enable them to practically carry out coaching in the workplace.

This course moves away from the viewpoint that coaching must be process driven and bureaucratic and will help the participants appreciate that coaching is an everyday occurrence that, when performed correctly, can be enlightening and fun.

Target Audience

This course is ideal for anyone that coaches as a part of their job role.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, delegate will have the necessary skills to:

·                Describe the best times to use coaching

·                Practically apply coaching methods in their work environment

·                Use questioning and listening skills to enhance coaching

Course Contents

What coaching is about...and what it isn't about

·                Exploring the important elements of coaching as well as identifying the factors that should not be included when coaching.

Applications of Coaching

·                Discussing where coaching can be applied in the workplace

Coaching in Practice

·                An in-depth exploration of coaching through a fun activity

·                The participants will experience the feelings and relevant associations that a coach may have during a coaching session and then discuss what this means in a practical sense.

Relating it Back to the Workplace

·                Taking the learning from the previous activity, creating a 'coaching model' and applying it to a practical coaching scenario.

Questioning

·                Practicing this fundamental element of coaching through discussion, practice and examples

·                Includes the GROW model and how it can be used in a practical sense.

Active Listening

·                Reviewing the good and bad of listening and identifying how important listening is to the coaching process.

Coaching in Action

·                A chance to practice the key skills developed throughout the session.

Course details Course dates

Building Relationships

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

To effectively build relationships participants will benefit from analysing some of the difficult personalities they encounter and learn how to overcome the barriers that may exist. Participants will also learn how assertiveness impacts on relationships and discover why trust is a crucial element and a foundation to any meaningful relationship.

Building Relationships

Duration

1 Day

Course Overview

This session will assist participants in building positive working relationships with their people. In business today we need to ensure that the people who work for us are motivated and willing to give 100 percent commitment. This will only happen if a good positive working relationship exists.

Target Audience

Relevant to everyone who wants to ensure good working relationships exist in their workplace.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, delegates will have the necessary skills to:

· Identify how barriers to building relationships can be overcome by recognising attitude and behaviours in themselves and others

· Explain the importance of trust in a relationship and identify methods of developing trust

· Recognise the difference between assertive, aggressive and passive behaviours and how these impact on relationships

Course Content

What is a Relationship?

In this module we will determine what a relationship is and discuss methods of overcoming barriers in building relationships.

Transactional Analysis, Betari's Box and the OK Corral

Here we will introduce transactional analysis and examining how our behaviours trigger behaviours in others and vice versa. We will also review a simple link between attitude and behaviour, and look at using the OK corral and how this impacts on behaviours and relationships.

Building Trust

Here we will be examining how trust has a major part in building and maintaining relationships and where opportunities exist to build trust. We will investigate how to build trust and what approach is needed to make a relationship work.

Using Assertive Behaviour

In the final module we will discuss how assertive behaviour impacts on building relationships and identifying the difference between assertive, aggressive and passive behaviour.

Course details Course dates

Conflict Handling

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

Conflict is an inevitable part of daily life. Whether we are part of the conflict or merely an observer, its effects can have a heavy impact. Learning to manage conflict is a positive skill, which empowers and creates confidence. It can also improve relationships, save money and ultimately increase productivity.

Conflict Handling

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

Conflict is an inevitable part of daily life. Whether we are part of the conflict or merely an observer, its effects can have a heavy impact. Learning to manage conflict is a positive skill, which empowers and creates confidence. It can also improve relationships, save money and ultimately increase productivity.

There is a way to approach conflict in which we can reach a win/win and collaborate to a successful conclusion for all involved. This session will focus on bringing about an end to participant's conflict situations quickly, cost-effectively and with as little discomfort as possible.

Target Audience

This session is effective for all that deal with conflict.

Course Objectives

This session will provide delegates with the skills, knowledge and awareness necessary to display a positive approach to conflict handling.

Upon successful completion of this course, delegates will have the necessary skills to:

·                Define conflict and how to identify it

·                Explain positions and interests and why conflict is so hard to resolve

·                Identify the stages of conflict and the five methods of dealing with it

·                Follow set approaches to handling conflict

Course Contents

What is conflict?

·                Helping participants to understand and appreciate how conflict occurs, whilst reviewing their own experiences.

How to spot conflict

·                Looking at the tell-tale signs and the more predictable behaviours inherent with conflict.

Why conflict can be difficult to resolve

·                A look at the behavioural aspect of conflict.

How our desires drive our behaviour and what this means.

Positions and Interests

·                A further exploration of how people focus on positions when working on interests can produce better results (supported by an excellent training game).

The stages of conflict

·                Plotting the typical path that a conflict follows and relating this to participant's own experience.

The five methods of managing conflict

·                Exploring the methods individuals use to manage conflict, which are: Avoiding, Accommodating, Forcing, Compromising, Collaborating.

Resolving conflicts you are involved in

·                Skills required

o    Identifying and discussing the key skills.

·                Conflict resolution model

o    Following a set method of resolution.

·                Personal conflict situation

o    Applying skills to a personal situation.

·                Negative responses

o    Coping with typical responses.

·                Practice

o    A chance to demonstrate and practice in a safe environment

Resolving conflict between others

·                How to manage the process of helping others resolve conflicts without becoming embroiled.

Course details Course dates

Customer Care on the Telephone

Duration:

1 day

Course ID:

n/a

Customer service is one of the most important aspects of any business. It's not just a question of reacting to your customers' needs - it's also about defining what they really want, even when they are not sure themselves!
This session will help your delegates react better to customer needs - and deal with situations when they become difficult.

Customer Care on the Telephone

Duration

1 day

Course Overview

Customer service is one of the most important aspects of any business. It's not just a question of reacting to your customers' needs - it's also about defining what they really want, even when they are not sure themselves!

This session will help your delegates react better to customer needs - and deal with situations when they become difficult.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course delegates will be able to:

·                Explain the importance of being customer-centred

·                Explain the needs of their customers and how to meet them

·                Define their customers' perceptions and how that affects their relationship

·                Follow the five steps to assertiveness over the phone

·                Build rapport with their customers and maintain it

·                Demonstrate active listening with their customers

·                Use four types of questioning to determine customer needs

·                Improve their telephone tone

·                Reframe negative statements into positives

·                Analyse and adapt their behaviour when dealing with customers

·                Follow three steps to meet customer needs

·                Explain why complaints occur and identify methods of dealing with them.

Course Contents

Customer Service in Business

·                Here we look at the benefits of being customer-centred. Focusing on how we perceive customers now in order to understand the importance of customers for the business.

Understanding Customer Needs

·                Service is a very personal thing, and our opinions about the service we receive are individual to us. To be in with any chance of succeeding, we at least need to know what our customers expect from us.

How We View Things

·                Understanding that everyone's reality is different. Responding to the needs of our customers without letting our own emotions cloud our judgement.

Being Assertive

·                Focusing on how assertive we are and recognising that being assertive is the key to dealing with customer situations. Looking at five steps to assertiveness.

Three Key Communication Skills:

·                Rapport

o    Identifying how to build and maintain it.

·                Active Listening

o    What are the barriers? How do we overcome them? Testing our ability with a fun exercise.

·                Effective Questioning

o    Moving away from Open/Closed and looking at four key questioning methods.

Voice and Language

·                Looking at ways to improve our tone of voice over the phone.

Words and Recognition

·                Identifying 'Negative' statements we use and hear day-to-day and reframing them.

Different Types of Customer

·                A chance to look within ourselves and examine our behaviour with customers and adapt it to improve communications.

Meeting Customer Needs

·                Using the three steps to recommendation.

Not another Complaint

·                Examining the reasoning behind complaints through discussional activities.

A Pig of a Complaint!

·                A fun exercise with an important message. This part of the session is summarised with a specific process for dealing with complaints.

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Business Skills TrainingCourses > Business Skills Training

Advanced Presentation Skills

No course dates available at this time.

Advanced Selling Skills

Course dates

Assertiveness Skills

Course dates

Communication Skills

Course dates

Communicating Difficult Messages

Course dates

Coaching Skills for Managers

Course dates

Coaching at Work

Course dates

Building Relationships

No course dates available at this time.

Conflict Handling

Course dates

Customer Care on the Telephone

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