Workshops and Professional Services

Introduction to Professional Sales

This workshop will help current college students as well as recent graduates understand the world of professional sales. Additionally, it will prepare the student to integrate into corporate sales and compete at the highest levels

After years of working with and training sales professionals and specifically hearing the same response: “they don’t teach this stuff in college”, it became clear that a course designed for college students considering a career in professional sales was greatly needed. Developing basic sales skills as well as product knowledge and competitive information are not the only components of long-term success in professional B2B sales. There are a host of other skills that need to be developed and perfected in order to maximize your potential and hit your numbers on a consistent basis. To help college students acclimate to a corporate sales environment, UST has developed a series of modules that will help foster this objective. In this program, UST offers insight into the key skills, strategies and resources required to be successful long term in sales. Additionally, common misconceptions as well as rookie mistakes are discussed. The students will view the full life cycle of a professional sales executive through the highs and lows, as well as important career choices. Discussions on how marketing and sales presentations can affect a client’s perspective on your offerings are detailed as well. The sales program will conclude with resume building, cover letter preparation and interview strategies in order to give the student the best chance of landing a position in professional sales. With this course, UST is confident the students can quickly adapt to and flourish in a new corporate sales environment.

Individual topics covered in the course are listed below:

• Working with sales management
• Financial selling
• Resource selection
• Financial selling
• Business entertainment
• Territory management skills
• Time management/maximizing time internally and externally
• Proposal and presentation skills
• Managing money through the ups and downs of commission sales
• How to put a prospect at ease on the first call
• Knowing when to fire a customer

Running a sales territory parallels owning a small business. When running a small business, the owner must keep both the customer and employees happy. The same is true for a sales executive. A successful sales executive must focus energy both internally and externally. If a representative does not pay attention to both their corporate resources and their management team, they will not be employed long term, regardless of sales performance. This course has a deep focus on the big picture of sales, and how to balance personal, customer and corporate needs. Although these modules were specifically developed for college graduates beginning their sales careers, the topics covered can benefit all sales executives interested in refreshing their corporate B2B skills, or learning new techniques.

TWO DAY ONE ON ONE SALES COACHING

This workshop is designed for the more junior sales exec that is somewhat struggling to meet his or her sales objectives and is looking to make significant changes to the way they approach their sales territory in order to meet and exceed quota.

It is no secret that in today’s environment where many sales execs do not work in traditional sales offices, it becomes challenging to learn critical sales skills. Companies have online training for product information as well as the competitive landscape; however where does a salesman go for many of the intangible skills that are critical to long-term success? Books can offer guidance and insight, such as UST’s publication “What They Don’t Teach You in Sales School”. However, there is no substitution for one on one sales coaching from individuals who have walked the walk. It makes perfect sense for companies to invest in quality training for their employees. The return on the sales coaching investment will pay high dividends and if the company is not willing to make the investment, then the sales exec can and should make the investment on an individual basis. Truly investing in the career a person has chosen makes good business sense. Although sales managers may have the skill set to provide coaching, in most cases they don’t have the bandwidth to dedicate enough time to this important discipline. In fact, sales managers who have spent more time in management rather than direct sales typically don’t have the required skill set.

A successful B2B sales exec must focus on 3 components of the sales triangle:

• Fundamental sales skills
• Product, industry, and competitive landscape
• B2B foundational principles

UST focuses on B2B foundational principles. Without a firm grasp and execution on these Universal Sales Truths, all of the product knowledge and competitive information in the world will not be maximized. Bright and hard-working sales executives who know the product, industry and the competition very well lose business every day because of the lack of foundational principles. Interestingly enough, in many cases they have no idea why they lost the deal. Many times the reason is the 3rd leg of the sales triangle. UST believes it all starts with B2B foundational principles. That is why this sales coaching offering is so valuable for career-minded sales execs that are looking to perform at the highest level.

SALES RE-CALIBRATION WORKSHOP

This workshop helps the more seasoned sales exec discover new and creative areas to drive additional revenue as well as help uncover potential “blind spots” that might be hindering maximum performance.

Studies have shown that it makes sense to take time on a periodic basis to re- evaluate, on a holistic level, your overall business approach. Similar to the re-calibration of a fine watch or the on -going servicing of a heavy piece of equipment, the business of running a sales territory deserves the same attention. Many times we get caught up in the day-to-day activities of prospecting and servicing our customers and never take the time to step back and take a look at our territory as a “business” and approach it as such. Additionally, the pressures of quarterly sales objectives and preparing numerous reports for sales management prevent us from taking a breath in order to determine if we are maximizing the opportunities available to us. Too many times we focus on activity instead of productivity. Are you maximizing your time from an internal (your company) as well as external (your clients) in order to conserve valuable time and deliver better results? This workshop provides the opportunity to evaluate your performance in areas that you typically don’t focus on. Areas discussed include time management strategies for prospects and customers, internal resource deployment, financial selling, and client relationship management, to name a few. The objective of the workshop is to get the attendees to THINK about ways to maximize their business opportunities by devoting as much quality time as possible in areas that will offer the best return on investment.

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
WORKSHOP

This workshop helps the small business owner design and implement a sales and marketing strategy to generate new revenue and promote sustained growth.

This course is designed to assist the small to medium business owner develop sales and marketing strategies in line with corporate best practices. Many times the business owner is a solid technician in their area of expertise however they lack the experience and knowledge to take their business to the next level. Specifically they lack the expertise to uncover new business opportunities as well as maximize the opportunities within their current client base. It is important to understand that this is a highly specialized workshop designed for each client’s individual requirements.

Some of the topics covered include the following:

• Do you have an individual in your company responsible and ACCOUNTABLE for sustained growth and profitability?
• Are you attempting to sell to a broad range of prospects or are you focusing your time and energy on the prospects that will most benefit from your products and services? In other words have you taken the necessary time to identify your IDEAL CLIENT?
• How do you determine how much growth your company can tolerate without impacting service and profitability?
• Do you have a well though-out compensation plan for your sales reps that will keep them employed and motivated to work hard?
• Do you have methodologies in place to monitor and track your sales pipeline so you can accurately forecast new business and plan accordingly?
• Do you have the background and experience to manage a professional sales person?
• Are you taking advantage of the software tools that will help accelerate sales performance?