Stewart Graham
Avalon Solutions - How to… seminars/workshops
"It was the best presentation I have experienced. Stewart is excellent and helps to get the concept across."
Barbara Blamires, HR Insight, London"The content acted as a very worthwhile reminder of the practices and procedures we should adopt when pitching; it concentrated on the key issues, which are often overlooked, and provided some useful tips on matters that might not have otherwise been considered. The presentation was also focused, practical and unfussy. My discussions afterwards with other delegates showed that it was well received and greatly appreciated."
Geoff Wood, Partner, Morley and Scott, Thames Valley"Very informative. Gave information and guidance on networking that all businesses should know. Very well presented."
Elizabeth Nelson, Managing Director, b2b regulatory support ltd, London
During half-day seminars/workshops (typically 2 to 2.5 hours) I will provide you and your staff with ideas and skills to improve your success rate in gaining new work, being relaxed communicating the benefits of working with your organisation, presenting to groups and pitching successfully for new business; all with the aim of improving the flow of good quality work into the business and increasing your profit. All of the seminars can be shortened to fit your event.
Do you want to know How to...
…get the most from networking?
Business is always being told to network but what does it really mean? Let’s throw away all the business talk, networking is chatting. There are many tips about how to approach it, who to talk to, what to say, what not to say, how to move on to the next person, how to follow up the lead.
This seminar gives an amusing and slightly irreverent look at networking and shows how it can be done by anyone just by adopting a certain approach. After all, it really is just chatting!
- "Good talk on networking skills. Will benefit future networking opportunities."
- "In fact the event exceeded my expectations in terms of value of speaker's content"
…sell without selling?
Professional services organisations tend not to like the words sell, selling or customers. “Stewart don’t you understand, we don’t have customers we have clients.” someone once said to me. Professional services are slowly becoming de-professionalised and clients are now much more promiscuous; they will hop out of your service bed into another; so it is even more important to gain an edge over the competition because you are now in a selling situation.
Don’t panic! There are many practices you can adopt that can sell your service before you even start speaking about what you do. This seminar asks some fundamental, and some might think obvious, questions about what your Customer experiences when they deal with you and how to make that interaction as positive as possible.
…pitch successfully for new work?
It is no longer enough to know your area of work; this no longer distinguishes you from the competition. The way you approach the potential client, how you handle the meeting and how you impress those in front of you will win you a new client. Your professional knowledge is largely assumed.
I arranged for a colleague to meet a potential client with the possibility of a large amount of work over two years. I was horrified to see how my colleague greeted the client, how no effort was made to research his company beforehand, how my colleague was dressed and how poorly the meeting was handled. And, even before the meeting, the Practice was over 50% of the way to securing the work. The Client went elsewhere with his business.
This seminar will show you how to create the correct impression, what to research beforehand and how to put that across to the potential client. I once told two Directors of a company who their founding Directors were, when the company was formed, where it was first located and the original name. They said "You know more about this company than we do!" That company became a client.
…present without the panic?
Death by PowerPoint is a phrase used by many presenters as, after a full day of presentations, most people would happily throw a laptop out of the window than endure yet another presentation, particularly if the presenter is simply reading the vast amount of text contained within the presentation.
Your presentation must stand out from the crowd so you will be remembered, whether to colleagues or potential clients. There are secrets to avoid sending everyone into brain meltdown when presenting. Maintaining interest in your presentation is not difficult to achieve. In this session you will learn the brain meltdown and brain-stimulating methods to presenting. When you first rode a bike, you were nervous and fell off; the same thing applies to presenting. Just like riding a bike, there are stabilising skills you can learn to minimise the number of times you fall off.
Start introducing more efficient and effective practices now by calling (07920 114572), Skyping (stewartgraham) or emailing me and see your costs lowered and your profits increased