Opening Keynote defines what a customer driven sales message is and how to go about defining yours in words that speak to the needs of the customer.  Principles of: “attention first, then retention”, “you vs we”, and “high fives” are embedded.  Break-out discussions focus on your company's (and others’) sales message – and how to strongly entrench it across your business as a start.

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Opening Keynote reminds you of the importance and differentiation achieved by ensuring your sales message is centred around the customer.  Then we review and discuss the high level messaging you have derived for your business, using the principles established in topic one.

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Opening Keynote speaks to the power of presentations that customers can relate to, understand and retain the message.  Why are bullet points distracting from you landing your message and how can you build impactful presentations that help your message stand out from the pack.  Break-out discussions focus on practicing the “attention first, then retention” principle and simplifying a message by visualizing and animating it.

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Opening Keynote covers the importance of highlighting your value and credentials in a proposal document/RFP response, by using an executive summary effectively, rather than waffling on about less important information and losing the prospect’s attention.  Break-out sessions focus on reviewing a proposal you have submitted previously and how you can improve thereon.

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Opening Keynote speaks to the importance of identifying the criteria and steps required in pre-qualifying your best opportunities, and then in qualifying, selling and closing deals.  We call these steps “progress points (PPs)” that are unique to every business and therefore need to be identified based on experience and general good practice.  These steps need to be measurable and monitored so that correlations relative to conversions can be identified as a way to continuously build efficiencies.  Break-out discussions focus on defining the “go/no go” filters that best reflect your ideal prospect.

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Opening Keynote reminds you of the importance of measurement and provides a template for automating your own sales process and building intelligence through data to continuously improve it.  Break-out sessions focus on identifying the steps you should be following in qualifying, selling and closing in order to maximise your conversion rates.

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Opening Keynote deals with time wastage in any sales environment – i.e. selling to someone who was never likely to buy.  How do you avoid this and ensure that your sales professionals give maximum energy to your best prospects?  The answer lies in having a “sales enablement” function that collects prospect data, researches the industry and competitors, pre-qualifies prospects, handles the collation of proposals and presentations etc, and has responsibility for collecting data and reporting on the overall sales process.  Break-out sessions focus on identifying what research you should be doing in order to best empower your sales professionals to sell effectively, and reviewing your “go/no go” filters.

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Opening Keynote talks to how sales, as a profession, should be centred around continuous improvement, and just like any professional athlete, in order to be at the top of your game, you need to practice, measure, set goals and prepare meticulously.  When it comes to the big game, making sure you have prepared for the occasion is key.  Implementing a defined “Big Bid Process” makes sure that you are well prepared and best positioned to win on the big day. 

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