Empathy Client Relationships Course - a profitable business training course

Empathy Client Relationships Course - a profitable business training course

Overview

Often we know that the 'consultant' or professional is expected to achieve short-term results with the client as well as foster the long-term commercial relationship. This can be tricky as the client is likely to want to give little away while expecting much in return. He or she is likely to be very different in temperament from the professional, and the professional is likely to want to be as helpful as possible. Clearly professionals need help in this area. They do not want to be considered as 'salespeople' and therefore do not want 'sales training', though this would often help them to deal with this situation. And mostly they will not have had much, if any, customer service training.

Hence our Empathy Client Relationship Course. This is significant communication training. It shows the professional how to understand the differences between themselves and their client. Importantly it shows them how to deal with those differences and it gives them the techniques and the confidence to create the right working and commercial relationship. It is the client services equivalent of customer services training for front-line staff.

It shows participants how the Empathy Styles model works - how you can 'read' other people's styles, almost instantly on meeting, or on the phone - and how to quickly adapt your approach to get alongside your customer.

It is an extraordinarily powerful yet simple concept that is easy to grasp, fun to learn and profitable to put into action.

Who will benefit?

What Will They Gain?

The Empathy Styles Difference

Topics You Will Cover During the 2 Days

Day 1

Introduction and Objectives

We tell you about the course and how it will run over the 2 days. Very importantly we get to know why you're on the course, what you expect to gain, and something about your own sales methodology. This helps us to adapt the course as it progresses to your needs.

Background to the Empathy Styles model - how and why it works

You will understand why this powerful and practical sales tool works because of its background from a fully validated psychometric .

The challenge of relationship with people very different from us

Identifying your important business and personal relationships. Appreciate the challenge of working with people who are very different from us. See the benefit of working differently with people.

Understanding the 7 Empathy Styles

Get to grips quickly in the first morning with the 7 Empathy Styles - what they mean - how they determine people's behaviour - the strengths and weaknesses of each style - what each style will respond to and what puts them off!

Understanding the similarities and differences between the styles

Drive your understanding of the 7 styles deeper by knowing how each one is both different and similar from the others

How to spot the styles in others - quickly

Learn to use TOPDOG - our unique 6 step process to quickly read another's personality. The group meets 2 people, new to the group, to discover for themselves how easy it is to identify others Empathy Style on first meeting. Understand the 4 times when you can get to know someone else's style.

Identifying your customers

Use your learning of the 7 styles to identify your customers' and your prospects' personalities - realise how easy it is to read them when you know what you're looking for. Begin to really appreciate - at a psychological level - why you get on better with some than others and what you may need to change in your approach.

Building Rapport with them

Getting in step with your customers and prospects is crucial to a successful sales relationship. By this time you will know what and how much 'rapport' each style needs. You will have a natural way of relating to people - in this session you will realise why it sometimes works and why sometimes it doesn't.

Communicating and Working with the different styles

Beyond Rapport comes the working relationship. The challenge each of us faces is how to communicate and work with the different styles - what each style needs and how to provide that for sales success. In this session you'll discuss your own prospects and customers and what you need to do differently.

Day 2

Review of learning

Review and reinforce what you've learnt so far and what you've realised overnight about your own and others' styles.

Effect of a low score with each style

One of the unique points about the Empathy model is that the LOW styles of each person can sometimes be as important as the HIGH styles in determining their behaviour. So learn in this session about how to judge the low styles in your prospect and what that means in terms of your sales communication.

Combinations of styles

Each of us is a mixture of styles - some of us will have as many as 4 styles scoring 'high'. Some of the these styles 'combine' easily in our personality to produce an enhanced and complementary result. Other styles will conflict with each other producing a different result. In this session understand how 'combinations of styles' works, and why it's important to know the Empathy Style combination of your prospect. Learn how to read this combination and how to respond with the appropriate sales approach.

Review your own profile

Now we've worked on Combinations, it's time to have another look at your own profile again - to check that you've got it about right. And in helping you to understand your own behaviour preferences through your Empathy Styles profile, this session drives your understanding of the model and therefore your prospect deeper still.

The Presentation Step in the sales process

Many people would say that a major part of selling is presenting your proposition. And we'd agree so long as we can add that establishing Rapport and Credibility and then Questioning for the business or individual needs are just as important! So we work on these as well as presenting. The challenge we all face in selling is moving away from our 'usual' presentation and genuinely adapt our proposition so that it will appeal to the unique Empathy Style preferences of the prospect. This is one of the sessions that will challenge you to make the change that you need to make - potentially to present your product or service in a way that you are not used to or find comfortable!

Handling objections

One of the ways of recognising experienced salespeople is by the way they welcome and handle objections. Imagine being able to predict which objections a particular prospect is likely to raise. Well, that's exactly what this session will do. We work with the 7 fundamental objections and will show you which Empathy Styles will throw you which ones. (And incidentally, one of the styles is unlikely to raise any objections, and still they won't buy from you!)

Strategy review

As a professional salesperson you know that professional selling is not just about the face-to-face contact. It's also about how you go about prospecting, understanding the organisation and the decision-making process, getting past the gatekeepers, setting up meetings, sending information appropriately, maintaining contact, writing proposals, following-up and closing the deal. This session is about how you go about approaching and selling to an organisation that you don't know. Now that you understand the Empathy Approach it becomes easy to work with your colleagues on the course to come up with the best approach to each scenario.

How others see you

Not everyone will welcome your visit as a salesperson. Not because they don't have a need but because they don't like you - your personality clashes with theirs. Psychologists tell us that as many as 40% of the people who meet you will not like or understand you. If you're experienced you'll know this already. You'll know that some people would probably prefer to deal with someone else from your organisation, or maybe they're already doing business with your competition. At this stage in the Empathy Selling Course you'll understand why certain people will clash with you - and of course, by this time you'll certainly understand how to predict that and what to do to correct that position. In fact you'll be starting to be skilled in showing a different side of yourself - becoming more flexible in the way you deal with people, particularly those who are very different from yourself.

Planning to put it into practice

The 2 days will have gone quickly. You will have gained a lot of insight and as important a lot of skill as you've practiced with your colleagues the various elements of the course. And still it's important to have a plan of what you'll do tomorrow and the next day - how will you continue the changes that you have begun to make? At the end of this session you will have a plan to work to. You may not work well with 'plans'! So whatever works for you we will work with you.

Evaluation, Certificates and Close

The end of the course you'll receive a certificate of completion. And you'll have a chance to tell us what you think of what you've learned. Not that we're looking to influence you, of course, but our experience is that most participants will rate us at the minimum of 5 out of 6 for this programme!

What's included?

2 days of interactive training with an experienced Empathy Selling trainer

Over the 2 days practical guidance and tips on participants' real sales opportunities and 'difficult' prospects and customers

A helpful workbook and an easy-to-use reference manual

All refreshments and lunch for both days

A certificate of completion

Unlimited email or phone support from the Empathy Styles training team following the training

When?

This client relationships course for professionals is run for in-house groups and teams and will be tailored specifically to your business.