Partner Article

Sales skills on the agenda at city event

A unique skills academy for sales professionals was launched at an event in Liverpool this week.

The Winning Sales Academy offers a range of accredited training courses aimed at enhancing the pool of sales talent available to businesses and boosting their business development activity.

Delegates at the “Sell More Stuff” event, hosted by Downtown Liverpool in Business, also heard from the Skills for Growth Bank, a £32m funding venture to help businesses train and develop their employees’ skills.

John Leach, managing director of the Winning Sales Academy, said: “When a business owner or director decides to bring in a salesperson, it’s crucial that they recruit the right person, or else they risk wasting their time and money.

“Skilled salespeople with the interpersonal skills to engage with potential customers are in short supply. Spending is needed to ensure we have a strong stock of salespeople coming through to support business growth in the future. After all, selling is what drives expansion.

“We are passionate about getting 16-18 year olds into a job that they will love and can also be very well paid, but the Academy is not just about younger trainees.

“Selling is not a dirty word and must be part of a business’ culture before it can truly succeed. Our programmes also cater for experienced sales teams or directors who are keen to upscale their business but may feel uncomfortable with the concept of selling.”

Colin Geering of the Skills for Growth Bank, said: “We have already invested £1.5m in the training projects of local businesses but there is still plenty more funding available and we are here to help.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for local businesses to access this funding and we would encourage them to approach us with their ideas for training projects or apprenticeship schemes.”

The pair joined a panel comprising Downtown chief executive Frank McKenna, Ph Creative’s Bryan Adams, Denise Harris of SK Events and award-winning business coach Andy Bounds to answer delegates’ questions and concerns about sales and training provision.

To find out more about the Winning Sales Academy, visit www.winningsalesacademy.co.uk or call 0151 331 5007.

For further information about the Skills for Growth Bank, www.skillsforgrowthbank.org.uk or call 0151 443 3237.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dan Minchin .