Cultures both ancient and modern have strong storytelling traditions. Our brains are wired to share and process information through storytelling. Information presented as a story has the power to inform, influence and motivate. Story marketing is the process of attracting and engaging customers through story – their story, rather than yours. Instead of the ‘buy our product’ messages of typical marketing campaigns, story marketing tells the customer story and motivates them to connect with your company as a solution to their problem or a way to a better life. This one-day module will highlight the essentials of story marketing for your small business: story marketing tools, storytelling basics, and how to write and refine your own story for marketing to your target audience.

It’s no secret that the sales industry continues to change and evolve rapidly. This is an exciting and dynamic profession, although it is often underrated and misunderstood. The back-slapping, high pressure, joke-telling sales person has disappeared. In his place is a new generation of sales professionals: highly trained and well groomed, with the characteristics of honesty, trustworthiness, and competence. This one-day module will help you learn how to be one of those smart sales professionals!

Prospecting is one of the keys to your sales success. Keeping your pipeline full ensures that you will continue to attract new business, and so your success today is a result of the prospecting you did six months ago. In this one-day module, you will become skilled at prospecting and learn the 80/20 rule. After this module, you will know who to target and how to target them, and commit to do some prospecting every day through warming up cold calls, following up on leads, or networking. You will also build your personal prospecting plan and learn how to ensure your future by planting seeds daily.

If you are like most sales professionals, you are always looking for ways to overcome customer objections and close the sale. This one-day module will help you to work through objectives effectively. We will help you plan and prepare for objections so that you can address customer concerns, reduce the number of objections you encounter, and improve your averages at closing sales.

The internet, providing an information highway for communication and research, is now also a virtual toolbox for the small business owner, with free options for such essential services as marketing, promotion, project management, data acquisition, document review, graphic design, and sales transactions. This module will give an overview of some popular options and provide basic instruction in their functions and use. This will enable you to select options appropriate for your business and get you or your team started in using them for your business. Google Docs Google Docs is among the popular applications for online document creation. Google Docs is a word processor and cloud storage system. Google Docs is free to use for individuals and creates both documents and spreadsheets that are compatible with most common software. Students will learn how to set up an account, the basic features Google Docs offers, as well as do a test drive of the program. Canva Canva is an example of an online graphics creator that offers templates for both online and print products. Users can choose from thousands of photos, graphics and fonts, or can upload their own photos and graphics, such as a company logo or brand colors. Students will learn how to set up an account, the basic features Canva offers, as well as do a test drive of the program. Trello Trello is a collaborative tool that can be used for managing tasks or projects of virtually any size. In Trello, you create a board for each project and cards for activities. You can add members, checklists, labels, due dates and even attachments. Tasks can be assigned to team members and everyone moves the cards along as they finish their task. Students will learn how to set up an account, the basic features Trello offers, as well as do a test drive of the program. SurveyMonkey Survey Monkey is an online survey development tool that enables its users, including small businesses, to develop customized surveys, send them to their target audience, and analyse the data that is collected. Students will learn how to set up an account, the basic features SurveyMonkey offers, as well as do a test drive of the program. MailChimp MailChimp is an email marketing platform which provides tools to plan, create, and send emails, and to record and analyse data from your mailouts: number of opens, responses and actions. Using MailChimp, and following its requirements and guidelines, ensures your mailings are compliant with current privacy and internet marketing legislation. Students will learn how to set up an account, the basic features MailChimp offers, as well as do a test drive of the program.

A great sales presentation does not demand that you have all the bells and whistles to impress the client with your technical skills. Rather, try impressing your clients with your knowledge of the products and services you sell and your understanding of their problems and the solutions they need. This one-day module will show you how to create a winning proposal and how to turn it into a dynamite sales presentation.

As with many significant undertakings, undergoing a CRM review (even simply considering its implementation) requires learners to analyze technical and complicated systems. This one day module sorts through a myriad of information and brings you the basics you need to make a decision about the need for CRM, its benefits, and how to coordinate the base requirements for a CRM undertaking.

No one questions that making friends is a good thing. In this one-day module, you are going to discover that the business of business is making friends, and the business of all sales professionals is making friends and building relationships. Strategic friendships will make or break any business, no matter how big and no matter what kind of market.

Your brand is the vehicle that propels your product or service into your customer’s lives, and into their hearts. A good brand is much more than an attractive image combined with some witty type. Your brand must reflect the heart and soul of your product, and offer a promise that you can live up to. This two-day module will get you started on the road to creating a perfect brand.