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TRAINING

Kick the Canned Approach!

CEOWORLD Magazine recently reported that “… Focusing on employees’ learning styles is great for them and great for your business… An overwhelming majority of workers say that they would stay with their company longer if the company invested in their career.”

What’s not to like about that? As hard as it is to find outstanding talent today, why take a chance on losing them because you didn’t invest in their further development?

To best do that, it’s important to understand that learning styles generally fall into four categories: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing and Kinesthetic (physical activities/touch/movement). For the greatest ROI it’s imperative to dial in to these different styles of learning for the people in your organization. At Training for Winners, our upskilling and coaching does that.

Let’s get together and go to work for your team now!

When it comes to you and your organization, we take our responsibility very seriously

The hotel’s renovation lent itself perfectly to a theme on “constructing sales” as the team builds wooden structures together

Many customers tell us that canned training programs fall short of being useful in the long-term to their organizations. Ultimately, the generalized one size fits all approach just doesn’t seem to have staying power. It doesn’t really stick to the ribs. That’s why we’ve never taken that approach.

It makes us wonder — If your organization paid for that type of standardized approach in the past, what was your true ROI? Here at Training for Winners we take our responsibility with your organization very seriously. After all, you’ll be entrusting us with your team members and their future impact on the success of your organization. That’s a big deal to us. There is a lot riding on the re-skilling, upskilling and sharpening of the tools, especially in today’s business landscape.

The customized approach accomplishes many things — It enriches peoples’ lives, energizes them, helps them wonder and ask questions, challenges them, and — referencing the report at the top of the page — ideally increases loyalty to your organization.

The most useful training offers practical skills critical to the current stage of your team/organization’s development. We present learning in direct, easy-to-understand ways, essential to peoples’ job performance in the immediate future.

Here’s why our learning “sticks” — The SCORE Method

Since we’re not about generic training programs, we don’t make their big promises to fix all of your challenges. We keep it real because life and business don’t always offer perfect scenarios. Shift happens, and we recognize that honest, effective coaching should include examining and practicing those times when quick-thinking and creative actions are the best call.

We coach for those what-ifs and real-world scenarios that happen with customers and in the workplace: Your issues. Your bottlenecks. Your “oops” moments. Your desired outcomes. We’ll include important attributes such as conversational and emotional intelligence, plus self-awareness and critical thinking skills.

Gary developed a model of coaching success that has been serving groups and individuals since 1995. His model is based on the word SCORE:

SSituation analysis: Due diligence to fully understand our clients’ mission, goals and desired outcomes

CCustomized design of the program/workshops for each specific client

OOn-site learning / Virtual / One-on-one delivery; Interactive, immersive and fun

RReinforcement and re-direction of learning tools as they are put into practice

EEvaluate performances and elevate the long-term value of the program through one-on-one follow-up coaching

Through our extensive due diligence, we will customize our interactive programs for you and your team because that’s the best way to do it — our clients tell us so. We’ll often do pre-interviews of team members to get a better idea of the dynamics in play. That way, we can inspire your people with real tools that they can put into immediate practice and begin creating quantifiable results right away.

What do our training workshops typically look like?

In short, they are vibrant, serious when they need to be, extremely interactive, and fun. Learning should be fun. Participants often put all kinds of learning notes on the walls and solve dilemmas in small teams. They develop their own action plans and are constantly sharing ideas and bonding with each other. We get out and stretch and do some friendly competition games to drive certain points home. Ask us about our plastic sales funnels, construction cones and buckets.

We use a combination of learning methods in our deliveries: Individual and group exercises, team challenges, deep-dive discussions, role plays, situational analysis, presentations and fun contests that make the learning enjoyable and experiential. We’ll build your program around a theme that makes sense for the mission at hand.

We can also stay with the process if you choose by coaching people beyond the initial workshops. We know that people learn at different speeds, and our clients have seen terrific results in our follow-up one-on-one coaching programs.

Our Associates Team can be your go-to experts, too

For owners and entrepreneurs starting up or running your own businesses, Gary and his Associates Team provide solid small-business coaching and consulting, too.  After all, it can be overwhelming, right? Do you often feel like you are on a treadmill, running faster but getting no further ahead? Do you feel like you are making decisions in a vacuum? Do you tell yourself the issue will get better when you find more time to address it?

Gary’s been there. He started his own business in 1995 and faced these same uphill challenges. For larger projects, Gary and his Associates Team can work shoulder-to-shoulder with owners and operators on the things you don’t have the time (or bandwidth) to do. These areas could include: Social media make-overs, branding, working with 1099 contractors, marketing plans, public relations, SEO, P & Ls, prospecting, team training, sales, etc.

We know that there is extra pressure on businesses everywhere as we re-awaken from the fallout of the pandemic. Owners and operators are trying to get back on their feet again and re-claim their customers. It’s a lot to handle, and our talented Associates Team can offer lifelines and valuable help built on decades of solid business experience. Our work is available via virtual, hybrid and in-person deliveries.

Please click on the “TEAM” page for more details.

So, when is that “right time” to enlist training & coaching help for your team?

“We’re too busy.” We’re too slow.” “Does it cost a lot?” “We just did an online training course a few years ago.” We’ve heard all these excuses and more from owners and managers about when is the right time to invest in upskilling and coaching of one’s team.

Does your competition throw up the same hurdles to learning, or are they developing their bench strength now?

Let’s look at it another way: Is there ever a wrong time to build on peoples’ skills and abilities, to make them better or more productive? Is it ever the wrong time to sharpen peoples’ tools in order to take on your competition?

This is an investment in your people that will pay off in big dividends for them and your business. There is no wrong time to do this. Indeed, as the quote goes: “Education will never be as expensive as ignorance.”

We believe that our customers speak best for us, and we’d love for you to discuss our results with them. We would be happy to put you in touch with them.

Testimonials

“Your willingness & ability to customize the training for us was exceptional. It really captured your experience & knowledge level. Our team learned a lot about themselves & each other and that will have lasting effects for a long time to come.”

- Genentech

Training For Winners
2019-01-21T19:53:37+00:00

- Genentech

“Your willingness & ability to customize the training for us was exceptional. It really captured your experience & knowledge level. Our team learned a lot about themselves & each other and that will have lasting effects for a long time to come.”
“Thank you for providing such a great training experience to our team. The buzz has been great, and I know it will make an impact on our success. Your training is relevant, engaging and customized, and that is hard to come by. You are simply the best in the industry!”

- Charlestowne Hotels

Training For Winners
2019-01-21T19:54:45+00:00

- Charlestowne Hotels

“Thank you for providing such a great training experience to our team. The buzz has been great, and I know it will make an impact on our success. Your training is relevant, engaging and customized, and that is hard to come by. You are simply the best in the industry!”
“Gary got in the trenches with our front-line staff and worked with them as individuals & groups to coach them on positive customer service techniques tailored to our specific types of customers & unique situations. He helped our team become true problem-solvers. He provided coaching on our Moments of Truth. We have made measurable, across the board improvements in customer service and product delivery times, and he did it by giving us tools and concepts to improve, and by carefully observing us in our application of the tools and our methods.

We have gone from being the focus of negativity to one of positive, continuous improvement. Thanks to Gary, less of our customers are singing the 'You Can't Fight City Hall Blues.' Gary is our true strength and conditioning coach.”

- City of Fort Worth

Training For Winners
2019-01-21T19:57:02+00:00

- City of Fort Worth

“Gary got in the trenches with our front-line staff and worked with them as individuals & groups to coach them on positive customer service techniques tailored to our specific types of customers & unique situations. He helped our team become true problem-solvers. He provided coaching on our Moments of Truth. We have made measurable, across the board improvements in customer service and product delivery times, and he did it by giving us tools and concepts to improve, and by carefully observing us in our application of the tools and our methods. We have gone from being the focus of negativity to one of positive, continuous improvement. Thanks to Gary, less of our customers are singing the 'You Can't Fight City Hall Blues.' Gary is our true strength and conditioning coach.”
"There is absolutely NO GOOD REASON that any CVB or destination should not book Gary and his Sales Education Workshops. As a meeting professional and a member of one of his planner panels, I was impressed with the way that he brings CVB teams, their community selling partners and customers like me together for an honest, valuable interchange.

It makes a big impression on me as a planner to look out at the audience and see a destination coming together -- the engagement and willingness to learn and not think they know it all. Gary brings all that out in people, and shares real-world tools with both suppliers and customers that really helps both sides come together. The wonderful result is that we'll do better business with each other. His program is a winner!"

Crystal Spencer, California Department of Justice - Attorney General's Office

Training For Winners
2019-05-23T17:44:40+00:00

Crystal Spencer, California Department of Justice - Attorney General's Office

"There is absolutely NO GOOD REASON that any CVB or destination should not book Gary and his Sales Education Workshops. As a meeting professional and a member of one of his planner panels, I was impressed with the way that he brings CVB teams, their community selling partners and customers like me together for an honest, valuable interchange. It makes a big impression on me as a planner to look out at the audience and see a destination coming together -- the engagement and willingness to learn and not think they know it all. Gary brings all that out in people, and shares real-world tools with both suppliers and customers that really helps both sides come together. The wonderful result is that we'll do better business with each other. His program is a winner!"
“Thank you for such an insightful and customized sales seminar. For a presentation to be useful, it needs to address our key issues and challenges, and your presentation did just that. You were able to deliver a hard-hitting, fundamental-driven sales presentation that was useful to everyone in the room. There are many sales training resources out there, and I’m very pleased that we made the investment in you and your message.”

- Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau

Training For Winners
2019-03-26T18:09:20+00:00

- Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau

“Thank you for such an insightful and customized sales seminar. For a presentation to be useful, it needs to address our key issues and challenges, and your presentation did just that. You were able to deliver a hard-hitting, fundamental-driven sales presentation that was useful to everyone in the room. There are many sales training resources out there, and I’m very pleased that we made the investment in you and your message.”
“Thank you so much for the training workshops - the whole team put the phone skills you shared into practice with our clients right away! Gary, you've been able to keep the interest high for a group of salespeople over two all-day sessions and that is not easy to do. Your relaxed yet informative style makes it easy to participate. Some of the comments from my people were: 'Gary is not only a great sales coach but also very motivational'; 'I was able to apply many of his techniques into my daily routine with great results'; 'I would attend any course that he teaches - he is candid, has great examples, and made me laugh.”

- Monterey Bay Aquarium

Training For Winners
2019-03-25T23:32:39+00:00

- Monterey Bay Aquarium

“Thank you so much for the training workshops - the whole team put the phone skills you shared into practice with our clients right away! Gary, you've been able to keep the interest high for a group of salespeople over two all-day sessions and that is not easy to do. Your relaxed yet informative style makes it easy to participate. Some of the comments from my people were: 'Gary is not only a great sales coach but also very motivational'; 'I was able to apply many of his techniques into my daily routine with great results'; 'I would attend any course that he teaches - he is candid, has great examples, and made me laugh.”
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Training For Winners

Here are some of our most-requested training topics:


PLEASE NOTE: These training topics and components are some of our most popular, but due to space not all programs are listed. Consider this a “Greatest Hits” approach as suggested by our clients. Be assured that every program is fully customized. We are creating new material all the time, so if you don’t see your particular focus area here, please ask!

 Sales training skills: Several approaches are available, including looking at sales through the customers’ eyes — What they see, feel, touch, need or want to accomplish, rather than just pitching products/services. We offer topic areas such as: Working your sales funnel (prospecting, networking, qualifying, making winning presentations, negotiating and closing); Keys to ultimate customer care in the selling process; Questioning and listening techniques; Overcoming objections; Selling smartly against your competition; Tradeshow/sales appointment event tools; The art of helping people buy — A consultative selling approach (solution-based) vs. commodity approach (feature-dumping)

The Art of Storytelling: Making sales presentations, product proposals and leadership messaging more compelling through the use of storytelling that resonates with people emotionally and helps move them to action

Personal branding: Creating, nurturing, & protecting your own brand for success; How to utilize it to build trust, create results and influence others

Communication skills for individuals and teams: Keys to verbal and written skills with internal AND external customers; Setting up communication protocols; Focusing on 3-way communication — up-line, side-line and down-line

Using social media for greater sales and network-building results

 Building accountability and trust: Instilling and sustaining these ultra-important attributes across team boundaries

Writing skills for effective emails, proposals, RFPs: It’s the lost art that can set you apart from the rest of the crowd

Think like an owner: Taking an entrepreneurial approach to improving workplace performance, from front-line teams to upper management

Sales/Service mystery shopping services designed to uncover need areas in your company’s approach to its customers

 Leadership, management and supervisory skills:  Critical attributes for those new to management and also experienced leaders; The importance of “None of us are as strong as all of us”: Understanding Gary’s patented Sweet 16 Attributes of Winning Teams; Teambuilding that helps forge and sustain cohesiveness; Alliance Partners Program and how it works to improve results across all teams

Building seamlessness and tearing down silos in your organization: Understanding key elements to keep those silos down

 The dynamics of personality styles: Understanding how they influence others and their effects on buying, selling, leadership and teamwork; How to help different styles understand each other, respect each other and work together better

 Improving time and priority management: How to use the clock instead of blaming it; Handling multiple priorities successfully; Recognizing time-drainers and how to avoid or minimize them

One-on-one career, job transition or performance coaching tailored to help individuals with specific goals and ambitions: Whether preparing for a career move, improving one’s personal branding/social media or learning new skills for a new position, Gary will help chart your next course. He also offers speaker-coaching, which is a comprehensive program on developing public-speaking and presentation skills.

 Facilitation of executive leadership retreats: Developing strategies, culture-building, goal setting and action-planning; Bring your organization’s team leaders or board of directors together to congeal them as an authentic, cohesive leadership team in important areas such as communication, trust, protocols and working together better

 Building and sustaining customer service excellence: How to make everyone in your organization a salesperson; Examine those critical Moments of Truth that impact your customers and teams; Assigning accountability for service performance and delivery

PLEASE NOTE: Consulting services are also available and can be designed to accomplish your project goals in areas such as: Public relations, data analytics, website development, maximizing your social media effectiveness. Ask us about contract assignments and longer-term consultancy projects

Click here to Learn more about the specific training we have created for our clients and their goals!

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