Sales workshops for Oban and Fort William
Advice on how to increase sales, no matter what your business, is on offer in Oban and Fort William next month.
Entrepreneurs are being encouraged to sign up for sales workshops being organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in Oban on Tuesday September 4 and Fort William on Tuesday September 11 to provide businesses with tools and techniques to boost sales.
The free workshops are part of HIE’s Entrepreneurial Academy being held across the Highlands and Islands following a successful pilot in 2017.
Designed to help the region’s entrepreneurs accelerate business growth, events over the coming months will cover aspects of improving your business performance from brand development to pitching skills and delivering a digital strategy.
Each workshop is delivered by a specialist who will help attendees gain a deeper understanding of the subject and develop a plan.
The sales workshops will be delivered by Matthew Quinn, of Future Sales Factory, who will outline the logical process of selling to help entrepreneurs build rapport with potential customers and understand buyers’ motivations.
He will also demonstrate how to best present the benefits of the product or service, and close the sale.
Louise MacDonald, senior entrepreneurship manager at HIE, said: ‘We’re delighted to bring the entrepreneurial sales workshops to Oban and Fort William.
‘People are naturally shy or even scared about sales and this workshop is designed to address those barriers and give you practical skills and advice.
‘I look forward to seeing the impact of this training and watching local businesses flourish as they increase their sales.’
Matthew added: ‘From first handshake to first invoice, those attending the entrepreneurial sales workshops will go away with tools and techniques that can be implemented in their business straight away.
‘We work with people from single person businesses to multi-national corporations and are delighted to be helping HIE support young and growing businesses in Scotland.
‘I would encourage entrepreneurs to attend in Oban on September 4 and Fort William on September 11.
‘From food and drink, tourism, energy, engineering and business services, these sessions always prove the sales process is exactly the same, no matter what industry you are in.’
Michael O’Connell, director and co-founder of Highlands-based Visual Performance Management Limited, attended the workshop in 2017 and found it extremely useful. He said: ‘As an entrepreneur, you can be confident in your product but not in going out and selling it. Having not done much in sales in the past, it was not something that came naturally to me so the entrepreneurial sales workshop provided great insights. Not only did it improve my confidence in my ability to have sales conversations, it also got rid of the myths around sales and off-putting stereotypes brought about by bad salespeople.
‘The workshop also covered the process behind selling.
‘It’s not an art, there is a process and understanding that can really help. I’d really encourage others to attend, especially those intimidated by the idea of sales or those who would like to to employ someone else to do sales for them. The course may change your perceptions.’
The Entrepreneurial Academy workshops will be delivered until June 2020 in Benbecula, Forres, Fort William, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Inverness, Oban, Portree, Thurso and Stornoway.
Entrepreneurs or staff of growing companies and social enterprises, or those with ambitions to expand, who are interested in attending the one-day workshops should register at http://hie.social/GEaL30k8EDZ or contact entrepreneurship@hient.co.uk.
The Entrepreneurial Sales workshops take place at the Royal Hotel, Oban, on September 4 and at the Ben Nevis Hotel, Fort William, on September 11.