Welcome!

SMDP supports your plans by motivating, coaching, training and guiding your key people to be more productive. Everything we do is bespoke to meet the specific and agreed needs of each client, who benefits from terms which are better than ‘off the shelf’ training courses.

All support is practical and immediately implementable. We don’t deal with the theoretical – only in the real world. Everything we propose has, in the past, been undertaken successfully by our trainers and consultants, and so we have personal experience of all of the benefits, joys, barriers and difficulties.

Practical Team Leadership Skills

In the first part of the twenty first century, do we want ‘leaders’ or ‘managers’? If your business card says you are a ‘Manager’, are you expected to ‘manage’ rather than ‘lead’? From a day to day perspective, what is the difference?

‘Management’ is about organising manpower and activities to deliver operational goals.

‘Leadership’ is about getting individuals in the team to deliver the best they are able. It is more about motivation and aspiration. These people truly earn the respect of their team and inspire loyalty by enabling their people to deliver.

Successful leaders are measured by each member of their team becoming more accomplished in their roles and achieving their individual performance goals, whatever they may be.

The difference is invariably the results.

Leaders deliver more from their teams than Managers.

What would you rather have – Leaders or Managers?

We can help you develop your Leadership Team. They are critical to delivering your business targets.

Improving The Performance Of Individuals And Teams

The test of every team leader is to ensure each individual delivers their performance goals.

The true measure of success is where there is little or no variability in the performance of individuals. Each one has achieved at least 100% and more, and their performance is within a small band. If one person delivers 200% of their target and another can only produce 50%, there should be a question about the effectiveness of the team leader in improving the performance of individuals.

Do your team leaders have a framework to ensure each individual delivers their performance goals, without fail? We can help your team leaders design a planned programme of contact with members of their teams to improve the performance of every individual.

Delivering Outstanding Customer Service

What does it feel like being a customer of yours? A wonderful experience? Or just something which has to be endured?

Is it important that your customers enjoy dealing with your organisation? In these times when information is so readily available, most customers can quickly choose to put their business with you, or one of your competitors. It is often the only sanction they have if your business doesn’t, at least, meet their expectations – they vote with their feet!

The financial imperative is obvious and compelling. We have to deliver outstanding customer service today, tomorrow and every time a customer interacts with ANYONE in your organisation.

The true value of real customer service was identified by SAS Airlines. Under the chairmanship of Jan Carlzon, SAS turned from an $8m loss-maker to $71 million profit within one year by becoming a truly customer focussed organisation. Carlzon famously said:

“We used to fly airplanes – now we fly people”

And as a result, a profitable business by meeting and exceeding customer expectations. So, do you sell products or services, or do you help customers who need them? If your organisation would benefit from a new perspective, we can support your plans.

Developing Business Strategies And Plans

Do you have a plan for where your business will go during this year, next year, and beyond? Or do you have a business plan for your bank, or someone else, which just sits on a shelf, and does nothing?

What is the value of a business plan? Well, just like any plan, it should guide you from the start of your year to safely deliver your business goals at the ends of your year.

If you don’t know where you are going, how can you be certain to end up where you want to be?

It is rather like a route map, which you should refer to regularly to identify if you are ‘on track’, or not. It is much easier getting back ‘on track’ if you identify any deviation quickly. If it is left too long, then it may be too late.

But it is not just the business which needs a plan. Every Leader and every individual who has performance goals need to have a plan, otherwise how can they be helped if no one understands what they should have achieved by a specific time? And it needs to be THEIR plan, not yours.

We can support you by developing specific planning templates for your key staff, which they can personalise and develop into their own plans for the coming year.

Selling And Customer Service Skills

How do you react when your own phone rings and an unskilled pushy individual, reading a script, tries to sell you something you don’t want or don’t even need? You know they don’t care about you – only about getting a result FOR THEIR BENEFIT, not yours.

How do you feel if YOUR sales and customer service people represent your business in that way? Does it matter to you?

The best sellers don’t sell. They help their customer buy the ‘right’ solution for them.

There is a big difference – and it works in virtually every market. The best sellers understand how people buy and then present their product or service in such a way that it is the obvious choice for the customer, to meet their needs.

How do you ensure that your business is presented to existing and prospective customers in the best way?

Don’t let poor sales presentations prevent your business from maximising sales revenues. Let us help you to develop selling skills and proven selling techniques in your people.

Public Speaking and Presentation Skills

We’ve all seen the statistics that many people would rather be dead than have to speak in public!

Yet in business, anyone dealing with people must be confident to present themselves and their proposition with confidence and in the ‘right’ way.

Often, the combination of a nervous, poorly prepared presenter, relying on ‘DEATH BY POWERPOINT’ is the ideal formula to turn OFF your audience!

So what can be done to help?

Why suffer in silence and sweat in public?

We can help you to develop the confidence and techniques to speak in public.