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Consultancy & Training

Exceptional training, coaching and development offer limitless potential for your talent.

We understand that exceptional training, coaching, and development hold limitless potential. If you’re eager to invigorate your team and elevate your business performance, there’s no better solution than adopting a top-tier training programme which is built on years of effective delivery, results and expertise. Whether it’s entry-level training or for leaders - we can help.

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Blended learning solutions

Our leading assessment, placement and training methodology centres on growth and transformation across your business divisions from sales to critical projects

sales professionals trained
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of trainees recommend us
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performance uplift
Hear from our experts

Pareto Performance Consultancy and Training offers a suite of blended learning solutions designed to empower your teams and drive business growth. We provide bespoke digital training programmes, consultancy, and coaching to address both tactical and strategic needs, enabling your teams to achieve immediate improvements and long-term success.

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Bespoke Training

Pareto's bespoke sales training is rooted in real-world applications and is designed to unlock your team's potential. Our unique four-step Audit, Align, Attain, and Apply methodology ensures each program directly aligns with your strategic business goals for maximum ROI.Our flexible blended methodology incorporates various learning experiences, from traditional classroom settings to cutting-edge virtual sessions and digital resources, ensuring a personalised development strategy aligned with your business’s objectives.

Sales Training

Our comprehensive sales training suite leverages Pareto's decades of market insights to empower professionals across various industries. From negotiation skills to social selling, our courses are designed to unlock sales teams' full potential, adapting to any global location or language.With both face-to-face and virtual training options available, our global reach ensures that we are equipped to effectively meet your sales training needs regardless of location or language.

Professional Skills Development Training

Elevate your business with Pareto's Professional Development training programmes to equip your client-facing teams with the most effective commercial techniques. Our acclaimed face-to-face courses offer comprehensive training across three tailored programs, blending various learning styles, games, and role-play activities to ensure participant engagement and enjoyment. With a focus on providing structure, insight, and confidence, our courses empower top talent to drive transformative results and accelerate their careers whilst driving leads and opportunities from non-sales interactions with customers.
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Why Partner with Pareto?

At Pareto, we blend an unrivalled amount of practical commercial expertise with a clear mission: empowering global businesses through bespoke and results-driven training solutions. Operating in diverse industries, we tailor & design our courses to your unique market needs, ensuring a measurable ROI from every training program. With over 30 years of experience and having successfully trained more than 120,000 delegates, our track record speaks volumes. 

Whether your needs and desired outcomes are elevating customer experience, developing leadership techniques, achieving sales growth, or getting past gatekeepers, our training courses have you covered.  

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Trusted bythe best

We have successfully helped hundreds of organisations with their recruitment, training & outsourcing processes. Since 1995, we have been delivering successful placements, courses and support to businesses from every industry sector and market. As our client base is constantly growing, we are continuing to add and update new case studies.

Dell
Smoove
Tyl by NatWest

CASE STUDY

Apprenticeship

Dell is a global technology leader dedicated to enhancing lives through its extraordinary capabilities. Dell's influence extends worldwide from innovative hybrid cloud solutions and high-performance computing to impactful social initiatives and sustainability endeavours.

After establishing a partnership with Pareto, Dell used their 2023 apprenticeship funding to create a specific apprentice programme for their public sector sales team. For many years, Dell focussed on their graduate programme to provide early career talent for their sales teams However, with the expansion of suitable frameworks under the UK government apprentice programmes, and specifically the Pareto sales programmes, Dell saw it as a perfect pairing to explore how this talent could be utilised within the organisation.

The programme aimed to address some misconceptions about apprentices. There was a concern that apprentices might be perceived as lacking the knowledge, "life skills," and maturity commonly associated with graduates.

Additionally, Dell wanted to ensure a smooth integration of apprentices into the sales organisation to minimise the risk of challenges and failures during their onboarding process. The goal was to create a supportive environment for apprentices to transition seamlessly into their roles within the company.

PROBLEMS FACED

  1. Lack of public sector talent pipeline beyond graduates.
  2. Underutilised ESG potential for early careers; negative apprentice perceptions.
  3. Need for ground-up sales integration and clear career paths for sustained talent.

THE RESULTS

  1. Initial apprentices exceeded 18-month readiness expectations within 6 months.
  2. Pareto partnership is an effective talent pipeline for Dell.
  3. Strong performance will accelerate apprentices to commission-based roles.
    Dell's programme offers stable, long-term careers with progression.
4
additional apprenticeships funded
3x
faster to achieve apprentice readiness

CASE STUDY

Training

With nineteen years of expertise, Smoove has been revolutionising the software solutions space, providing unparalleled options and efficiency to the housing market. Their innovative products have significantly streamlined operations for home movers, conveyancing professionals, and estate agents, facilitating time-saving and enhancing communication between all involved parties. 

The Smoove team's main goal is to contact mortgage brokers throughout the UK, encouraging them to utilise property technology solutions. The team comprises diverse experience levels, ranging from experienced sales professionals with over 20 years of mortgage broker experience to university graduates.

Smoove's sales team faces several challenges in communicating with their target audience, mortgage brokers, via telephone. These brokers are incredibly busy individuals, and engaging with them has, in the past, proved difficult as Smoove's offerings may not be their main priority. Additionally, the Smoove team struggles to assert their value during interactions due to the brokers' competing priorities, leading to a need for a mindset shift within the team. 

Overcoming these challenges requires Smoove to find ways to capture the brokers' attention, foster meaningful engagement, and confidently convey their value proposition during conversations.

Furthermore, using their skilled data analyst team, Smoove can track conversation outcomes to gauge the likelihood of securing sales. Despite initial progress before Pareto's training, they wanted to refine their approach further to achieve greater success. Their primary goal focused on optimising conversations to boost the probability of customers purchasing their products. 

 

Requirements Results
  • Training the sales team in consultative techniques will improve engagement with brokers, help them understand their needs, and demonstrate value.
  • Five team members went from averaging a sale out of every 10 conversations to a sale out of every 3.
  • Change the team's mindset around engaging with brokers, who often undervalue themselves due to concerns about infringing on a broker's schedule.
  • Change in team mindset and improved confidence when initiating a call with a client has improved client engagement.
  • Improve client conversations to boost the chance of product purchase, utilising data analytics to track outcomes and fine-tune communication strategies.
  • Calls accepted by clients went from under 20% in October and November 2023 to 25% in January.
 
  • Developed skills that will support the team with their future career development.

 

The Solution

Build confidence and change the mindset of the team when engaging with new and existing customers. 

  • Pareto implemented tailored training sessions focusing on crucial aspects such as mindset, communication, and sales techniques. 
  • Through these sessions, the team at Smoove were equipped with the necessary skills and confidence to engage effectively with both new and existing customers and demonstrate value. 

Increase the number of calls accepted by clients.

  • Introduced questioning techniques like funnel questioning, which provided a structured approach to conversations and boosted the team's confidence in their conversational skills.
  • Pareto conducted an evaluation of communication styles and personas within the team, allowing for the adaptation of communication strategies based on the client's characteristics. This approach ensured that interactions were optimised for various scenarios, whether dealing with pragmatic or analytical clients.

Increase the number of successful sales per interaction.

  • By honing these skills over a four-month training programme involving 15 Smoove team members, Pareto facilitated a significant improvement in call acceptance rates and the number of successful sales per interaction.

The Results

One of the team's biggest challenges was a fear of disrupting their customer's busy schedules, impacting the team's confidence in engaging with clients. By changing the approach to the call, particularly the initial introduction, Smoove have seen engagement levels increase. 

In October and November 2023, the number of people engaging in telephone conversations was less than 20%. Following the training, Smoove have seen this increase to 25% in January 2024. This success shows that clients see good value in engaging in conversation with the team.

The change of mindset, behaviours, and engagement success has seen Smoove’s data show that the team averaged a sale from every 10 customers they had spoken to. Following the training, in January 2024, five team members averaged a sale out of every three conversations. 

Following their recent training session, Pareto encouraged the team to implement biannual SMART targets for each sales agent. During quarterly reviews, progress against these targets is assessed. If targets are missed, then analysis is conducted to understand why, potentially revisiting training topics or exploring new angles. Through this structured approach, the team continuously strives to meet and exceed their goals.

The Pareto training sessions have also equipped the team with enduring skills that extend well into the future, significantly enhancing their career advancement prospects.

 

Problems faced

  • Training the sales team in consultative techniques will improve engagement with brokers, help them understand their needs, and demonstrate value.
  • Change the team's mindset around engaging with brokers, who often undervalue themselves due to concerns about infringing on a broker's schedule.
  • Utilise data analytics to track outcomes and fine-tune communication strategies, directly boosting product purchase rates.

Results

  • Change in team mindset and improved confidence when initiating a call with a client has improved client engagement.
  • Developed skills that will support the team with their future career development.
233%
increase in conversion
6%
minimum increase of calls accepted

CASE STUDY

Training

Tyl and Pareto began working together towards the end of 2022 when Lisa Range, the firm's Chief Commercial Officer, commissioned Pareto to start the sales training initiative. 

Lisa identified specific challenges within the Sales team, particularly a shortfall in employing a consultative sales approach. One noteworthy observation was the team's tendency to ask limited questions, assuming they had a sufficient understanding of the customer's needs. This approach provided customers with excess information, resulting in customer disengagement and loss.

The issue of 'feature dumping' also surfaced as a concern, causing customers to feel overwhelmed and, at times, dissuaded from further engagement. In response to these findings, there is a recognised need to reassess and refine the team's approach to customer interactions, emphasising a consultative and measured sales methodology to foster more constructive engagements.

 

Requirements Results
  • Opportunity to embed a sales coaching culture
  • The creation of an ongoing role-play and observation culture
  • Limited observation or call monitoring culture
  • Development of a quarterly internal accreditation programme with a bronze, silver, and gold marking system
  • Reduce the need for repeat calls and increase conversion
  • Increase of conversion rate from 17% in 2022 to over 21% YTD in 2024
 
  • 2023 sales performance doubled from 2022

 

The Solution

Provide a Customised Sales Training Programme

Challenge - The sales team lacked communication, consultative, and conversion skills. 

  • Core Elements of the Sales Process.

  • Implemented training across Sales and Leadership Teams.

  • Participants engaged in a personalised, in-person two-day training session at the Tyl offices, gaining the expertise and abilities essential for the successful implementation of the post-programme.

  • A one-day coaching session conducted on the sales floor, fostering positive workplace behaviors while also facilitating the implementation of skills and knowledge.

Leadership Team Development

Challenge - An inexperienced team and organisational skills gaps

  • Enhanced coaching skills within the leadership team.

  • A two-hour Management Fast Track session aimed at ensuring understanding and effective integration of the sellers' training.

  • Implementation of the Management Skills Scan to facilitate the identification of skill gaps, strategise coaching, and plan for succession.

  • Two days devoted to performance management, fostering accountability and developing skilled, engaged sales professionals who are aligned with their plans and objectives.

  • This 1.5-day individual accreditation is focused on coaching and developing others, providing feedback and success plans to instil accountability for their personal management development.

Key Actions Developed Following the Sales Training Programme:

  • Set Up Slack Chats - Slack chats were established for each cohort to facilitate ongoing collaboration and knowledge-sharing. This platform served as a space for exchanging best practices and discussions related to the training. 

  • Set up an Internal Accreditation -  Due to the success of the leadership accreditations, Tyl set up their own internal accreditation, running every quarter to help them understand the progress and development areas of the sales team.  

  • Presentations - As part of the accreditation, the team was asked to do a 10-minute presentation on what they had learned through the Pareto training, what they’d embedded so far, and what they were still working on. 

  • Recorded Observed Role Plays - The leader would first role-play with an internal leader observing and it being filmed. The leaders would then watch the video back and critique themselves. They would then discuss their critique with the trainer and senior leaders. This leads to a pass or fail result. 

  • Created Skills-Focused Observation Forms - Tyl updated their observation forms to reflect the skill progression and changes from the Pareto training. The gold, silver, and bronze scoring system was implemented to drive a ‘one and done’ approach, which helped to reduce the number of repeat calls to a lead and close the sale on the initial call. 

Due to the success of the accreditations, Tyl have continued to do these once every quarter and will follow the same format, assess the sales team’s skills, and ask the key questions - what are you still working on with your Pareto skills? What’s going well? What still needs improvement? 

The Results

This has been a significant shift in mindset for the business, as before Lisa joined the company in 2022, there were limited observations and no call monitoring, meaning there was little scope for making improvements and developing the sales team. 

One of the most significant positives from the training is the impact on conversion rates. Tyl's conversion target for 2023 was 19% across all lead types, up from 17% in 2022. While there were initial challenges in the early weeks, with conversion dropping to 15% while changes from the training were made and the team were trying to embed their new skills, the rate is now at 21%, exceeding the initial target. This increased conversion has led to Tyl doubling their sales vs 2022.

Furthermore, going into 2023, Tyl had an inexperienced team, with a third of the team brand new to the company. Following Pareto training, the team are heading into 2024 with more experience, confidence, and enhanced skills to continue to drive the conversation rate even higher and provide outstanding customer service.

Realise your business's potential with Pareto's coaching and training expertise.

 

 

Problems faced

    • Limited questions led to customer disengagement and loss.

    • 'Feature dumping' overwhelmed and dissuaded customers.

Sales team successes

  1. The conversion rate increased from 17% in 2022 to over 21% YTD in 2024.

  2. Overall sales performance doubled.

  3. A continuous role-play and observation culture was created to improve skills.

  4. A quarterly internal accreditation programme with a bronze, silver, and gold marking system was developed.

3%
conversion rate increase
2x
sales performance doubled YOY

Let's talk

Whether you're looking for training or have a business solution need, we're here to help. Use the form to send a message, or visit our Contact Us page.

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