Edinburgh Napier University has launched a pioneering course which educates students in the science of selling.
Twenty undergraduates have signed up for the Professional Selling Skills and Sales Process module which expands on the traditional skills of the market stall or showroom and establishes sales as an important modern academic discipline.
The 15-week course, taught as an option for third year students at the business school, will introduce them to key selling skills and give them an insight into the sales process.
Sales specialists from the business world will join forces with Edinburgh Napier staff to teach sales strategies, buyer behaviour, ethical selling, sales responsibilities and selling in an international context.
The undergraduate course is launched this month(January), three months after four Edinburgh Napier masters students became the first in Scotland to graduate with a ‘sales’ element in the title of their degrees. All of them secured jobs in sales and marketing.
Scots-based recruitment companies say there are more unfilled sales vacancies than any other business or management discipline. These vacancies are often taken up by recruits with little or no sales skills, knowledge or experience.
Now Edinburgh Napier aims to work with industry partners to produce a steady stream of ‘sales-ready’ graduates.
Dr Tony Douglas, Director of the Sales Division at the University’s Edinburgh Institute, said: “It is the sales function that is most important to any organisation. It generates the revenue that sustains and grows the company. Nothing happens until someone sells something.”
Dr Douglas, who has a background in buying and selling, was keen to introduce ‘sales’ tuition into the mainstream curriculum and to bridge the gap between sales education and the workplace.
He said: “As any recruitment company will tell you, students with some sales knowledge, expertise and skills are invaluable to employers.”
The course is an optional module within BA Business Management programmes at the university, aimed at giving students an understanding of what is involved in a career in sales.
Kenneth Miller, a senior sales professional in the construction industry who will teach on the course, said: “I’m looking forward to working to develop the next generation of Scottish sales leaders.
“This is an exciting time in the development of selling as an academic pursuit, and an excellent opportunity for Scottish-based sales-driven firms to recruit top talent.
“In the USA, sales is well established as a credible degree subject and an excellent career option.
“For any business graduate, having a firm understanding of sales techniques will add value in many situations. The ability to build productive relationships, position products and services and possessing the confidence to close deals would set any graduate out from the crowd.”
ENDS
For further information contact Dr Tony Douglas on 0131 455 4354.
Maclay Murray & Spens LLP (MMS), the UK-wide commercial law firm, has teamed up with elite athlete, Keri-anne Payne, a highly successful open water swimmer and winner of a clutch of Olympic and World championship medals. The move, in which Keri-anne becomes an ambassador for MMS, sees the firm support her throughout the Olympics and the various competitions leading up to Rio.
Keri-anne Payne won a silver medal in the open water 10K event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, followed by gold in the 2009 and 2011 World championships. She was the first British athlete to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
Kenneth Shand, chief executive of MMS, said: “Keri-anne’s determination, focus and winning instinct have seen her become an accomplished athlete. Her experience in setting and achieving high personal goals are valuable lessons for everyone. We look forward to supporting Keri-anne in her quest to deliver on her Rio ambitions, and to sharing some of that insight, inspiration and enthusiasm with our own teams and clients.”
As an ambassador for MMS, Keri-anne will be involved in MMS’ recruitment projects and the firm’s Knowledge, Learning and Development programme. She will also be active in the firm’s promotional and client communication initiatives and support MMS’ work in the Lex Mundi international network of law firms, where MMS is the sole UK-headquartered firm.
Keri-anne Payne said: “This sponsorship will make a huge difference and allow me to fund my training and competition programme in preparation for Rio. However, I’m looking forward to my partnership with MMS being more than financial support. Learning in the water is a huge part of my programme and I think business has many lessons it can teach sports people and vice versa. I hope we will be learning from each other and I look forward to sharing my story and supporting the firm.
“My main goal is to be at the top of the podium at Rio in 2016 and I’m working towards this as part of a three year cycle. Before Rio, my biggest competitions will be the World Championships this summer, which is the Olympic qualifier, and I need to be top ten in the world to qualify.”
“Every single thing I do is building up to ensuring that, on race day, I am as prepared as I possibly can be, to go out and win. My career now is all about the small details and marginal gains. Concentrating on these will make a big difference to my performance. I’m constantly learning and re-evaluating, which has clear parallels to the kind of focus required to stay ahead in a competitive legal market.”
Keri-anne’s training regime sees her train six days a week, with ten sessions in the pool, topped up with three sessions on land, a total of 30 hours a week. Based in Edinburgh, in 2012 she joined Warrender Baths Club, one of the UK’s oldest swimming clubs and the base of some eight former and current Olympic and Paralympic medallists.
Keri-anne Payne works with Red Sky Management, a business which advises people in the business and sporting worlds, identifying their skill-set, converting their potential and ensuring their continual, exceptional development. Red Sky identified parallels in competitiveness, efficiency and drive for excellence inherent in the approaches of both MMS and Keri-anne Payne, which makes the partnership an obvious fit.
MMS’ sponsorship of Keri-anne Payne follows the firm’s long-standing commitment to working with organisations and individuals of exceptional talent. Some 25 partners and staff are currently involved in coaching sports organisations and individuals as part of the Work Out for Sport initiative, Scotland’s workplace volunteer programme, with the firm also sponsoring the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre and backing the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open 2014.
Get behind Edinburgh Rugby this Friday as they take on Bordeaux-Begles in the final round of the group stages of the European Cup – they need to win this game to nail that quarter-final place! It’s their biggest game since their European semi final appearance in Dublin in 2012.
Your support in this game would mean a massive amount to the whole team and each and every one of us knows how much you cheering us on can do for the performance on the night. Be there with us, making that huge push, and cheering Edinburgh Rugby!
Simply log on http://bit.ly/15lp2Rw
Call our ticket centre – 0131 346 5180
Or in person at the Edinburgh Rugby ticket centre, off Roseburn Street
We hope you will be able to make it along this Friday
Twitter : @edinburghrugby
If you are interested in colour and would like to gain a general understanding of how colour is specified and can be creatively incorporated into design, company and personal branding, then our workshops are just what you need. A general overview of colour theory, colour psychology, colour symbolism, colour specification and colour implementation will be part of the workshop content.
There are many areas where colour & design can be applied to commercial design & branding more effectively with a view of increasing customer foot flow, sales and revenue, customer experience and staff satisfaction. By attending our workshops you can learn and understand how to incorporate, combine and be creative with colour in your product and presentation. Perhaps your staff could benefit from this training or it could be delivered as a staff reward or incentive scheme.
If you’re a design student, then these short workshops will give you an opportunity of bringing theory together with practical implementation. They will also offer you an opportunity of focusing more closely on colour and how you can use it more creatively in your design disciplines.
In addition, we have created a new workshop to address design principles that specifically relate to the homes of people living with dementia. This particular workshop would be useful for anyone wanting to understand how to enhance an environment to improve living conditions for those with dementia or general ageing issues. Thoughtful design in this area is design that actually works for us all.
Five individual workshops have been created to cover the above mentioned areas. These are:
TALK COLOUR with HARMONY
1. COLOUR COMBO with HARMONY (Half Day)
COLOUR TASTERS with HARMONY
2. COLOUR for HOME (90 minutes)
3. COLOUR for BUSINESS (90 minutes)
4. COLOUR for YOU (90 minutes)
SPECIALITY AREAS
5. DESIGN for DEMENTIA
COLOUR COMBO with HARMONY combines all areas of the home, business and the individual.
COLOUR TASTERS with HARMONY break the three areas down into ‘bite’ sized sessions.
SPECIALITY AREAS shows how design & colour can bring effective solutions to a specific environment.
*** The workshop content can be tailored made to meet your specific requirements.
For more information please visit: http://www.harmonyridgedesigns.co.uk/hrd-services/hrd-training
Edinburgh Leisure are in the process of launching their First Ever Leisure Centre Radio which will be broadcast from 8 of their Leisure Centres across the City.It is part of an initiative to promote Healthy Active Lifestyle within local communities, whilst bringing local businesses and consumers together.
We have already launched in Angus, Fife, Renfrewshire, West Dumbarton, North Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and Aberdeen City.
The Broadcast will play easy listening music suitable to all age groups and will be heard throughout the facilities to promote various Classes, Events and Programmes within the centres to encourage even more use from, families,,individuals, clubs, business and corporate users, basically every demographic in the entire community.
The annual footfall currently in Edinburgh is a staggering 2.5 million visits !!!
We have a limited amount of commercial airtime for local Edinburgh companies in all sectors to advertise their products and services, directly to the communities they serve using a brand new media platform that has never been available before.
The New Edinburgh Leisure Radio service will benefit all in the community and has already been very well received by our Listeners, Sponsors and Advertisers in all other regions we currently broadcast.
If you would like to discuss how the Radio can benefit your business, please contact sharon.macnamara@govradio.co.uk or telephone 07592 723341 and I will be delighted to assist.
Did you know Qatar Airways connects you to destinations across China via short stopovers in Doha’s state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport? With convenient departures from Edinburgh 5 times a week (soon to be daily from 1st May 2015), now is the time to fly Qatar Airways to China.
Scottish Chambers of Commerce’s Quarterly Business Survey engages with 5 of Scotland’s key sectors: Construction, Financial & Business Services, Manufacturing, Retail & Wholesale and Tourism.
These findings, released in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute show the position of businesses for Quarter 4 of 2014.
Liz Cameron, Director and Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:
“Strong performance from 2014 has helped Scottish businesses get off to a great start in 2015. With investment levels high across all sectors, there is much to look forward to as businesses seek to continue this impressive growth.
“Scotland’s year in the spotlight added a spring to our step but strong performances have not been limited to the tourism industry. Construction, in particular, has experienced remarkable growth, with investment levels at a ten year high and out-performing other sectors in this quarter. With positive balances in contract orders and investment, many construction firms are increasing wages, with average wage increases higher than inflation, at 5.5%.
“Whilst many businesses reported increased expectations to hire more people in the second half of 2014, some sectors are still facing recruitment difficulties when hiring skilled positions. The Financial and Business services sector in particular experienced difficulties in hiring accountancy and software developer positions. Despite this, the sector reported an increase in profits and maintains a positive outlook for the year ahead.
“The rate of growth of manufacturing orders slowed, but the sector remains optimistic about future performance and employment levels. This is a good sign for the overall Scottish economy, with rising trends in capital investment and training suggesting that the recovery this year may be about more than consumer spending.
“Profits in the tourism industry continue to increase, with many businesses expecting profits to rise throughout 2015. With an increase in visitors from the EU, we must make Scotland competitive amongst other European nations to enable the continued success and optimism of Scotland’s tourism industry. Action by the UK Government to reduce the rate of VAT chargeable on accommodation, tourist attraction admission and restaurant services to 5% would help the industry to compete on an even basis with its foreign competitors.
“Many businesses in the Retail/Wholesale sector are expecting an increase in sales over the next quarter with expectations of future sales at their highest level since pre-recession times. A note of caution is that although businesses expect an increase in sales turnover, almost as many businesses expect profits to decrease as increase in 2015.
“As businesses move into 2015 with high expectations and increased optimism, political stability has never been more important. With the EU serving as a key market for Scottish businesses, a future referendum on UK’s membership of the EU presents uncertainty for the business community. Business is clear – remaining a part of the EU is vital for Scottish business.”
SCC Quarterly Business Survey for Q4 2014
Edinburgh-based professionals can learn how to win more business by attending an exclusive event organised by Capital Document Solutions.
The company, which is headquartered on the city’s McDonald Road, is welcoming “Mr LinkedIn” Miles Duncan to deliver an expert presentation focusing on the online social media platform.
Miles – the creator of the LinkedIn Success Blueprint – will teach delegates how to discover and win new clients, secure more referrals and become a LinkedIn expert.
The free event takes place on Thursday, February 5, between 5:30pm and 7pm and will include refreshments and an informal networking session.
Limited places are available so early booking is advised. Anyone interested in attending should visit http://bit.ly/17DBlJC to register.
Mark Harvie, area sales director at Capital, said: “I have used LinkedIn many times to help me get an understanding of my clients and prospects to help me open new doors. I would strongly encourage all businesspeople to get involved in the forthcoming LinkedIn Seminar – to help you achieve your business goals.”
Calum MacInnes, database and marketing manager at Capital, said: “As a company, we have been building up our presence on social media over the past few years. However, we were aware that we were not exploiting LinkedIn to its full potential. For example, many staff had created their own profiles and there was a need to align them all together and pool our efforts in order to make the most of this powerful professional networking tool.”
Established in 1979, Capital provides a range of office document and print solutions including copiers, printers, scanners and software with comprehensive national maintenance and training support.
The company specialises in advising public and private sector organisations on how to rationalise their mixed fleet of copiers, printers, scanners and faxes as well as control and reduce copy/print volumes through significant improvements in document processes.
Capital Document Solutions has 205 staff at operations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Shetland. For further information visit www.capital-solutions.co.uk
Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) Event
UlitityWise are dedicated to providing the business community the most up to date information in regards to the changes and legislation surrounding business energy use. There are two changes on the way that will impact this and if not actioned correctly, could leave you and your business paying more than necessarily along with the possibility of a government fine.
The Electricity Market Reform (EMR) aims to deliver investment in low-carbon electricity from April 2015. This means, in a basic way, all businesses will see increased prices no matter what size of company you are. In order to guide businesses and Chamber members through these change we invite you to come and hear our four step plan that will help you not only survive EMR but also benefit from it.
The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) introduces regular energy audits that will highlight energy savings for large organisations. If your business qualifies or you are part of a larger organisations that qualifies you MUST take steps to be compliant or face being fined.
Find out more at our free briefing seminar:
What impact EMR will have on businesses like yours.
Why an energy procurement plan alone will not solve the EMR challenge.
How an effective energy reduction strategy can turn threat into opportunity.
How future technological developments will help.
The four steps you can start to take now to handle EMR.
If you need to comply with ESOS.
What route you can take to ESOS compliance.
Who should attend? This is a must-attend event for Managing Directors, Finance Directors, Operations Directors or senior management. Places are limited – register now to secure your place (maximum 2 per company). Or If want to find out more, but cannot attend this briefing call 0845 653 1034 to talk to one of the team about ESOS or EMR.
The venue for the seminar is: The Balmoral Hotel, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EQ
Ticket can be booked at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/esos-emr-seminar-tickets-15324738706?utm_campaign=new_event_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=eventname_text
The Met Office has issued amber warnings for snow affecting central Scotland and advises the public to “be prepared” for difficult weather conditions.
The amber warning covers Strathclyde, Tayside, Fife, south west Scotland, Lothian and the Borders from 16:00 today to 10:00 tomorrow. A yellow “be aware” warning also covers the rest of Scotland until Thursday afternoon.
We plan to run a full service on all routes tomorrow morning, but – given the likelihood of snow down to low levels – we are urging all our customers to check our website or app before travel.
In addition, due to the severe weather alerts, there will be no trains on the following routes from 12.00 tomorrow until 18.00 Thursday:
- Helensburgh – Dumbarton Central
- Kilwinning – Largs/Ardrossan
- Kyle – Dingwall
- Glasgow – Fort William/Mallaig/Oban.
Where conditions permit, we will run buses to replace trains on these routes. However, road authorities warn driving will be difficult, so please consider whether your journey is essential. Please bear in mind that, while you may be able to travel normally in the morning, increasing wind speeds may affect your homeward journey.
Alongside transport industry partners, we are closely monitoring weather conditions, with further Met Office forecasts including rain and high winds throughout Wednesday and until Thursday afternoon.
As you will appreciate, this is the current position and is subject to change.
More information is posted at www.scotrail.co.uk and there are also alerts via social media.
