The aim To ensure staff who deal with customers learn the key skills, techniques and behaviors of selling.About the program The best thing about dealing with a good salesperson is you don't feel like you're being sold to. As far as you're concerned you're just receiving good service.The art of selling is designed to equip your staff with all the skills and techniques they need to approach sales opportunities with confidence. To make this program as relevant as possible it looks at many different scenes which all sales staff can relate to such as: department store, DIY store, bank services (such as mortgages, overdrafts, loans and insurance), shoe shop and many more. The art of selling uses humorous right and wrong way scenarios to teach new skills in a memorable way. It covers the four key stages of selling, in both retail and financial situations: -Winning the customers' confidence: how your actions can affect customers -Discovering their need: the importance of listening to your customers-The importance of product knowledge: how knowing your products inside out will help you offer your customers what they want, and in turn build your conference -Closing the sale: why silence could be your new best friend Included in the program are specific DVD extras for both the retail and financial sales. These cover everything from handling complaints to dealing with an obnoxious customer.The benefits -Suitable for all levels of staff who deal with customers -Amusing and realistic scenarios make lessons clear and easy to follow -Small bit sized clips allow flexibility in facilitating a training course -Immediately actionable and accessibleInformation Video Arts 2007 production featuring James Fleet, Kim Wall, Mina Anwar and Beverley Hills.

The aim To give managers the coaching skills they need to guide and encourage their people towards greater performance.About the program Coaching is a vital, but frequently neglected skill. While line managers are increasingly expected to take on the responsibility for coaching, very few are truly trained to do so. A recent CIPD survey showed that 63% were involved in coaching activity, with organizations looking to create in-house coaching capability rather than recruit external coaches on an ad hoc basis. Yet, a meager 2% of respondents trained their line managers to do it. In addition, line managers may feel they're far too busy and not see its importance. But coaching is a mainstream management role; it's essential that managers pass on knowledge and develop the skills of the people who work for them. Effective coaching helps people to progress and contribute more fully to the business objectives and ensures that individuals get the one-to-one guidance they need to perform to the best of their ability. Pass it on: coaching skills for managers is our new September 2007 release. Written by Armando Iannucci ('The thick of it' & 'I'm Alan Partridge') it uses clear messaging, humor and practical, believable examples of how to get coaching right (and wrong). It also demonstrates the way in which effective coaching can facilitate development through any organization and how personally rewarding it is for the coach too. Core program - key learning messages: -Identify The Goals - set targets -Promote Discovery - Don't just provide all the answers -Encourage - through praise and constructive criticism -Treat as equals -Admit your own mistakes -Listen actively -Follow up -Check on progress Additional video support clips: -Why coach? -What coaching isn't -mentoring and one on one training -What is coaching? -Vacancies and opportunities -The G.R.O.W. model The program is designed for use in short learning modules and can be built into a 90 minute, half day or full day course with the use of the accompanying Learning Resource Pack materials.Information A Video Arts 2007 production featuring Rob Brydon, Will Smith and Meredith McNeill

About the program Most organizations recognize that exceptional service is vital to winning and retaining customers - but very few treat their internal customers with the same level of respect and support as they do their external customers. Our brand new release Inside information aims to show people how to develop more effective working relationships with their colleagues, particularly those in other departments, through better internal customers service.Inside information is ideal for those who want to break down "silos" in their organizations and build productive working relationships with people from different departments.The program covers:What internal customer service is and why it is importantMeeting internal customer needsCommunicating with internal customersGiving personal support The key benefitsLearners will:develop closer, more efficient working relationships with those in other teams/departments, along with a sense of trust and shared purposetreat internal customers in the same way as external customersgive internal customers the best possible servicecommunicate effectively with internal customers and identify what they expect from one anotherrespect and support internal customersInformation A Video Arts Production 2008 featuring James Dreyfus, Francis Barber and James Lance.

This training resource will...Enable people to organise and chair meetings that are more effective and more motivating for those who attend."I've got to go to a meeting"It's a phrase that makes most people's hearts sink. It echoes with boredom, frustration and a general waste of valuable time. And yet, we all know you can't manage without meetings. A team isn't a team unless we all get together to discuss problems, share ideas and come to decisions. And while they continue to take place "face to face" we are increasingly using technology to meet with colleagues online as "virtual teams". The answer of course is to have efficient, effective and productive meetings but we all know that's easier said than done. A recent survey revealed that 49% of managers felt they were wasting at least 3 hours a week in meetings. And 21% believed that 4 out of 5 meetings were a total waste of their time.Indeed, a meeting is often the only time the whole team comes together and is the only place where the leader is seen as a leader rather than "the official" individuals report to. If they feel their time has been wasted, they lose respect not just for the leader but also for the wider organization that put that leader in place. However many leaders aren't even aware that running meetings is a teachable, learnable skill. But of course, it's not a gift, it's a technique. In fact, a technique with five key elements that apply to both face to face and virtual meetings. These five elements supply the framework of the Video Arts most popular program ever and one of the most widely used training videos of all time. Learners will come away with the ability to better prepare, structure, manage and control effective meetings. John Cleese returns in the classic role of the Judge and demonstrates how the rules for running a meeting parallel those of a court.A Video Arts production featuring John Cleese. Release date: 2012

The aim To demonstrate that chairing a meeting is not just about getting the procedures right, it is also about getting people to work together.About the program The guilty manager of Meetings, bloody meetings dreams he is back in court, this time charged with neglecting the human aspect of his meetings. His misdemeanors are replayed as evidence, from failing to prevent a squabble, to allowing the discussion to go off at a tangent and then allowing himself to be railroaded into a poor decision. The video shows the necessity of involving everyone in the decision-making process and ensuring that they understand key points at all stages .The benefits -Makes it easy to put over ideas that are hard to explain - an ideal companion to Meetings, bloody meetings -The rules for achieving harmony and unity of purpose are clearly presented and made easy to remember -Suitable for managers and all staff responsible for holding meetingsInformation: A Video Arts production featuring John Cleese, Robert Hardy, Caroline Quentin and Danny John Jules. Release date: 1996

Presentation is Everything is a new ‘video short’ resource from Video Arts. The aimTo help individuals structure and deliver effective presentations: and avoid death by PowerPoint.About this video resource We've all sat through presentations that have left us shell-shocked, bored or baffled. A poorly delivered presentation can leave us feeling confused, and the presenter feeling dejected. A well thought through presentation can fill the presenter with confidence that they've got the message across in an interesting and engaging way. Alan (Matthew Horne) is an old hand at presentations. He's given more than he cares to mention: and more than his audiences care to remember! Cue Christine (Sally Philips) to help him reflect on his less glorious efforts and help him think through his preparation, structure and style to ensure that everyone leaves his presentations understanding what he was trying to tell them. This humorous program looks at the fundamentals of good presentation skills: structure, slides and delivery. Click here to download Alan’s tongue-in-cheek guide with his “top tips for perfect presentations”.Video production informationA Video Arts 2010 production featuring Matthew Horne and Sally Phillips.