In all our engagements we strive to enrich clients by imparting highly effective skills, tools and strategies. And it’s great to hear from our clients about how our work has helped them on their business growth journey.
We built a robust strategic plan with full buy-in from the entire team.
We had the pleasure of working with Stuart to develop a strategic plan that will drive Tyman International Australia to the next level over the next five years. Developing this plan was crucial for us, as it allowed our management team to align on a combined and agreed goal.
Stuart brought a profound understanding of the strategic planning process to our team. He facilitated the workshop in a way that was both fun and engaging, making it accessible to individuals at all levels of experience. His approach enabled us to step away from our day-to-day responsibilities and start thinking strategically about our future.
Thanks to Stuart, we built a robust plan with full buy-in from the entire team. He opened up everyone’s thought processes, encouraging innovative and strategic thinking. We are now equipped with a clear, actionable plan to achieve our long-term goals.
We highly recommend Stuart for his exceptional facilitation skills and his ability to make the strategic planning process both enjoyable and effective.
Joel Brewer, Finance and Operations Director
Tyman International ANZ, Sydney NSW (Fenestration products)
We now close 95%+ of all leads.
Hi Stuart, hope you’re well. I just thought I would drop you a message, since our training sessions we now close 95%+ of all leads, which is a significant step change.
Nieresh Jeyarajakumar, Principal Reliability Engineer
Holistic Asset Management, Brisbane QLD (Mining asset maintenance)
The two-day program ran very smoothly with Stuart at the helm.
In undertaking our strategic planning process we had a number of objectives:
- Identifying our vision and values.
- Unlocking bottle necks within and between the teams.
- Alignment of staff in seeking to achieve common objectives.
- Team building.
This was important to us as having a motivated, aligned and cohesive management team is critical for us in achieving our objectives.
As part of our procurement process a proposal was requested, and Stuart not only understood our objectives but was able to provide further thoughts and guidance as to the best way to approach our two day session. Stuart also had impressive experience and outstanding references.
The two-day program ran very smoothly with Stuart at the helm. There was a good mix of planning, discussion and team building activities. Stuart was a clear communicator and kept the days on track. The follow ups provided by Stuart were accurate and comprehensive and very helpful in ensuring that the learnings and outcomes from the sessions were able to be translated into meaningful action items.
The main outcomes achieved were a Summary of Strategic Objectives including an action plan and responsibilities. This is a meaningful tool for us to continue with the groundwork laid at the two day sessions. On top of this, I feel we now have a greater alignment within the team and a greater understanding of how to work together.
Overall the strategic planning sessions were a positive for our business and a lot of that can be put down to Stuart and his ability to plan, manage and record the outcomes from the sessions. A big thank you to Stuart.
Andrew Bell, CEO
Mountain Blue Farms, Lismore NSW (Producer of high quality berries)
Stuart is a proactive communicator who kept me well-appraised of the progress of the team.
One of the key factors in the makeup of our sales team, is that they do not come from traditional sales backgrounds. As such, we wanted to introduce them to sales concepts with a pragmatic approach, that would not leave them rolling their eyes.
Through initial discussions with Stuart, it became clear that he has an effective approach to coaching and training. We did not want a wham-bam, highly motivational, rah-rah type presenter; rather our small team would respond more effectively to a consultative type of approach with plenty of discussion and well-placed questions, built around a structured training plan and content.
I found Stuart is a proactive communicator who kept me well-appraised of the progress of the team and individuals throughout the multiple sessions of the program. Overall it is pleasing to see the growth and development of our team members, most of who had not participated in structured training before.
Grant Marson, General Manager
Vulcanic TEE, Toormina NSW (Thermal element manufacture)
It was a genuine pleasure working with Stuart. His approach was friendly, engaging, and interactive.
Agreeing the detail for a new strategic plan is challenging at the best of times but perhaps even more so for a business with a geographically dispersed workforce, a diverse set of services delivered, and a changed or changing business structure.
Working with Stuart, however, we navigated these challenges with ease, and we’ve developed a comprehensive strategic plan that will support Proterra Group for at least the next three years.
It was a genuine pleasure working with Stuart. His approach was friendly, engaging, and interactive. Stuart’s process to seek an initial planning framework, using targeted strategic sessions with the executive management team, before developing this further in collaborative workshops with senior representatives from across our business was inspired.
Harnessing this knowledge in this way has led to a robust and very practical strategic planning outcome.
With Stuart, we took time to ‘work on the business rather than in it’ and that has made all the difference. I strongly recommend Stuart for his facilitation skills, his authenticity, and his subject understanding.
Paul Clayton, Chief Executive Officer
Proterra Group, Toowoomba QLD (Civil Engineering)
The tools, content, and strategies introduced were both practical and insightful. The outcomes have exceeded our expectations.
When we first considered providing sales training for our team, we were navigating a significant change in our business structure. The commercial team had begun reporting to the new head of the business, and it was crucial to align the sales team with our strategic plan.
Our goal was to foster a more entrepreneurial mindset within the team, enabling them to open the right conversations with the right people in the businesses we support. We also needed to transition to a more technical selling approach to better address the complex needs of our market.
Working with Stuart was an absolute pleasure. He created a relaxed and friendly environment where our team felt at ease exploring new concepts and ideas. His ability to foster open communication was key—our staff felt comfortable asking questions and delving deeper into the material. The tools, content, and strategies he introduced were both practical and insightful, making the learning process engaging and impactful.
The outcomes have exceeded our expectations. Stuart’s program not only brought our team together but also strengthened their skills and knowledge in a way that aligned perfectly with our strategic goals. This training felt like a team-building exercise, creating a shared understanding and focus that has transformed how we approach selling technical products in a complex market.
We’re thrilled with the results and couldn’t recommend Stuart highly enough to any business looking to upskill their team and align them with their strategic objectives.
Joel Brewer, Finance and Operations Director
Tyman International ANZ, Sydney NSW (Fenestration products)
I enjoyed Stuart’s experience and leading. It allowed me to relax, enjoy the day and participate.
Our team had recently gone through a leadership restructure and I was newly appointed to a leadership role within the team. I wanted an external facilitator to guide the day to ensure we kept on track and didn’t dwell in the past or any grievances about the change process. The day was to look to 2024 with enthusiasm.
I knew of another local business who had used Stuart and highly recommended his services. Stuart was organised and even met with some of the team before the planning day to gauge how the team were feeling about the change, and what they were hoping to achieve from the day. This helped to form our meeting agenda. Stuart kept me informed throughout the process and the day was just as organised and outcomes focused.
The main aim of the day was to get the team together and reflect on the past year’s successes (despite the change in leadership), set some guiding principles of how we will work together in the future (values) and also some common goals for the new year. We achieved all these.
Having an external facilitator was excellent, I enjoyed Stuart’s experience and leading. It allowed me to relax, enjoy the day, participate but also at times sit back and watch the team and how they interacted giving insights into dynamics.
Kate van Dommele, Program Manager Allied Health
University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore NSW (Rural healthcare training)
The workshop effectively harnessed the knowledge, skills, and experience of both the board and senior management.
The strategic planning process was crucial for Golden West Apprenticeships as we are currently navigating a transition phase. Despite experiencing strong growth, our sector is also undergoing significant changes. We needed to ensure that our organisation is well-positioned for both short-term and long-term sustainability amidst these shifts.
The process Stuart used to gather input from participants was extremely collaborative and well-managed. Given the diverse locations of each board member, the online coordination was impressive. The format of the workshop day was interactive, integrating input provided earlier in the process and involving our senior leadership team. It effectively harnessed the knowledge, skills, and experience of both the board and senior management.
The main outcome of the planning process was the development of a short-term horizon strategic plan. This plan positions Golden West Apprenticeships for the future, ensuring that we are ready to tackle upcoming challenges and seize opportunities. It met the Board’s requirements by providing a clear, actionable roadmap for our organisation.
In my opinion, the best outcomes of the planning process were the alignment it created between the Board and senior management, and the collaborative approach that was maintained throughout. This alignment and collaboration are essential for our organisations cohesive and strategic forward movement.
Camille Johnson, CEO
Golden West Apprenticeships, Roma QLD (Group training organisation)
This transformative journey has been nothing short of remarkable.
I am thrilled to share my heartfelt testimonial for the exceptional coaching program organised by and skilfully facilitated by Stuart. This transformative journey has been nothing short of remarkable, propelling me from a Team Lead role to confidently assuming the responsibilities of a Sales Manager with ease.
Under Stuart’s expert guidance, I found myself equipped with invaluable insights, strategies, and techniques that not only elevated my professional capabilities but also enriched my personal growth. His profound understanding of leadership dynamics, coupled with his adept coaching style, empowered me to navigate the intricacies of my new role with confidence and finesse.
Throughout the program, Stuart fostered an environment of trust, encouragement, and provided constructive feedback, which enabled me to harness my strengths while addressing areas for improvement. His tailored approach to coaching ensured that every session was tailored to my specific needs, allowing me to tackle challenges head-on and implement effective solutions for better outcomes.
The program provided me with a holistic perspective on leadership, sales strategies, and team management, enabling me to adopt a more strategic approach in driving organisational growth and fostering a culture of excellence within my team.
I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to be part of this coaching program, as it has not only accelerated my career progression but has also had a profound impact on my ongoing learning and development journey. I wholeheartedly recommend the coaching program facilitated by Stuart to anyone seeking to unlock their full potential and excel in their professional endeavours.
Jarrod Farr, Sales Manager
Vulcanic TEE, Coffs Harbour NSW (Management coaching participant)
Since working with Stuart, we’ve won the largest accounts Megantic has ever serviced.
Megantic is headquartered in Melbourne and has over 100 employees in 3 countries to provide organic search growth exclusively for eCommerce businesses. Before we engaged Stuart our challenge was that because our strategy and service offering is so technical, our sales team was finding it hard to communicate this in layman’s terms. And because of that, we were finding it difficult to engage with our target clientele who are mostly non-technical.
The core issue we needed Stuart to help us with was developing a solid sales process backed by years of experience. Traditionally we’ve run like a start-up and developed processes gradually through our intuition. But by having Stuart guide us, we cemented a new strategic sales process to deliver a better customer experience.
After speaking with a few providers we decided to engage Stuart due to how he demonstrated an understanding of my core needs and issues, and how he formulated a clear plan to help me understand his vision for our success. He also really took the time to work with me on the plan and it was unique to Megantic’s needs and goals.
Overall, the process of working with Stuart was seamless, easy and flexible when it needed to be! He was a great mentor and knew how to align his teaching method to each student.
The tools he provided were simple to understand and he made the complex easy, whilst the learning across a number of online and in-person sessions was engaging for all.
Since working with Stuart, we’ve won the largest accounts Megantic has ever serviced using the methods, teachings and insights he gave us. Stuart has equipped our team with the knowledge to confidently make things simple and relatable for our ideal target audience.
Phillip Vo, Strategy & Growth Lead
Megantic, Melbourne VIC (Specialist SEO agency)
I wanted to give the sales team specific tools to deliver growth; I’m happy to say the program you presented delivered just that.
Dear Stuart, I wanted to write to you to express my sincere thanks and satisfaction following the recent sales training you carried out for our Australian and New Zealand Sales team at the Kingston Links Golf and Conference Centre in Melbourne.
This was the first time we had our whole ANZ sales team together for many years and I wanted to give them some specific tools that they could use in the planning their sales territory and delivering the much-needed growth whilst improving customer satisfaction. I’m happy to say that the program you presented delivered just that.
In particular the team found great benefit in understanding communication styles, effective listening and using the S.O.X. questioning methodology to understand where the customer is in the buying cycle, what they actually want and how we are best capable to deliver this.
I thought the pre-work that you asked for added to the overall effectiveness as this gave each person an understanding of their own personalities and how they can get the best from themselves and also understand how they can best interact with customers of alike or differing personality traits.
The inter-group work during the training session was effective in getting the team to understand customer concerns and possible objections which led to us agreeing several action points, one of which will be to develop a frequently asked question cheat sheet and an equally important answer cheat sheet.
In summary I can state with confidence that the team thoroughly enjoyed the training and appreciated the tools they received, and I look forward to seeing the benefits translate into sales and enhanced customer satisfaction levels.
Andy Evans, Managing Director ANZ
IMI Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne VIC (Motion and fluid control technologies)
Stuart was patient, flexible and knowledgeable.
Stuart was patient, flexible and knowledgeable. He took the time to truly understand our business. He cares about implementation and is dissatisfied with producing a plan that merely sits on the shelf. Without Stuart’s guidance and involvement, we would still be undertaking our adhoc promotional efforts. We now have a strategic marketing plan & action plan for our organisation that is practical, purposeful and aligns with our strategy.
Helen Zwicker, Executive Officer
Kiama Community College, Kiama NSW (Vocational and adult education)
Within the first break one of my team said she’d “learnt more in the last couple of hours than she had in the last 6 months.”
For a tech start-up it’s very easy to become obsessed with culture. What does culture mean? How can you create a cool culture? It seems hard to ignore Silicon Valley’s ping pong tables and bring-your-dog-to-work days.
However, at Receipt Bank we fundamentally believe that “tomorrow we get to do it all again… but better!” With this comes a responsibility for continual (and obsessive) curiosity. Learning, reading and thinking. Developing and mastering skills so we’re better as individuals and as a team. This becomes harder when you’re growing at pace and there’s no time to lose with developing and on-boarding our team.
At the beginning of the year it was evident professional sales training would contribute to our success. However, I had no idea how big the impact would be.
It’s not often I have such confidence so quickly, but within the first 30 minute phone call with Stuart I knew he understood what I wanted to achieve. Stuart asked me and my team a number of probing and thoughtful questions, which meant he really got to know our sales process and the team structure.
Before the first session Stuart spent a lot of time with me, over a number of weeks developing the consultative and conversational approach. We split the workshop into a number of sessions for the team – focusing on different roles and different themes.
Stuart quickly made the team feel comfortable and engaged during the sessions. Within the first break one of my team said she’d “learnt more in the last couple of hours than she had in the last 6 months.”
Stuart’s investment in getting to know our company and the team has been hugely valuable to us, and to me personally. The workshops have bred a level of confidence and curiosity. Encouraging the team to step back and think about their roles as advisors and the relationships they have with our partners. This approach has now remained embedded months after the initial workshops.
With Stuart’s help the process of handling objections, setting an agenda and using relevant case studies and insights has become second nature to the team.
Stuart’s thoughtful, consultative approach was evident in developing the content and delivering the workshops – but also in the weeks and months following the training. I can’t thank Stuart enough for his continual help, advice and time – his training instantly made a difference and importantly continues to do so on a daily basis. Stuart’s sessions have helped me to embed the consultative approach within our culture.
Sophie Hossack, Country Manager, Australia & New Zealand
Receipt Bank (now Dext), Sydney NSW (Online accounting software)
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