Mastering Commercial Escalations Program
Ashley is a highly sought after speaker and workshop facilitator, who engages his audiences with his insights, knowledge and experiences.
He is the creator of the Mastering Commercial Escalations masterclass program. This program is delivered in workshop format specifically focused on the two core areas for any business - Customer Engagement (e.g Account & Sales Executives/Relationship Managers/Customer Success Managers) and Project Delivery (e.g Program Directors/Project Managers/Consultants/Delivery Managers).
The program is tailored to anyone in a customer-facing role. They may be managers, sales and delivery executives, and project delivery professionals. The program helps all levels of your customer experience and project management teams to understand what to do when things go wrong, and what it takes to deliver exceptional project delivery outcomes and experiences for your customers. Ashley shares the three critical factors you need to avoid commercial escalations and build best-practice project management.
He uses real-life case studies through role-plays to provide invaluable learning experiences to help manage problem situations within your organisation and with your customers.
Ashley’s unique, open and interactive style will captivate the room as he shares his tips, insights and techniques on how to master resolving the most difficult project situations.
The program is currently delivered at SAP to over 16 countries across Asia Pacific Japan, Europe and North America and is available ‘in-person’ and remotely globally.
Who should attend?
Customer Engagement (e.g Account & Sales Executives/Relationship Managers/Customer Success Managers/Quality Assurance)
For people in these roles, the program focuses on how to deal with problem situations, manage customer relationships and negotiate under difficult circumstances.
For managers who are not involved in the delivery but manage the relationship with customers
For those who are called in to deal with the fallout of problem situations that have taken place
For executives who do not directly influence the work being done but have to manage the outcomes and the sensitivities of the relationship
Project Delivery (e.g Program Directors/Project Managers/Solution Architects/Technical & Delivery Consultants/Delivery Leaders)
For people in these roles, the program focuses on the best practices to adopt to avoid escalations, how to deal with problem situations, manage customer relationships and expectations, and deliver under difficult circumstances.
For those in a project team delivering projects (customer facing, doing the work to deliver projects)
For leaders who are managing projects (customer facing, running a delivery team, managing projects, reporting to stakeholders including senior and C-level executives);
For people managing programs of work (customer facing, running a project or multiple projects, managing and reporting to stakeholders including senior and C-level executives and board)
The key objectives of the programs are to:
Improve participants’ negotiation and dispute resolution skills
To implement best practice to ensure your company is better protected in the event of an escalation situation, whether it is a project or engagement.
Program Overview
Full day (½ day, or two ½ days)
Two sessions: Learning, Role-playing
Role-playing of real scenarios
“In the moment’ coaching by Ashley during every role play
Proven techniques, insights and tips
All participants receive a copy of Ashley’s book, The Man Who Defuses Bombs
Program In Detail
Part 1 - Learning Session (up to 4 hours) - How To Avoid Escalations and How To Manage Escalations (when it’s too late to avoid).
An interactive information sharing session relating to managing problem situations and commercial escalations. Learnings from 4 hours of content with tips, insights and advice on how to avoid escalations from happening, or if too late to avoid, then how best to manage these situations when they are already ‘on fire’.
Attendees are encouraged to share their own experiences and discuss escalations they have been involved in. In the session we discuss how they handled the situation, the challenges they faced and Ashley shares his views on how things could have been handled differently to get a better outcome. If it is a current escalation, Ashley will use those as examples to give immediate tips, advice and the approach on how best to manage.
Choose from the list of 30+ specific commercial negotiation/escalation topics.
Part 2 - Role Playing Session (up to 4 hours) - Role-playing session so attendees can put into practice what they have learned in Part 1.
Participants are placed into groups and assigned a ‘complaint case’ based on real-life cases. Each group has to represent their company in a mock customer meeting to manage the escalation.
Coaching and mentoring the attendees provides real-time advice and guidance for every role play.
What to expect on the day
The full-day program can be run over one entire day or otherwise split to run across two half-days.
Participants will be provided with materials for the role-play session in advance based on real-life scenarios, including a customer complaint letter and case summary notes. Participants need to review these materials in advance of the training day.
Participants are placed in groups for the role-play. Time will be allocated during the Learning session to have a team meeting and prepare for the role play. Ashley will briefly join each team’s preparation meeting to answer any questions.
For the role-play itself, each team then works through a 20-minute mock customer meeting after which there will be a 10 minute open discussion. Everyone will observe each team’s role-play and provide input into all of the customer meetings.