Commercial Academy
Commercial Academy
Overview
Suitable for:
All commercial roles in Tarmac, including Customer Service Representatives, Account Managers and Area Commercial Managers.
Aim:
To provide our people with the skills and knowledge to deliver commercial excellence.
The aim of the Commercial Academy is to create a commercial team that is accredited and recognized as a leader across all industry sectors. The Academy will enable people to take ownership of their own development, and empower Managers to have effective coaching conversations.
Each programme is designed to provide specific knowledge and skills and drive key behaviours that will help deliver a positive impact on sales performance.
Success Stories
"I have gained so much valuable sales knowledge and confidence. The course taught a range of techniques I use in real life scenarios, examples include negotiation, how to deal/react to conflict, closing sales and body language. The course demands time and effort in order to succeed. I was given a tremendous amount of support off my Line Manager and my TackTMI coach. The EPA by ISP had challenged me in respect of what I have learnt, how I have applied this and forced me to reflect on what impact this has had. I would highly recommend the Commercial Academy to anyone looking to enhance their sales knowledge or gain confidence."
Asphalt 2Go Manager
“I would highly recommend this course, as it not only teaches the theory, but also the practical skills and mindset needed within your role in the business. I now have a different approach to the way I do my job. This course also enables you to become a member of the ISP, which comes with free online training giving further knowledge and skills. This can be continued after the course has finished, meaning you are still learning and keeping up to date with the sales industry.”
Internal Sales Coordinator
"Thanks for arranging the training. The feedback was that he really enjoyed the course and has taken a lot away from the 2 days. It's great that even our experienced sales people are taking away new things to think about in their daily roles.”
Commercial Manager SW&W
“Honestly, I was sceptical coming into this, but the course is really good, it made me think differently about some of things I’m doing. The two days might be a bit intense, but its definitely worth it.”
Area Sales Manager
“Professional development is like keeping fit, you can just do it once, you have to regularly develop yourself if you want to go a great job, you need to know what’s out there, and you need to know the latest tools and techniques to help you in your job.”
External Account Manager
Commercial Academy pathways:
ComEx Know
ComEx Learn
Sales Programme
This pathway is designed for commercial staff actively engaged in selling. The pathway comprises of one or more workshops based on your specific development needs. The full programme is an 18-month programme accredited by APS. Here are the key learning outcomes:
- Assess your own selling style and adapt it to suit your customers (via DiSC Sales).
- Apply the concept of ‘YOU Appeal®’ ensuring the customer is your focus at all times.
- Learn how to forecast accurately and apply objective criteria for prioritising those high return opportunities.
- Learn to use a time management matrix to focus on what is most important, remove distractions and keep control of your diary.
- Apply TACK’s ‘Client Centred Selling’ model to plan and implement your strategy.
- Understand and influence different personality types in the decision making unit.
- Use logical and psychological techniques to plan your strategy and carry out your negotiation professionally.
Service Programme
This is an 18-months programme suitable for non-sales commercial roles such as Customer Service. Key learning outcomes:
- Understand the principles of continuous improvement in customer service
- Be able to collect information about customers to inform continuous improvement in customer service
- Understand the sales cycle and your role in influencing customer engagement and retention
- Identify the different interactions/opportunities you have to engage customers and how to make best use of them
- Be able to tailor service delivery to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers
- Be able to maintain organisational brand standards
- Understand how to retain customers during challenging situations
- Be able to work effectively and collaboratively in a customer service team
Frequently asked questions
The Commercial Academy is a CRH initiative aimed at commercial roles in EMAT. For Tarmac, everyone in a a commercial role is in scope, for example:
- Customer Service Administrator / Advisor, Internal Sales Representative, Sales Administrator / Advisor or equivalent
- Sales / Customer Service Team Leader or equivalent
- Account Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Technical Sales Manager, Territory Manager, Sector Sales Manager or equivalent
Roles that are not in scope:
- Business Administration, Haulage Helpdesk Administrator/Coordinator, Logistics Administrator/Coordinator.
The L&D Team along with the CRH Commercial Excellent Team will work with you to help determine the most appropriate learning pathway. Here is a overview:
Delegates in a sales role (internal or external):
- Completed evaluation process with their Line Manager
- This consists of Tarmac PDP conversations and CRH evaluation forms
- The evaluation results with determine the most suitable pathway, this will be one or a combination of the following:
- ComEx Know - Self-directed e-learning (self-paced)
- Sales programme (18 months)
- Specific instructor-led workshop(s) x 1-day
Delegates in a non-sales role (e.g. customer service):
- Complete evaluation process with Line Manager using Tarmac PDP process
- The evaluation results with determine the most suitable pathway, this will be one or a combination of the following:
- ComeEx Know - Self-directed e-learning (self-paced)
- Customer Service programme (18 months)
Delegates in a Team-leader role:
- Complete evaluation process with Line Manager
- The evaluation results with determine the most suitable pathway, this will be one or a combination of the following:
- ComEx Know - Self-directed e-learning (self-paced)
- Team-leader Management programme (18 months)
- Customer Service programme (18 months)
- Sales programme (18 months)
- Specific instructor-led workshop(s) x 1-day
The nomination process involves demonstrating full engagement with all existing commercial initiatives in Tarmac. It also involves completion of Tarmac PDP conversations and CRH evaluation forms.
The Line Manager must have quality conversations with their direct report to identify development needs. The L&D and CRH ComEx Teams will support your throughout this process.
There are several pathways within the Commercial Academy, here is a list of programmes and durations:
- Self-directed e-learning (self-paced)
- Customer Service programme (18 months)
- Sales programme (18 months)
- Specific instructor-led workshop(s), 1-day per workshop
- Customer Service programme
- Upon successful completion, learners will gain a Level 3 Customer Service Specialist apprenticeship qualification. Some of the industries involved in creating this programme/qualification are: Boots UK, Centrica, Institute of Customer Service, Accelerator Solutions, BT, Eon Energy, Capita and Northern Power Grid.
- Sales programme
- Upon successful completion, learners will gain the following:
- Association of Sales Professionals (APS) accreditation, and professional membership. Click HERE to learn more.
- Level 4 Sales Executive apprenticeship qualification.
- CRH/TACK internal accreditation.
- Specific instructor-led workshop(s)
- CRH/TACK internal accreditation.
- The offering in Tarmac is part of the wider CRH offering, both L&D and CRH ComEx teams have worked closely to ensure all learning pathways are aligned.
- Tarmac and EMAT will be using the same competency framework and self-assessment forms. All formal learning pathways for both Tarmac and EMAT will be delivered by TACK, this ensures quality of content, and consistency in delivery.
The self-directed pathway is available now and can be accessed at any time. Click HERE to access.
The formal programmes and the instructor-lead workshops will be available in September 2022. You can contact the L&D team or the Commercial Excellence Team in CRH to begin the
Funding will depend on where the employee is based and which programme they are enrolled on:
- ComEx Know - Self-directed learning is free and accessible for everyone in a commercial role. Click HERE to access now.
- Customer Service programme or Sales programme
- These are funded using Tarmac's apprenticeship levy. We are able to draw down up to £6,000 per person.
- Delegates working more than 50% of the time in Wales or Scotland will not be eligible for levy funding, therefore the cost will be charged back to the local business unit.
- Specific instructor-led workshop(s)
- The cost will be charged back to the business. The amount will depend on the number of workshops requested and the number of delegates attending.
In order to be eligible for the apprenticeship pathway and access the e levy funds, the learner must:
- Provide evidence of passing GCSE math's and English to grade C/level 4.
What happens if a learner cannot provide evidence?
- Learners who cannot provide evidence of their qualifications will complete an online functional skills assessment, followed by a functional skills test to confirm that their Maths and English skills meet the requirement needed to complete the course.
- In fact, it is best practice for training providers to ask all delegates to sit a functional skills assessment, even if they provided GCSE evidence. This will help the training provider identify any gaps and tailor the programme to support the learner accordingly.
Functional skills assessment results will not impact your internal performance rating, bonuses etc. This is strictly a government requirement which training providers must adhere to. This applies to levy-funded programmes at all levels, including MBAs, Degree apprenticeships etc.
The Academy was tailored for Tarmac by working in partnership with TACK. This ensures that the content quality will remain consistent for the Commercial Academy across EMAT.
Click HERE to learn more about TACK.
More questions? Visit our Help page
For more information on Commercial Academy contact: