Testimonials
Our client recommendations.
Testimonials
Our client recommendations.
During his time at Financial News Carl increased the advertising and sponsorship revenues from the IT sector he was responsible for managing. He proved he was very effective at maintaining good relations with existing clients as well as winning new business.
I worked with Massimo Valeri during my time at Financial News. He was the consummate sales professional – always seeking to understand the incredibly complex financial sector (better than most!), passionate about his clients’ needs and the most creative salesperson I have ever met. Beyond that I am proud to say Massimo was one of my best friends and I thankfully spoke to him and saw him often. He died suddenly in April 2021 and I miss him every day.
It is always an absolute pleasure to join a training session with Carl. He is incredibly passionate about the entire sales landscape, but more importantly he is passionate about making good salespeople better! A day training session with Carl absolutely flies by because he makes them so engaging, fun and educational. I would thoroughly recommend Carl if you want to see your teams’ performance go through the roof.
Working with Carl has been a pleasure. He took time to understand our business and its needs and delivered a training schedule that was perfect for us. He created a space for learning where my team were comfortable to express themselves and get involved from the outset. I look forward to working with him again in the future. Most importantly the training has had an immediate and positive impact on our revenues and we are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Carl.
Highly recommend Carl and BSR Associates for the training he offers. Last year I had a few 1 to 1 training sessions and it really helped me go back to basics when talking to clients. I particularly liked the tips on proposal writing and since have had a very successful rate of return from my proposals. Looking forward to working with Carl again.
Carl has coached me, my peers and my direct reports so I have a pretty holistic perspective on how his work has positively impacted our department. Carl has had a long and successful career in B2B sales so he truly understands consultative selling and what it takes to build a high-performing sales team. Over the time that Carl has worked with my team I have seen his training/coaching help us become better salespeople and better managers.
I have been lucky enough to attend 2 different series of training sessions with Carl, the first one face-to-face last year and the other most recent one virtually because of the current situation… I have been impressed once more, but not surprised, by Carl’s quality work. He is someone who really knows his stuff inside out and knows how to plan and deliver effective training sessions. His energy level is always at the top and he has a natural ability to keep the floor constantly engaged in both physical and virtual sessions. His commitment to improve client’s performance is undeniable and it shows through the huge effort he puts into researching and questioning client’s issues to tailor a personalised response and not a “passe partout” solution. But what I most appreciate about Carl is his very practical approach: Carl does not tell you the best way to tackle a difficult client’s situation, he shows you the path and provides you with the tips you need to figure it out on your own, so you can actually make it yours and integrate it as you feel more comfortable with. I have always learnt something new after a session with Carl and always have been able to use it in the way I want. Only great trainers are able to do so and Carl is surely one of them!
Carl provided our team with a very insightful sales training programme. He was courteous, humorous but most of all, effective! Many of the techniques which Carl demonstrated I have continued to use them in my everyday life, for both work and personal! I would highly recommend Carl as an accomplished sales trainer for salespeople of all levels!
The sales training module which Carl built for me and my team proved to be highly valuable in terms of building our skillsets and confidence. His delivery was on point and engaging – I know that me and the team came away with a wealth of knowledge that is helping us all to better succeed in our sales roles.
There is no one more passionate about selling than Carl Richards. Inspiring trainer and developer of confidence. Carl is professional, fun and extremely knowledgeable. Added bonus, the best-dressed in the game 👌👌.
Carl trained myself and colleagues during our FT tenure. Authoritative, yet relaxed, Carl has a passion for sales and people that shines through every session. I can’t recommend Carl highly enough. If you have a turnaround project or just want to enthuse your team to reach greater heights of performance, Carl is your guy!
Carl is a superb sales coach with a practical approach to sales and associated challenges. I have had first-hand experience participating in his sales training and my sales team has thoroughly enjoyed and benefited too. Carl is unique in that he approaches sales with an understanding and consideration of business and cultural differences and can model his pace and delivery to suit a diverse set of people. I admire Carl’s professionalism and drive to make salespeople successful.
I worked with Carl across a structured sales training course over a period of several weeks and found it to be incredibly worthwhile. Carl is a fun, friendly and focused trainer with a wealth of experience in sales and sales training. Carl helped me to refocus my thinking and approach so that I was able to better myself, and my technique. This included rethinking the language I use with clients, proposal writing and advanced questioning and listening techniques. As a result of Carl’s sessions, I have seen an uptick in business – even during a time when the pandemic has severely affected my clients and their clients too. I would have no hesitation in recommending Carl as a sales trainer. Whether you’ve been around the block and could benefit from a refocus or whether you’re completely new to sales and business development, Carl will be able to refocus your mindset and make you better at what you do.
It is with great pleasure that I recommend Carl; for his sales skills, superb coaching, good humour, patience and professional experience. Carl was tasked to help our sales team move up to the next level. The challenge was to manage the expectations of an eclectic bunch of people with vast differences in experience and personalities. No mean feat, indeed. To my delight, Carl delivered against the expectations. We have used Carl’s sales courses several times over the last 2 years and they have always stimulated great debate. Above all however, they have helped the team improve their sales skills & hit targets. ROI was easy to justify – thank you Carl for your support.
I have worked with Carl at the FT since 2012 as a recipient of training and now as a training partner to the FT. During that time, Carl has provided various consultancy services and many comprehensive training programmes. It is fair to say that he has been instrumental in the successful development of the FT’s B2B sales teams globally. He is constantly striving to understand our complex and dynamic business; develop relationships with all those within the team; and deliver impactful training to develop people across all levels of the department. I am always impressed by Carl’s ability to respond to our developing needs with innovative and interactive sessions which enable my colleagues to maximise their potential. I am pleased to recommend Carl as a trainer who will positively impact your business’ sales and leadership teams.
We had another great session with Carl last week. He brings great energy, enthusiasm and humour to our sales training but more importantly communicates the nuts and bolts of great sales technique in an informative and effective manner from the get go. There were many memorable exercises designed to instil actionable principles that you can bring into your own sales conversations and pitches from the very next day. Highly recommend working with him!
We engaged Carl to work with our sales team, initially for six days spread over several weeks. We’ve immediately seen a big change in confidence levels in our sales staff which this had led to improved discussions with clients and more success in closing deals. They now have a process they can follow that they are comfortable with and which gets results. We also asked Carl to run a session with everyone involved in the business which has helped improve the overall commercial focus.
Carl has worked with my team and I over the past several years. His broad experience in frontline sales gives him huge ‘credibility’ within my team and his passion and energy ensure that everyone is engaged and learning all the time.
Having worked with Carl in a previous role – and receiving the training – he was my natural choice when being tasked to find a trainer for my junior team members. He personalises his training even with the necessities at the core. He’s enthusiastic, energetic and a pleasure to work with – taking in your needs and delivering a programme to suit. Perfect salesperson, really, and as he has vast experience in that, it makes him the perfect choice for any business’ training needs whether it be sales or senior management.
Spent an absolutely fantastic couple days with Carl recently with our own sales teams and what an excellent session we all had. He had the mix between theory, tips and team sessions just right and a really motivating day for all of us. So a very interesting dynamic session, kept us interested and yes we are focused on closing on our business! Thanks Carl for an educational and very enjoyable learning experience. Best Regards Robert Walker.
I’ve worked with Carl now a couple of times and the time, effort and passion he puts into creating a program is amazing. He takes the time to really understand the need from his clients and ensures you’re with him along the journey, refining and perfecting his considerable knowledge to ensure your team has the best possible learning experience. The feedback has been universally positive and when you have differing levels of skills and experience in one group that’s no mean feat! A great trainer and coach with a style and approach that is spot on.
The Trusted Advisor and True Performance Coach – Carl Richards. Going to a two day “Sales Training” session can be extremely nerve-racking, especially when you are the “quiet one”. Within minutes of starting the first session – what was I so nervous about, this is great, when are we doing the next one?!
Carl is the true trusted advisor and performance coach:
• Wealth of Experience
• Highly Prepared
• A Real Listener
• Agile
• Has an understanding of different personalities
• Open
• Energy and Passion
• Extremely Professional
The result, a confident successful sales team who have:
• Real Objectives Defined and Agreed
• Excitement to perform the best they can for their organisation and customers
• Motivation
• Respect
• Real Results
Thank you Carl!
I have worked with many sales trainers over the years, but I can honestly say Carl has a developed a winning formula in sales training, coaching and facilitation. Carl came highly recommended at a time when I was looking to appoint a training organisation to support with a training aspect for our Annual Sales Kick-off Conference. Choosing the right partner was critical for us. I run a global sales team, with diverse experience and skills, differing levels of enthusiasm for ‘training’ and a number of other challenges which needed to be considered. It was immediately clear Carl understood what we were looking to achieve and had the ability to co-create and deliver a programme to suit. His energy, passion and enthusiasm, coupled with a wealth of experience in sales, sales management and sales training make Carl an unparalleled partner of choice.
I am no sales person? And yet in just two days working with Carl, he has shown me both the art and science behind business development. I have already started listening more and being interested. It is not about me or Zapnito, but the client and the value they are looking for. I hugely recommend Carl to any organizational sales force but also to any startup cofounder who finds himself or herself climbing up the learning curve of business development.
Carl is a dedicated, diligent and hard-working manager who leads by example. With strong sales skills he worked tirelessly to bring out the best in his team and those around him. Working with Carl was a pleasure, he built trust and respect easily and brough plenty of good humour to the workday.
I went to Carl’s training when I decided to switch roles within the company. Carl helped me gain a much better understanding of my role and what I wanted to achieve from it. He has all the patience in the world, is open to debate and is happy to talk through any issues you may have. All round fantastic training and a lot of fun!
Over the past few months Carl has been overseeing the training of all ten of the new sales interns at Dennis publishing. Before joining Dennis it was my distinct impression that sales was a hard, fast and cut throat type of profession. Carl however has managed to make me realise that sales is ultimately a process and it need not mean any of those adjectives. Since the beginning of our training, Carl has always emphasised that we all deserved to be here and are capable of being great salesmen and women. I believe that this attitude has been absolutely crucial in the success of this internship programme and can be evidenced in how well every single intern has done through Carl’s training. Carl has always managed to keep our sessions a collaborative effort rather than a teacher student atmosphere and this has enabled us to learn through our own ideas as well as Carl’s expertise. He has been an excellent trainer and I would recommend him to anyone either starting out in the profession or to those who are looking to improve their sales style. And any success that I have in sales in the future would have to be attributed to the excellent training that I received from Carl at the beginning of my career.
Driven, focused, personable, adaptable and who always achieves fantastic results – Carl has supported the FT through several global projects. I would not hesitate in recommending him to anyone who needs an expert in the sales and coaching field who makes things happen and can be flexible in his approach. A real star!
I would highly recommend Carl to any sales-led business, that is looking to accelerate its performance through the development and retention of key personnel. Carl is a seasoned sales professional and business consultant, with a wealth of experience to share. He has a relentless focus on outcomes that lead to increased productivity, improved internal communication and the development of business leaders. I enjoy working with Carl and have gained valuable insight over the last few months, that I will continue to apply on a daily basis.
Carl has been coaching me for the last 6 months. At the beginning of the year I took on a newly created role within the FT and Carl has proved invaluable as both a sounding board and a source of advice for me when getting on top of this role. He doesn’t turn up to our meetings with a long list of things that he thinks that I should do, he asks me what challenges and issues I am facing then he helps me to find the answers myself – a truly refreshing way of problem solving that has helped my personal development. Ultimately it is what I think and feel is right that comes out in these meetings and they have given me the ability to tackle what is a challenging but rewarding role within the FT with confidence. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Carl as a coach and as a commercial consultant.
Carl’s work to help streamline our organisation was exceptional. He clearly has a wealth of knowledge in consultancy and he helped save us a great deal of time and money. Would highly recommend, and we will be working together in the future I’m sure.
Carl is an enthusiastic and motivational leader. He’s extremely knowledgeable and results-driven but manages to remain approachable, supportive and full of beans at all times. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.
I worked with Carl when he first started his sales career at EMAP. Even at this early stage in his career he was a natural born salesperson with great people skills and a real willingness to go the extra mile for clients whilst always being aware of the commercial imperative. Excellent customer service was always a top priority. Even though we haven’t worked together for a while I have followed Carl’s career and have not been at all surprised to see him have a very successful sales career and to go on to lead great sales teams. I have no hesitation in recommending Carl to any organisation looking to improve the performance of their sales people and teams.
In the time I’ve known him, Carl has been a great friend, mentor and boss. Giving me enough support to excel whilst giving me the freedom to learn. Carl was instrumental in helping me develop the skills and to attitude to succeed as a sales director. An high performing sales leader, Carl ensured we stayed focussed on beating targets and driving revenues whilst remaining approachable and fair throughout.
Carl is a blessing. Anyone fortunate enough to work with him will understand why very quickly.
I worked with Carl at efinancialnews and found him to be an excellent senior business development executive with an unusual ability to build very strong relationships with clients at a senior level. The results of these relationships were expressed by consistently impressive sales figures.
Carl is a consummate sales professional and an inspirational business leader. His natural energy and charm make him a pleasure to work with and he always delivers the required results. I would not hesitate to highly recommend Carl.