Course Details
Overview
This course enables participants to align Cisco architectures, solutions and services with a customers strategic vision and technology needs. Participants will enhance their skills in executing a consultative, business-led sales approach.
Activities train on how to use Ciscos strategic IT planning (roadmap building) approach to uncover customer priorities, IT capability gaps and financial drivers for Cisco-related IT investments. Participants build skills necessary to gain customer acceptance as a trusted advisor.
This training covers the following topics:
- Understanding a customer business strategy and priorities
- Moving beyond IT to engaging with Line of Business stakeholders; building credibility
- Identifying how Cisco architectures and solutions address customer IT capability gaps
- Running a workshop aimed at gaining stakeholder agreement to a roadmap of IT projects
- Effectively presenting to senior executives
- Understanding financial concepts; creating inputs for a business case.
The course prepares students for the Performing Cisco Business-Focused Transformative Architecture Engagements exam (820-422) required for earning the Cisco Transformative Architecture Specialist designation.
Objectives
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to meet these overall objectives:
- Adopt a consultative, business led sales approach to customer engagements.
- Conduct a workshop to capture business strategies, objectives and requirements.
- Apply Ciscos approach to building a roadmap of strategic IT initiatives, aligned to the customers business priorities.
- Develop and position a business case for the roadmap to include Cisco Architectural propositions, solutions, services and related offerings.
- Convey roadmap benefits, gain customer executive buy-in and commitment for action.
Outline
Day One: Introduction
- Enterprise Architecture: Frameworks, Methodologies and Benefits
- TOGAF and ITIL: Introduction and Relevance
Day Two: Consultative Selling and Business – Focused Engagements
- Business Transformation and IT-Enabled Change
- Cisco’s Architectural Plays and Solutions Overview
- Using your Personal Story to Boost Credibility
- Competitive Landscape and Differentiation
- Business Finance: Concepts and Approach for Quantifying Value
Day Three: Business Consulting-Roles and Styles
- Building Skills for Consultative Selling
- Planning and Conducting Successful Client Meetings
- Identifying and Managing Stakeholders
- Establishing Rapport
- Active Listening
- Planning and Leading a Planning and Discovery Workshop
- Essential Ingredients of a Successful Workshop
- Planning and Conducting a Workshop
- Assess Workshop Outputs and Implications
- Analyzing Opportunities and Gaining Support for Change
- GAP Analysis
- SWOT Analysis
- Questioning Approaches and Handling Objections
- Understanding Change Management
- Presenting Findings for Maximum Impact
Day Four: Building an IT Roadmap: Part 1
- Aligning IT with Business Priorities
- Building a Strategic IT Roadmap: Introduction, Approach, Roles, Resources
- Customer Vision Workshop: Planning and Execution
- Building Architecture and Solutions Relevance
Day Five: Building an IT Roadmap: Part 2
- Discovery and Current State Assessment
- Creating an Architectural Framework and Roadmap
- Gaining Agreement: Call to Action
Target Audience
- Cisco Channel Partners
- Cisco Customers
- Cisco Employee
Pre-Requisites
Students should have passed one of the following exams or have equivalent knowledge:
- Advanced Borderless Networks for Account Managers (650-377)
- Advanced Collaboration Architecture Sales Specialist (650-367)
- Data Center Networking Solution Sales (646-985)