This course enables participants to align Cisco architectures, solutions and services with a customer’s strategic vision and technology needs. Participants will enhance their skills in executing a consultative, business-led sales approach.

Activities train on how to use Cisco’s 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.

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 Cisco’s approach to building a roadmap of strategic IT initiatives, aligned to the customer’s 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.

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

• Cisco Channel Partners
• Cisco Customers
• Cisco Employee

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)