On Target Workshops are for groups of 6-10 participants from a single business (or franchise/dealer group).  Workshops offer you the greatest degree of personalised training, working onsite with your own tools and materials.

PROBLEM: NEED MORE LEADS FROM ADVISERS, NOT ADVERTISING?

You are technically skilled in your industry. You are great at servicing your clients and solving their problems. But how do you get more clients if you can rely on advertising?

Lead Generation in Professional Services firms tends to come from two areas. Marketing initiatives at a business level and Business Development initiatives at an adviser level. Yet advisers rarely receive any training on lead generation and its not the same thing as sales...you can’t sell to an empty chair.

SOLUTION: A UNIQUE PERSONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COURSE

Vue Consulting’s On Target experience is a three month training process designed to help advisers create a personal business development plan and its required skills.

This is involved and hands-on training experience teaches advisers a greater degree of “self sufficiency” in lead generation. Advisers learn to define their target clients, build the elements of a business development plan and then explore a variety of business development tactics while completing three interim assignments.

KEY BENEFITS

• Flexibility - Remove or expand topics based on your needs, culture, experience and industry and deliver via Online, Seminars, Coaching or Workshop formats.
• Content - From “who, when and how” through to advanced tactics such as Mail-outs and Centres of Influence, we have it all.
• Design - No generic case studies or role-plays. You will learn through active, adult-learning techniques focused on actions and implementation.
• Implementation - You receive templates, examples and feedback on your own documents. The training focuses on your business, not case studies.
• Involvement - You can choose the degree of follow-up, from passive coaching to active motivation, we will be with you “on the job”.
• Immediacy - You work in the context of your tools and your industry. Quick wins are readily available while you build your long-term, sustainable referral business.
• Experience - We have first-hand Professional Services industry experience. We work with clients to monitor success and maintain best practices.
• ROI - Because of our collaborative approach and post-training follow-up, we know By Referral works (as proven by many repeat and referral clients!).

TRAINING PROCESS

Due to the involved nature of On Target, it is currently only available as an in-house Workshop (with an Online version to come in the future). This is because learning Business Development skills requires a degree of exploration, trust, coaching and experience. Compared to Sales and Relationship Management, many advisers start with less experience in Business Development.

To boost the long-term success rates of On Target, the training experience is extended over a longer period to allow for multiple coaching opportunities and to give advisers opportunities to practice and adapt new skills. The entire On Target experience involves the following…

Preparation

Vue Consulting works prior to your training to understand your objectives and expectations. We meet with you to review existing Business Development strategies, experience levels of advisers, priority Business Development areas, new growth targets and your firm’s culture. We will discuss the content of On Target and determine which areas may require additional development or emphasis. We will also outline the three assignments completed by advisers and the involvement of line management in this process.

Preparation Assignment

Participants are sent a preparation assignment two weeks prior to the first Workshop. This assignment begins the process of defining target clients and Business Development plans. It also gives Vue Consulting an insight into the experience level of participants and their potential areas for development. Advisers must submit their assignment three days prior to the first Workshop.

Workshop 1

Participants undertake a full-day Workshop. On Target is a modular training experience, allowing freedom in the learning of certain content. In this first Workshop, participants will address issues of Business Development best practices, client definition, prospect screening, Business Development “offers” and initial planning. They will also have the (guided) freedom to choose some initial Business Development tactics to begin building their plan.

Practice Assignment

Participants are given 4-6 weeks to implement lessons from Workshop 1 and undertake the practice/exploration required with each of their chosen Business Development tactics. Workshop 1 often also results in several new initiatives around data collection, Business Development materials and CRM training. Participants submit a second written assignment to Vue Consulting three days before Workshop 2.

Workshop 2

Participants regroup for a second full-day Workshop. The interim assignment is reviewed and experiences with initial Business Development tactics are discussed and enhanced. We then move onto additional Business Development tactics. The Workshop ends with participants finalising their Business Development plans and remaining practice.

Presentation Assignment

On Target ends with participants presenting their Business Development plans to management two to three weeks after Workshop 2. These plans, written individually by each participant, include…

• Mission statements
• Ideal client definitions
• Business Development practices
• 6-12 month lead generation targets
• 6-12 month lead generation activities

TRAINING CONTENT

The training experience is broken into two parts - PLANNING and TACTICS.

Planning

Planning modules cover the foundations of Business Development.

• Business Development Best Practices
• Lead Generation targets
• Target Client definitions
• Prospect List collection and preparation
• Prospect screening strategies
• Preparation of features, benefits and offers
• Business Development Planning - numbers and activities
• Mission Statement definition

Tactics

Tactics modules cover different methods of obtaining new leads.Participants will only utilise those tactics suitable for their industry/culture and required to meet their lead generation targets. While information is provided on all, most participants only require 3-5 tactics in total.

• Cold Calling (calling genuine cold leads)
• Warm Calling (calling “old”, “inactive” or “forgotten” leads)
• Working with Centres of Influence (referrals or leads from other businesses)
• Referral Marketing (mail-out campaigns to existing clients to drive referrals)
• In-House Seminars (marketing seminars for defined audiences)
• Networking 101 (the basics of networking)
• Client Advisory Boards (involving top clients in business development discussions)
• Keep in touch campaigns (“drip feed” campaigns and newsletters)

TRAINING FOLLOW-UP

The structure of On Target includes a high degree of follow-up and post-training assignments. This process is boosted with several additional follow-up activities to support implementation.

• Follow-up management email course. Line managers can opt to receive a free six month follow-up email course. Each month, managers receive an email with tips and ideas to help participants follow-through on their plans.
• Email coaching. Through-out the length of the email course, you can contact Vue Consulting for additional email coaching or assistance. You can send documents for review, seek clarification or obtain feedback on new ideas.
• Follow-up Coaching. Vue Consulting can return for follow-up 1:1 or small group coaching on specific Business Development tactics as required. Often, Vue Consulting is involved in monthly review meetings with participants for the first 2-4 months. We work with onsite line managers to provide a seamless flow from the On Target experience to the “on the job” experience.
• Review Workshops. Vue Consulting can return for a follow-up Review Workshop, typically held 6 months after the conclusion of On Target. This half-day review helps examine successes, enhance processes or introduce advanced topics.

DELIVERY OPTIONS

On Target is only available via in-house Workshops.

Each On Target experience is designed for a maximum of eight participants, to allow for appropriate coaching and 1:1 time during the training.

On Target is a highly involving training experience. It requires significant work from both participants AND their management. This work needs to be accounted for among on-the-job requirements and, ideally, should form a part of each participants periodic assessment (KPIs, KRAs, Goal Sheets).