Grow Your Training Business

How I'm Stealing Your Training Clients

An open letter from one of your competitors:

To whom it may concern,

I want to thank you for allowing me to cultivate business relationships with many of your best training clients and ultimately acquire them as clients of my own training business. You may have been wondering why they don't do as much business with you as they used to, and hopefully you have been blaming the bad economy - because I wouldn't want you to blame me. In fact, I really don't want you to think about me at all, until after I have squeezed every possible training dollar out of every one of your current clients.

How am I doing this? It seems impossible really, since you have such strong relationships with most of them. They tell me how much they truly like you and respect you. In fact some of them actually feel guilty about working with me, so they never mention it to you. It is more comfortable for them to just say that their training budget has been cut this year.

I really shouldn't be sharing this information with you, but since you haven't done much about it up to now, I probably don't need to worry too much about you getting all proactive on me. So here is my 5-point plan for stealing your best training clients.

 

My 5-Point Plan for Stealing Your Training Clients

1. I talk to them more than you do.

Do you remember what it was like back when you were acquiring them? Remember all the follow up calls and deep "needs analysis" conversations? Remember how hard you worked to earn the right to ask questions and learn more about their business? Well that was a long time ago and as you have become more comfortable, your conversations with them have become more shallow.

Plus you never seem to call or engage with them unless there is some specific training event on the horizon, or the potential for some new business. Your clients never mention this to you, but the truth is they NOTICE that you have started to take them for granted. Oh sure, you send out the holiday cards and tins of popcorn. You call occasionally to chat and find out if there is anything potentially coming up. But you don't REALLY talk to them any more. Not the way you used to.

And frankly, I'm just making more of an effort to call them more often. I WANT to talk to them, I WANT to meet with them, and because I'm the "bright shiny new penny" my conversations with them seem to be more enjoyable and compelling.

 

2. I talk to them about issues you never discuss.

I don't limit our conversations to any specific area of training expertise. You are a known quantity to them, because you have delivered training on specific topics, so they tend to peg you as the resource for that particular topic. And since that's all you ever talk to them about, they naturally assume that is all that you do. But I don't talk about me as much as I talk about THEM and what they need to achieve their business objectives. And whatever they need, I'll find a way to flex my background and perceived expertise to deliver a relevant solution.

Also, I talk to them about YOU. But you never ask them about me. Naturally the training you have delivered comes up in our conversations and I ask them to highlight your strengths and, ahem, your "growth opportunities." I gently ease them into a discussion of what's "not perfect" about the training you deliver. And after I have a list of potential improvements I ask them if they have ever had this conversation with you. The answer is almost always "no." Then I explain to them that with each of my training clients, we conduct a quarterly review and a more in-depth annual review, essentially giving me my "report card" on how well I am doing for them. Your clients seem to love this idea - of course, once they hear it from me, even if you try to do the same thing yourself, you'll just come off as a copycat.

 

3. I bring them new ideas and resources.

I try to connect back with every one of your training clients at least once a week. Sometimes by email, sometimes by telephone, and occasionally with an in-person meeting. Every time we connect I try to provide them with a new idea or resource that is relevant to our previous conversations. It may just be an online article related to their business challenges. It may be an actual training resource, or sometimes just a single PowerPoint slide they can incorporate into their own training materials if they want to.

The point of all this is that I want them to see me as a constant fountain of new thinking and new ideas. I don't want them to see me in a limited way as only focused on a narrow arena of corporate training. Yes I know that traditionally trainers have been advised to specialize, to develop the deepest possible expertise in a specific area. That works great when the economy is booming and expanding. But when the economy is contracting, and I'm having to fight for every possible new training dollar, I need to have the widest net possible.

Fortunately for me, since I'm brand new to them, it is easy to frame myself up as a broad generalist with a wide range of expertise. It would be much tougher if I had already sold myself to them as narrowly focused on just one area of employee development. Sort of like you did.

 

4. I "work" for them before I work for them.

I let them know that I'm always looking for ways to help my clients gain a competitive advantage, especially in this tough economy. And while I am certainly interested in generating revenue for my business, I know I need to earn my way in. So I am willing to do more - even offer free workshops or programs or resources - and I know there is a natural desire to reciprocate. If I go out of my way to do more for them, they will tend to (eventually) do the same for me.'

Plus of course they need time and exposure to get to know me and become comfortable with my training style. So I am going to leverage every possible opportunity to work with them, to deliver compelling training, to provide useful resources, so they get a strong sense of what it is like to work with me, before they ever actually work with me.

 

5. I try harder, and they appreciate the effort.

Your clients know I'm "hungry" for new business. I'm not desperate. I'm not needy. And I have no interest in asking them to do anything just because it would be good for ME. My focus is on what is good for them. But with that said, I tell them (and more importantly show them) that no one is working harder than I am to gain their business.

You on the other hand seem to want to emphasize how successful you are, which is totally fine. You drive a nicer car than most of your clients, you dress better, and take them to restaurants they couldn't afford on their own. And they are truly impressed by your success.

With me, they don't see me as having "arrived." They see me as someone very much like themselves, working hard for every training event, earning every dollar, etc. And no matter how much money I make, I cultivate that perspective with them. Because I know they have a natural instinct to want to help the underdog, the person who will push themselves farther and harder.

 

So let me wrap this up by once again expressing my gratitude for the doors you have opened for me. In such a tough economy it means a lot to be able to cherry pick the best training clients of a successful professional such as yourself. I would like to say that maybe someday I can return the favor, but I don't think so. Once I have them, I'm going to work very, very hard to retain them.

With deepest appreciation,

One of Your Competitors

 

Rich Trainer, Poor Trainer

In this tough economy, it has obviously become more difficult for virtually every independent corporate trainer and OD consultant to make a living. And since I have numerous friends and acquaintances in this industry I've had many conversations about the challenges they are facing.

Existing clients are tightening their training budgets. Prospective clients don't even want to talk to a new training vendor (they have plenty of existing vendors, all of whom are working hard to retain their business). We all know that when the budget is tight, training is one of the first items on the chopping block.

But I have also noticed that a few of my friends in the training business are doing quite well. Some are having the best years they have ever had. Some are landing huge contracts and monster elephant clients. While another trainer just down the road is taking his LCD projector to a pawn shop. One could make the assumption that those who are doing well are actually providing better services to their clients - but I know many amazingly gifted trainers and consultants who are struggling. And I know quite a few, shall we say, less-then-gifted folks who are pulling in serious dollars.

So what is it that truly separates the rich trainers from the poor ones?

I can't claim to know the full answer to that question, but I got a clue when talking to several individuals about how they handle situations where the client asks them to adjust their fees downward because of the tough economy. Three training consultants had three dramatically different perspectives and approaches:

1. Give in and lament.
2. Hold firm and let go.
3. Partner and prosper.

Give in and lament - This training consultant was clearly depressed as he talked to me about how he has had to reduce his daily training fee in order to remain competitive in this market. He hated the idea that he was diminishing his perceived value in the client's eyes, and of course he also hated the reduced revenue.

Hold firm and let go - This training consultant was adamant that he was not going to reduce his fees, and if he lost a few clients so be it. He was definitely not depressed. But clearly frustrated and annoyed. He had in fact lost a few clients, but was determined to stay the course.

Partner and prosper - This training consultant spoke about partnering with his clients, understanding their financial constraints, and developing true win/win outcomes. For example in some cases where he had to reduce his fees, the clients agreed to provide audio and video testimonials that he could post to his web site. One client agreed to participate as a reference in a few telephone calls with large prospects. And another agreed to provide a significant number of referrals. So while this training consultant did in fact have to make some financial adjustments, he made sure to get something of value in return. This not only diminished the negative financial impact, it also helped him maintain his confidence and perceived value from his client's perspective. They had to "earn" the reduction - it wasn't just given.

So which of these three do you think is doing the best financially during these tough times? Without question it is my "partner and prosper" friend. He had a few other interesting ideas which I will share in future posts.