Posts Tagged ‘budgets’
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
You’ll hear a lot about the uptick in training, especially from the recent study from Training Magazine. What I like about this survey: pretty fresh data (gathered in early Summer) and no stats on government spending. Before we do a happy dance, let’s drill down.
Good news: spending to outsiders jumped $2B (yes, that’s billion) last year for a total of $9.1B USD. The key question: what are they paying outsiders for? One word: technology. Online learning tools get 38% of the outside budget pie. Consulting: 25%, certification programs are 24%, and content development is 30%. The biggest loser in our wheel house: only 16% in business skills.
And the sweet spot in the market? It’s not the industry giants anymore. Mid-sized companies have the biggest increase compared to 2010. Yes, they have less money to spend, but the big boys are cutting back. Their most important priority: reducing costs.
Want more? Check the study out for yourself at http://www.trainingmag.com/sites/default/files/trg_2011IR.pdf
Tags: budgets, strategy, training, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, December 15th, 2011
…and little incentive to invest it in people or equipment, according to a survey by CFO Magazine. What would loosen the purse strings? A killer acquisition or uptick in demand were the top two answers.
Other key findings:
- A lot of CFOs (43%) recognize the vicious circle: if they spend money, the economy improves but they want to hold off spending money until the economy gets better. But a big majority (71%) don’t feel obligated to invest in the economic recovery. The concern: they have a fiduciary duty to be safe and besides, they don’t want to hire and then lay off if demand doesn’t rise.
- Don’t look for the budgets to ease soon. A related study back in the Fall shows 25% reporting no plans to invest in the next 12 months. The reason: no attractive investments.
Why do you care? The above might explain the initial reaction of the “budget blues” even when prospects contact you. But know this: they have the cash. It’s just a matter of selling the ROI to the people holding the purse strings.
Tags: budgets, coaching, conversations, economy, experts, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
One reason why many experts aren’t taking advantage of the recovery: clients who got cost-cutting discounts in the past don’t want to pay normal rates now. This forces us into two no-win positions: we keep the prices low for cash flow or spend precious resources to find new clients who will pay our price.
One solution: offer options with strong boundaries. Comparing what you get and what you don’t creates a clear mental picture of expectations. It forces the client to choose which is more important: a bargain, or bells and whistles.
This only works if you go to the dark side during the sales conversation. Three steps here: first, show the limits; second, get the buyer’s acknowledgment that they understand the limits; and, third, reassure them that if they need the extra stuff later, you are happy to adjust the project accordingly.
If you show the limits up front and get the buyer’s agreement, you prevent scope creep and that awkward “I thought/you thought” conversation. When this situation arises, simply say something like, “Well, as we explored in the beginning, that xxx falls under the xxx project. Happy to adjust the project; it will be an additional $xxx. How would you like to proceed?”
Boundaries are borders. They show the edge where bargains end and high-end projects begin.
Tags: budgets, consultants, conversations, experts, Marketing, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Good news: Corporate America spent nearly 22% more on meetings last year than they did in 2009. The bad news: they are not happy about it. According to a recent study by The Aberdeen Group, reducing costs/increasing savings of both face-to-face and virtual meetings (now considered 30% of total meetings) is the top pressure faced by 66% of respondents. Two plans for reducing costs:
- Change the structure to include more virtual meetings (59%), reduce the number of attendees (44%), and reduce the length (36%). Also on the radar: cutting meetings that provide to be unnecessary.
- Narrow the field of suppliers (such as hotels and airlines), resulting in fewer resources with bigger deals. More layers of agreements and policies make sure these suppliers (and not anyone else) are used.
Why do you care about this? Processes for measuring ROI on all expenses — such as speaker fees — are on the upswing. We can no longer dodge this bullet.
My crystal ball prediction: watch for these buyers to go to several speaker bureaus and say something like, “We need XXX speakers and can only spend $xxx. We want XXX for the keynote. We need someone like XXX for the entertainment. Here are our specs on the rest of the sessions. Let the bidding begin.” And then the bureaus go back to speakers and negotiate fees. They will give the biggest fees to the keynote and the entertainment; and then sing the “budget blues” to everyone else.
Bottom line: your brand must compete for the biggest share of that budget.
Tags: budgets, experts, meetings, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Young and Rubicam Brands Company released their consumer spending and attitude study last month and of course created a new buzzword: the spend shift movement. Yea, we know all about wanting quality and affordability. The best news: the rise in community, purpose and connection. The biggest challenge in Corporate America: confidence in both big business and big government has dropped by nearly half in just two years. Add a buying public savvy in search tools and social media…Houston, they have a problem.
Why do we care? Because if consumers want it, we can help organizations give it to them. So pay attention to the connection part. Corporate America will turn on the community-building machine in a big way. Watch for more opportunities to bring “value” (in all its definitions) to the market. This is an issue with a big budget behind it. Check out Booz Allen’s article on this report by clicking here.
Tags: branding, budgets, Marketing, positioning, social media, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
Yes, many organizations are gearing up for growth. But what do those initiatives look like? And what do organizations need to pull off their marketing goals? According to ISBM (Institute for the Study of Business Markets), a global network of leading-edge researchers and practitioners, this is the era of discipline and drilling down.
Their B-to-B Marketing Trends 2012 predicts fewer projects for the “right” customers. The report also cites these top three agenda items in order of importance:
- Quantify and communicate value created for customers.
- Better understand what the customer really wants (not what they say they want).
- Find and assess new opportunities for “organic growth”.
Reading between the lines, here’s what I see: organizations fear their customers don’t see all the value they get. Marketing execs want to get ahead of the curve and anticipate the changes in their customer so they don’t come out with “me too” offerings. Buyers are not interested in new customers; they want the “right” ones. Even in this recovery, there’s not a lot of experimentation. Organizations are looking for the sure bet. And are willing to pay for it.
Many thanks to Lori Silverman for passing along this study (and to Duke Oakes for passing it along to her). Click here to see for yourself (free registration required).
Tags: budgets, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, February 17th, 2011
The bimonthly Business Barometer for December 2010 from Meeting Professionals International shows a continued trend of good news. Hiring full-time folks is up for 23 percent of the more than 300 senior meeting professionals surveyed with 28 percent hiring more contractors (like us!).
Other findings you care about are on the meeting side. Compared with a year ago, 51 percent are seeing the greatest increase in domestic corporate meetings, with 22 percent reporting more association events.
The dark cloud here is still the budget. Yes, resources have grown one percent compared to October. But again, I don’t think any upswing means the return of high speaking fees for those experts who cut their fees (some as much as two thirds) during the downturn. Watch for more opportunities to get out there and figure out how to leverage the opportunity.
Tags: budgets, consultants, meetings, speakers, Speaking, strategy, trends, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
There’s a lot of talk about buyers being thrifty nowadays. And many of them are. The key question: if folks are being so careful with spending out there, why are high-dollar iPhones flying off the shelves by the millions?
Here’s my theory: there is a difference between thrifty and strategic. Thrifty is a mindset from buyers who are either using the budget as an excuse to negotiate or see vendors as interchangeable parts. Strategic is the mindset of “I’ll spend what I have to spend, but I gotta be smart about it.” Instead of buying anything, these folks prioritize their needs and only the top priority goals get funded. In Corporate America, it’s called “making the business case.”
What I’ve learned: if somebody wants something bad enough, they will pay for it. Period. The purchase becomes strategic, something so important to their lives that they will do what it takes to get it. And strategy will always trump thrift.
Tags: budgets, economy, positioning, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Thursday, October 7th, 2010
I’m always fascinated about the power of price points in challenging times. What I’ve learned from watching thousands of people make decisions: every price point is a mental picture. That’s why folks say they want one thing but buy something different. (This is also why I have clothes in my closet that I will never wear. I call them my “but they were on sale!” wardrobe.)
A recent example: an author called me for help positioning her book. Limited budget was a huge issue, so I suggested the mini-makeover series. The program is a group project, includes 10 calls and one of them is on — you guessed it — positioning your book. The price included all the calls and was less than $50 per session. She decided not to get the help on her book because — get this — she didn’t want the other calls. That’s a shame because, trust me, she needed the market intelligence.
Her response got me thinking about this question (which I didn’t ask): Is the price point $497, or less than $50 per session? The answer: both. It depends on what problem you’re solving. In her case, a better question would be: if positioning your book is worth $497, does it matter that the other calls are included?
Moral of the story: don’t focus on format. Throw away what you don’t need. (Or save it for a while, just in case.) Look at the price, look at the problem, then ask yourself: Is solving my problem worth this amount? You’ll make better decisions — and have more room in your closet.
Tags: authors, budgets, Extreme Mini Makeovers, Marketing, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
What I like best about Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI’s) bi-monthly economic report: the findings are based on the latest data. And so far, no surprises: 39% say attendance is bigger than last year. That’s significant — only 10% saw an uptick last April. The interesting news: that increased attendance will not result in higher budgets. Buyers are only going to pay for what they gotta have.
What else to watch out for: short lead times for more meetings. Negotiations will continue to run rampant in 2011 and possibly beyond. My recommendation: get your fee strategy that you can live with in place now.
Tags: budgets, events, experts, Marketing, meetings, positioning, speakers, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan
Posted in Marketing, Speaking, branding, strategy | 1 Comment »
