Posts Tagged ‘trends’

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Gamechanger in the Training Space?

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

First we had classroom-type training.  Then Corporate America latched on to online training.  Then they blended the two.  What’s next?  Tools that make trainers out of everyone.

Yes, technology is involved.  According to this Fast Company article, cloud-based MindFlash has lowered the cost and raised the easy factor.  Their goal:  have a new user sign up, configure a course, and invite students in 15 minutes or less.

Where will this go?  Too soon to tell.  My prediction:  Gen Y’s will jump on this quickly as they already have basic-multi-media skills.  Unfortunately, many of them don’t have the expertise (or the war stories) of the Boomers.  This will be a great bridge-builder between the generations.  And Corporate America will make training everyone’s responsibility.

I wouldn’t fight this trend.  Instead, let’s play the game.  One way we can participate:  experts like us can help make the training consistent.  The last thing companies can tolerate is contradictory ways to do the same thing.  And experts on curriculum development will see some great opportunities ahead.

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Watch Out For These Vultures

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

It’s common knowledge by now:  public speaking promotes your book, your brand and your business.  As a result, the market is flooded with folks wanting to speak.  Their key challenge is getting the invite.  To fill that market need, there are a lot of folks on the scene offering to help.

Be very cautious:  many of these newcomers don’t know what they are doing.  They focus on activity and tout “personal contacts” but don’t have the track record.  A lot are taking money for more effort than results.

Your antidote:  ask specific questions about the vendor’s track record.  Question what kind of speakers (famous vs. unknown), what kind of engagements were booked (keynotes or concurrent), and, of course, average fee or number of speeches per client.  Make sure these folks have worked with speakers similar to you.

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Who owns the agenda?

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Well, it had to happen sometime.  Speaker RFPs (request for programs) for last Spring’s NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference were posted online for all members to admire (and comment on).  You better believe those comments made a difference on who got invited to speak.

Why would an association do this?  To build attendance and online engagement.  By deciding what topics — and speakers — would be included, the community would own the agenda.  And if the members chose the topics, how can they gripe about the program lacking relevance?

Moral of the story:  attendees are now seen as assets and will contribute to the meeting in a variety of ways.  (Another example:  flash mobs as entertainment.  Yes, it happened last year at several big conferences.)  Don’t be surprised if more associations try this method.  Keep this in mind when you write your proposals.

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Meetings Continue to Increase

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.

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How the Recession Changed Us

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Lots of talk about the Great Recession and its lasting impact.  Here’s a chart from The Atlantic (yes, another visual from my collection) that reveals some lesser known but still major shifts in our culture as a response to the economic meltdown.  Most interesting findings:

  • Out of 50 states, 48 have budget shortfalls;
  • In hard-hit Nevada, food-stamp recipients grew by 63%;
  • For all the preaching about saving money, it took unemployment and foreclosure to double the saving rate.

What I noticed:  look how fast we can change when we have to.  Why am I showing you this?  Because I’m talking to too many people who waited too long to change.  Case in point:  one internationally-known speaker waited over a year before asking for help.  Result:  after spending his savings on personal expenses, he no longer had the resources needed to jumpstart his business.  And because so much time had passed, he was now desperate to get revenue in.  He had little money and therefore little time to make the turnaround.

The longer you tread water, the more energy it takes to stay afloat.  Sooner or later, you’ll get tired.  By then, you won’t have the energy to save yourself from drowning.  Too many of us change only when we don’t have a choice.

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Sponsorship For Gen Y

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Looks like Chevy is reaching out to Gen Y — rich ones, that is.  According to a recent interview between sponsorship.com and national promo manager Phil Caruso, the carmaker is revving up their focus to get more younger, affluent women in their cars and crossover vehicles.

Why do you care?  Because experts with a following in those groups can pitch sponsorships for their speaking tours and other activities.  Chevy is a great example of pinpointing where to expand the customer base and then reaching those folks with sponsorship.  Wanna bet they aren’t the only ones trying to reach affluent Gen Y’s?

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Watch Out for This Fine Print in Speaker RFPs

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

Heads up:  many meeting planners want to limit their speakers’ availability for other events.  Check out the language alert reader Dave Paradi found in this Request for Presentations (RFP) for an industry event:  “It is a policy of XYZ that all speakers at XYZ agree to not present their session within 6 months prior and post XYZ 2011 in the City of ABC.  Do you agree to this policy?”

That’s right — you can’t speak in that city for SIX MONTHS.  Why do meeting planners care?  According to Dave, many are concerned about speakers who schedule events right before/after the conference that would compete for the same attendees.  The good news:  this is negotiable and many groups have changed the wording or dropped the issue entirely.

I can see both sides here.  Competition for attendees is fierce.  And… six months is ridiculous.  Moral of the story:  read the dang RFP and don’t be afraid to question the policies.  Many thanks to Dave for giving me the heads up and the backstory.

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What Corporate America Wants Now

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Buzz phrase for 2011:  “strategic alignment”.  In plain English, it means aligning people with business objectives.  And that’s the mission for HR (Human Resources) in top companies now, according to Aberdeen Group’s The 2011 HR Executive’s Agenda. (Click here to sign up and get the report.)  I like the data here.  It’s quite recent — gathered in November/December last year and the sample size (439 top organizations) makes the findings even more impressive.  Most importantly, the companies surveyed are top performers, our ideal clients.

My favorite findings:

  • 52% report that HR spends too much time on tactical stuff.  The antidote:  using technology to automate important but not strategic activities.  This is going on now in compliance and software training.  I see this spreading to other areas as well.
  • 45% report that economic uncertainty is behind the drive for efficiency, a top priority.  (Process consultants, start your engines.)
  • Growth has supplanted competitive issues as the next top priority.  And that talent management plays a key role.  Translation:  visionary companies see investing in their workforce as a bigger priority because that development is now tied to growth plans.  And…there is acknowledgment that key skills are lacking.
  • Talent acquisition (aka hiring people) is making a strong comeback, as 49% report bigger budgets (as opposed to 19% in the last report in the last report in this area.  This is good news for any expertise on hiring and selection.

The bottom line:  visionary buyers are aware they need to invest.  They are being strategic by finding efficiency and tying spending to specific gaps and goals.  Position your expertise accordingly.

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Top Lead Generation Challenges

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Are you having trouble getting the attention of qualified leads?  You’re not alone, according to research from RainToday.com.  Almost 1,000 business to business pros were polled and 42.1% said that “finding a strategy, tactic, or offer that gets the attention of potential leads” is a challenge.  Good to know that you’re not the only one struggling, isn’t it?

Here’s my theory:  there are TONS of opportunities to “get out there”.  Distributing our ideas is not the problem.  The real challenge is two-fold:  of all the tactics out there, which one is best for your business model and more importantly, are you being smart or compelling (which are not mutually exclusive).

What I find:  we have no idea what really works, so throwing spaghetti on the wall seems like a viable option.  The report goes onto say that we don’t measure the tactics, so… we just continue throwing.

The study also notes that many experts may not know their target market as well as they need to.  I agree:  many of us don’t go beyond demographics or — worse — think everyone is just like our favorite client.

Bottom line:  the more crowded the market is, the more we have to drill down.  On everything, such as measuring our results and knowing what’s really going on with our markets.  Perhaps this is something to change for 2011.

And speaking of drilling down, here’s a link to get the RainToday report.  (Full disclosure:  I am a contributing editor for RainToday, but don’t make a commission on the reports they sell.)

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Meeting Trends to Watch

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Just when you thought it was safe, here’s another study about meetings and conventions.  Conducted by ConventionSouth magazine, this is a good snapshot into the minds of meeting planners, especially those who plan association conventions.  Another good sign:  67% of the respondents are senior people, with at least ten years in the biz.  This study provides much more relevant findings than the general NBTA (National Business Travel Association) and American Express.  (Which is why I didn’t report on these findings.)

The upshot:  most of them are in a holding pattern for 2011, with 86% expecting their world to stay the same or slightly improve.  A vast majority expect the number of meetings to increase or stay the same; ditto with attendance.

The response to this good news:  a significant number are slashing budgets anyway, especially in food and beverage.  Expect intense negotiations to continue on all fronts.  Other interesting findings we need to care about:

  • The perception issue is still with us, as 46% cite this concern for selecting destinations.  The perception of unnecessary lavishness will also impact speaker selections.  Celebrity and sports figure speakers will continue to fight this trend.  Anyone over $10,000 better bring their A-game content.
  • Another reason why content will continue to be king in 2011:  ROI (return on investment).  Planners report that they are still getting hounded to prove their value.  Meeting spend will also be a part of that equation, but also look for more sophisticated measurements coming up.
  • Buzzword for 2011:  value.  Three criteria will be used for this definition:  building relationships and networks, creating a positive emotional climate, and capturing attention.

See for yourself with this link to the study.

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