Spreading the Message

Our latest Marketing Strategy Meeting was hosted yesterday at the Institute of Directors in Reading by Rivercalm, our marketing folks. The venue was great - well run, and just a few minutes from the station. Quick tip - if you're driving to a meeting there, remember to call ahead and book your space in their secure underground car park!

The Devant team's marketing challenge for the next twelve months is how to spread the word about the importance of good commercial contract training in developing profitable business relationships. We talked around the issues that face companies of all sizes - and how it is that we expect folks to be able to explain contract terms when they've never received any useable training. There's a world of difference between a legal lecture (which, for most business people, is effective as a sedative but that's about all!) and good commercial contract training. 

Of course I would say that, wouldn't I? But seriously, we do tend to get pretty evangelical about training because it's only when everyone in the business understands the impact of the contract structure on the success of a deal that the company's sales efforts can be translated into profit. It's so frustrating to see companies with fantastic sales teams and highly capable delivery folks allowing their margin to fall through the gaps between the two. This is a gap that can be plugged with some good training - on both the sales and the delivery side - so that more of the revenue from the deal makes it to the bottom line.