There was some real breakthrough thinking and collaboration during a Major Accounts meeting at convention. We had previously determined our purpose to be: To develop a network wide strategy for sustainable, profitable growth of the Dale Carnegie Global/ Regional Corporate Accounts business. Our vision is that Global/Regional Corporate organizations view Dale Carnegie Training as their trusted advisor/partner. Our business together thrives!
I was asked to Chair this Committee since Dan Handley's responsibility as a Board Member requires another Chairman. Rounding out our team is John Covilli, Thomas Dybvad. Greg Cox and Jason Richmond have just joined the Team.
Specifically we set a goal we called Project 100. The goal is that within five years we would have 100 Global (multi-country) / Regional (multi-franchise) organizations that view us as a trusted advisor. We defined a Corporate Client as a company that is contracted to invest a minimum of $500,000+ in Dale Carnegie Training over a five year period and delivered globally or regionally.
These are extremely bold goals, to say the least, considering that there are very few of these contracts in place. We know that there are barriers to achieving this with our current structure and policies that can be roadblocks to our success.
There have to be some different models and concepts to start competing for these projects to meet what clients are asking for, that allow us to respond to RFPs and sourcing requirements, which give us the flexibility to follow up with clients and deliver according to their needs. No one in the network or in corporate wants to see us lose out (or not even get a chance to bid) on a large project because of our own internal issues!
We explored a breakthrough financial model concept that would give the Responsible Party (RP) the flexibility to respond to an opportunity in a competitive way, which would meet Franchisees’ requirements while making it more worthwhile for the RP to go after the business. The feasibility of the concept is being explored at a number of levels. We look forward to sharing the details once the concept has been vetted.