Annual Workshopping

Many solution salespeople struggle with the concept of workshops. Specifically, when does a meeting with multiple attendees morph into a workshop?

I recently heard one sage note “the more you put in [to a workshop] the more you’ll get out of it”. He should know. He used to organise a 2½ day workshop every year for his then client, JPMorgan. It took place in Singapore, and helped ensure that his firm kept their account for 14 yrs – without ever going out to tender.

His event put on stage a procession of eminent industry speakers. Future trends and hot issue resolution seemed at the core.

If you have long-term client relationships, how do you keep them fresh? What are you doing to maintain both that, and the perception that you are driving their business forward?