You have done all the hard work of writing the seminar, securing bookings and presenting the CPD. Don’t miss the opportunity to get the maximum benefit from all this time and effort. Chris Ashworth of Competitive Advantage suggests five follow-up actions.

Many companies, quite rightly, target their sales team with delivery of CPD seminars. Very often delivery of the technical seminars then becomes an end in itself. This should not be the end of the process, but the beginning of a long-term customer engagement. Here’s how.

Embed you specification in the practice: Delivery of the CPD seminar is an opportunity to explain the features of your products and why they are beneficial. To support the future use on projects you need to make sure architects or engineers are using your product specifications in either proprietary or performance format. Make sure specifiers have digital copies and establish if the practice maintains its own library of specifications. If it does, then arrange for your specifications to be included.

Discuss live projects: Before delivery of the seminar part of the preparation should be to review Barbour ABI and establish what projects the practice is working on and the opportunities this represents for your products. Know this before the seminar, very often the audience will ask questions about these, but if not you can ask.

Get feedback: Always gather feedback, which should be anonymous and gives valuable information to help improve future delivery.

Gather contact information: Issue an attendance certificate whether or not your seminar is certified. Participants will use this to log their attendance for CPD purposes. Don’t issue the certificate at the time of the event, but get names, roles and email details from participants, then follow-up by emailing a certificate. And at the same time give details of any newsletters or other information your company publishes which they can subscribe to.

Thank the organiser: Make a point of thanking the CPD coordinator who coordinated the event for their help. It’s a small gesture which is always appreciated. And at the same time you can mention any other CPD subjects you can deliver.

Developing a CPD programme requires a significant investment in resource, but when done properly its one of the most effective forms of engagement. For it to be effective requires a comprehensive implementation and follow-up programme. Don’t be tempted to miss some of the important details. And include the follow-up actions as part of the measurable objectives linked to delivery of the seminar.

Further Information

Chris Ashworth is founder of Competitive Advantage Consultancy which specialises in helping building product manufacturers to be more effective at getting their products selected. Services include bespoke market research, learning and development programmes, a range of sales and marketing tools and implementation consultancy.

Competitive Advantage work with clients to help them develop effective CPD programmes and to help sales teams with presentation skills. Sign up to the Competitive Advantage newsletter for an overview of construction market activity as well as construction sales and marketing advice.