Well, I don’t know about your Training revenues these days, but mine have been hit pretty hard by fewer opportunities, travel freezes, the move to on-line or synchronous delivery, etc. These days it’s all about:
(1) maximizing the revenue on every new opportunity you win, i.e. not leaving money on the table, and
(2) making sure you develop and maintain new revenue stream(s) from existing clients.
Depending on the size of the Training deal, my experience has been that Services can add anywhere between 10% (for a large Training deal) and 50% (on a smaller Training deal) to the top-line revenue. The higher % on the smaller deals can potentially turn an unprofitable deal, after you factor in Sales expenses, into a worthwhile opportunity. When there are fewer opportunities around in your established accounts, it’s easy to take your eye off the ball and focus elsewhere, when there could be opportunities right under your nose to sell Services. Not only do Services provide additional revenue streams, but they can also help insulate you from the competition, help maintain existing relationships and develop new relationships within the account, help re-position the perception of your company as a Consulting as well as a Training company, and maybe even move you towards that enviable position of being a Trusted Advisor to the account instead of just another Training Vendor.
This blog is an opportunity for me to share my experiences (and mistakes!) in building a significant Services revenue stream, and to provide a repository for best practices in this challenging area.
