Access client event Emirate Stadium - a view from the front

I was fortunate enough to be asked to both compere and to present our Access client event yesterday, which attracted more than 120 delegates.  We had practised, reviewed and revised the presentations through a series of smaller roadshows in Exeter, Cambridge and Southampton which proved a great springboard for our London event.

The issue faced by any company in organising an event like this is to drop into sales mode and of course the clients approached to attend will think they're going to be 'sold to'.  The net effect is a reluctance to come along if there's nothing in it for them.  However, our rebranding as a Consulting. Software and Solutions business has to be something which is much more than skin deep. This wording should not be a veneer over our existing business; this should reflect a complete change in our thinking and people should feel this wherever and whenever they 'touch' our business.  Our focus is changing and our terminology continues to change.  We talk about 'clients' not 'customers'.  In the area of account management, we talk about 'advice' and being a 'trusted advisor'.  These are subtle but important changes to our business as we grow further into our role as a major mid-market player.

So, how could we reflect this change within our client events?  It was clear we needed to offer something very different from our previous efforts. We needed an engaging 'theme' which would be of significant interest to clients, holding their attention throughout the day. And so, the concept of a 'leaking pipe' was born! This pipe effectively represents profit leaks within an organisation; it highlights the flow of business from enquiries and opportunities entering at one end of the pipe and ultimately profit and cash exiting at the other end.  Along that journey, there are many areas where opportunities can be lost, money can be wasted, costs may run out of control or resources may fail to be available.  All of these ultimately caused leaks in the efficient and profitable running of the business case study we used.

This concept was presented as the theme for the day and through a series of role plays, with people discussing the issues they were facing and attempting to resolve these issues, the audience became engaged in a 'theatre' which took them through the whole morning.  They saw some solutions discussed and presented but they never heard a product name or had feature after software feature thrust upon them.  There was 'buy-in' from the audience; these were real life issues they faced and seldom had time to ponder during the normal working day.  Indeed, our delegates said the morning sessions added real value to them as individuals within their business.

In the afternoon, clients had the opportunity to attend two out of four sessions which looked in depth at specific solutions in areas such as CRM/XRM, project cost control, HR and business intelligence. These sessions gave the opportunity for more detailed questions and discussions and were mostly driven by the clients as they wished to discover more.

The day closed at 3pm with an auction of a signed Arsenal shirt which raised £150 for the Access corporate charity - Sue Ryder Care. Thanks go to John Rickard from Videx Security Ltd, who was the successful bidder. What a great way to round off the event; this just highlights the generosity of our clients!

I, and the rest of the Access team, thoroughly enjoyed the day. Reviewing the feedback we received it would seem our clients felt the same way too, with many rating it as excellent. One client commented: 'I found it very informative and it provoked lots of questions in my mind. It was good to see some of the possible resolutions you offer.' This is most heartening for everyone involved in organising and taking part in the event.

You can see our Access Flikr page for photos of the day and we'll also post some video footage on this blog next week or so.

Chris Tossell
Commercial Director