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ATD ICE Workshop: The Idea

Published: Monday, March 6, 2023

Have you ever looked back on a previous role and said, "If I only knew then what I know today, I would have completely crushed that!"? This will be a story about doing exactly that. Except, I'll share my experiences with you so that you can crush it. The role of trainer, specifically, corporate trainer.

 

I want to clear up a few things now. This is about why and how to market your training. This is not about Bob Pike or Ken Blanchard, although that would be cool! I've always thought that corporate training is one of the worst marketed places. We use words like mandatory, required, development. We use borrowed authority. All creating an environment where the participant "must" do something. What if we changed that to "want"? That's where my idea starts.

 

Speaking of starting, Simon Sinek said Start with Why. I'm a fan of starting with why then move to begin with the end in mind. This first entry will be around that, the why. Over the next few weeks, I'll document how I go about creating a workshop for the Association of Talent Development International Conference and Expo (ATD ICE).

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Goals. We've all got them. Whether on paper, post-it, or hanging on wall. That's where my goal was. Printed in size 80 font, staring at me every day. A few years ago, I was reading Grant Cardone's Be Average or Be Obsessed. In it he states to post your goals as if they have happened. It creates a sense of desire and need if it has not yet happened. One of mine, there were several, was to speak at an ATD ICE workshop, solo. Here's where this gets odd. I don't believe I do anything special or out of the ordinary. Today, I'm a consultant / trainer / facilitator. In my 15 years in cubicles, I was a trainer / facilitator / consultant. One of dozens at my company, today, one of thousands. Why would ATD accept a workshop proposal from me? I have a small specialized client list. My content is niche. I had trouble justifying proposals. Until one day…

 

I had purchased one of the social media "How to market on Facebook" style courses. A friend of mine had suggested it. A quick disclaimer, this is not going to be a sale of that product, that's why I'm not mentioning it. I am going to share the framework because once I learned it, I shouted out loud "If I only knew then what I know today, I would have completely crushed that!" I finally felt like I had something different. Something to offer. Something that was working for me, why won't it work for you?

 

The idea, Mandatory, No more. Market your in-house training like a pro. Great, I've got a title. Now, how do I flesh that out? That will be for next week.

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