Monday, October 22, 2012
Community Colleges Seeking Increased Business Outreach: A Revolution Is Coming!
We understand the increased competition
that will take place between non-profit and private for-profit educational
institutions in the business sector and your communities. Knowing the Community
College System and know how they operate; makes it very easy for me to declare
your institution as one of the best places for someone to advance their skills
and education. They demonstrate
consistent values, practice hands-on and online learning, and do indeed believe
that Community Colleges are the key in developing the talents of business employees and students. I know this because many of us we're in the
trenches alongside of Community Colleges to observe that commitment. I believe this is a key point of
differentiation in the war of who will be developing top talent in businesses
and communities throughout this nation.
“If we are going to solve the skills shortage,
it’s going to take community colleges and CEOs talking to each other to
identify job trends and skills that are needed now and in the future,” said Walter
Bumphus, President of American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) who
also attended the meeting at Harper. “Communication is critical to do a better
job of aligning education and training programs with the jobs that are out
there.”
“We’re going to
see employment-based learning as a new model going forward,” said Harper
President Kenneth Ender. “It’s a powerful tool for getting people on the path
to good, middle-skills jobs, but it’s going to require a closer partnership
between community colleges and local companies.”
Some Community College workforce (Corporate Training,
Continuing Education, Technical) organizations are struggling — revenue is not
improving and business problem solving
has stalled. It’s not because the Community College training products and
value are not adequate. No, on the
contrary, many of the college basic skill and certificate programs are of the highest
quality in the states and communities they serve. Thus, it is not the program quality that Community
Colleges provide, it’s the business outreach, creating awareness of the
wonderful products and services the Community Colleges have the ability to
offer.
Private for-profit educational providers are excited that an educational sales revolution is coming! They
invest significant dollars in go-to-marketing strategies with up to 3 to 5 year
ROI models. However, their program quality
is no better than the Community College and in many cases, not cost effective for the
end user. Perhaps it is time to sit up
and pay attention. Here are 5 Community
College innovative ideas that can increase their business outreach:
1.
Talent. Is your Community College finally accepting the fact that
talent plays a significant role in the success of reaching out to businesses?
Additionally, organizations that use a statistically reliable assessment like
the Talent Interview outperform all other
organizations. Why? Because it focuses
on acquiring the best sales and marketing talent only.
2.
Lead Generation. Even the best companies
and organizations struggle with finding new business prospects. Community
Colleges will need to develop new, quality business leads that need education and training.
3.
Inbound Marketing. Lead generation on steroids is the best way to describe
the benefits of Inbound Marketing. This process directs prospects to their particular Community College. This is much more efficient and less
costly than the old fashion way of businesses and individuals finding out about
their local Community College through traditional advertising (Radio, TV or
Print). What is your inbound strategy for your businesses and community to find
you? For more information on this
revolutionary concept, check out The Inbound Marketing Forum.
4.
Appointment Setting. Allowing Community Colleges to do what they do best (need
assessments) makes all the sense in the world. Spending 35-40% of time
prospecting and appointment setting is a waste of valuable business consulting
time (and a waste of a valuable resource). Check out The Appointment Lab to tap into a resource
that sets appointments for Community Colleges.
5.
How Selling. Finally there is a business contracting process that
allows Community Colleges to teach customers HOW to use their products instead
of the tired approach of pitching WHY to use their products. Our best partners
have figured out how to change the conversation from WHY to HOW! See HOW SELLING Steps for more
information on this revolutionary new contracting process!
Don’t let the sales (business outreach) revolution come as a surprise — your
products, services and overall value to your business and community are too
important…
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