A Value(able) Lesson

By Janet Christensen

Recently I attended a workshop that had come highly recommended to me by a colleague several months ago. Twice last year I had registered for this particular workshop and it had been canceled. When it was offered again, I figured third time lucky, and registered. The workshop fee was $79.00, reasonable, yet not cheap, and it took place in Toronto from 10am to 4pm on a Sunday. So, added to my costs were gas, parking, and travel time from London to Toronto and back –I left at 7:30 a.m. and got home at 6 p.m.

I am committed to life-long learning and I enjoy expanding my knowledge and horizons. I carefully choose the workshops and courses that I take. This one seemed like at great fit for my business because it was about speaking professionally. Since it had come with a strong recommendation, I attended with the expectation of a full day of learning and information.

The presenter was a professional speaker, who has spoken internationally for many years, and whose credentials and introduction reinforced that we could expect great content and inspiring delivery. At the end of the day, I left feeling disappointed and that my time and money had not been well spent. There were a few good points made, and a lot of nice personal stories and anecdotes, however, not a lot of substance. The speaker was from the U.S. and was not prepared with information about some Canadian issues, or with relevant Canadian content. The workbook (workshop materials were an additional $10.00) looks good and I know it will be of value to me. I concluded that my time and money would have been better spent if I could have bought the workbook and spent my time reading that, which would have taken about two hours maximum.

Since my expertise and business is as a speaker, facilitator, and coach I view these events both as a participant and as a fellow professional. From both perspectives I expect a certain level of professionalism in the presentation and content. I have attended and benefited from many seminars and workshops where my expectations have been more than just met, and I have received excellent value for my time and money. As a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, I experience top quality presentations at our meetings and our membership is encouraged and supported in continually improving our professionalism and expertise as speakers.

It is often said that if you leave a seminar, workshop, or speech with just one good idea, it is worth it. On my two hour drive home, I was thinking about this. Is it really about hearing one good idea, or is it about perceived value? I had invested money and time to attend this event. In the end, whether or not I came away with one good idea was not important to me. What was important was whether or not I felt that I had received value for my time and money. I was more irritated by not getting value for my time than about the cost of the day. I can make more money; I cannot recoup my time spent.

I asked myself “what is my lesson from this experience?” That became obvious to me very quickly. When people invest their time and money to hear me speak, facilitate a workshop, or be coached they deserve to receive great value for their investment. This was not a new concept to me. The great value from my day did not come from hearing any one money-making idea that was presented; it came from having this concept reinforced by being on the receiving end. It was a warning not to become complacent. This goes to the core of how I conduct myself, my business, and the reputation that I earn. I want to be known for the excellent value that my clients receive for doing business with me. Focus on this, and success will follow.

No matter what business you are in, whether you are an owner or an employee, if you want long term success and a great reputation, it comes down to this – know what your customer wants and expects and deliver value. Under promise and over deliver and you will never go wrong.

Janet Christensen’s passion is to empower people to live their full potential. Through her company, Unlimiting Potential, she provides personal coaching, experiential workshops, inspirational speaking, and is a Reiki practitioner. To contact Janet, phone: (519) 434-5397 fax: (519) 434-8344 or email info@janetchristensen.com www.janetchristensen.com Published in Networking Today, May 2004.