What To Look For In A Training Company

The corporate training industry is growing and for very good reasons. What it means is that companies are starting to see the benefits of getting the services of a training company to help them improve their business and the skills of their employees in particular. So if you are looking for a trainer, what are the things that you should be looking for?

Unless you are already very much familiar with a training organization, then chances are you will be searching online for one or even do the old style of looking for contractors: over the phone or the yellow pages. Whichever way you look for one, you should definitely not hire the first company that you come across. The important thing is for you to do a little bit more research or digging so you will end up with the best trainers for your employees.

Therefore here are some of the important things you should keep in mind when looking for a training company.

How much is your training budget? Because even if you want the best training organization to help you out, if you cannot afford their services then it would probably be useless to continue talking to them. At first you should understand the limits of your budget and that will help narrow down your selections for trainers.

Also corporate training programs will cost a lot more depending on the number of modules and resources that would be made available to your employees. Simply because the training would last longer and there would be more resources that needed to be produced. You should talk with your training company to see if it is possible to limit the modules or any other possible additional expenses.

Another thing that you should look out for is the reputation of the training organization. Do they carry a good name within their own industry and also from the other companies who had already availed of their training services? Any trainer who has a poor reputation would be known within the training circles. Just ask around and you will surely know who has the best and the worst reputation.

Ask for testimonials from their previous clients. Especially if you know another company who has gotten the services of the training service you are after. This is great because it will give you a testimonial from a first-hand experience. It will probably an unbiased one since your source would not benefit from sending out platitudes for a service that did not do a good job in the first place.

You should also look at the credentials of the actual trainers who would be handling the training program for your employees. Do they have the right training for the program you hired them to do? Do they have the experience for it? Because if not then you are relying on your gut feel that these trainers would still do a great job for you.

While there are other factors that you should be looking out for a good training company, those listed here are a good start for you. Interview the training organization and the trainers who would run the program, and also people who have undergone their trainings. This way you can best judge if you are getting the best training services for your employees.
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For any company that is looking into sales training, it can be a bit of a minefield as there are hundreds of training companies offering their services. These businesses do range from the large and well established expensive firms down to small sole traders that have had experience of selling and are offering their training services.

By typing into Google 'sales training companies UK' this will bring up over 39,000,000 results - so how can it be possible to hone this search down to be able to find a sales training business that meets the following criteria:

    * A Local company
    * An established trainer that has a good track record.
    * Flexibility to be able to offer internal and/or external courses
    * Industry experienced (so they can relate to you)
    * Cost effective - not charging through the nose for a course.

Many training companies charge overly high prices for their courses which can often be dominated by coffee sessions, administration and inter relating with candidates on the course - as opposed to actual teaching time and knowing imparting.

Marketing Quotes offers a quick and free service to help UK businesses to get quotes from local sales training companies - which will allow you to compare prices and select a sales training agency based on the criteria above and most importantly finding a quality trainer and a quality price.

For help in finding a local marketing company or comparing prices from local marketing companies feel free to visit Marketing Quotes and get ideas and quotes for free.

Marketing Quotes is a free service to UK businesses to help them get free advise and quotes from local marketing companies

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Improve Your Contractor Business

In today's economic climate it is harder than ever to run a successful contractor business. The recent economic downturn and declining real estate market have forced many contractors to close shop. With consumer spending down, there are just fewer contracts to bid. This is, without a doubt, the perfect time for contractors to tighten their belts and carefully consider their business practices.

You can't afford to sit back and wait for things to go back to the way they were in 2005.... because while the economy will eventually recover, consumer attitudes have changed for good. You need to figure out what works in this new contractor climate... what saves money, what attracts/retains clients, what is bleeding the company? Get these aspects of your business squared away today and you'll be more efficient and profitable tomorrow... you'll probably sleep a little better too.

Attracting customers has always been a tough job. Word of mouth is good, but you had better do some proactive prospecting as well. Traditional ads in the newspaper, fliers, and posters are dated approaches that won't cut it anymore. Most clients will do their preliminary research online, so you should invest in having an easily-accessible, user-friendly website.

Next, you will need to promote yourself online. You have the website; now get on Yelp, Craigslist, Angie's List, and local contractor portals. Contact local associations and niche publications. Make sure your business is listed where the potential clients are looking. Have a mobile device that you can readily accept calls and check emails on so that you can respond to inquiries quickly. Be easy to find, easy to contact, and easy to do business with.

Consider what message and brand identity you want present in the market. What is your area of expertise? Highlight your strengths and what sets you apart. Reassure your prospective clients that you are a safe bet with testimonials and certifications. On a similar note, it is important to also evaluate what your company stands for. Are you high quality or value? The marketplace has been trending towards customer service, quality, convenience, and eco-friendly themes. Do these themes fit into your business model and marketing message?

Lastly, do an honest audit of your company's spending. If you can, trim spending on things like office supplies and other meaningless overhead. Focus your capital on the integral pieces of your business, like materials, tools and contract labor. Always use industrial grade gear. Cheap tools do not deliver value because cheap tools break, costing you replacement overhead and time. Your tools are a long-term investment, so always invest in industrial-grade tools. Industrial cutting tools [http://www.acetoolonline.com/Brands-s/Champion-Cutting-Tools-s/8179.htm] and electrical power tools will provide you superior quality work and long-term savings.

Times are tough for the contracting trade, but if you get the business model right today, you can ensure yourself long-term success and profitability.

Maria Polidoro is the owner of Ace Tool, a leading dealer and service center for electrical power tools. Headquartered in Wantagh, New York, Ace Tool offers over 70 major brands including Champion Tools, Milwaukee, Amana and virtually all other major brands.

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