Putting on the Client's Hat
Comprehensive Training Program
A hands-on customized program

Business communication must be clear, compelling, and persuasive. Mastering the art and science of creating powerful business communications will enable you to open more doors, win more business, affect more change, and transform organizations more often. Learning the skills of storytelling and structuring documents to create powerful, client-focused proposals and other business communications will enable you and your organization to grow.

All effective, successful sales and marketing documents speak directly to a targeted audience. For example, proposals must be more than compliant. The more client-focused and responsive a proposal is—beyond addressing stated and evaluation criteria—the more compelling it will be. We provide you with tools and techniques that will significantly improve the content and the visual component of your proposals and other business communications.

The comprehensive hands-on workshop at the heart of this program combines a variety of teaching techniques, including lecture with class discussion, small group discussion, brainstorming, case studies, role-playing, and a challenging hands-on class project.

You’ll learn the basics of a new business communication development process that will change your approach to communicating persuasively. Understanding the concept of Page Architecture will enable you to give your documents a critical edge in communicating your message.

The shift in your mindset will positively impact your team, your business communications, and your organization. 

Comprehensive Program Snapshot

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Workshop participants are taught through interactive exercises supported by copious examples that demonstrate and clarify our terms, concepts, and tools.

Prior to the workshop we will:

• Determine, with you, your situation, culture, needs, challenges, and priorities
• Interview participants to understand their sense of their strengths and challenges they face
• Familiarize ourselves with your existing materials and processes

We are committed to providing the most relevant training. We will tailor our information, concepts, and approach through the lens of your business. We work using your materials as our reference wherever possible, and always with your needs as our focus.

Workshop Day One: Understanding Written and Visual Communication

• Workshop orientation
• What role does communication play in business?
• Foundational terms, and concepts, and tools
• The Communication Process: how it works and why things go wrong
• The Matrix: how to become more client-focused
• Critical content development and visual communication pre-work

Workshop Day Two: Putting it All Together

• Breaking into teams for the workshop project
• Creating the optimal conditions for communication to occur
• Applying the  Putting on the  Hat tools and techniques
• Planning and developing your message
• Planning and developing your document’s structure and visuals

Workshop Day Three: Delivering Your Story

• Completing the project document
• Planning and developing your presentation
• Presenting the story of your project
• Picking the winner
• Recap, Q&A, and debrief the process

Bank of Hours
Integral to the Comprehensive program is a "bank" of post-classroom hours from which participants can draw for team or individual coaching, integration, and deeper learning with Sinclair, Webb, or both. 

After the workshop we will:
Follow-up with an Executive Summary or feedback session with stakeholders.


Who Should Attend

• Business Communicators 
• Sales and Marketing Professionals 
• Engineers 
• New Product Developers 
• Team Leaders and Members 
• Trainers and Consultants 
• Advertising and PR Professionals 
• Everyone who wants to improve the quality and effectiveness of their business communication

Workshop Materials

• Complete copy of the workshop slides and handouts, including copious examples, that serve as on-going reference and resource materials
• Project and exercise kits
• Process and evaluation tool kits

Our Team

• Beverley Sinclair, CF APMP has been writing, editing, and managing proposals and other business communications for more than 25 years, helping clients in Hong Kong, Italy, France, and Mexico—as well as in the U.S. and Canada—win new business in highly competitive environments. Since 1990, she has taught proposal development and other business and marketing communications courses at organizations such as the University of Ottawa and the Schulich School of Business Executive Education Centre, as well as in-house at client sites. Her company is Sinclair & Associates.

• Nancy Webb is an award-winning visual communication strategist and owner of Nancy Webb Graphic Design. For more than 25 years she has created identity systems, collateral materials, and books—and developed design directions and long-term strategies—for a wide variety of clients. Her unique blend of expertise in branding and books, and her immersion in text design, have proven ideal for designing proposals. Her passion for helping businesses improve their own visual communication fuels her enthusiastically received seminars and trainings.

Let’s Talk!
Contact us directly to discuss your needs:

• Beverley Sinclair   650.796.8491  beverley@sinclair-and-associates.com 
• Nancy Webb   510.914.4724   nancy@nancywebb.com

Download the Brochure with Details

Training Overview

Fundamentals Training Program

Customized Training Programs

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