Written by Sure, experience helps, but we think raw talent and attitude trump experience every time.
And we also think that by investing a little more time in the right people right at the start of their careers, we’ll be able to unlock greater potential in the long run.
To back up our thinking, we recently reviewed the backgrounds of the top billing Sponsorship Managers in IQPC, both those that are new to the role and have made the fastest of starts, and those that have been with us for 8-12 years, breaking sales records each year and earning the kind of money uncapped commissions allow.
What stood out immediately was how many people on this list had joined IQPC as graduates and gone on to work their way up through the ranks.
Now we’ve consistently been told that our sales training and development is the best in the events industry, so perhaps this observation simply reinforces that fact.
But as proud as we are of this, we also fervently believe in being better, so over the last year have spent our time improving the structure and delivery of our training to make it even more effective and accessible for graduates.
If you are just getting started in your career and have a burning ambition to progress and ensure you become the best you can be, we should talk about the SDP and whether it could be the step forward you are looking for in your career. It could be the most influential conversation you ever have.
Because a truly successful career comes down to a few things you can control: hard work is one, skill is another. We think getting into the right habits early in your career is the third vital part of this equation; but you need the right environment and support to be sure of getting this right.
We can help you get into these habits. The habits that will ensure that in 10 years time you’re paying the mortgage off on the kind of property you can only dream about today. The habits that you will carry with you for the rest of your career and that will under-pin any success you go on to have, even if you do decide to move on from IQPC one day.
Why are we so confident? Because people keep telling us:
“I can honestly say that the training and development I received at IQPC was by far the best in my career to date. I left 5 years ago to pursue a career in hospitality sponsorship but continue to rely on the skills, techniques and disciplines that were instilled in me in my time at IQPC” William Dineen – Business Development Manager, AEG
In fact, one recent leaver wrote to us unprompted and said:
“I can truly say IQPC has been by far the most enjoyable environment to work in I’ve ever experienced, stuffed with memorable episodes and even more memorable people. It is without doubt my proudest professional achievement to have made it a success in what was an entirely new field and method of selling. I won’t forget it. In fact I’m pretty sure it will form the cornerstone of how I consider things should be done for the rest of my working days.”
In short, people who have passed through this process in the past have gone on to have lucrative and meteoric careers.
Either working their way up through the ranks into Sales director positions in one of our 9 global offices, growing into key account and high value Sales Managers, billing 1m + a year and reaping the rewards of our uncapped commission structure which rewards sales growth and elite performance generously.
Others still have transitioned into other roles within the group such as production or marketing or Managing Director roles; wherever they have found themselves, the grounding received in their formative years at IQPC has gone with them, and they look back on these formative experiences as being fundamental to their success.
So how does the SDP actually work?
From day one, you’ll be immersed in the sponsorship team, after an initial induction to the business, the first 3-6 months will be spent learning the ropes by sitting amongst the team, where you can learn from those around you, shadowing top performers and learning from the best.
You’ll attend all our sponsorship induction training sessions from the get-go as well. These intensive sessions are critical to your development of course, but we place as strong an emphasis on coaching, so you will be assigned a Divisional Sponsorship Director to coach you along the way, as well as helping you acclimatise to the business as whole.
The theory in our training sessions is one thing, but practice is another, so you’ll start applying these techniques immediately, honing your skills on a combination of Delegate Sales and New Business Sponsorship sales calls. Vitally, you will receive on-going coaching and real-time feedback to fine tune and bed-in these critical skills and habits.
As well as the training and coaching, you will also apply yourself to, and be assessed on specific tasks that will set you up for success in the role, helping you to ace the practical skills that you will rely on for years to come such as:
- Writing and proofing proposals
- Lead generation
- Social media activity
- Value proposition creation and testing
- Writing and editing sponsorship marketing copy
- Negotiation and objection handling
- Time management
- The list goes on…
At the same time you will get to know and understand the roles of other departments, improving your commercial understanding of the business and your role within it.
Then as soon as you are ready, you will be assessed on skill uptake, before graduating into the full blown Spex Manager role. The combination of training, tailored coaching and actually “doing” over this period of time gives you complete control over your development and gives us the time and ability to work through your specific challenges with you.
Still not entirely convinced by this approach? We’ve already tested it. Here’s the view of Alex on how the first 6 months have been for him:
“The quality and amount of training I have received has exceeded my expectations. I knew I would receive training on the job, but my manager has really gone above and beyond, spending a lot of time with me to ensure I am able to sell to the best of my ability. I am part of a very close knit team, who have welcomed me and took me under their wing. I have the opportunity to earn a very good wage, if I am prepared to put the hard work in. I like this because you know that if you produce good results you will be rewarded handsomely.”
So, to recap all this, we’re talking about:
- The best sales training in the events industry
- A coaching programme to tailor the training to your specific developmental needs
- Time to learn through trial and error without the pressure of hitting sales targets from day one.
- Assignments designed to develop key skills and bed in top performer habits
- £22.5k salary, increasing to £25k on completion and a competitive commission scheme which enables a realistic OTE of £60k in year one in the Sponsorship Manager role
I need to be straight with you though because we are genuinely ONLY going to be taking on the people who we think have the DNA of a top performer, because in taking you on for this role, we are investing in you for the long term. We’re in no rush to fill seats here at all, it’s about quality not quantity.
But if you think you have the right attitude and have the staying power as well (and I have to be honest with you up front, it will not be easy, and there will be tough days, weeks and even months) then I urge you to apply.
Seeing as you’ve got this far, I am guessing some of the things I’ve said are striking a chord with you and think this could be a turning point for you.
If so, the next step is to have a 5 minute conversation with us to rule this in or out, so drop us an email or give us a call. As I said, it could be the most influential call you ever make…
Joby Turner
UK MD