Sharing Experience
Sales Pitch and Sales Strategy
Hello, my name is Gabriel
5 Years ago…
2009
2 Xooglers
SEA
SEO WA
Vision
Semetis: preferred eBusiness partner
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Mar 2009 Semetis set-up
Summer 2009 First clients signed: Touring Assurances, D’Ieteren, Scarlet, Brico, Ixina, RTBF, IKEA, SNCB, …
Apr 2010 Semetis becomes Google Analytics Certified Partner
Jan 2011 Semetis wins the Belgacom-Proximus overall SEA contract
Jan 2011 Internal SEA Technology launched
8
Summer 2011 First Facebook & Bing Campaigns
2012 Strong growth reaching a Turnover of 12.2M€ + team of 14
2013 - 2014 Continuous Growth. Re-positioning + RTB Office Extension (250 m²) & collaboration with other communication agencies. + team of 20
Fast Evolution: from 2009 to 2015
Semetis: Multiple Services
Digital
Advertising
Digital
Business
Intelligence
In-house Technology + SaaS for agencies
A Team of 20 people
A Portfolio of International Clients
Maintain happy clients
while working on the
continuous sales pipe !
AGENDA (part 1)
HELPING YOU TO HAVE BETTER PITCHES - Market analysis, digital trends - Consumer buying behavior + consumers typologies - Competition analysis - Benchmarking - Objectives - Google product mix and the allocation of the budgets - Estimated results - Life time value - Fees - Start date + Next steps + The WoW moment that will surprise the client
AGENDA (part 2)
DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR SALES STRATEGY - define target market/verticals/type of clients - how to approach potential clients: networking, events, recommendations, PR, advertising etc - how to obtain the pitch - building long term relationships - business model: differentiation, monetization, KPIs
Client acquisition vs Market positioning
vs
Client acquisition
Part1 - Understand • Convince why prospects need an agency • Establish your value proposition • Be prepared to talk about your case studies Part2 – Prepare beforehand • Do your homework about the prospect • Build a tailor-made offer that can’t be refused • Follow-up call and meeting Part3 – Sales Funnel • Close • Deliver • Retention
Sales Process
Specialization & Expertise
Some companies don’t want to deal with the challenge of bringing marketing in-house. With
today’s expanding and fragmented media landscape, it isn’t realistic for them to understand
everything about traditional and digital platforms. Many small businesses do not have the
resources or experience to execute their own advertising campaigns. A good agency can
provide expertise and resources not available within an organization.
Prospective & Ideas
Agencies can offer a fresh perspective on how to approach a client’s products, business, and
target audience. Many agencies will offer creative ad copy or imagery that will increase brand
awareness or sales for the company.
Why do Companies Hire Agencies?
What’s YOUR value proposition?
We’re CERTIFIED
We know this is part of a PLATFORM
We make you STAND OUT
We’re IN THE KNOW
We believe in ANALYTICS & accountability
We’ve DONE THIS BEFORE
YOUR case studies
Semetis Case study on video: YouTube.com/semetis
Do Your Homework: The site
Macaroni & Cheese
Buy Now!
• What are the conversion actions?
• Is it possible / clear / easy to convert?
• Are there landing pages you can use for specific ads or will you need to build
them?
Do Your Homework: Search
• Who’s the competition?
• Are there other advertisers in the space?
• Are there negative keywords you can identify?
Do Your Homework: Keyword planner
• Is there a good search volume?
• What’s the competition like?
• Is there anything you can tell about the industry from the keyword ideas?
Do Your Homework: Google Insights for Search
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Do Your Homework: Google Insights for Search
Looking around the account: Structure
“Campaign #1”
“Ad Group #1”
Hundreds of keywords thrown together
Single generic ad
Little or no targeting!
Do Your Homework: Look at their existing Google Adwords account (if access is granted)
Looking around the account: Landing pages
Oops! Page not found…
Do Your Homework: Look at their existing Google Adwords account (if access is granted)
Looking around the account: Conversions and Google Analytics
Do Your Homework: Look at their existing Google Adwords account (if access is granted)
Looking around the account: Change history
Do Your Homework: Look at their existing Google Adwords account (if access is granted)
Build a tailor-made offer that can’t be refused
Budget $10,000
Avg. Cost Per Click $1.15
Expected Conv. Rate 4.0%
Value Per Conversion $50.00
Total Expected Return
$17,391.30
MY FEES $2,000.00
ROI 45%
$1.45
$1.00
Skills needed for sales
Understanding how you want to sell
Sales caricatures…
Understanding how you want to sell
…but it’s the oxygen that feeds your business!
Who actually likes sales?
Understanding how you want to sell
The most important tool in your sales tool kit
Listen > Talk
Then
ASK QUESTIONS
Principle #1 – Commit to the Practice of Listening
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #2 – Practice Radical Honesty
Understanding how you want to sell
Radical Honesty requires guts
Hi ______, We have carefully reviewed all the documentation and information in your RFP. I regret to inform you that we have decided not to submit a proposal and will not be bidding on the project in its current form at this time. While we believe that we have the skills, experience, language fluency and capacity to develop a comprehensive global solution for _____, our concerns center around expectations of timing, scope, alignment and costs. A key issue is reconciling the project scope with the estimated time frame. Our experience is that this requires at least double the anticipated time frame, which of course has a significant impact on costs. In the meantime, we wish you success with your initiative. Regards,
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #3 - Practice Knowing Thyself
REVENUE!! Let’s go for it…
RISK!! This is too much of a stretch…
Understanding how you want to sell
Know thyself
Don’t get “too far over your skis”…
Key question: if we take this, will it distract us from our core work? Will it create legacy risk? Will it demoralize staff? Is it a bad idea?
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #4: You need a story
• Work is not procured
• Sustainable processes, unique services that are market driven, high touch, high value & create competitive advantage for clients
Top tier
(compete on knowledge)
• Margins squeezed by lower tier; cash flow will limit operational flexibility; endless contract cycle
Mid-tier
(do a lot of stuff and compete on price!)
• Commoditized services: low dollar, low margin, non-repeatable business
Single shops (we do PPC! We do it cheap! We do it
fast!)
The “squeeze” zone
Understanding how you want to sell
The story is important
SEM
Understanding how you want to sell
The story is important
What will you compete on? • Price • Quality • Service • Skill • Experience • Outcomes
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #5 – Practice Hunting Mammoths
Understanding how you want to sell
Practice Hunting Mammoths – and NOT rabbits !
Low dollar projects (rabbits) take a lot of resources to manage, leave no room for error and don’t create relationships with people who will continue to purchase your services going forward
…AND clients that spend $10K with you are often more of a pain and difficult to manage than those that spend $100K.
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #6 - People buy people
Consultant
• Especially in SME’s • Human side of the “deal” • Trust & transparency
“I hired [name of person], not [name of company]”
- Customer
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #7 – Be fearless (have chutzpah!)
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #7 – Be fearless (don’t fear rejection)
40% is an AWESOME close rate… … and it means you are being rejected 60% of the time
Understanding how you want to sell
Principle #8 – Be responsive
Reply to inquiries quickly
Suggested response times when someone reaches out to you by:
• Website contact form: within 4 hours • Phone or email: within 2 hours • Social media: within 1 hour (particularly if public)
Understanding how you want to sell
Say what you are going to do, by when you’ll get it done, and then do it
Deliverable Contract
Principle #9 – Follow-through
Understanding how you want to sell
- Never be judgmental about why prospects don’t follow-through
- Never be shy to use all the tools at your disposal to reach them
Principle #10 – Follow-up
Understanding how you want to sell
BONUS! Principle #11 – Seek Alignment
If it doesn’t work for you, it won’t work for me. If it doesn’t for me, it won’t work for you. When our interests are aligned, good things will flow The key to this is Emotional Honesty Alignment comes about through discussion, clarification, transparency, documentation and regular, scheduled check-ins
Understanding how you want to sell
If you get all the principles aligned, you have a chance of becoming The Trusted Advisor
Different industries, different needs !
Revenue Transactions (volume)
ROI Margins
eCommerce
Buying cycle
Leads
Sales
RoPo (Geo)
Retail
Retention
Revenue
Travel
Idem as retail
+ Upsell (other products) => retention
Finance
customer lifetime-value
= new clients (+upsell/retention) - churn
Telecom
Brand awareness
Indirect sales
Brand recall
FMCG
Viewership/Audience
Pageviews
Advertising revenue
Publishing
Awareness + Lead + RoPo
Automotive
Prospection funnel
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close
The sales cycle: process outline
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close
The sales cycle: relationship to marketing
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Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close Prospect
First step of the sales cycle: prospecting
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospecting is the process of identifying, qualifying, and prioritizing organizations and individuals that have the need for and potential to purchase the
salesperson’s market offering of products and services
The sales cycle: prospecting
Understanding How You Want To Sell
When prospecting, think: “Must. Hunt. Mammoths.“
The sales cycle: prospecting
People, Partnerships & Systems: Keys to Long-Term Success
• Track contacts • Categorize / prioritize • Manage sales funnel • Reminders • Reports • Resource allocation • History / relationship
The most important of all process tools - CRM
Process – tools to aid prospecting
People, Partnerships & Systems: Keys to Long-Term Success
People, Partnerships & Systems: Keys to Long-Term Success
$ $$$
Process – tools to aid prospecting / marketing automation
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close Pre-
Approach
Second step of the sales cycle: pre-approach
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Second step of the sales cycle: pre-approach
Do your research Develop your plan of approach
People, Partnerships & Systems: Keys to Long-Term Success
Process – tools to aid pre-approach research
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close Approach
Third step of the sales cycle: approach
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Third step of the sales cycle: approach
Third step of the sales cycle: approach (and rejection)
Be FEARLESS
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close Needs
Analysis
Fourth step of the sales cycle: needs analysis
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Fourth step of the sales cycle: needs analysis
• Ask questions • Assume this is your
only meeting • Work to uncover the
full potential scope of work
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Fourth step of the sales cycle: needs analysis
Practice listening Have a great story
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close Proposal
Fifth step of the sales cycle: the proposal
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Fifth step of the sales cycle: the proposal
1. You need an NDA
2. Get “under the hood” • What is scope? (affects time & costs)
3. Qualify before sending full proposal • Gut check and ensure alignment
4. Send proposal appropriate to the engagement • Short form: highly aligned &
appropriate
• Long form: if to be shared widely
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Prospect Pre-
Approach Approach
Needs Analysis
Proposal Close Close
Sixth step of the sales cycle: the close
Understanding How You Want To Sell
Sixth step of the sales cycle: the close
You can agree on terms…
Sixth step of the sales cycle: the close
The contract: ensuring that what you agree to and what you agree to do are one and the same
1. Take the time to get it right
2. Be prepared to walk away if you can’t get it right
• Painful as that may be…
…But you want to get it in writing
A process can be instrumented and measured…
A process can be instrumented and measured…
Some of the key metrics that you need to think about tracking for sales include:
a. Number of new opportunities (month over month)
b. Number of proposal issued (month over month)
c. Number of closed deals (month over month)
d. Days to close (from opportunity; from proposal)
e. Opportunity size; proposal size; close size
f. Deals lost at close
Semetis examples
1. A presentation 2. A proposal following this presentation 3. Another proposal to a existing client
Market positioning
Two broad types of leads & different approaches
Inb
ou
nd
From leads to prospects: building prospects
• Phone call • Inquiry • Referral • Friend • Network
Inbound leads - the sweetest of leads
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Outbound leads: result of directly reaching a prospect (demand generation)
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Cost of outbound vs. inbound lead generation
Source: State of Inbound Marketing, Hubspot, 2012
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Inbound leads are result of a tremendous amount of hard work, much of which goes unseen…
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Get the basics taken care of first…
Pay attention to your SERP! All aspects of your SERP (don’t be the cobblers child)
Check your website:
forms
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Content generation drives leads…
Source: Hubspot, state of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report, 2010
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Generating leads: outbound
conferences
advertising
calling
networking
Co
sts
RO
I/R
OE
… more costs & effort & “exposure” – but more control
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Client research – the foundation of good lead generation
DO DON’T • Look at the website • “Light Internet stalking” • Review search profile • Review competitive landscape
• “Save money” by not investing in the right tools • Chase clients that can’t afford it • Think that a prospect might be too big for you to work with
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Generating leads: calling
From leads to prospects: building prospects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANMbuUxW2CE
Cold calling, meh. Warm calling – yeah!
• You should never be making “cold calls” • Reach out only to well qualified prospects, and treat the call as
an opportunity to learn
• Think about the call
• Have your script and story ready, be transparent about why you are calling, and emotionally honest throughout
• Listen carefully, ask questions and take notes
• Work to qualify the prospect
• Good fit now? Get the meeting. Make the ask. Don’t accept a “maybe” – re-qualify and commit to a future touch point.
• Good fit later? Put them on active contact • Not a good fit? Move on – don’t waste time.
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Do’s and don’ts of calls
• Don’t ask “how are you doing” • Skip this nicety as it doesn’t really apply, implies a familiarity which
you don’t share, and may lead in a direction that you don’t want or cannot easily follow
• Do thank them for taking your call • Reciprocity at work: your thanks motivates them to stay
• Do ask if they are free, within your opening statement • Ask “If you have a moment, I’d like to discuss with you how you are
spending & managing your paid search” • Asking “do you have a moment” may lead to a no. If this happens,
respond with a “when would be better time to connect” Listen carefully, ask questions and take notes
• Do ask if they control budget • Are they the right person to talk to? If so, continue the discussion. If
not, ask who is prior to moving on
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Calling – important points
• You are NOT wasting the time of the person you are calling: you are sharing with them a potential service that could be worth money to them. • Be fearless and have confidence in what you
are saying. Nervousness will lead to disengagement
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Ok. I have leads. Now what?... …Qualify them!!
Lead source Qualifying requirement
Email / contact form • Respond ASAP. If they provide a number, call. • Thank for reaching out • Offer times for a call
1st call • Establish rapport, but do not pander • Try to establish requirement, urgency and budget. • If budget is not forthcoming, share your minimums • if it’s too high for them, find this out early!
Goal of qualification = alignment
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Leads - Inbound
From leads to prospects: building prospects
Pricing and negotiation: a winter’s tale…
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
How do you price…
Pricing – Two types of revenue streams (services)
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Project Recurring • Audit • Account setup • Analytics install • Website launch • Landing page design • other…
• Account management
• Analysis & reporting • Account optimization • Landing page & ad
testing • Other…
…understand your costs!
To work at a profit…
The simple equation
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Cost + Margin
= Price
Your first task…
The tough part: closing deals
“To price your services, you must
first know your true hourly rate cost to deliver your services”
….You may be very surprised by what you find out
Calculating your true cost hourly rate
1. Start with: annual wages • Add payroll taxes (employment insurance; federal social benefits; etc.)
2. Add: cost of benefits • Health care; life insurance; LTD; bonus; retirement; gym/wellness; etc.
3. Add: technology costs • Software licenses; computers; OE leases; IT support; mobile phone
4. Add: business costs (apportioned amount) • Rent; admin costs (HR, legal, accounting, admin assistants, sales, etc.)
consumables (paper; coffee; toner; etc.)
5. Add: other costs • Training; conferences/events; jury/maternity/legal contingencies;
6. Divide total costs by total productive (billable) working days • Total potential billable days = total potential days of work LESS (holidays; sick
days; vacation; learning time; wasted time)
The tough part: closing deals
Understanding costs – let’s do it together… https://docs.google.com/a/cardinalpath.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am0vOTQ66qzwdGF2bUtGOFRNdXZacE1DSmJCUWFqY2c&usp=sharing
The tough part: closing deals
“You may be very surprised…”
Your second task…
The tough part: closing deals
“To price a proposal, you must first know the true cost to deliver the
proposed services”
….You may be very surprised by what you find out
Costs: factors to consider in the actual job
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Resources • Who will do it (how many, what
level and what level of commitment)?
• Is external assistance required (for skills or resourcing)?
Scope • How complex is the work? • Are others involved / what are the
dependencies / span of control?
Time • How long to do the work? • Is this a “rush job”? • Will staff need to work overtime?
Intangibles • Is the client high profile? • Is recurring business an
option? • Is there a prior relationship?
Other • Is there a request of
exclusivity? • Can you leverage this for PR or
a case study? • Resource & time commitments • Software licenses / costs
Pricing: an age old truth
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
You can only pick TWO…
TEXT
PICTURE
SHAPE
TEXT
PICTURE
SHAPE
FA S T
C H E A P G O O D
An important truth about pricing…
The tough part: closing deals
“You must understand and protect
your margins”
….If you don’t, you’ll end up working for free
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Service pricing models – Time & materials
Service pricing models - Performance
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
?
? ?
Warning: Be careful of things you don’t control!
?
Service pricing models – Profit Sharing
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
?
? ?
Warning: Be careful of things you don’t control!
?
The psychology of pricing: Optionality
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
People prefer choices • If no options are available, they will want to have
some
• However, if too many, these a “barrier” against
decision making • Theory of choice – too much is debilitating and involves too
much cognitive effort
• Intuitively, they seek guidance
• “Recommended”; “Best Value”; “Most Popular” etc.
The psychology of pricing: Optionality
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
The psychology of pricing: Optionality
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Example as applied to service offerings
Standard Enhanced Comprehensive
10% of spend 12% of spend 15% of spend
Account management & optimization
Account management & optimization
Account management & optimization
Bi-weekly reporting Bi-weekly reporting Weekly reporting
Competitive research or post-click analysis
Competitive research or post-click analysis
8 hours ad-hoc support
The psychology of pricing: Anchoring
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
€40,000 €10,000 €2,000
The psychology of pricing: Anchoring
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
80% 20%
€1,69 €2.49
The psychology of pricing: Anchoring
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
€0,99 €1,69 €2.49
20% 80% 0%
The psychology of pricing: Anchoring
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
€3,99 €1,69 €2.49
70% 10% 20%
The psychology of pricing: Power of 9
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Research conclusively demonstrates
Is a powerful number in pricing
Putting it all together – Negotiation
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
ne-go-ti-a-tion (noun): a formal discussion between two or more parties, with the intent of coming to a mutually agreed solution, because each party has something the other wants.
Negotiation – Fisher & Urey: BATNA
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
B A T N A
est lternative o A egotiated greement
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Negotiations – the hardest thing to do is walking away
Negotiations - Should you ever “buy business”?
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
Generally “no”, unless they are a marquee client, will work with you on a case study or can use them to promote your
business (e.g. testimonial)
Pricing & negotiation – Quick recap
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
1. You must earn enough to reinvest in yourself
Build better hunting tools
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
2. Don’t be afraid to lose business on price
Pricing & negotiation – Quick recap
The Tough Part: Closing Deals
3. Make clients happy to pay your invoices
…and be the first one to tell them if that’s not going to be possible.
Pricing & negotiation – Quick recap
Advertising agencies & fee$$$
5 Types of Advertising agency
130
Full Service
• plan, create, produce ads
• Media buying
• marketing research
• selecting media
• strategic market planning
• direct market promotion programs
• interactive marketing
• web site design
• public relations
• …
Creative & Digital Creative
• Ad creation
• Branding
• Online video production
• Photo shoots
• Campaign websites
• Campaign mobile Apps
Media
• Media planning
• Media buying
• Media research
Digital
• Web design / development
• Internet advertising
• Search engine marketing
• E-business consulting
• Digital media planning
• Social media
• Digital PR
Specialized
• Copy-writing
• Direct marketing / Email marketing
• Public relation
• Communication
• Search engine marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Social media
• Online reputation management
• Web agency
• Affiliatiation
The evolving agency commission model
Hybrid Agency
Commission
Fee-
Based/Retainer
Performance-
based
Varies greatly
depending on scale
of spend.
Usually based upon
costing out
provision of
resource &
overheads + profit
increment
All agency
commission is
returned to the client
and remuneration is
based solely upon
specified
performance metrics
e.g. click volume
targets, sales
achieved
A combination of
any of the three
standard mechanics
e.g. commission +
fee, fee + bounty
per sale achieved
Many agencies
started to give a
percentage of their
15% agency
commission back
to the client.
The portion of the
15% commission
that the agency
actually keeps
ranges from
0 -15%
Percent of Spend
Most common billing model
Negotiate % of spend
on a client by client basis
Agency incentivized to grow book of business as much as
possible
Mostly acquire clients with
large existing AdWords spend (not eligible for our channel)
Flat Fee
Client pays flat fee on
monthly basis
Fee is typically determined by client investment (tiered)
Agency incentivized to onboard lots of SMBs
Attractive for small business
in our model
Agency may not be
incentivized to increase AdWords spend
No contracts can lead to high
churn
Performance
Based
Paid per lead/sale generated by online
marketing efforts
Mostly volume-based
Simple ROI calculation for the client to determine
profitability
Agency incentivized to significantly increase spend
once profitable
Trying to upsell clients into display due to contract
restrictions.
Hard to discuss brand and engagement
Revenue Share
Paid a % of revenue the client makes off of their
online marketing efforts with the agency.
Appeals to ROI driven clients
Hard to upsell into branding or engagement initiatives
Focus on brand and not long tail keywords because better
ROI.
Billing Model Overview Pros Cons
Market positioning = managing a business
Competition Look around the room…
How do you stand out?
Managing Day-to-Day
Sales
Bringing in the business
Managing Day-to-Day
• Your website !!!
• Building sales decks & collateral
• Responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
• Proposal and contract writing
• Using Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
• Legal business considerations
• How should I bill my clients?
Staffing
Who’s going to do all of this?
Managing Day-to-Day
• When do we need to hire?
• How should a team be structured?
• When should we outsource?
• How do we train and onboard new employees?
Creative
Who’s building the ads?
Managing Day-to-Day
• Copy writing is tough – AdWords ads can be tougher!
• Graphic designers for display formats?
• Programmers for display formats?
• Client approval / feeback process?
Reporting
Managing Day-to-Day
• What formats are actually USEFUL to clients?
• How often do we do it?
• Meeting with clients to review reports & discuss action items
• Using 3rd party reporting & dashboarding tools
• Allocating time and resources to reporting – a line on the invoice?
Scaling up & growing
Managing Day-to-Day
• Putting processes in place
• Adding people to a growing organization
• Using technology (bid management) to gain efficiencies
• Putting in place a business infrastructure
Final tips
ONE2ONE SESSIONS – Share experience