Essentials & Foundations of Entrepreneurial Client Management

Do you work with entrepreneurial clients?
Join us for this specialized training presented by Lisa Lowthers, Senior Business Counsellor and Trainer at the Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre.

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ESSENTIALS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL CLIENT MANAGEMENT

If you work with entrepreneurial clients, you know that without trust, clients may hold back essential information, may not ask for your help when they need it most, and may even drop out of programs just when they are getting traction.

In this introduction to working with entrepreneurial clients, we explore some of the factors that affect trust in client relationships:

• What we are there to do and not do with clients – our roles and their boundaries.
• The expectations and challenges in our work, including those we face in our community, our organization, and our own thinking.
• What we can do to build trust, including techniques for creating rapport and listening skills.
• An introduction to our process called the Entrepreneurial Decision Making Cycle, that can help anchor working with clients.

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FOUNDATIONS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL CLIENT MANAGEMENT

This practical and experiential program builds upon the content covered in Essentials and delves deeper into managing client relationships. You will build a solid foundation for working successfully with entrepreneurial clients, learn about a proven model for entrepreneurial decision-making, explore and discuss the ethics of working with clients in a business development context, practice successful verbal and non-verbal communication, learn strategies for long-term client relationship management, and build a personal toolbox of techniques for dealing with sticky situations you might encounter when working with clients.

The Foundations of Entrepreneurial Client Management program is perfect for early-career business development professionals who wish to enhance their client relationship support skills, or for professionals at any point in their career who would like to return to basics or who have specific client relationship challenges.

Using a combination of individual reflection, pair and group discussion, role play and case analysis, we will look the client relationship – self-awareness in the professional, one-to-one communication skills with the client, the structure of a client session, the process of a client relationship, and ethical issues. We will address the unique challenges and opportunities of working with clients who are entrepreneurs.

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LISA LOWTHERS

Lisa is the Senior Business Counsellor and Trainer at the Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre.  Lisa joined the Centre in 1994, bringing 10 years of community development experience with her.  She has been involved in business advisory for over 15 years and has been a trainer for over 20 years.

Lisa works daily with entrepreneurs, counselling and training would-be and existing entrepreneurs, helping them to build viable business models. With an interest in personality, emotional intelligence and social enterprise Lisa is always looking for new ways to integrate personal and business development.

Lisa was the learning manager for a national small business certification program and was the third person in Canada to receive her APEC Certified Business Counsellor (APEC CBC) designation.  For 7 years, Lisa ran the Entrepreneurial Education program at Acadia University and also piloted an Entrepreneurial Leadership Program for Acadia students.  She has been an advisor for the Acadia Enactus Team (formerly Student in Free Enterprise-SIFE) for several years.

Lisa is presently involved in the delivery of Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre programming for Business Development Practitioners, business owners, non-profits, older workers, students and youth.  Lisa holds a degree in Public Relations from Mount St. Vincent University, a certificate in Adult Training from Acadia University, a certificate in Business Training from Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre, a certificate in Competency-Based Education from Holland College, and is a trained technician in both True Colors and Hogan Leadership Assessments.