Dinner Meeting

Grow Your Client Base

...Professional Services Firm Executives Share Their Insights

Thursday, January 22, 2009
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Dinner Program
Hilton Garden Inn, Waltham, MA
(Click here for directions)

• Do you want to refresh how you go about client development?
• Are your efforts to land new clients and retain existing clients a challenge?
• Are you open to learning about business development ideas used by professional service firms?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above then attend IMCNE’s next dinner meeting.

Event Sponsor

www.horizoninfoservices.com

Through a lively panel discussion learn about business development strategies from executives of professional service firms including Emerge Public Relations, Grant Thornton, and Cambridge Trust Company. First we will frame the conversation by introducing a business development model. Then the panelists will share stories on strategies and techniques that: worked well, were a fun experiment but the results left a lot to be desired and new ideas where it is still too early to tell.

This session will be moderated by Hollis Chase, an expert in facilitation and working with professional service firms on their business development planning. By the end of the evening you will walk away with different ideas or new ways to think about your future business development initiatives.

Value of the session:

• A framework for thinking about business development
• Exposure to approaches used by professional service firms
• A basis for rethinking business development approaches for your consulting practice

Moderator

Hollis Chase is President of Boston based Chase & Associates (www.hollischaseassociates.com), a facilitation and business development company serving the professional services markets. Her knowledge and expertise has been gained through more than twenty years in helping hundreds of firms develop successful business development strategies to grow and maintain their client base through expert facilitation. Her Firm specializes in creative planning, retreat facilitation, client development skills training and client strategy coaching. Ms. Chase has an international reputation as a panel facilitator and presenter on professional services sales and business development issues. She leads a monthly CEO Forum for The Commonwealth Institute, and is an active member of the MIT Enterprise Forum. Hollis holds her BA degree, magna cum laude in Organizational Psychology from Syracuse University, is a master diver and continues to improve her golf game!

Panelists

Rob Siegrist is Senior Vice President, Marketing Director at Cambridge Trust Company (www.cambridgetrust.com), a local independent commercial bank offering personal banking, business banking and wealth management services. Rob has more than twenty years of progressive financial services marketing and sales experience at industry leading institutions including Cambridge Trust Company, Fleet/BankBoston and AGFA. Mr. Siegrist serves on the Management Committee at Cambridge Trust and is a member of the New England Financial Marketing Association. He is a member of the Planning Board of Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund, and a former Trustee of Boston Institute for Arts Therapy and volunteer at Community Tax Aid of Boston. Siegrist holds a BA degree in Business Administration from Boston University, and a MBA degree from University of Illinois at Chicago. He is an avid runner and keeps busy with three young children.

Alice Sloan of Grant Thornton (www.grantthornton.com) is the Director of Business Development responsible for audit , tax and business advisory services for New England . Over her 25+ year career, Alice has held executive level positions the most recent as head of the Invest UK office at the British Consulate in Boston, where she advised New England companies on all aspects of how to establish a presence in the UK. She has conducted business in over 17 different countries and lived in her native UK, Canada, France, The Netherlands and the USA. Alice is currently responsible for spearheading business development efforts on behalf of the firm including developing new market opportunities. Alice has served on the board of Association of Corporate Growth Boston since 2005, is chair of ACG’s Emerging Professionals Committee and holds an Executive MBA from Suffolk University.

Mara Stefan is President of Emerge Public Relations (www.emergepr.com). With 20 years in the professional services arena, Mara has helped hundreds of companies navigate early market challenges. Prior to co-founding Emerge PR in 2005, Mara spent 11 years with Horn Group, Inc., a leading technology communications firm, where she launched the company’s Boston office in 1996. Mara has supported and spoken at the Harvard Business School’s annual Cyberposium Tech Conference; served on the advisory board and provided sponsorship for Future Forward, the New England Technology Summit; and sponsored the most recent Nantucket Conference.  She was recognized in the 2004/2005 edition of Strathmore’s Who’s Who for leadership in her field as well as Cambridge Who’s Who for 2006-2007 Honor’s Edition.  She has authored several articles and guest lectured at Boston University. Mara holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, where she majored in advertising and public relations. Mara is the mother of two boys and avid equestrian.

Agenda

5:30 - 6:15 pm - Registration and Networking
6:15 - 7:00 pm - Dinner
7:00 - 8:30 pm - Moderator & Panel, Open Q&A

Register NOW Online!

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