I just joined an exchange today on LinkedIn, about training and making it measurable.  A couple of us, like Ceil Tilney and I, agree that holding yourself accountable in front of the client brings the best results.  I also believe it’s good for business in a customer-focused world.  This was my last post @Ceil, with some minor changes for context here:

Ceil, you and I see eye-to-eye!  Good post.  Thanks.  You say, it’s a hard adjustment (to hold yourself measurable and accountable), but an important one.  I would also say, “It’s a profitable one.”

As a sales consultant and trainer, I often advise my clients that they would be well served to define success at the beginning of project/solution and measure through to the end; to, yes, be held accountable voluntarily.

This will focus you on providing real value during the project and it will give you tangible metrics to demonstrate your value.  This in turn will:

• strengthen your relationship with the customer;
• help you improve for round 2 (acknowledging the imperfections of round 1 not only helps you improve, it shows self-confidence!); and
• give you measurable case studies to sell your services to other/future prospects!

It’s good business to hold yourself measureable and accountable!