 very much for joining this CIM webinar on Aspire to be a senior marketer. Hopefully I'm going to be able to give you some good information to help you decide whether the proposition that the CIM highway, the market leadership program, is the right one for you to help you achieve your career aspirations. So very quickly, a little bit about me. My name is Martin Hutchins. I am the Managing Director and the founder of Professional Academy. I'm also a CIM tutor and I've also studied the CIM program myself right from the certificate level up to the postgraduate diploma level and we've been obviously a study centre since 2002. So quite a lot of experience and we're quite fortunate that we are one of the small number of accredited study centres that are permitted to deliver the marketing leadership program and it's obviously because of that that the CIM have asked me to make this presentation. So before we start, I just want to get a bit of feel for the people that have logged on. If hopefully the polls will kick in but we'd like to ask you some questions about your studying or if you're thinking about studying, for example, the programs at which level and the surveys should be coming up on your screen. There we go. I think the screen is live so just looking to see who's clicking on it now. At the moment, nobody's clicked on it but I am going to wait and hopefully see somebody to click on it. We're having to manage this aspect of the presentation remotely so I'm relying upon somebody else to click the button. Okay so the first poll has gone live and I can see that we've got a few people that have clicked in. So if you're thinking about studying or are you currently studying roughly 50-50, that's quite interesting, roughly 50-50 in terms of people that are thinking about studying. That's good to know. Okay so how about the next question? Let's look at the next question. If you're currently working, just understand if you're working in marketing and obviously the physicians and the stage of studying. So can we have that next poll live please? If you're currently working in marketing, just watching to see some results come in. This is quite clever, this technology, I quite like it. So who's currently working in marketing? The results aren't coming through. I'm not sure whether there was a glitch or whether people aren't clicking on the button. Aha here we go. Everybody's in marketing, perfect. I thought for a minute I was going to be, I was talking to a pottery class. That's really good to hear. Okay great stuff. So 100% people working in marketing and if we can have the next question please. I'm just waiting to see whether there's any more questions coming in. Okay so for the moment this is the only survey we've got. We're doing the other survey. We'll be done at the end. So I'm going to flick back over now to the slides. That's really good and let me move on to the next slide. So let's get into it. So what are we going to talk about? Well we're going to talk about a level by level over you just to see where the marketing leadership program fits in in the context of the other qualifications. And I'm also going to just touch on really why people might want to choose these CIM qualifications as opposed to a degree or a master's degree because they are quite different and quite often we get asked some advice if you like on which way to go. Got some comments to give you about the different types of study methods that are available. You know as I say there are a few study centres that can offer this but not the only ones. I don't want to monopolise the market. So talk about the various study methods that you might want to consider whether or not you have the right entry level criteria for this program and things about what you should ask your possible study centre in order to make sure you get the best out of the program. So that's really what we're going to cover. But obviously the main thing we're going to look at is what does this qualification look like. So first of all this is to set the context. The CIM program for the marketing leadership program is the top level. It is the final level. It's really what all marketers and senior marketers certainly should be aspiring to achieve the level seven. Precurses to that are the foundation level, the level three, which is predominantly for people who have not really had any experience of marketing or a small amount of experience but they're not working in a 100% marketing role. So perhaps if you're a PA or if you're a salesperson looking to understand a little bit more about marketing. The main entry point that the first port of call really for most of our students are those that enter in at the level four, the certificate in professional marketing. It's for people that work in marketing already or have got a degree or have got a years experience in marketing. From that people either can progress on to the level six or they can sometimes enter straight in at the level six. The diploma in professional marketing, that's really for people that have got a marketing responsibility as a manager, operational manager, a couple of years experience there. You understand the strategic nature of marketing and really the focus of the diploma is about the strategic nature and not so much about the technical. So it's either assume that you've got knowledge of the tactical areas through your job or alternative you've studied the level four and therefore know the contents of the level four. And then the top of the tree, the marketing leadership program, the level seven. Anybody that's got the level six could obviously progress on to that or a master's degree or have got some significant experience in marketing either as senior manager or as a director. I'm going to talk a little bit more about that later on. So you can see there that the level seven is really the highest level. There is a previous qualification that the marketing leadership superseded certainly in the UK and it's the postgraduate diploma level seven. It's now only available to the international market. And the reason for that is the mode of study for the marketing leadership program is very much a one-to-one relationship between yourself as the learner and the study center and the trainers that you've got from the study center. You can't really achieve the level seven if you haven't got that one-to-one interaction. And at the international level we have decided that the original postgraduate diploma should be kept due to the potential lack of that degree of high expertise that you would need from your trainer. I'm sure that most of you know this but the CIM and the CIM qualifications are the standard for marketing across the world. It's the biggest marketing awarding body in the world, has the best brand reputation. And if I tell you that I spend a lot of my time personally traveling around the Middle East, Africa, the Far East, the one qualification that everybody mentions to me wherever I go is the CIM. It's always talked about. So if you're looking to bolster your CV or if you're looking to perhaps work abroad, this is definitely, definitely the program and the qualification tab on your CV. It's going to open far more doors than any other marketing qualification that exists. I can't really be any more blunt than that actually. So let's just just consider whether or not the CIM qualification is right or whether a degree or a master's degree is more appropriate for you. Well obviously I've said to you that the CIM is more recognized globally but it's also the qualification that's most frequently asked for in job play agencies and adverts by recruiters and also by organizations. And it is actually recognized and this is hard fact surveys by 95% of the UK employers and many, many worldwide. Certainly global companies. If you wish to work for a global company, this would be the qualification they would be looking for. And also it allows you the promotion within your own organizations because of the enhanced skills and knowledge that you gain by going through the program. We have countless testimonies of people that have come back to us and said, you know, do you know what? Because of this qualification I've now been promoted to a senior manager or I've been promoted to, you know, to be a baron manager or something like that. We are very often told the effect and the impact that this qualification has had. So it's more than a degree in that respect. Also research from CIM. Now we all like to know the hard facts here. 10% more pay on average if you hold a CIM qualification than somebody that doesn't hold a CIM qualification. So that in itself shows the return on investment. And lastly, just to really think about what you prefer to do in terms of study and how your brain works, a degree is very much a theoretical. You'll be taught lots of theories, lots of facts, lots of models, even given lots of case studies. And the assessment for that is the application of that theory but in an academic environment. Whereas with the CIM, it's all about practical application of what you've learned. So for example, I'm going to talk about the leadership program a minute, every single piece of work that you produce in order to be assessed is something that you've applied at work and how you've evaluated an organization and how you've looked at the impact of an organization is 100% application of the knowledge. And that alone is worth its weight in gold because most of the qualification assessments can actually be deployed within your company once you've completed them. Many of the projects are taken back to the management and then they are implemented post writing them as an assessment. So great quote from Liz Hopkins, director of Michael Page. It seems that the CIM qualification is held in high regard with people and the ultimate summation seems to be that work experience is extremely important to clients but a solid qualification to back this up adds weight to any application. So that just says yes you need the experience, yes you need a qualification but the combination of a qualification that applies the knowledge in the workplace is the best way to go. And obviously Michael Page being one of the biggest recruitment companies and certainly in marketing they are. So what about this marketing leadership program? It's one that's been accredited by the CIM obviously 65,000 members they do set the standards in the UK they really do and the CIM marketing leadership program was developed as a result of quite a lot of research. A few years ago we were looking at the original postgraduate diploma and we went to the marketplace and went to employers went to a number of past students and asked them what they wanted from a top of the tree top level program and also how did they feel this should differ from the master's degrees that were on the market as well. What could this add that perhaps a master's degree couldn't give the individuals that were taking it? So it's based on solid research, it's not something that you know various academics have put together. This is what the marketplace wanted to ensure that you succeed as a top level marketer to be allowed access onto it. And what I will say this is down to the discretion of the study centre. You don't have to go to the CIM to ask for access on this. You have to talk to your study centre who will ask you the appropriate questions and it is up to them to decide whether you would be appropriate for this level of program or whether it might be better for you to join at a lower level perhaps to level six. So please don't you know feel that you've got to come in at this level. One comment I often make when we speak to people about their entry level is yes it's great to you know to enter at a high level but if you enter at too high a level and you find it too challenging then actually you end up being dissatisfied and proud. Hello. Hi seems like we've lost a presenter. Hello Martin. Hello Martin are you there? Hello Martin are you there? Yeah hello everybody sorry it looks like my internet connection has dropped. I'm back online now is that okay to configure? I'm not sure which slide did my presentation my line drop on? Slide nine. Slide nine okay good. So I was talking can everybody it's okay to carry on talking yes you can all hear me now I'm hoping so good okay so yes I was talking about the the entry criteria for the levels the marketing leadership program firstly it could be the level six qualification or a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in marketing or if your experience and career to date can demonstrate that you have been working at a senior level in marketing that's very important as I said earlier because the the material that you're going to be studying is quite challenging and you need to have experience of the the models and the marketing environment. Okay let's move on. So who's it for? Really senior managers or even marketing directors you know it's quite important that we recognize that some of these marketing directors have moved to that level in their career without any formal qualifications and it's it's quite nice to both refresh their knowledge of some of the models and theories but also show how they can perhaps look at the the qualification and the way that they do it they apply in their job slightly differently and the other really interesting aspects of this program and it's something that I was quite excited about when we first heard about the new program and that is consultants there isn't really anything else out there which is a qualification that can be given to marketing consultants and be used by them as parts of their reputation building when they're talking to their clients or potential clients and one of the modules actually within this program is specifically and you legally for marketing consultants and that's really exciting it actually gives a stamp of approval to consultants in a quite a crowded marketplace if I'm honest with you and it does allow these consultants to be elevated above all other consultants in the in the marketing arena so what are the modules there are four modules individuals need to take three so there's two mandatory and there's a further two where you can choose one or the other so the four modules are called contemporary challenges leading change consultancy and managing business growth so let's talk about the the two mandatory units first of all first one is called contemporary challenges and that's really about looking at what is happening in the external environment that is going to strategically impact your organization so you're really sort of preparing for the future you're looking at potential things like brexit you know very soft at the moment brexit is is something we all sort of hear so much of but it could also be technological changes well what is happening in the technology arena or maybe your supply chain is changing so you're you're having to look at this external environment understand that and then make some recommendations as to a course of action to adapt to those challenges and changes and then the leading change flips that and says okay so how do we then apply this internally so what what do we need to do to change our organization in order to respond to those external environmental changes what do we need to do within our organization in terms of resource change perhaps have we got the right competences and capabilities that we need for this future scenario and then obviously what do we need to do to make sure that our proposed change is effectively and efficiently implemented within our organization so that's taking the external environment from the previous module the contemporary challenges and applying it internally and leading that organizational change so there are two mandatory units and then the two electives and only one of them needs to be studied one of them is called managing business growth and the other one is consultancy so the managing business growth then asks you to look at and a very exciting area actually asks you to look at what could you do or how can you identify something that is going to positively impact the future revenue or profitability or strategic objectives of your organization and actually what you need to do is to look for three and then choose one of them so you you're going to be looking at the the possible opportunities and then you're going to be evaluating each of those and then making some recommendations how one of those new opportunities can be effectively implemented and the fourth alternative alternative to the managing business growth is predominantly for people that are in the consultancy field and that is all about building your your network building the relationships understanding the importance of relationships and then working on an actual project for a client or a fictitious project for a client if you like so you'll be looking at the project management aspect of being a consultant so again as I said it's probably the only consultancy project that's for consultancy qualification for marketers so just to show that pictorially we've got it at the bottom here contemporary challenges plus leading change and either consultancy or managing business growth roughly speaking and this shows that you know the nature of each of the modules roughly speaking they take about six months to complete so therefore if you're doing three modules you're looking at 18 months possibly two years there are some people that work in it quicker but when you consider the fact that each of these modules has to be assessed with a five thousand word business report you can see that writing five thousand words including all the research and including all of the analysis is not something that that should be taken lightly I think at this point it's really important to mention as well that that this is not a theoretical read a textbook regurgitate the knowledge in an assessment and then submit it for marking this is about you developing something very unique for you and your organization and you are coached and that's the key word where you're coached by your tutor from the study centre to ensure that what you produce is of the highest standard so it's that one-to-one coaching that is the main thrust of the way that you're sorting this program and that's the reason why this is only available in the UK at the moment okay so let's let's talk about the assessments so the assessments and you know it's quite interesting actually if you understand how these are assessed and what's it because it shows you the sorts of things that you're going to learn so let's talk about the first one the contemporary challenges the assessment there is about responding to an external macro or micro challenge that exists in your in your competitive environment and very importantly how can you ensure strategic sustainability of your recommendation so it's a sustainability that you have to focus on so task one is about an audit with an external audit you're going to use the traditional models and tools that you would have learned either through your experience or previous levels of study you're going to look at the key drivers of organizational success and understand you know how they might impact upon things like competitive positioning for supply chain or technology or a brexit chance so you're going to research and have some solid foundations to the challenge that you're facing and then for task two you're writing a briefing paper to your senior management with possible courses of action to respond to that challenge you're not making a recommendation at this point you're making a presentation so that the senior management team can all consider as a group how it could go forward so you'll be looking at things like the resources you have available the risks that perhaps this exposes to you and maybe other elements of change as well that would need to be considered and then finally task three is the strategy to respond so you're going to write a strategy about how you would respond to that future challenge that you've identified it's a bit like crystal ball gazing and then building a plan for what you think is going to happen in the future very exciting and very fulfilling as well module to study and as I said the second one then takes that the leading change module the assessment takes that from your internal perspective so you're looking at your own organization and you are putting forward an argument for change you're going to consider things like the culture of your organization the structure and what needs to be done to effectively implement your proposal of change so task one you're going to look at the range of changes that you could implement to enhance customer value or maybe enhance organizational value so you're looking at a number of changes before you hone in on one specific change to execute then you gather supporting data to justify your recommendations evaluate what drivers have changed or existing externally and also look at the financial and marketing implement issues related to that change as well so task one is really about looking at what the change is and making sure that it's a relevant change within your organization that's worthwhile pursuing task two is then making sure that your organization has the competencies the skills the resources understanding the stakeholders perhaps understanding the brand or corporate reputation implications of that change so you're ensuring that you've got a platform to effectively deliver that change and then finally task three is using traditional change models traditional culture modules and also KPIs and metrics to recommend a change program and how would you measure using usual metrics and KPIs and also how would you propose a timeline for the implementation of that change so anybody that's done anything on management will be familiar with the change organizational change program this is about leading that change from the front as a senior marketer third module is managing business growth and here as I said earlier we're going to be looking at building a case for the growth within the organization so you'll be looking at the opportunities and providing some rationale as to which opportunities should be pursued so task one is focused on finding three possible growth options analyzing the internal and external environment for the impact of each of those three and then analyzing the competitive environment again for each of those and ensuring that you understand fully the customer behavior should you execute any one of your three business growth options task two justify one of those so effectively look at the cost benefit analysis and all the other variables that allow you to propose one of those growth options and show how it will be it will develop value for your organization you need to look at your current capabilities as well to make sure that you can deliver that growth option and interested are you also going to be asked to look at the partnerships to see who you need to partner with to ensure success and then task three the recommendation part is market entry so how are you now going to enter that new market what's your strategy going to be how do you need to perhaps modify your organizational structure what internal communications required and once again what metrics would you recommend to ensure success and then finally the the last option the alternative to the managing business growth is the consultancy project which is where you're looking at a business issue but you're also looking at your ability to develop relationships between yourself and your client organization so task one is very much focused on that relationships you know you need to look at things like the importance of your personal relationship and personal reputation as a consultant and that you're being asked to demonstrate your understanding of that what skills and competencies do you need to be an effective consultant and how important and how do you ensure your effectiveness as a networker and you're also looking at the stages in relationship building as well so that's task one task two then is looking at the the initial impact really of a proposal for a possible project for a client so you'd be looking at things like the environmental factors that would influence the client in executing your proposal you'd be looking at the resources and capabilities and culture and leadership that your proposed project would have on on this organization and then looking at perhaps some of the actions that required to change the company so that your proposal would be effectively engaged with within the organization bearing in mind you're an outsider as a consultant you'd be looking at things like the objectives and how to ensure that the messages communicated clearly within the client organization and then finally task three is build a project plan so look at the scope works and resistance to change the data the systems and everything that you need to do to ensure success and indeed how do you evaluate success as well so that's your four modules it's about researching planning implementing and then reviewing each of those models you can see that every single module goes from the same process they're five thousand words and the one thing I will say they are not essays these are business reports and one of the biggest challenges that people that come to us from a degree or a university background is making that transition between an academic environment where you write an essay or some or a paper and a business project and a business proposal and so we obviously your study center will help you make that transition to the style of a presentation so how can you study well various various people offer various methods you might find a study center that offers you an evening class maybe you know two or three hours every week for a 12-week term for a 12-week module and then move on to the next one I have to be honest with you this type of level doesn't lend itself to an evening class because evening classes are very much about imparting information yes there are some discussions that take place but there's it's hard to link one evening class to the next evening class and ensure continuity of the message and for that reason actually that we don't offer this evening class modus study for this particular program the best one is intensive one or two day workshops there are business environment you're engaging with other people on the program you're able to share ideas you learn as much from other people as you do from the the trainer and actually the in this type of environment the trainer is not so much of a trainer they're more as a facilitator of discussions bearing in mind that you'll expect to already have knowledge of the models and theories anyway so it's the application of those models and theories that these workshops cover these may be supplemented by webinars such as this one and there may also be some e-learning or online distance learning material for you to to refer to but that is going to be the models and theories and processes it's not going to be something that's unique for your particular projects so obviously if you put all those together then you're going to have a blended learning option and really that's the way I believe you should be looking now for certainly for this level seven program so if you're thinking about study this and I'm hoping for your you know you're excited about these then you know what should you be asking your study center well first thing you've got to ask them is obviously answers to those questions how do they offer what modes of study do they offer evening classes intensive or something that I've just spoken about but in addition you might be interested to know maybe how often are these workshops going to take place is it going to be one every month one every quarter maybe one every six months bearing in mind that the cycle time of a of a module is roughly six months so you might be having a kickoff session at the beginning and then maybe one intensive two-day workshop certain partway through that six-month cycle also very important ask them what support you're going to get do you have a support tutor that's available to answer questions and how are those questions answered via a learning management system phone calls emails or even face-to-face discussions what online resources are going to be given to you what is also the quality of the trainers this this level of qualification requires a very experienced trainer somebody that's already operated this level it's not about an academic that understands if this is about an application a practical knowledge of marketing at a strategic level and it's very important that you identify the trainers that you're going to get and they're capable of delivering that level of advice obviously you're going to be submitting your your drafts you saw your assignments via your your study center and you ideally will have your submissions reviewed prior to formal submission so you should be asking your study center how they're going to review your drafts what support do you get and what's the turnaround time for your the submission of your drafts and then lastly i think it's important to ask them what about slippage you know we're all busy people what happens if you you slip maybe one module has to be picked up again six months later how do they allow you to do that what time is given to you so think about the slippage as well okay so in terms of dates you know if you're excited to get started and hopefully you are then the CIM have certain registration dates the next region registration date for for us personally is by the 20th of September and if you're looking to submit an assignment to the CIM then you need to make sure that you're both a member and you have registered for the particular module that you're looking to to have assessed by the 1st of November so really the 1st of November is your your your key date you need to make sure you get that and if you're looking to to get on a program with a particular study center then make sure you find out what their registration deadline is for that as well okay so what are your next steps well check obviously that this is the right level for you and maybe i'll talk to a few study centers but go bring them and say this is what your experience is i'm sure that they would be only too pleased to discuss you know with you it's not really about looking at your CVs but understanding your experience understanding your aspirations and understanding what exposure to strategic marketing you've had you might also want to take the online diagnostic tool that the CIM has we also by the way have one on our website it's a little bit shorter i'll ask you less questions but they the diagnostic test is looking to test your knowledge whereas the one that we have actually looks to to understand your experience make sure you've got a set of questions for your possible study centers and then contact them one by one and make your rank them hopefully prices are the most important thing for you you know there are a variance in price just consider the value rather than the price as marked as you will understand the importance of value and i would counsel you to look at the value rather than the lowest price you can obviously use these sound study center finder to find alternative study centers for you that can offer this then you sign up register the member and then one by one when you're ready to submit your assignments bearing in mind the the next date is the first of member set register for the particular assignment you're looking to study okay so it's over to you i i'm not sure if we can let me just see if i can get to the questions yeah thank you martin um i don't know if you can hear it we'd have few technical problems everybody so we do apologize for that i appreciate it was a time where things dropped out can you hear us now i don't know whether that's going to happen because there was a bit of a challenge so i'm just going to look through some of the questions that have been asked i know color legend for the country's okay um it was more the the question was asked from um to me leo that um about the the the colors and and where the cim qualifications are recognized i think it depends on the country by country um if you think about the global organizations that exist then whether or not um whether or not you know the qualification is recognized by the the government is a different question to whether or not organizations recognize you and i'm very very certain that any country that's got a global organization that the company will recognize it okay so the other question i've got is can i just study one single module or do i have to study all three really good point yes you can take one single module it's actually called an award and there are a number of people especially for example consultants that just want to take that one award and have some formal formal qualification for that single award next question i've got here is do we work on the assignments as a team or as individuals very good question so as a team you will discuss how generically the um the knowledge can be applied within a business environment and that takes place during the workshop that's the way the workshop's run but then your actual project your actual assignment is done as an individual and it's done as an individual with the support of your tutor so the next question i've got is can i advise on the entry level requirements for the level seven okay what are the steps i need to apply for a non from a non-member perspective so the um the entry level as i said it's um it's either a degree or a master's degree in marketing but more importantly it's the experience that you have so it's quite hard to say specifically if you take this box you allow the entry on to it it's more of a question of have you got the experience and have you got the exposure to the strategic um aspects of your organization that would allow you to learn and develop and obviously write your assessments based on that level of exposure okay the question is coming in thick and fast now so let me uh go to the next one um and how do you need to apply so that was another part of that question how do i need to apply for a non-member perspective you you do that firstly by contacting at your possible study center and then once you're enrolled with the study center they will guide you through the steps making sure that you do sign up with the CIM you sign up your study center first and then the CIM you don't do it the other way around okay so your your study center is your first port of call for becoming a member and then enrolling onto particular modules okay next question is are the modules exams or assignment based every module is assignment based there are no exams simple as that there's no exams at this level it's all about projects five thousand word projects do i have to be enrolled with the study center to study this there is uh there is uh the question sorry do i have to be enrolled with the study center the study qualification is there an option for self-study yes there's an option for self-study but it's still done via a study center that study center will offer you all the materials and all the support to study for it remotely but you'd still should attend the workshops there they will always put on workshops and actual fact it's fundamental really that they have you have access to those workshops that's part of the agreement that study centers have with the CIM that workshops are available but yeah if you want to study if you want the majority of your work remotely that's fine but you can't go direct to the CIM awarding body and um asked to be a student without having a study center assigned to you can i take a break midway through yes i think i've answered that question already you can you can take a break you discuss it with the study center and um i'm sure they will accommodate that we certainly accommodate our professional academy okay can the marketing leadership program be taken by persons outside of the uk who intend to travel intermittently to have one-to-one engages that's an interesting question and if you're going to be effectively then you're going to be studying it in the uk it just happens that you happen to live outside of the uk so i may get a different answer from the CIM but as far as i'm concerned the answer to that one is yes you can because you will be effectively UK based student and lastly how many years experience do i need to study the um the qualification this is a tough one it because you could have lots and lots of experience but not had the exposure to the strategic uh aspects of marketing so i would say a minimum of five at a senior level but if you've had two years and you've come straight in before um degree from you know university or somewhere like your master's degree in marketing and you've come straight in at the top level then you you may well have the experience in a couple of years so it does depend on the type of experience more than the uh the number of years okay so that is everything i don't think there are any more questions i hope that today has been worthwhile to you um it's nice to see that everybody stayed online as well apart from me dropping out which i do apologize for um contact details are on that last stage that that last slide as well for the um the CIM and obviously i'm sure you can track me down via the the usual social media if you want to talk to me personally i've enjoyed today and i hope you've enjoyed it too so thank you very much indeed