International consultancy and construction company Mace Group won pitches for contracts to the value of £175 million with the help of the highly-regarded UK Training specialist Kissing With Confidence. This success is an endorsement of the specialist’s outstanding Pitchmaker programme, an intensive and immersive challenge designed to help business winners make the right emotional connection with the toughest of audiences.

Mace Group’s business wins is the latest accomplishment in a period of rapid expansion for Kissing With Confidence, which has built a client portfolio that includes major banks, household name companies, Big Four firms and government departments.

“Quantifying effect is a classic issue in training and the fact that Mace Group can identify £175 million of business which it has gained through our programmes is a major accolade,” said Russell Wardrop, co-founder and chief executive of Kissing With Confidence. “Nobody can guarantee that a client will win every pitch but Kissing With Confidence’s Pitchmaker programme has helped to gain business amounting to billions of pounds over the years.”

Mace Group is currently a £1.97 billion company, operating in 21 sectors, such as higher education, from five global hubs. It has a concentrated focus on championing its people, whether as individuals or in teams.

“There is no question we would not be where we are today as a business without the work Kissing With Confidence has done on our pitches. The results speak volumes,” said Terry Spraggett, business unit director at Mace Group. “There is a process, but it’s more than that. By the end of the session there is clarity, confidence and creativity.”

“The hardest thing in the biggest pitches is deciding how robust to be, agreeing the line, then holding that line consistently from beginning to end. Kissing With Confidence facilitates that effortlessly, dealing assertively with the biggest of egos,” Terry added. “Then there is the skill in putting it all together, with an arm round the shoulder for some and a kick up the backside for others. Kissing With Confidence reaches out to everyone and makes them believe, especially those tasked with opening and closing.”

Kissing With Confidence employs 12 people and it specialises in inspiring future leaders and developing effective and committed teams. It recently has embarked on a major sales growth campaign with the aim of taking turnover to £1.5 million.