Speaking and presenting expert for tech professionals Trusted by more than 6000 at SAP, Salesforce & Google.

Selling ERP isn’t selling SaaS. So why are you marketing it like it is?

If you’ve ever sat through a sales call with an agency that promised “pipeline” but delivered crickets, you already know the problem.

Selling ERP is hard. Long cycles. Complex buying committees. Stakeholders who live in spreadsheets, not LinkedIn. Most sales & marketing agencies don’t get this—and it shows.

I do. 

Together with my team, we have worked across the SAP ecosystem—*including SAP themselves*—to help partner sellers and SAP sales teams build real pipeline in tough markets.

Since 2017, we’ve enabled over 6,000 tech professionals globally, built and executed 750+ outbound campaigns, and helped both SAP partners and internal teams sharpen their outbound, master discovery, and win complex deals.

Here’s how we help:

Demand generation - tailored to ERP buying behaviors (not SaaS fantasyland).
Sales enablement - grounded in buyer psychology, not recycled PowerPoint.
BDR/AE coaching - done-for-you outreach, so your team learns while they sell.
SAP-funded solutions, available through the Partner Benefits Catalog.

We know SAP’s culture. We know the SAP stack. We know what it takes to break into enterprise accounts—because we’ve done it over and over again.

Whether you're a partner or SAP seller—if you're struggling to build outbound muscle, book meetings, or qualify complex deals—Jabba.io is your unfair advantage.

Let’s help your team sell like humans again.

"[𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠] 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 1 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞." - 𝐆𝐚𝐲𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐒𝐀𝐏

Ready to grow revenue? Let's chat!

Contact:

Schedule a call: https://calendly.com/meetjabba/15min?back=1&month=2024-09

Email: alistair@jabba.io

Alistair Davis

I help legal experts turn complexity into dynamic talks and experiences that build trust, credibility, and new opportunities.

Pitches, client summits, conference sessions, keynotes — conventional legal presentations and events overload audiences with information and get forgotten fast. But with the right strategy and structure, they'll become your most powerful business-development assets.

Here’s how I work with clients:

▪ 1:1 consulting to nail your next talk

If you're preparing a conference session, webinar, Board meeting, or client pitch, I'll help you refine and prepare so you deliver with ease and confidence. You'll get actionable, tailored feedback that you can implement right away based on your timeline and presentation goals. Slide design also available.

▪ Signature-presentation development

1:1 content strategy and design to create your signature talk: an engaging, adaptable core presentation that positions you as the go-to authority in your field. Clients include Am Law 100 attorneys, law-firm consultants, trainers, and professional speakers.

▪ Custom projects for law firms and teams

Consulting, design, and training that empowers attorneys and BD teams deliver engaging, audience-focused presentations and events that create trust and results.

Whether you’re preparing for a high-stakes pitch, creating your practice group's annual summit, or ready to elevate your team’s collective presentation skills, I’ll help you turn legal expertise into market leadership.

Ready to create great presentations that open doors? DM me to get started.

Valerie Madamba

Here's one of the clearest messages I've been hearing from in-house lawyers about law firm events:

When they show up, they're waiting for you to invite them in.

Not just asking them to attend your event or checking them in at registration.

But actively inviting them in, so they feel like honored guests and equal participants.

From all my years in-house, I can't recall a single law firm event where I truly felt invited into an experience that had been designed for me.

Sure, I got badged, seated, and chatted up plenty. But I never felt seen or served. I was talked at for hours but never brought into the hosts' conversation. 

As if I were simply a unit of attendance.

The format of these events locked in that feeling too. The lectures and panels promised to be insightful and interactive, but they ultimately relegated the audience to passive viewers. Little was designed to actually connect, engage, or empower.

I went through the motions, got shuffled through the buffet line, made some conversation. But I just floated from one dry session to another.

That's exactly the experience in-house lawyers have been sharing with me lately. An unfortunate industry standard.

But for practice groups willing to do things differently, it's a wide-open opportunity to build real relationships with attendees and showcase the way you serve clients.

As one corporate counsel put it: "You're the host, but it's not about you."

Attendees show up ready to learn and engage. You just have to design an experience that makes it easy.

And when you design an event that invites people in—treating attendees as curious, trustworthy collaborators instead of units to impress—you stand out immediately. You start a conversation they'll want to join.

The firms doing this are rare. But the ones who get it right (and they do exist!) are the ones attendees remember and recommend.

If you're planning a practice-group summit this year and want to design an experience that invites people in, let's talk.

And for a deeper look into what in-house lawyers want from law firm events, DM me and I'll send you the full report.

Law firm events that engage clients & drive new business. Lawyer → Presentation Designer & Event Strategist. Former U.S. government, BigLaw, & in-house regulatory attorney.

If you want people to do business with you, then say hi to them.

It pains me to see this at practice-group events: several attorneys huddled in a corner during check-in and breaks, showing up to give their lectures and talk amongst themselves during panels. 

Then they scoot without making much time to greet and engage with attendees.

I get that you're busy, and networking can be draining. But if you're hosting an event meant to build relationships, then take that job seriously. 

People signed up because they want to connect: with the topic, with their peers, and with you too.

You're not just presenters speaking to an audience. You're hosts, and everyone who showed up is a guest.

If you're catching up on emails in the corner or chatting only with colleagues, it's not going to work.

At the very least, please make time to say hello.

Here’s a wild idea for your next practice-group summit:

• Take all the "hot topics in X" decks you were planning to present
• Package them into a user-friendly resource hub for your attendees and share it before the event (while you’re at it, include relevant client alerts, podcasts, videos, etc. that you’ve already produced)
• Realize that your agenda is now empty
• Note your state of panic and BREATHE
• Replace all those empty slots with focused roundtables and skill-building workshops facilitated by your team (maybe anchored with one great keynote)

Here’s what I can almost guarantee:

→ It will feel weird, risky, nearly unfathomable at first.
→ Hardly anyone else is doing it (see above).
→ Design the experience well, and your attendees will love it and want to return.

This is what your in-house clients and prospects have been sharing with me lately: they're bored and exasperated with typical law firm events. They've been let down many times before. 

With each year, they have more on their plates and less faith that a "hot topics"-style event will be worth their time.

But they’ll show up for an experience built around what they want and need now: less bland lecturing and more thoughtful conversation, insider perspective, and curated peer exchange.

This will look different for every practice group and industry, but it’s entirely feasible. 

And the people you’re trying to reach are asking for something new.

What’s stopping you from trying it?

__________________________________

▸ Former U.S. regulatory lawyer → legal-presentation strategist and designer.
▸ DM for my report on what in-house counsel want from law firm events.
▸ Work with me to design modern client events that build your practice.

Are your client events leading to new business, or are they more of a costly box-checking exercise without a clear upside?

That's the tension I've been hearing from BD and marketing leads lately. 

You've always run a full event calendar, and you can't just stop. But the return feels murky, and you've got the feeling that your approach isn't exactly landing with attendees.

My recent conversations with in-house lawyers back up your suspicions.

Most of these lawyers said that law firm events feel too generic and broad to be useful and that they often feel like firm showcases rather than real learning experiences.

One in-house privacy counsel put it bluntly: she no longer trusts law firm events to deliver insights that justify her time and energy. So she just doesn't attend anymore.

This week I'm sharing what I've learned about what in-house counsel want from these events, and what it takes to design events that do build meaningful relationships, rather than just check a box.

V1 of my report from these conversations is available now. If you'd like access, comment or DM me and I'll send it your way.

***

Hi, I'm Val. I'm a former U.S. regulatory lawyer turned legal-presentation strategist and designer, helping law firms create summits and client events that build trust and generate new business. If that's on your agenda this year, get in touch.

View newsletter: The Presentation Practice

You've got a packed calendar of events for clients and prospects this year: invitation-only dinners, practice-group or industry summits, a handful of 

Open article: What your clients really think of your firm's events by Valerie Madamba • 4 min read

What your clients really think of your firm's events

In researching what in-house counsel want from law firm events, I keep hearing that they rarely leave those events with anything new.

But one senior lawyer recently told me about an event that did deliver major value and stood out from the rest.

And that's because the firm's presenters did something different: they shared benchmarks.

They addressed patterns they were seeing each day: what’s working and what’s not. How clients are thinking about risk tolerance, policy, and operations. 

They got specific about the challenges people in the room were dealing with every day.

Instead of just covering a bunch of topics, they gave attendees a view from the inside. So that lawyer left with new frameworks and ways of thinking that she wouldn’t have gleaned anywhere else.

And when she eventually needed new counsel on related issues, she hired that firm.

Of course, I can’t tell you that one great event is always a straight line to new engagements. We know that’s not how it works.

But if you want to position yourself as a reliable collaborator who’s ready to deliver for your clients and deeply understands the game, that’s how you do it.

Detailed benchmarking is one pillar of value that in-house counsel expect, but rarely find, at law firm events today.

My full report on these conversations goes deeper, with practical ideas for upgrading your next client event based on the research. 

For access, DM me and I’ll send it over.

A panel discussion won’t always make your next event more engaging.

The last time I coached a client on moderating a panel, we put together a detailed game plan for bringing the panelists together, sharpening the panel's purpose, and even letting some sparks fly.

Everyone was on board at first. But then they weren't. Other priorities got in the way, and the engaging panel my client had envisioned never materialized.

I've been on the other side too. When I was invited to join my first panel years ago, I was just starting a new job and had a lot going on. The moderator shared a few questions in advance, and I showed up and responded off the cuff. 

With such minimal prep work, the result was pretty lackluster, like most panels.

What both experiences taught me: even with the best intentions, great panels take huge amounts of collaboration and careful thinking to pull off well.

Yet most event planners keep thinking of panels as a shortcut to engagement and interaction.

But without the right framing, panels alone don't guarantee engagement. Worse, they often backfire, creating exclusion instead of connection.

This week's newsletter gets into why, and what to do instead.

__________________________________

Hi, I'm Val. 
▸ Former U.S. regulatory lawyer → event strategist, designer, and facilitator.
▸ DM for my report on what in-house counsel want from law firm events.
▸ Work with me to create modern client events that build your practice.

If you're planning a practice-group summit or client event, you've probably thought about how to make it more engaging. That’s the right impulse. You 

Open article: Law firm events don't need more panels. by Valerie Madamba • 4 min read

“Let’s start with a quick icebreaker!”
What’s your typical reaction?

My reaction has a few layers, depending on what version of me has shown up most that day:

--INTJ me: Oh HELL no.

--People-pleasing eldest daughter me: Perfect, sounds great. Love that you’re starting with this! (wilting internally)

--Workshop-planning/consulting me: Yes, great instinct. Always connect the room before getting into the substance! But let’s skip calling it an “icebreaker," and it has to be relevant to the topic. No random, forced fun.

And all versions of me agree: if it’s Two Truths and a Lie, we are out.

What’s one of your favorite (or most dreaded) room-warmers?

You pulled off a great client event. Most folks showed up, feedback was positive, glasses were clinked, everyone seemed happy.

But after a few months, you don't have much to show for it.

Your attorneys got caught up back in their daily work and clients went back to putting out fires. You'd hoped for more from this one, but the energy eventually fizzled out.

That's not because your event itself was flawed. 

It's because the event was a one-off moment rather than part of a system.

I struggled with this when I was at a small firm. I'd devote tons of time to prepping for the day itself, but I had no real plan for getting the most from that investment. Plus, I was always drained afterwards and preoccupied with catching up on all the work I'd missed.

A lot of the lawyers you work with have the same challenge. Despite your best guidance, they're not always sure:

- How to prioritize follow-up (everyone, just new connections, just certain roles?)
- What to say ("thanks for coming" feels doable but hollow; anything beyond that feels pushy or performative)
- When to reach out (two days later, two weeks? Now it's been a month...too late?)

None of this is all that complicated. But when everyone gets back to post-event life, follow-up won't happen unless each lawyer has clear, realistic guidance on their roles — both during the event and in creating momentum after.

For a practice-group summit, one attorney's plan might be as simple as:

- Plan and co-facilitate one breakout session
- Use a template to follow up with at least four attendees within 48 hours

Lawyers don't resist following up because they don't care. For many, the default has always been: show up, present, shake hands, then dive frantically back into work. Follow-up and good intentions go out the window.

But when you design events around sharply-tailored objectives and plug them into a BD system with clear tasks, they'll start creating real movement and relationships, rather than just fading out as another box that got checked.

If you're planning a client event this spring and want to make sure it works as part of your system, get in touch. I have a few strategy review slots open this month.

“How do we get more people to sign up for our events?”

I hear this every week from BD and Marketing leads at law firms. Fair question. Of course we want to maximize attendance and get people to actually show up.

But then I look at the proposed agendas, and it’s always some combo of keynote, a few panels, and some networking over coffee or cocktails.

Even with fabulous speakers and the most relevant topics, most events feel pretty much the same.

And when I asked in-house lawyers about firm events they've attended, more than 60% said a previous event felt like a showcase for the firm's expertise rather than programming designed for what they need.

So the attendance problem isn't primarily about save-the-date timing, CLE credits, or how luxe the venue feels.

It’s that most events aren't designed to be obviously worth attending in the first place.

When considering whether to commit to an event, your clients and prospects are asking themselves: is this really worth an afternoon out of the office? An evening away from family? Even two full days plus travel?

Before you worry about the details or the competitive context, you need to ask a tougher question: what can you offer that's genuinely unavailable anywhere else?

It's not just expertise, and it's definitely not just networking in a nice venue.

What exclusive, specific value are you offering for each audience?

That might be bringing a senior regulatory official into a closed-door Q&A, sharing proprietary frameworks, or hosting a hackathon-style workshop where participants build the tools and skills they need most right now.

Whatever you’re offering, it needs to make your target audience think and feel: I can't get this anywhere else, and I can't afford to miss it.

Then, of course, you need to deliver what you’ve promised.

Identifying that unique value can be uncomfortable work. You have to confront whether your agenda is truly differentiated for your target audience or if it's just well-polished sameness.

Predictably, most firms and practice groups skip this question and go right into logistics and content.

But when you do the work — sitting down to figure out what you alone can offer based on your particular approach, values, experience, relationships, and willingness to facilitate an uncommon conversation — you’ll come out with an event that’s unmissable. 

And that’s when the right people will make time to show up. Design around sharply-tailored, unique value first, and attendance becomes less of a battle.

The question isn't how you ensure attendance.

The real question is: have you earned it?

__________________________________________

Hi, I'm Val. I'm a former U.S. regulatory lawyer → event strategist, designer, and facilitator.

I've been researching what in-house counsel want and need from law firm events today. For the full report, send me a DM.

Before you plan your next practice-group summit, please ask yourself: why are we doing this?

Seems like an obvious step, but so many practice-group leaders and event planners skip it. 

And I get that. These summits are often the flagship events on each group’s marketing calendar, and they just need to get done.

The purpose of these events cannot be “because we run them every year.”

When you focus solely on getting that annual summit done, then your focus becomes logistics: pulling everything off smoothly and plugging the most current content into the same outline as before.

But event logistics ≠ event strategy.

We’re not living in the same world year to year (or day to day, it seems).

You, your clients, and your marketing strategy have all changed in some way. The precise purpose of each event should evolve too.

So what’s the point of your event right now? 

And please know: I don’t mean this in a nihilistic, “what’s-even-the-POINT?” kind of way, because I believe that galvanizing, motivating, connection-filled events are more needed now than ever.

I just want to encourage you to start with meaningful goals in mind—beyond checking a box and delivering routine updates.

If you can’t clearly identify what a summit should achieve in your bigger strategy, you’ll keep hosting expensive, low-attendance meetings that feel like they should have been emails.

So begin with the strategic goal and work backwards.

When you do this, everything else gets easier and more inspired: content, format, outreach, and messaging. It all flows from that clarity.

Worth a little extra thinking at the start.

__________________________________

Hi, I'm Val. 
▸ Former U.S. regulatory lawyer → event strategist, designer, and facilitator.
▸ DM for my report on what in-house counsel want from law firm events.
▸ Work with me to create modern client events that build your practice.

Do your firm's events routinely attract 400+ of your in-house clients?

If not (and even if yes), take a page from the illustrious Sarah Ennor and her recent session with McMillan LLP on supporting neurodivergence in the workplace. 

Those attendee numbers are pretty wow. And no surprise for an event designed to be refreshing, uniquely focused, and full of real human wisdom.

Great events don't take the easy road by just parroting the resources and information and updates we can get everywhere.

To maximize attendance, impact, and engagement, you've got to deliver something your audience won't get anywhere else.

That's the big insight no. 1 covered in my report on my conversations with in-house counsel, which Sarah kindly spotlights here. If you'd like access, just DM me and I'll send it over. It's your starting point for planning summits and trainings that build bridges with clients and prospects.

And if you want a partner in developing BD programming that supports kinder, more inclusive, better-functioning workplaces, get in touch with Sarah!

DELIVER WHAT THEY CAN’T GET ELSEWHERE.

🎁 Yesterday I received a gift from Valerie Madamba.

It was a snazzy field report for modern law firms called:
What in-house counsel want and need from law firm events.

I never like to ass.u.me I know best when it comes to my clients, so it was great to have a look at what the data says. The great news? I’m pretty savvy when it comes to this stuff!

1️⃣ “Deliver what they can’t get elsewhere” was her first of 5 insights. 

Valerie’s examples were focussed on how firm lawyers could stand to move away from informational lectures where they position themselves purely as experts. Instead, they can create connection and value by offeringing up real insights. Things like benchmarking, trends, and patterns they’ve observed. 

💡 You know - the things we in-house lawyers can’t easily get from our competitors or look up on our own. Especially in the age of AI.

Turns out, “delivering what they can’t get elsewhere” is exactly what I believe makes my talks an incredible business development opportunity for law firms. 

🧠 Despite the buzz around neuroinclusion and ADHD, most companies are still shy to tackle these topics. But leadership’s fear doesn’t quench the thirst their employees have for meaningful information and tools. At least 12.5% of lawyers say they have ADHD after all!

Law firms brave enough to deliver client-facing sessions tackling thorny issues like supporting neurodivergence in the workplace are giving their in-house clients something they’re just not getting anywhere else. They’re also creating a potentially safer space to have the conversation - unless bosses tag along! 

The proof is in the pudding!
My 90 minute session at McMillan LLP in December attracted 400+ of their in-house clients! It got rave reviews and a bunch of requests about bringing this information to their own organizations! (Enjoy a clip from the session below.)

📢 Your clients not only want the info. They want to spread the word so that they and their colleagues can thrive in their fast-paced and fairly unforgiving workplaces.

💦 If you want to make a meaningful splash with me for your next BD event, let’s chat! Perhaps this March when we recognize Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Brain Health Awareness Month, and International Women’s Day!

If you want to BE the meaningful splash your clients need from your firm, reach out to Valerie. Or at least ask for a copy of her report! She can help you create distinctive, high-value, engaging summits and client events that actually lead to new business!

***
Hi, I'm Sarah!
🧠 I make ADHD human & profitable.
🎤 I'm a biracial speaker, insomniac, lawyer, international athlete, entrepreneur, storyteller, artist, and woman with ADHD.
💡 I use stories and humour to show firms how to turn ADHD into a competitive advantage.
📩 Ready to make a splash? DM me to learn more!

To plan a great client event or summit, you need to talk to your attendees in advance and ask them the right questions.

Sounds obvious, but I used to go about this exactly the wrong way.

I'd ask questions like, "What aspects of these new regulations do you want to know more about?" I thought I was being helpful and appropriately curious, but what I was really doing was asking for an expanded list of topics.

And you need to deliver more than topics to make an event unmissable.

Attendees need to feel like your event was crafted for someone just like them. That requires reaching out, having real conversations, and discovering what they really need.

This week's newsletter lays out a simple framework for what to ask in your pre-event conversations. 

Get it right, and you'll plan an event people genuinely can't afford to miss.

If you’re planning a practice-group summit, remember this: business development doesn’t start at the event itself. It happens weeks and months before,

Open article: The pre-summit conversation that drives event ROI by Valerie Madamba • 4 min read

The pre-summit conversation that drives event ROI

taplio

The Battle

Alistair Davis

Valerie Madamba

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreValerie Madamba's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Alistair Davis

Valerie Madamba

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Valerie Madamba's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreValerie Madamba's LinkedIn Performance