In the 2012 federal budget there are an estimated 1,500 design and construction projects, totaling more than $24 billion. Although 2012 projections indicate minimal growth in this sector compared to the prior year, they still represent opportunities for those companies poised to compete in the public sector marketplace.

During past recessions many firms sought government contracts as a source of stability to offset slow downs in private sector work. The boost in the number of government projects due to the ARRA stimulus package has

J A N U A R Y 2 01 1 • V O L U M E 3 8 • N U M B E R 1M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5

www.psmj.comAEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA EIN THIS ISSUE: A/E Marketing With Social Media

n Strategies for Winning Lucrative Federal Work. n What Are We Saying About Social Media in A/E/C?

n What Jobs Are You Losing and Why?

n 5 Reasons NOT to “Tweet,” “Blog,” “Like,” “Bookmark,” or “Share”.

n Marketing Tool of the Month: 10 Essentials for Social Media Success.

n The “Secret Formula” for Success.

n Don’t Let Your Website Work Against You. n If You’re Not Using Social Media, You’re Already Late. n A Guide To Social Media.

n AEMJ Toolbox: What’s Bad & What’s Good?

n Don’t Add Social Media To Your Marketing Program.

n Firm Profile: 5 Social Networking Lessons from a Small Scottsdale Firm.

n The Proposal Doctor Prescribes: The Time Has Finally Come.

n Your Presentation Lives Forever!

n PSMJ Hot Book.

n Upcoming Industry Events.

n Get Out of Your Comfort Zone (But Stay in the Client’s).

n Ask The Expert.

n Market Your Reputation: Take Full Advantage of the Legacy Your Firm and Projects Offer.

n Industry Trends/Survey Spotlight: Are Successful Proposals on the Decline?

...............................................................1

............................................................1

.........................2

.................................3

.........................3

.............................4

...............5

.....................................................5

.........................................6-7

...........................................8

....................................................8

........................................9

...........................................9

..............................10

.........................................................10

.......................................10

...........................................11

..........................................................11

........................................................12

....................12

What Are We Saying About Social Media in A/E/C? By Eric Snider

(continued on page 2)

Strategies for Winning Lucrative Federal Work By Julie Olson, FSMPS

(continued on page 2)

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past five years, you are aware of the significant and increasing impact social media is having on a wide swath of our culture.

A key question that most architects, engineers, planners, construction firm professionals, and others in our “technical services” field are asking: “How should I be adapting my business model to incorporate social media?” There is not a single correct answer, but based on responses from attendees at a recent PSMJ Business Development seminar, I can provide the following perspectives from real-life professionals who are wrestling with the issue:

• It was fairly uniformly agreed in the BD session that social media will not completely replace our traditional marketing and “client touch” mechanisms for some time, because most of our clients are still in the over-30 demographic, which still does much of its communication through more traditional means.

• To carry this thought further, it was agreed that the under-30 demographic relies more heavily on social media for regular communication than they rely on more traditional communications means. Consequently, if you have client decision-makers who fit this demographic, you will need to embrace social media with a bit more eagerness.

• My program participants unanimously agreed that when the people, who are now students in high schools and colleges, enter the work force and rise to become decision makers, the approach to communication will change dramatically.

• One participant stated that her focus on using social media (mostly LinkedIn and Facebook) related to her interest in maximizing search engine optimization (SEO) through increasing her overall “hit” rate in the world of metadata. She noted that her firm’s profile on search engines is now on the first page. Note: this participant is in her 30’s, so her embracing of this technology is somewhat natural.

M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5AEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA E2

Strategies for Winning Lucrative Federal Work (continued from page 1)

disappeared, even as firms with limited public sector experience longingly eye this market. Firms with limited federal experience often find it difficult to break into this market, but even those with a past history of successful public contracts can find today’s federal contracting requirements challenging.In concert with this, agency representatives have become more market savvy, and agencies continue to be more averse to risk than many other project owners. Firms must approach the federal market with well-structured strategies and action plans. Following are examples of steps that firms across the country have taken in recent years to break into this market.

• Partner as a subcontractor. Firms with federal contracts can be identified at www.fbo.gov or www.gsa.gov. Use experience as a subcontractor for current projects to lay the groundwork for securing future opportunities.

• Hire the necessary experience. The labor pool provides opportunities for strategic hires to augment existing firm experience, creating a more robust project portfolio. A company can learn the process literally on the job while gaining valuable experience necessary to take a lead role on future federal projects. It should be noted that good candidates will be increasingly hard to find over the next few years, so now is the time to assess portfolio gaps and hire strategically to address those gaps.

• Pursue design-build opportunities with contractors who have solid relationships with federal clients.

• Capitalize on projects with participation goals for minorities, women, veterans or emerging small businesses. Often, agencies are challenged to find teams that meet contracting goals.

Discussions with firms that have consciously chosen to pursue federal projects indicate that careful go/no-go decisions focusing on highly relevant similar projects, pursuit of structured strategic alliances, and implementation of building information modeling can provide the edge needed to outscore competitors. Conveying clearly how a firm’s strengths dovetail with agency demands is essential. This includes not only the prime firm, but also the subcontractors. Addressing sustainability and building information modeling, a requirement for many agencies, can separate a company from competitors.

Opportunities still exist for companies that implement sound strategies based on the strengths of their personnel, and their portfolio and processes that align with agency needs. Anthony Bell, chief of small business programs at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, noted that on average it takes a small business 18 months to land its first prime contract. Companies that will succeed in efforts to win federal work in the current economic climate will be those that develop solid action plans for pursuing federal work and appropriately allocating resources based on those plans. n

Julie Olson, FSMPS, is Marketing Director of LRS Architects (Portland, OR and Shanghai, China) and owner of Godwin Olson LLC, a marketing and public relations firm. She can be reached at jolson@lrsarchitects.com.

• Several participants expressed concern over the ease with which negative postings about a firm, even totally unjustified, can occur and how the negative image can proliferate once begun. As a result, two participants (in their 40s) described their firms’ reluctance to begin using social media.

The variety of opinions and concerns expressed here I believe serves as a microcosm of the broad A/E/C world. You can be sure that these thoughts will continue to change as this new medium evolves! As the person responsible for your firm’s marketing efforts, it’s essential that you know where your firm leader(s) stand on social media. n

Eric Snider is a Principal with SynTerra Corporation and Editor-in-Chief of A/E Marketing Journal. Eric frequently writes and speaks on marketing and business development and facilitates several PSMJ bootcamps and workshops. He can be reached at esnider@psmj.com

What are We Saying about Social Media in A/E/C? (continued from page 1)

What Jobs Are You Losing and Why?Let’s face it: we can’t win every time. However, whether it’s one loss or a dwindling client base, it’s the marketing director’s job to find out why. Ask yourself if any of the following points might apply to your firm:

Fees Too High: Ascertain what the competition is charging and determine if your fees are in line with the marketplace. Be sure to determine if you are providing the same services and/or scope as your competitor when comparing.

Lack of Differentiation: If clients are regularly going elsewhere, you may not be doing a good job of showing clients the benefits of doing business with your firm. Do they know about the extras you provide at no charge? Do they know about your specialized in-house expertise that the competition doesn’t have?

Tunnel Vision: If potential clients think you’re only interested in making the sale, you probably won’t win the job. A sense of commitment to the project at hand will help put aside other issues in the client’s mind.

Wrong Markets: How often does the firm reevaluate marketing strategy? As the market shifts and changes, the wise move with it.

Perception Problems: How is your firm perceived? What are the reputations of those heading the firm and those who have regular interaction with clients? What is the perception of your firm in the marketplace? What is the perception of your firm with the subconsultant community?

The solution to all of this is rather simple.You must reeducate the client while at the same time reevaluating your pitch. How do you describe the firm? Can you answer the question, “What makes your firm different?” in 2-4 sentences? Obviously, in order to educate the client, you’ll have to be in front of them, thus allowing yet another way to further your ongoing relationship. n

Marketing Tool of the Month 10 Essentials for Social Media Success By Evan Snider

3

Let’s say you agree that social media grant you the opportunity to connect with clients, colleagues, and industry experts in a dynamic and engaging way, and you’re ready to establish a social media presence. Managing social media means you’ll need to recalibrate some of your marketing and writing habits and make them fit with the form of social media.

Along those lines, here are some suggestions for establishing and maintaining a social media presence that will benefit both your organization and the people to whom you connect:

• Identify your needs. It’s important to identify both what your organization needs to communicate and the places where there are gaps in your communication process. Do you primarily want to share photos with clients and colleagues? Do you want to share links to other sites? Do you host a regular event and want to increase publicity for it?

• Use different sites for different purposes. Organizations with strong social media presences spread their content across multiple sites. For most organizations, Facebook serves as a kind of social media home page, where they work to establish organizational culture and image. A/E firms often use Twitter to post on industry trends and organizational news and events and LinkedIn to post job openings, news, and announcements, as well as to connect with a community of employees, past, present, and future. Some firms use Flickr or Pinterest to showcase designs, photos from tradeshows and conferences, and promotions. Organizations with blogs will often use Tumblr or another social blogging service.

• Be aware of your audience(s). Unlike a presentation or proposal, social media writing often has diffuse and anonymous (or semi-anonymous) audiences. Be careful about what you write, and make certain that you are writing to the audience(s) you want to be writing to.

• Write with variety and brevity. Focus is good in some contexts, but social media demands variety: organizations that always say the same thing lose followers. Similarly, brevity is essential; try keeping your posts easy to scan (think in terms of headlines, not stories).

• Adjust your writing timeline. The shelf life of a social media post is extremely short. If you want to be a contributing member of social networks, you need to be willing to check (and post) throughout the day. Along those lines, be consistent. Those who post at wildly different intervals attract fewer followers than those that post consistently.

• Engage in the back-and-forth. Social media is a conversation, and it’s important that you do your part to maintain that conversation. Stay on top of comments and questions and respond in a timely manner (usually no more than a few hours). Organizations that only post and never respond come across as self-serving.

(continued on page 10)

5 Reasons NOT to “Tweet,” “Blog,” “Like,” “Bookmark,” or “Share”By David Whitemyer, AIA

It’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon. According to a 2011 survey by Knowledge Architecture, of 266 A-E firms profiled – of varying size – approximately 57% are actively using social media. The bulk of those firms are small to mid-sized, between 50 and 300 employees.

It feels like everyone is embracing social media and that you’ll be left in the dust if you don’t hop on board.

But like your mother used to say, just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean that you should too. There are plenty of reasons NOT to embrace social media.

1. You have nothing to say. A blog worth reading requires a good writer and engaging content. Posting announcements and links on Facebook and Twitter should be timely and relevant to your firm.

2. You don’t have time. If you or your firm’s employees are spending hours “tweet-ing” and “re-tweeting,” that’s time taken away from your billable work and from more proven person-to-person mar-keting efforts.

3. You have no plan. Like any business development plan, the use of social media as a marketing tool should only follow a clear, strategic goal, with a schedule and identifiable milestones.

4. You don’t have a graphic designer. High quality graphic design communicates ideas, brands, services, and information creatively and clearly to your targeted clients. It goes hand-in-hand with a comprehensive social media strategy.

5. You have a strong, repeat customer base. Social media is great for keeping your name out there and for creating buzz. If your firm sees long term sustainability with repeat and exclusive clients, you may be fine without Internet “presence.”

In the right hands, and with the right strategy, social media is a powerful marketing tool. But before you invest significant time setting up and managing a social media blitz, take a few steps back and ask your self if it’s a necessary course of action for your firm right now. n

David Whitemyer, AIA, is a registered architect and is the Managing Editor of PSMJ’s three newsletters, PSMJ, Project Management, and A/E Marketing Journal.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: One Year (12 Issues) - $377 For group or firm-wide subscription pricing, single copies, or address changes, please call 800-537-PSMJ. Allow 4-6 weeks for change of address. Copyright © 2012 by PSMJ Resources, Inc. All rights reserved. Partial quotation with attribution is encouraged. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5AEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA E4

The “Secret Formula” for Success By Charles Nelson AIA, LFRAIA

The worldwide PSMJ consultant network has been buzzing the last few weeks on a pair of closely related questions:

•Should project managers be involved in Business Development (BD)?

•What is the formula for design practice success?

Result? Unanimous agreement on the first question, and a fascinating array of “formula” suggestions on the second. I came up with one of my own, but after trying to phrase it so as to be a universal “formula”, I gave up and decided to put my thoughts into this article on the topic. Précis:

There is no silver bullet.

The issue is more complex than first meets the eye. In this day of the 5-second sound bite and the 30-second attention span, PSMJ consultants, along with everybody else with anything to say, are pushed to communicate in short, sharp, “hard-hitting,” bullet-point solutions to what are often complex, deeply interwoven questions where “sticking to the rules” really can’t tell the whole story. I’ll be contrarian, and try to spell it out.

In the hundreds of discussions I’ve had on these questions, there seem to be two main schools of thought. In the first, more traditional attitude, BD is something of a “black art” that requires seniority, experience, country club connections, and comprehensive knowledge of the firm’s business.

In the second, a more “modern” attitude, principals believe in empowering staff to learn the skills it takes to run the firm, including skills in marketing, proposal writing and presenting to a client.

Which approach is right? Let’s consider each briefly:

Traditional approach logic: Besides the basic attitude described above, several factors require that BD be managed either by principals or by a dedicated BD department:

•Schools don’t teach any of the required skills, so even registered professionals don’t have a clue.

•If you let senior staff plan projects, they will allow plenty of time to get everything right, and the cost will push us out of the competition; we’ll lose the job.

•If we are to succeed, a certain amount of free work and burnout is necessary.

•If they learn these skills, they’ll take our clients and go offtostarttheirownfirm.

Modern logic approach: Principals accept that the above is true – which it mostly is – but have a fundamentally different orientation, best described as “our main role is to teach our staff everything they need to know to run this business in the future.” That approach answers the first bullet point above.

The traditionalists’ second bullet and third points: True, but underlying this attitude is the assumption that the firm is more or less “in the commodity box” and the main selection criteria will be price. This trail leads directly to another whole aspect of practice thinking, about value pricing, differentiation of firm capabilities and so on – well beyond of the scope of this article. If you want a “silver bullet,” you have to follow this trail.

The real problem with these two points: All too often, principals can’t gauge how much burnout and staff frustration they can get away with – and misjudging that means morale drops, best staff leave, projects aren’t checked before going to bid, mistakes are made, contractors allege errors in drawings, clients get annoyed and call their lawyers, the firm has to report a potential claim, premiums go up, litigation looms, principals’ time is consumed fighting fires, and reputation is tarnished. But, hey, “We got the job.” At what cost?

As to the traditionalists’ fourth bullet point: Of course! Who could blame them, under the circumstances? This is a risk the more modern principals accept, and mitigate by doing everything possible to make their firm one that nobody wants to leave, instilling pride in being an integral part of the firm, and providing brilliant opportunities for learning and professional development.

Moreover, these firms understand that the generations that came after theirs WILL leave to check out that greener grass, and make sure that they understand that the door is always open for them to come back at the end of their “walkabout.”

With respect to the first three “traditionalist” points: The more modern principals see their most important role as that of coach and mentor, helping the next generation to learn the skills of marketing, listening to clients, research, writing proposals, selling the firm in a face-to-face pitch, and so on. As an integral part of this training, employees learn how the firm finances work, what profit margins are, how to ensure that each project earns its profit goal, how to motivate their teams, and a host of other skills.

In these firms, the “handover” process between principals and/or the BD department that is so problematic in the “traditionalist” firm simply doesn’t exist – the staff “own” the project from the inception of the project.

Which of these approaches best describes the thinking in your firm? If your principals are traditionalists, is it time to rethink your future? The question is for both principals and senior staff. n

Charles Nelson, AIA, LFRAIA is the Director of PSMJ’s Australasia practice and he is known for writing and speaking extensively on project and practice management. Charles can be reached at cnelson@psmj.com.

Have You Updated Your My PSMJ Account?Check out PSMJ’s website and update your My PSMJ account today! This account will help you pinpoint PSMJ’s tools and resources that

suit your specific needs.

Register now at www.psmj.com.

5

Don’t Let Your Website Work Against You By Eric Snider

Websites have become essential in communicating to clients and prospects the nature and character of your firm and your professional service offerings. For A/E/C firms, this change has only recently become obvious. In fact five to ten years ago, a website was seen as a necessity in our business, but its real usefulness had not been fully realized by most.

Let me illustrate a personal example: I have been courting a state agency department for several years. This is a department in my home state that does environmental studies and documentation and routinely needs wetlands delineations and jurisdictional determinations, among other services. They have a need for a service provider with natural stream design and relocation capabilities. My firm has outstanding credentials in those areas, with many satisfied clients who are eager to speak about our excellent service.

During a recent conference, the head of the state department mentioned his interest in visiting our office, to meet our personnel first-hand. I arranged to have all of the key personnel available, and several client deliverables spread out in a room. He had a great visit and was able to “kick the tires” on our work. It’s worth noting that the client took a day off work, as vacation, to visit our office and see a local ball game with his family.

At the end of the day, I was interested to see what generated enough interest in our firm that he would take a vacation day to visit. The answer? Our website! He relayed that our website was one of the best designed he had seen, with information presented in easy-to-manage navigation, with pleasant graphics and a helpful site map.

He didn’t use these exact words, but the essence of what he said was: Ihaveconfidenceinyourapproachtoclientsand their projects because I saw the care you took with your internal website. If you devote such time and effort to making your site clear and transparent, I feel you will approach our projects with that same dedication.

If your company website is beginning to feel a bit stale and out of date, take this example to heart. Your website is a potent force for (or against) you. Clients and prospects make significant judgments about your firm when reviewing your website. Be sure your site conveys the image you desire! n

PSMJ’s 2012 Financial Performance Survey is Open for Participation Deadline: April 20th, 2012

Financials are the ultimate scorecard! At the end of the day everything we do in our business impacts earnings or profit. PSMJ’s survey data provides you with hundreds of financial metrics on everything from

income statement and balance sheet ratios to staff composition ratios and historical trends over the past 25 years.

If you haven’t already received an invitation to participate from our survey editors, please contact us at PSMJSurveys@psmj.com and we’ll make sure you receive the link to the survey. The questionnaire is also

available for download from our website: www.PSMJ.com.

For participating, you’ll receive a customized benchmarking tool and more than $1,000 worth of additional perks! Don’t miss out on your

chance to be part of this important study.

If You’re Not Using Social Media, You’re Already Late By Rich Burns

Truth be known, architects and engineers tend to be late to the table on most new trends, especially those involving marketing and communications. For example, when most companies had long since embraced branding and figured out how to apply the concepts to their businesses, professional firms were just starting to recognize that it might have some applicability to our firms.

While social media has clearly made the transition from being new, unfamiliar and treated as a novelty, to becoming an integral part of any company’s business practice, most A-E firms are still trying to figure it out. The best social media practices are engaging, interactive, informative and relevant. At best, architects and engineers are using social media tools to passively push information about their firm through this electronic format.

* The table on pages 6-7 provides a comprehensive look at blogging, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN, the social media platforms embraced by and useful to A-E firms right now.

In most cases, social media tools are simply another “touch” that companies are using to connect with their audiences (a.k.a. potential clients). The culture of professional practices, conventions about what is appropriate decorum in marketing and the newness of the medium, means that few firms are fully capitalizing on social media, with only a smattering having figured out how to take it to another level.

As with any of your firm’s communications, content is critical. Because it is so simple, it is also easy to err on the side of useless or banal information. Remember PSMJ’s admonition to always consider the question, “Would my audience pay for these marketing materials?” It’s our way of challenging you to make sure there is value in your information.

Social media messaging calls for being succinct and to the point. By adding links readers can be directed to a vast world of supporting reference materials. Insightful, relevant, and challenging material can be a boon to establishing and maintaining thought leadership for your practice. Blogs can get your message out, Facebook and Twitter can jump start a dialog about any subject. The real value in social media is when it becomes interactive. That means you’ve created an online relationship. Business-to-business social media demands vigilant management. Different platforms need to be coordinated. Messages must be consistent. The tone and content must always be professional. And the style must reflect and reinforce your firm’s character and culture. n

Richard Burns is the founder of GNU Group, a marketing communications and environmental branding firm, and a PSMJ consultant. He is the author of PSMJ’s The Ultimate A/E/C Marketing Plan and can be reached at rburns@psmj.com

M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5AEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA E6

A Guide to Social Media by Jamie Grolle

While social media has innumerable options to present and promote your firm, the four most pervasive are Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and LinkedIn. The following table describes each and provides a simple guide that will allow you to assess the value, validity and the commitment required of each.

What’s it used for?

Expectations of what it can do for your firm

Nature of content

Timing – what is the pace of initiation and

maintenance?

How should we measure Return On

Investment (ROI)?

Guidelines for time commitment?

Other things we should know?

FACEBOOK

- broadcast announcements- engage with community (facilitate conversation)- provide customer service forum- build relationships- capture new audience- give fans inside (human) look at company- show humor/ personality- tag partners and key players in your industry

- increase brand loyalty- generate exposure - offer branding opportunities- increase exposure to new audience- complement face to face interactions/networking- improve SEO

- photos/ company logos- videos- news updates (announcements)- blog posts- event information- content feeds into fans’ news feeds

- implement immediately- update daily- check back several times a day to monitor fan interaction and wall activity

- track growth of company reach in terms of fan growth through Facebook insights- test content for engagement and increase activity that promotes interaction Increased interaction & more conversation= more loyal community - measure positive feedback by analyzing posts for sentiment/attitude- track conversion through referrals and access to the most loyal fan community available

- initial time spent gathering, creating, and maintaining relevant “info-taining” content- approx 1-2 hours a day

- B2b Facebook campaign will most likely attract fewer fans than a B2c Facebook; this does not mean it is less effective- you will cast a smaller net and attract a more strategic audience.

TWITTER

- quickly share information- seek out industry contacts- gather real-time market intelligence & feedback- track public perception- directly address others- humanize company through humor/personality

- generate exposure- build relationships, both current and target- allows you to listen in on others in the industry- improve SEO- initiate conversations similar to a face-to-face networking event

- photos/ company logos- tweets- links to relevant industry articles- topic trending- links to Facebook, blog, and home- conversation initiation

- implement immediately- update several times a day to engage with followers- check back several times a day to monitor @mentions and direct messages (DMs)

- track growth of company reach in terms of follower growth by tracking weekly numbers- test content for engagement and increase activity that promotes interaction. - measure who is clicking Twitter links with analytics - measure positive feedback by analyzing posts for sentiment/ attitude- tracks conversion through referrals and access to the most loyal fan community available

- time to monitoring tweets and create compelling tweets- approx 1-2 hours a day

- Twitter is a great tool for reaching others in the industry. You can actively pursue your target community. Twitter takes the most maintenance to ensure contacts are engaged.

7

BLOGGING

- weekly updates on company news and information- increased communication with contacts through invited conversations- opportunities for humor/personality- daily musings/journal type entries

- establish yourself as industry expert in desired areas- improve SEO- blogging more frequently will gather a loyal audience of return readers- portray your firm as major industry thought leaders

- photos/company logos- forum for company announcements- opportunity to show project progress- share interesting video/photo content- musings on news articles

- frequent but meaningful - at least 1 x week- monitored daily for comments from community members

- track growth of visitors to the blog and clicks on media options for blog- measure feedback based on content- conversion through referrals and access to the most loyal audience and online community available- ROI can be measured in the value added to the company in terms of how much communication with the relevant audience matters (this is gray because it is difficult to quantify)

- cost is time spent gathering blog content and writing blogs- approx 1-2 hours per blog post

- Blogs should be frequent journal-type entries (ideally intellectual capital). The most frequented blogs are those that are updated the most. Blogs that are static are no different than a press release or newsletter/eblast.

LINKEDIN

- growing and maintaining business contacts and those that share your professional interest- facilitating business introductions through degrees of networks- inviting those you know and trust, building communication among your existing face to face networks

- generate exposure- lead opportunities- improved SEO- establish your firm as industry connectors - receive recommendations/referrals from industry partners

- photos/company logos- company profile highlighting employees and employee accomplishments (like a resume)- similar forum for shared content as other channels- asking/answering questions

- timing similar to that of Facebook - daily updates/ maintenance - frequent checkups to ensure conversations are being addressed

- business leads and face to face meetings from introductions on linkedIn- referrals and recommendations from your network of contacts - an increase attention on the firm (earning the professional spotlight)- increased trust through building business relationships

- Cost is reaching out and messaging new and current contacts, and sharing relevant information- less than 1 hour a day

- LinkedIn can also be used to attract talented employees from other companies in your industry, with a job listing option. Recruiting would not be a priority, but an added bonus if necessary.

Jamie Grolle is President of Spitfire Social Media, a full service social media marketing firm. Contact him at jamie@spitfiresocialmedia.com or call 702.582.6054.

There are numerous other social media platforms to consider, including YouTube and Vimeo, both channels for accessing video that can be integrated with every other social media site, but the ones in this chart should be implemented by your firm immediately.

M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5AEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA E8

Presentations: What’s Bad & What’s Good?The following is excerpted from The Non-Designer’s Presentation Book, by Robin Williams. Copyright © 2010. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Peachpit Press. http://www.peachpit.com/titles/0321656210.

What’s a Bad Presentation?Once you have given your first presentation, you become keenly aware of what others do that enhance or spoil a presentation in varying degrees. Make notes of these. Here are a few things that can make your audience less than thrilled about your time on stage:

The structure• Lackofpreparation• Disorganization• Boringcontent• Toomuchinformation• Notfocusedforthisaudience

The presenter• Mumbling,shouting,verbalclutter(um,uh,Imean,you know, etc.), or a monotonous tone of voice• Monotonouspaceormovingtoofast• Shufflingthroughpapers• Unfamiliarwiththetechnology• Talkinginthedark• Standingatapodiumdirectlyinfrontofthescreen• Rarely(ornever)lookingattheaudience• Readingfromapaperorfromthescreen

The digital presentation itself• Overabundanceofannoyingtransitions,sillydoodads, and irrelevant animation• Dorkyclipart• Smalltextonthescreen• Hugeamountofsmalltextonthescreen• Inconsistentlookandfeel:differentfontoneveryslide, different arrangement on every slide

What’s a good presentation?Every presentation leaves the audience with a good, neutral, or bad feeling, no matter what it looks like. What is it that creates a good impression? Obviously, most important is a lack of the annoying things listed above, but also consider:• Interestingcontent,ofcourse(how’boutthat)• Contenttailoredtothespecificaudience• Clearandsimpleorganization• Fewbulletpoints• Visualsthatarerelevanttothecontentandtheaudience• Animationthatenhancescontentandisnotdistracting• Informationinthetalkismorethanwhatisshownonthe screen• Aconnectiontotheaudience,thefeelingofaconversation• Practicedperformance(andthisisaperformance)• Humorisalwaysgreat,ifpossible

Put it in wordsYou’ve been to good and bad presentations. Put into words what it is that you liked about good ones and what was not effective in the not-so-good ones. Sometimes a presentation might be great in a lot of ways and just off in one or two little things. Make note of that.

Once you can put into words what the problem or the solution is, you are much more conscious of it and can work with it. If all you can say is, “Mmm, it was boring,” you’re not going to learn anything. Why was it boring? What specifically made it boring? By taking the time to formulate words and pinpoint the issues, you can avoid doing the annoying things in your own presentations and work on incorporating the positive elements.n

Should you add social media to your marketing program? No! You shouldn’t add it. Instead, you must REPLACE your current marketing program with social media. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I wanted to catch your attention because leaders of most A/E/C firms are asleep when it comes to this issue. Unless they wake up soon, that nap may prove fatal to their firm.

Too many over-30 leaders of firms still see social media as a novelty. They tell me over and over that decision-makers are all older and don’t use this new medium. What they, and you, need to understand is this —The advent of social media, cloud computing, and the use of hand-held smart devices is changing the world at least as profoundly as the invention of the printing press, the telephone, and the airplane did. The evidence is all around. And if the whole world is changing around us, why should our profession be any different?

Those of us in the A/E/C industry like to think of ourselves as bold and creative thought leaders, but in this case, we’re far behind the curve. Someday soon your firm will be doing almost everything—from project management, to marketing, to communications—through cloud-based platforms, social media, and texting. Consider the following:

•Ifyoubegintoimplementthenecessarychangesnow,youwill be a step or two ahead of most of your competition and you will gain an edge.

•Ifyouwaitthreeyears,you’llbeinthemiddleoftheherd,like most of your competitors.

•Ifyouwaitfiveyears,you’llbegone.It’llbetoolate.

It’s clear you need to take action, but how? Here are some first steps you should take:

•Jumpinandplaywiththemediumtogetfamiliarwiththetoolsandplatformsthatareoutthere.Learn.Experiment.

•Lookatthethingsthatthethoughtleadersfirmsaredoing.HOK(www.hok.com),forexample,hasgracefullyintegrated social media into their marketing materials and website.

Because this is such an important and profound change, look to future issues of A/E Marketing Journal for a few best-practice ideas and articles for bringing social media to your firm in an effective way. n

Don’t Add Social Media to Your Marketing Program By Ken Tichacek

9

The Proposal Doctor Prescribes The Time Has Finally Comeby Ken Tichacek, PSMJ Resources consultant & The Proposal Doctor

You can bet Steve Jobs never wrote an A/E/C proposal. We live, of course, in an amazing digital world that has transformed almost everything we do—from the way we shop, to the way we communicate, and even how we read. Almost as amazing though, is that in this technology-driven age, proposals in our profession have remained almost totally low tech.

Sure, we now use software and cloud-based programming to collaborate and put our proposals together. The buildings, infrastructure, and systems we design and build continually push technology to new frontiers. At the same time, our

society has grown increasingly committed to the sustainability of our planet. We have used technology to reduce our carbon footprint and the amount of paper we use. Given all that, it is striking how little has changed in the way we present our proposals and how our clients like to read them. They may feel comfortable going

home and reading a book on a Kindle, but when it comes to reading a proposal, our clients continue to want something tactile to thumb through. That’s why we continue to send them fat piles of paper all neatly bound together.

We all knew the day would come when proposals would change, we just didn’t know when or how. Back around the turn of the century, there was a momentary fad when many clients required us to submit fully electronic proposals but, except for certain public agencies, our clients quickly abandoned that approach. For a while, we thought we were pretty slick, inserting a CD or DVD into a sleeve in our proposals. Problem was, clients never looked at those things.

After so many false starts, the time has finally come when A/E/C proposals are entering the digital age. Who could have guessed this transformation would be caused by a little square filled with black splotches of ink. QR (Quick Response) codes are sprouting up everywhere, like mushrooms after a rain. They are in newspaper ads, laminated into restaurant tabletops—they’re even on the sides of rental cars. I’ve seen several proposals with QR codes, but it won’t stop there. Because of these little squares, I believe that written bound proposal will be extinct within three years.

Find out why and how that is going to happen in next month’s Proposal Doctor column. n

Ken Tichacek is a senior consultant and seminar leader for PSMJ Resources, Inc. He is also the founding principal of Think Like Your Clients LLC. and is known as The Proposal Doctor for the results he gets in helping firms win new work. Reach Ken at ktichacek@psmj.com.

FIRM PROFILE: 5 Social Networking Lessons from a Small Scottsdale Firm By David Whitemyer, AIA

Established, goliath architecture firms like SOM, HOK, and AECOM have large marketing departments, directors of communication, and strategic social technology goals and policies. They use social media for following industry trends, generating content to remain “thought leaders” in specific topics, and creating buzz.

But if you’re a twenty-person firm with limited non-revenue-generating time and a single marketing staff member, how do you use social media to your advantage? “We decided to build a new website, rebrand ourselves, and take on social networking all at the same time,” explains Erik Peterson, AIA, Principal of Phoenix (PHX) Architecture in Scottsdale, Arizona. The firm, whose work is about 30% residential and 70% commercial, uses Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn extensively, and even has its own YouTube channel.

“We try to post at least one thing each day,” says Peterson, adding that they used to just post and share fairly random things. “We’ve recently contracted a social media firm, to help us be more strategic about our messages and goals.” PHX is also learning how to post things in ways that won’t get the firm in trouble, and is reviewing their various accounts’ privacy and group settings. Peterson’s firm has discovered and embraced five simple strategies for using social media:

• Stop spending money on paid advertising. Social media is free, and if well managed, can hit more prospective clients and generate more word of mouth.

• Self promote, but also share. Your followers are eager to hear about your work, but also in seeing that you’re part of a larger community with similar interests.

• Learn about search engine optimization (SEO). Essentially, the more your firm’s name is written anywhere on the Internet, it helps push you higher on Google’s algorithmic lists.

• Involve your clients. Let them know when you’re posting photos and information about their projects. They’ll likely be excited and share links with their network.

• Incorporate your brand. Make sure that the logo and style you use on all public online accounts is the same. You want people to recognize it immediately.

If you’re a small firm, Peterson cautions about spending too much time online. “There are some guys I know that are posting stuff on Facebook all day long,” he says, “which probably means that they don’t have any other work to do.”

Peterson admits that he hasn’t seen any direct benefit from their social networking, “other than that our vendors and clients seem to follow us and are excited about it.” Fortunately, in professional services marketing, it’s often that excitement and familiarity that’s the only thing necessary to land that next great project. n

It is striking how little has changed in the way we present our proposals and how our clients like to read them.

M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5AEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA E10

Business Development for the A/E/C Firm SeminarMay 10-11, 2012 – Chicago, IL

Webinar SeriesMay 15, 2012: Win What You Chase! (Effective Proposal Strategies)

June 19, 2012: The A/E Industry in 2012: How Does Your Firm Stack Up?

July 17, 2012: A/E Industry Market Trends: Where are the Hot Markets?

• Ask questions. It’s tempting to want to just provide answers to various questions posed by clients and colleagues, but ask questions, too. Asking questions is the fastest and most efficient way to increase your followers, since an open question draws people in and asks them to provide their insights.

• Provide deep links. Provide links to pages within your site, rather than the home page, as much as possible. Deep links are more usable for followers, easier to share, and they come with the added benefit of bumping up your ranking on Google.

• Build relationships and networks. Social media marketing is about relationship building, so build relationships with your clients and the local community, and you’ll benefit from it in the long run. Also, make sure you chart your networks, including industry experts, professional organizations, and competitors.

• Be generous to your competitors. It sounds counter-intuitive, but organizations that post links to their competitor’s websites, profiles, articles, etc. are more likely to be seen as valuable members of the community. Be generous, and remember that behind every organization’s social media presence are real live human beings. nEvan Snider is a doctoral student in Rhetoric and Writing at Virginia Tech and an instructor at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. His research interests include rhetoric in digital media and visual rhetoric.

10 Essentials for Social Media Success(continued from page 3)

From creating effective marketing materials and giving outstanding presentations to servicing clients well and generating

add-on work, you’ll find this report an invaluable resource that your

entire staff will use.

Order your copy of this report today at: www.psmj.com

PSMJ Hot Book 47 Business Development Checklists

Upcoming Industry Events May 2012

Your Presentation Lives Forever!By Robert Becker

Your presentation has many lives. The longevity of your presentation material should always be considered when deciding what sort of time and money you want to throw at it, and the fact is that it will live on far longer than you think. Don’t just throw something together to get you through a meeting. Everything you present of your firm’s work should be of the quality that can be used by your marketing department forever. Whether your staff is doing the presentation work or you are hiring outside professionals (i.e. communicators, physical model makers, photographers, or visualization experts, etc.), going the cheap route will affect not only the immediate presentation but also every future view of it.

Saving your firm or your client a small amount of money will result in presentation visuals that will not stand up to their long life. Your materials are better off from hiring a professional specialist, chosen by quality of work and reliability, not price.

Is the work your office produces in-house up to the quality of work you expect from a consultant? Consider the following:

• Are you presenting SketchUp models that look like everyone else’s? Give your staff the proper time to do post production on the computer visualizations. This is the only way to have your images look great and develop a visually unique office identity.

• Are your project photos just snapshots taken by whoever had an iPhone handy? Ask yourself, is your project so perfect that nothing needs adjusting or staging for a photograph? The images you use will be the only way countless people see your project, and they should be treated carefully by a professional who understands composition, exposure, staging, lighting, and time of day.

• Chipboard and foam core models might be useful in-house, but you don’t want your client to see them if they’re poorly constructed. Professional physical modelers use laser-cut and 3D-routed materials of all kinds as well as 3D printers, with stellar results.

After you make the presentation, your work will likely be displayed at your client’s office, on walls, on flip boards, as well as PDFs that get circulated to other potential clients. The presentation will also live on in your own office, framed on a wall and seen by most everyone that visits, and reused in future marketing materials. Your presentation lives forever, so make it count!

How are you distinguishing your presentation from the competition’s? And does your office have a unique visual identity that conveys your brand and the type of work you offer? These questions, in addition to quality, must be considered when working to develop the best, most effective presentation visuals.

Robert Becker is a conceptual visualization artist who works in watercolor. Robert is also the founder of www.presentingarchitecture.com, directory of architectural presentation professionals including photographers, model makers, and visualization experts. Robert can be reached at Robert@PresentingArchitecture.com or 925.254.4234

11

ASK THE EXPERTGet Out of Your Comfort Zone (But Stay in the Client’s) By Eric Snider

Here is a radical recipe for winning more work and enjoying it. Get out of your comfort zone, but stay within the client’s. Here’s what I mean:

• When we stay in our comfort zone, we produce proposals that are pure Pablum. They regurgitate stale ideas without novel and fresh approaches. Reading a proposal from a consultant who stays in her comfort zone is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

• When we conduct a presentation or interview within our comfort zone, we are lackluster and mediocre. We’ve all sat through these presentations, knowing what the presenter is going to say before she even says it. Do you think your presentation will “light a fire” within the client if that’s your presentation scenario? I hardly think so!

• Prior to the proposal effort, get out of your comfort zone when developing intelligence and information about the project. Ask the client sticky questions, not the ones that fit your comfort zone, such as:

- Who is in favor of this project? Who is not in favor? - What do you see as the best outcome for this project? The worst? - What keeps you awake at night when you consider this project? - How does this project fit into your organization’s overall strategy? - Is the funding already committed and reserved for this project?

• Continue getting out of your comfort zone as you develop the proposal. If you have an alternate approach that can save the client time or money, don’t hesitate to elaborate on it. Caution: Be sure, as a “baseline,” that you provide the scope the client is expecting, thereby staying within the client’s comfort zone.

• When you’re invited to the presentation or interview, be bold, be different, and be sure that the selection committee will remember your presentation in the most favorable light, when compared to the routine and uninspired presentations given by others.

• In all things and in all ways, stay in your client’s comfort zone. You can surprise them with how good and innovative you are, but don’t force the client to move too far outside of his comfort zone. Remember that clients select those individuals (and their firms) that they are confident can perform the project, but also, that they are most comfortable with! n

If you’ve got a burning question about a particular A/E marketing or business development challenge facing your firm, PSMJ’s Ask the Expert is the place for you! Each month, we take a question posed by one of our readers and bring to bear the insight of one of our contributors or consultants. The question and corresponding response will then be published right here in A/E Marketing Journal. Q. We’re looking to hire a new Marketing Director. Our last director was great at networking and building relationships, but was disorganized when putting together proposals, often doing everything at the last minute. What skills should we look for when making a new hire?— James G., Columbus, OhioA. First of all, you need to understand that you are hunting for an almost non-existent beast. The skills one needs to be successful at relationship building and bringing in work opportunities are not the same as the skills needed to efficiently carry out marketing and proposal preparation activities. If possible, you should consider splitting BD and marketing responsibilities at your firm. If you can’t afford hiring two new people for those roles, you should hire someone with proven marketing and proposal writing skills and get your principals and project managers more involved in business development. (That’s a good idea in any case!)

What are these “proven marketing and proposal writing skills”? Well, you certainly want to find someone who is organized; but creativity, writing, and graphics are the skills I find most in need of improvement in many A/E/C marketing departments. Although such a person is rare, it would also be good to find someone who has the experience and strength to stand up to principals.

Simply hiring an individual with superior skills probably isn’t enough. You will be setting that person up for failure unless you make key structural and cultural changes that will allow the new Marketing Director to succeed at your firm. You should start by cutting the number of proposals you go after in half and have the new director focus on doing a great job in the pursuit of the most promising opportunities for your firm. You should also make sure your marketing objectives are crystal clear. — Ken Tichacek, PSMJ Consultant

If you have a question on a particular challenge or just about anything relating to A/E marketing, let us know! You can submit your question to asktheexpert@psmj.com. n

?

Follow PSMJFollow us. “Like” us. Enjoy additional content. Share your thoughts.

PSMJ Blog: http://psmj.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @PSMJ_Resources

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/84340

Facebook: PSMJ Resources, Inc.

Market Your ReputationTake full advantage of the legacy your firm and projects offer by Wally Hise

M AY 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 8 • N U M B E R 5AEM A R K E T I N G J O U R N A LA E

www.psmj.com

Publisher: Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA Editor-in-Chief: Eric Snider Managing Editor: David Whitemyer, AIA Graphic Design: Marc Boggs Published by: PSMJ Resources, Inc.

Coming Next Month: The Evolving Role of Project Managers in Marketing

Headquarters/Boston, Massachusetts: 10 Midland Avenue • Newton, MA 02458 Tel: 617-965-0055 • Fax: 617-965-5152Email: customerservice@psmj.com Web: www.psmj.com

12

I was intrigued after reading an article on a marketing campaign for the 100th anniversary of the Oreo cookie. Stay with me for a few minutes... most of you have eaten an Oreo at some point. Even my wife, who detests chocolate, eats Golden Oreos; they’re almost always in our cupboard.

During this celebrated anniversary year, Kraft Foods, maker of Oreos, will take advantage of two marketing trends that the rest of us can learn from. The first plays to what many product marketers are calling “authenticity.” That is, consumers are searching for products and brands whose quality has been tested, and stood up, over time. The other trend involves presenting these “heritage brands” in updated ways that appeal to consumers’ contemporary needs.

During a branding campaign for my program a few years ago, we conducted an external client survey and an internal analysis. We were seeking attributes that described our firm and captured the essence of our interactions with clients and approach to projects. Two words we landed on for the tagline are: Trusted and Innovative. They fit right in with the Oreo story.

How does this apply to a marketer in the A/E/C community? Regarding trust, I’m fortunate to work for a firm that has a 95-year history. Our current strategic planning cycle will take us to 2017, HDR’s 100th anniversary. Sure we’ll plan a big celebration, but why wait? When I talk about our firm to audiences or prospective clients, one of my leading statements is that we are a firm with a nearly one hundred-year legacy. Even if you don’t know what we do or have never heard of us, you have to figure there’s something good about a firm that withstands the test of time.

You may not be as fortunate, but perhaps there are aspects of your company that can be put in the context of “trusted over time.” Search your experience profile to find projects that have been in place for a long period. Maybe there’s a building or bridge that you designed that is as architecturally appealing now as it was decades ago, when it was conceived.

Did your firm develop a site that has become the cornerstone of a community, a gathering place, or a bustling center of commerce? Maybe there is a notable project that you point to with pride and say, “We designed that” or “We built that.” What about those communities or clients that your firm has served for an extended period? For instance, we have provided a broad array of engineering and architectural services to clients such as Methodist Hospital in Omaha, NE since the 1960s and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities, NC since the 1970s. Our work for these clients has been continuous over many decades.

So, live a little. Bite into an Oreo, and have some fun with your marketing. Try presenting your company, your brand, your reputation, legacy, and experience as one that can be trusted. You have a loyal following already, so take advantage of that. Advertise and exploit the organizations and people who stuck with you for years, maybe even decades, as you evolved and grew into the 21st century. n

Wally Hise is vice president of federal marketing for HDR Engineering, Inc. (Omaha, NE). Contact him at wally.hise@hdrinc.com.

Industry Trends/Survey SpotlightAre Successful Proposals on the Decline?

According to PSMJ’s2012A/EFees&PricingBenchmarkSurvey firms are reporting:• Median hit rate of 35%; down from the high of 50% reported in 2008, and declining every year for the past 5 years;• The top firms have a hit rate of 60% and better;• Firms are declining only about 15% (median) of the opportunities presented to them;• The use of Go-No Go processes are also on the decline with less than half of the firms surveyed reporting they have a documented process for evaluating proposal opportunities;• Firms are reporting less repeat work from existing clients.

Overall these trends indicate that firms may be becoming less selective about the opportunities that they pursue yet they are winning just slightly more than 1/3 of the projects they do go after. Have we lost sight of rigor and process that led to successful proposals in the past?

The last few years have been challenging and most firms have been focused on survival. Clients have been cautious about spending and we aren’t seeing as much repeat work as we have in the past. Maximizing the return (wins) on our proposal efforts continues to be a crucial marketing tactic!

Is it time to revisit your Go-No Go processes and analyze the “why” behind lost opportunities? With repeat work on the decline – do you need to analyze “how” to best differentiate your firm or your approach from your competitors to increase wins with new clients? Is it time to further evaluate the “what” based on the project types or geographic areas you work in?Benchmarking your firm against your peers can help you zero in on where to best focus your efforts to improve your firm’s hit rate. Contact PSMJ for to order your copy PSMJ’s2012A/EFees&PricingBenchmarkSurvey today! n