Posts filed under ‘Business Development’
It’s All About Relationships.
Relationship: the state of being connected
Engineering projects, project teams, department teams, clients, civil engineering recruiters all have one similar characteristic – RELATIONSHIPS. This includes our relationship with ourselves, our colleagues, our supervisors, our clients, our candidates. We cannot escape this inevitable connection.
How we treat others, through our words and more importantly our actions, will direct our success. It’s about being connected and trying to treat everyone with respect and consideration. If you have established, good relationships, no one can take them away from you.
As an architecture and civil engineering recruiter, I’m asked daily as to how I conduct my searches. My answer centers around the relationships I have established throughout my nearly 30 years of recruiting. Recruiting is a profession that is much more than a business. If done correctly, it involves understanding client needs, culture and personalities, and trying to make the best match with a candidate.
Those of us who love our jobs understand that we are dealing with people’s lives. We try to get to know our clients and candidates, and many become longtime friends. I find that the same can be said for just about all in the engineering consulting business or for that matter, any business.
Prior to the development of LinkedIn, connections were a bit more difficult to establish and sustain. It took a conscious effort. Today with the assistance of social media, a click of the mouse and I can reach thousands of A/E connections.
But with the ease of staying connected, are many consultants losing that ability to pick up the phone and keep the REAL connection? If you lost your job tomorrow, would your connections answer the phone if you called? Are your clients really YOUR clients or are they your company’s clients?
It’s all about relationships.
Carol Metzner President, The MetznerGroup Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com
View Carol’s profile & connect with her on LinkedIn
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
Flashback: Where Have All The Civil Engineering Firms Gone?
According to press announcements, there have been at least 30 merger/acquisitions within the past MONTH in the US civil engineering and architectural consulting firm community. The blog below is just as relevant today as when it first ran on Civil Engineering Central in 2008. Refresh yourself with the write up and let us know what you think of the continued consolidation in our industry!
Acquisitions in the civil engineering community exploded in 2007 with steady activity up to now. A client jokingly told me, “Eventually we will all work for about five firms. That is all that will be left!”
While I think my client’s comment is a slight exaggeration, the pace of these M&As does not seem to be slowing. What has happened to the traditional firms of the past?
Certainly, these consolidations allow firms a great way to increase staff and presence in particular locations or technical arenas. But, if you joined a firm because of a specific company culture, what do you do now?
Are these large national and international firms of combined technical talents good for our industry? What do you think?
Carol Metzner President, The MetznerGroup Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com View Carol’s profile & connect with her on LinkedIn civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
The “We’ve Always Done It This Way” Mentality
As a search consultant I have the opportunity to speak with dozens of civil engineering professionals across the country on a daily basis. I speak with key executives in the C-Suite, Project Engineers, and to every level of civil engineering professional in between. After learning about their skill set and their contribution to their organization and to our nation’s infrastructure I always ask the following question:
“What would be a motivating factor that would prompt you to explore a new opportunity?”
Most of the time I get responses that include phrases like:
⇒“More opportunity”
⇒“Glass ceiling”
⇒“Larger, more challenging projects”
⇒“More responsibility”
⇒“Smaller company” / “Larger company”
But every so often I will connect with a candidate who is working for a firm where the existing leadership has the ol’ “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mentality.”
Over the past few months I have run into a number of firms who just cannot get out of their own way as a result of their “we’ve always done it this way” point of view.
⇒I recently heard of a firm that was poised for growth and had determined that they had to make some changes by creating a couple of new positions that would really help take them to the next level. One of these positions was Chief Operating Officer. The Board of Directors developed a detailed job description that outlined a plan moving forward and the positive impact that the addition of a COO would make. At the end of the day they decided to put the role on the back-burner for no other reason than the company ownership, all of whom have been with the company for 35+ years, felt that what they were doing has worked for the past twenty five years and there was no sense changing things up. The younger generation of engineers and future leaders of this organization are unsettled by all of this and will likely be future leaders somewhere else.
⇒Another firm that has a strong tradition of excellence within the Mid-Atlantic region is unwilling to budge on their vacation policy. Not one single person they say, from the CEO on down, receives more than three weeks of vacation. It is non-negotiable. I am all about hard work, trust me, I am typing this on a Saturday. But to remain competitive in the marketplace you need to be able to do better than three weeks vacation, especially for senior level professionals who have certainly earned four weeks anyway. This is another example of an existing ownership with an “old school” mentality that is not able to see the forest through the trees, in my opinion.
⇒These are just a few examples; there are plenty of companies out there who lag behind in technology, training, and who preach a culture and a philosophy of innovation but whose actions show otherwise.
On the other hand, I have had some first hand experience working with clients who understand the importance of change, organizational evolution, and constant re-evaluation.
⇒I recently worked with a client who saw an enormous amount of opportunity in the marketplace, but just could not break free from their 30 employee shell. The CEO of the company reached out to me and shared with me his vision to become an ENR Top 500 firm, and he was ready to invest in the right people to make that happen. He was acting as CEO, COO, Director of Business Development and Director of Engineering, and as you can imagine, could barely see one step ahead of himself. We successfully conducted a search for him and he now has in place a Director of Engineering and an Executive Vice President who has actively taken on the operations element of the firm and is contributing to business development and strategy. As a result of investing in these two key hires they are looking to double in size in the next 18 months.
⇒Another client has been in business for nearly 40 years and is in its second generation of ownership, currently working towards the third generation. The company ownership is split between five or six shareholders, but they have limited the length of time that shareholders can be shareholders. This allows for the semi-regular turnover of ownership which leads to the replenishment of fresh and innovative ideas.
⇒Another firm not only encourages its employees to think “outside-the-box,” but they actually allow for those ideas to be implemented. As traditional and conservative as civil engineers traditionally are, the willingness to try something new may seem a little risky, but their clients REALLY enjoy their willingness to present innovative approaches and concepts to many age old problems. This type of mentality and philosophy is attractive to many people and as a result helps them bring top talent in the door, and it excites the clients and keeps them coming back for more.
Change can often be scary, but it is necessary. History shows that those firms who are satisfied with the status quo, and who drown themselves in “we’ve always done it this way” mentality will eventually be left in the dust.
May you not be left in the dust!
Matt Barcus
President, Precision Executive Search, Inc
Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com
View Matt’s profile & connect with him on LinkedIn
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
5th Annual Best Civil Engineering Firm Logo Contest
THE BEST LOGOS ARE WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS…OR RECOGNITION FROM CIVILENGINEERINGCENTRAL.COM!
WE ARE EXCITED TO BRING TO YOU THE 5th ANNUAL
THE GIST
- All nominated logos (tag lines should be included if you have one) must be from civil engineering firms who operate within the United States.
- If the logo has a story behind it, we would like to know about it.
- Logo nominations can be submitted via:
EMAIL: info@CivilEngineeringCentral.com
DIRECT TWEET: @civilengineers
LINKEDIN: By responding directly to our announcements you see on any LinkedIn groups
CRITERIA
Logos will be judged on a sliding scale based on the following criteria:
- Does the logo make an immediate impact by grabbing one’s attention right off the bat?
- Is the logo memorable? Is it uniquely applicable to what the firm does – enough so that it will positively embed itself in the memory of clients, employees, peers, etc?
- Is the logo appealing to the eye?
- Does the logo accurately represent the company and its services?
- Does the nominated logo accurately represent the firm’s corporate and employment branding initiatives?
- How well is your logo represented in your social media campaign?
RETURNING JUDGES
- Ron Worth
Chief Executive Officer
Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS)
http://www.smps.org - Matt Barcus
Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com
- Carol Metzner
Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com
WINNER
Contest winner will be notified by CivilEngineeringCentral.com during January 2014. Winner will receive:
- Corporate logo prominently displayed on CivilEngineeringCentral.com‘s website for 3 months.
- One month as sponsor on ourLinkedIn Groupe-update, “The LinkedIngineer.” This e-update goes out twice a month to all 10,000 (and growing!) members of the Civil Engineering Central Group on LinkedIn.
- 10 free job postings on CivilEngineeringCentral.com + Featured Employer upgrade.
- Bragging rights until next year 🙂
DEADLINE
All entries must be received by March 7th, 2014
NOTE
Gist, Criteria, Judges, Prizes & Deadline are subject to change without notice as determined by A/E/P Central, LLC, home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
Civil Engineers: Are You An Ambivert?
There was a recent article posted on line from the Washington Post titled, “Why extroverts fail, introverts flounder and you probably succeed.” The article was written by Daniel H. Pink; author of “To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.”
The gist of the article revolved around the mentality of successful sales people, comparing extroverts to introverts and learning which of those personality traits experienced the most sales success. Specifically noted by the author was a meta-analysis of 35 studies of 4,000 sales people. This analysis revealed limited parallels between extroversion and sales success.
“The conventional view that extroverts make the finest salespeople is so accepted that we’ve overlooked one teensy flaw: There’s almost no evidence it’s actually true”
Of course, the opposite does not hold true either, but no one expected that, right?
The article referenced recent study done by the University of Pennsylvania tha identified the fact that the most successful sales people were actually ambiverts; that is, someone with a personality falls between the stereotypical engineer with taped glasses and a pocket protector crunching calculations behind a computer screen all day and a bull in a china shop.
I have spoke to my fair share of civil engineering executives and leaders that have risen to the top of their organization, and like in most professions, many of the most successful executives are the ones that have a track record of successfully generating strong revenues and growing business. I can honestly tell you that what Pink discussed in this article generally holds true for the civil engineering profession; that is, the most successful civil engineers who have risen to the ranks of executive/principal leadership as a result of their ability to haul in business are more often than not ambiverts.
Here are a few ideas as to why ambiverts in the civil engineering profession achieve great sales success and rise to the top:
A. They don’t get too high on their wins and they don’t beat themselves down when they lose to the competition. As a leader, these traits set a great example for those beneath and keeps the ship afloat. They are for the most part enjoyable to be around and develop a sense of loyalty from their team and are well liked by their clients for their ability to be even keeled.
B. They understand their own organization, as well as clients, and have the wherewithal to understand the extrovert and introvert in everyone. They are capable of appealing to both introverts and extroverts, on both sides of the table, which often leads to win-win scenarios for everyone involved.
C. They are great listeners and are relatively humble. Outspoken professionals who pitch, pitch, pitch their services and why their company is so great without taking the time to sit back and listen to the client do not get very far. Boasting about your past successful projects proves nothing unless you are first willing to listen. So they do share successes with the clients and how they have solved problems in the past, and they are excited to, but they first listen to make sure those past examples actually relate. They are not just well-groomed sales people merely full of glossy marketing materials and power points on their ipads. They actually are capable of talking a good game because they have played on the field. They are then able to take their experiences, along with their ingenuity, and effectively communicate to clients in a manner that shows they understand.
In two words: Humbly Confident.
Based upon your experience in the civil engineering profession, would you agree or disagree that it is the ambivert that achieves the most success? Why? What other ambivert traits do you feel lead a civil engineer down the path of success?
Matt Barcus
President, Precision Executive Search, Inc
Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com
View Matt’s profile & connect with him on LinkedIn
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
Winner of 4th Annual Best Civil Engineering Firm Logo Announced!
We are pleased to announce the WINNER of the 4th annual “Best Civil Engineering Firm Logo” contest! We find that the judging has become more challenging for this contest. Each year we receive an increase in entries from the year prior, and the quality of the logos has been absolutely amazing. As a result, the contest has become extremely competitive. We would like to thank ALL of those who entered this year’s contest, and at the end of the day, as long as your logo is something that you can stand proud beside that is really all that matters!
So, without further ado, we would like to extend an enormous round of applause to this year’s winner:
“We are so honored for our logo to be chosen by Civil Engineering Central as this year’s best. We’ve been blessed to have been in business for 50 years this year, and this recognition will add to our celebration. Thanks!”
-Matt Crafton, President & CEO of Crafton Tull
Crafton Tull’s logo is known as “The Interchange”. That name comes from several meanings related to their business. First, the logo represents a highway interchange and reflects their long history of providing transportation engineering services to DOT’s, municipalities and private clients for nearly 50 years. In fact their two founders were both employed at the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department before they started Crafton Tull in 1963. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the word Interchange reflects Crafton Tull’s commitment to always listen to their clients’ needs and develop creative solutions to meet those needs. Their process is an “interchange” of ideas to arrive at the best solutions.
When Crafton Tull was founded, their home city just had one high school. The two founders thought it would show strong commitment to the community to adopt the color of the local high school team, thus the royal blue color of their logo. Commitment to all of the local communities where they operate remains a strong value of the firm to this date.
Thanks again for all who participated and helped contribute to yet another successful…
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
Working From Home: The Kiss of Death for a Civil Engineer?
Is telecommuting limiting to the civil engineering professional?
A couple of weeks ago a consulting civil engineering client of mine offered an opportunity to an extremely talented candidate that would have allowed him to work from home for his first 6-8 months in order to accommodate some special circumstances. The candidate ended up delaying the acceptance of the offer until the first quarter of next year as his situation would be fully resolved (hopefully the opportunity will still be available). The details of the circumstances are neither here nor there, but at the end of the day this candidate determined that as flattered as he was that they would make special accommodations for him, he would not feel comfortable in a work-from-home situation as he would be “out of the mix.” He is a team player and not having immediate access to his team, and the “perception” that he would not be giving 110% because of his physical absence he saw as a detriment.
Interestingly enough, I recently read an article on the Harvard Business Review website titled, Why Remote Workers Are More (Yes, More) Engaged, by Scott Edinger.
According to the article, remote employees were more engaged because:
1. Proximity Breeds Complacency – that is, leaders who work in the same building, let alone the same floor, regularly fail to interact face-to-face with their employees, preferring rather to communicate via email.
2. Absence Makes People Try Harder to Connect – that is, leaders are more deliberate in their communication with those off-site employees.
3. Leaders of Virtual Teams Make a Better Use of Tools – that is, leaders are forced to use video-conferencing, instant messaging, and even the telephone, just to name a few; an advantage that their peers may not necessarily take advantage of by having everyone working in the office.
4. Leaders of Far-Flung Teams Maximize the Time their Teams Spend Together – that is, since the time the team actually spends together on location is limited, when they do get together the level of focused attention is higher than it might be otherwise.
I do not necessarily doubt the findings and opinions of this article, but my question is, was the candidate in the experience that I alluded to at the beginning of this blog right in his decision? Since we are dealing with a Civil Engineering consulting firm and considering that the candidate would be a full-time permanent employee with the title of Sr. Civil Engineer who is looking to continuously advance up the corporate ladder, I would say that, in as much as I was disappointed in the fact that he declined the offer, he was probably correct. And here is why:
1. Knowing the determination and intelligence of the candidate, he could have successfully handled the situation. But he felt that, especially with a new employer, he did not want to be perceived as a slacker. Even though he would have given 110%, his absence from the office could easily be mis-construed.
2. Part of his motivation for exploring a new opportunity was because in his current role, he lacked mentorship. Working from home for at least six months would limit the mentoring opportunities available to him.
3. Working from home for a large civil engineering consulting firm as a project engineer often makes it difficult to grab people, share ideas, ask questions, and bounce concepts off of peers and managers “on the fly.”
4. Out of sight, out of mind. Enough said.
Unless you are a regional or national business development executive who is jet-setting all week, or a technical engineer who is completely satisfied with maintaining a long-term technical engineering role with no real advancement, you are better off working at the office as opposed to remotely from home.
Does your firm allow for work-at-home opportunities on a regular basis? Have you been part of a positive work-from-home experience? Have you seen people fail in work-at-home situations with their employers? I look forward to hearing you share your thoughts and experiences on this topic as a civil engineer.
Finally, if you are on LinkedIn, please click on the following link to take our following “one-click” poll on this topic:
Authored by:
Matt Barcus
President, Precision Executive Search, Inc
Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com
View Matt’s profile & connect with him on LinkedIn
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
Taking Your Business to the Next Level
Featured Guest Blogger: Babette Ten Haken
Author, Do YOU Mean Business? Technical / Non Technical Collaboration, Business Development and YOU
Sales Aerobics for Engineers
Strategies and Toolkit for the Sales-Engineering Interface
Connect With Babette On Linkedin
Read The Sales Aerobics For Engineers Blog
Sole proprietors and very small A/E firms spend their early years struggling to stabilize cash flow while prospecting to win new business, facilitate output and invoice the client. It’s an endless cycle, with the same person or a few people wearing multiple hats. And when they are busy “doing” usually the “selling” process suffers, and vice versa.
No matter how much your business has grown, and how many layers of infrastructure you’ve developed, generating and maintaining revenue stream is what it’s all about.
All businesses get “stuck” on a plateau of input, throughout, output and client mix: the formula that got them to where they are today but may not be enough to sustain them in the future. How can you build out your current successful business development platform so you remain nimble in the marketplace and poised to take your company to the next level?
1. Incorporate relevant trigger events into prospecting.
A/E firms are already tuned in to reporting sites listing news about building expansion, property development and municipal funding, to name a few areas of opportunity. These traditional areas of prospecting can be supplemented by gaining greater proficiency in Web search. Using alternative search engines, search methods, and terms can help your company identify “trigger events” or additional, relevant information about your industry and clientele. Sam Richter’s book, “Take The Cold Out of Cold Calling – Web Search Secrets” (www.samrichter.com) is an indispensable resource for sales and business development professionals seeking to differentiate their deliverables. Why prospect using the same information as your competition?
2. Help your clients build their businesses.
Your clients use the Internet to research your company, as well. Often sellers aren’t invited to sit down with prospective clients until the client creates their shortlist of potential vendors. So your business development person may enter the scene after your prospect has made decisions about the project. How can your company differentiate itself from the other “problem-solvers” or “consultative sellers” who are out there competing in your space? Is your website a billboard or “informational?” Do you offer White Papers or Press Releases which are up to date? Are you using social media? Prospects may not all be technical, don’t want to read your website from cover to cover, and need to understand the relevance of unlabeled photo portfolios. Website and media content should establish an initial – and valuable – dialogue with your customers that goes beyond problem solving. Help them understand how doing business with your company makes their company more robust.
3. Look at yourself from your clients’ perspective.
Connect yourself to your company’s revenue stream. Many companies develop a great workflow infrastructure for handling won business. However, that infrastructure would be non-existent if it weren’t for the BD folks identifying these opportunities and the clients funding your output. Look at yourself from the outside looking in, as your potential clients see you, rather than from the inside looking out. While you are responsible for the A to Z of your job description, your clients have a bigger context into which they place your company. They only are interested in how your company’s A to Z impacts their company’s A to Z. How are you, and your company, helping your clients answer the question: What’s In It For Me?
4. Treat internal colleagues like they are prospects, because they are.
Make your vertical structure more horizontal; poke holes in departmental silos. Depending on where we sit around the table, we see the same things differently. Just as vendors have Lunch and Learn sessions to inform companies about new products and services, start a Lunch and Learn group at your company. These sessions place everyone’s role into the broadest possible cross-functional context. It literally pays to have everyone on the same page. What insights can your business development folks provide for your project engineers on the types of issues and questions they hear from current and prospective clients? How might your business development folks benefit from listening to how their inaccessibility impedes workflow and profitability? Everyone’s communicating this company-wide A to Z, and not just the one defined by the scope of their job description, may become the competitive differentiator your company is looking for.
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
The Brazilian Infrastructure Boom
Matt Barcus
President, Precision Executive Search, Inc
Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com
View Matt’s profile & connect with him on LinkedIn
It was not too long ago that the infrastructure and construction boom in the UAE and the surrounding Gulf Region was all the rage. Take a look at this segment from a Discovery Channel special on Dubai to see what I am talking about:
Over the course of my conversations with civil engineering professionals I always like to ask what their take is of the marketplace and how things are going in their regions and where they see the next big area of growth (from both a disciplinary and geographical perspective). Over the course of the past week or so I have spoken with engineering professionals and executives at numerous consulting firms who alerted me to the fact that Brazil is booming and the demand for new and upgraded infrastructure is strong; as a result, they had recently, or were in the process of, setting up shop there. Now, that same demand can be said for the US as well, but as you well know, the Federal government all the way down to local municipalities are so strapped for cash that nothing much is being accomplished when it comes to improving our infrastructure. So while we sit around with our hands tied as our interstate highway system is at or exceeding capacity, while more and more US bridges become structurally deficient, and while the concept of a US high-speed rail system continues to receive much scrutiny and criticism, Brazil has a World Cup to host in 2014 and an Olympic Games to host in 2016; can you imagine the beating that their infrastructure will take (even if it is only for small period of time)? And with these major events come a true sense of urgency for all things infrastructure …and more importantly, the deep pockets to support them! Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) will likely lend $29B for infrastructure in 2012, and the Brazilian government is projected to spend $25.3B on their national rail network alone by 2014.
With the onslaught of visitors expected, the infrastructure will need to meet the demands. Airport expansions are underway often with monorail systems; construction of hotels, stadiums, commercial and retail centers is booming; rail, urban transit systems and traditional highway and roadway projects are abundant, and there is a healthy investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. And, according to an October 2011 article on Investopedia.com,
“The sporting events are just the beginning to Brazil’s infrastructure build-out. Last year, outgoing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, launched a $900 billion infrastructure plan which focused on improving transportation, electrical supply and the nation’s ports. Similarly, current President Dilma Rousseff, has also pledged to improve infrastructure via massive public works plans.”
With all of the investment in infrastructure, Brazil will be poised for economic growth for generations to come.
If it hasn’t already been pounded into your head by now, we are a global economy and as opportunities arise in overseas markets for a struggling civil engineering and construction community here in the US, why not take advantage of these types of opportunities? What has YOUR company done to get a piece of that pie? And from a career standpoint – if you are looking for adventure, what a great opportunity!
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
Understand Your Clients’ Motivations – Part 2
Featured Guest Blogger: Babette Ten Haken
Author, Do YOU Mean Business? Technical / Non Technical Collaboration, Business Development and YOU
Sales Aerobics for Engineers
Strategies and Toolkit for the Sales-Engineering Interface
Connect With Babette On Linkedin
Read The Sales Aerobics For Engineers Blog
[This is the second of a two-part series. Part 1 was posted on 1/23/2012 on the Sales Aerobics for Engineers® blog. Click here to read it! http://bit.ly/wDZE3S ]
Do we really understand each other?
If you are a civil or other type of engineer involved in the sales process (which means all of you), or if you are a business development professional working for a civil engineering firm, sometimes client relationships really frustrate us!
Part 1 of this two-part series addresses what happens when our clients “go away” or disappear after what we feel is a sure-fire, slam-dunk win for us. A lot of time, it’s because we make assumptions about the way the sales close is progressing. From our perspective, not theirs.
Why else might our clients disappear during the business development or design/engineering process? Just when we thought we had them from “hello!”
One reason we are frustrated is that our customers do not make decisions in a straight line.
The straightest path towards winning business for your company is not that straight line. Of course you spoke with the CEO, another civil engineer, or their company’s business development professional, and said all the stuff you were supposed to say, created empathy and “connected”, determined what their focus and priorities were, and their timeline and budget for making the decision to do business with your company. So the next logical step should be to ask for their business and sign that contract.
Except it never quite happens that way, the majority of the time. Because there are a ton of other factors impacting your client’s ability to give you the thumbs up. And they are never going to share these factors with you, no matter how well you know them, how frequently you golf with them, no matter how many interesting bits of information you share with them.
Our customers do not make decisions the same way we do.
So while your company may have sold you on “how great they are” as a solutions provider, you are not the one making that decision to sign that contract, are you? Clear the business development process of all of your own biases and baggage. You bring a lot of “you” into the business of winning business for your company. Identify a number of potential, sometimes illogical, and certainly not straightforward, paths your customer may take on their way to signing that contract.
Consider their revenue stream and prior years’ profit margins, the number of projects and commitments they already have on their own plate, the human assets on board to oversee and manage projects, the cost of logistics and raw materials, whether they have a diverse presence in the marketplace or whether they rely on a niche market. Where does your design solution fit into their overall business and market mix? How does your design solution solve a current business priority? (Hint: this is not the same as solving a discrete project’s needs)
We are too myopic in our client relationships. It’s not about you and them. It’s about you in relation to them and their business universe.
Where do you fit into their constantly shifting, dynamic business universe? Something to think about, isn’t it?
civil engineering jobs :: civil engineering resumes :: civil engineering blog :: civil engineering discussion
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