RAISING THE SALES & MARKETING BAR
It’s what we do.
When you are selling a professional service, what really sets you apart from your competitors? Many of our clients say it’s their expertise and their responsiveness. That may very well be true, but can you prove it? Let’s be honest, it’s really difficult to prove that your engineers are smarter than the engineers who work for your competitors. Or, that your architect is more creative than other architects. At Smartegies, we offer a wide-array of services from branding and website design to proposal production and interview coaching. In a nutshell, what we do is help our clients win new business, attract top talent and raise visibility for their brand.
SMART STRATEGIES THAT HELP YOU WIN
TOO BUSY TO MARKET?
Think again.
Is your backlog starting to concern you? If you’re like most of our clients, you are probably really busy right now, so a diminishing backlog may not be the highest priority at the moment. Most of our clients have more work than they can do. Their clients are growing so they are, too. Some have had to open offices in new cities to support their local projects. Others have had to hire new employees or acquire firms to keep up with the workload. What do you think would be the last thing on their minds? Marketing. But, we have some really smart clients who know that the construction industry is cyclical, and all of these new investments they have made have to be supported when the next downturn comes. That’s where we come in. We help our clients develop marketing strategies that bring awareness to their brand, teach their “doers” how to “sell,” and get their message to their target audiences. Our clients are investing marketing dollars now, so the results will be there when they will need it the most in the future.
MANAGE YOUR BRAND
Or blend in with the rest.
Chances are good that when you are asked, “what is your favorite brand of (fill in the blank)?” the blank is usually a type of product. Seldom do people ask, “What is your favorite brand of professional services?” While the question may not be asked that way, the question is being asked all the time. Buyers of professional services are always looking for the company or brand that brings the best expertise to a project. Potential employees are always evaluating a company’s reputation when deciding where to work. For example, what companies in your field are known for being sweatshops? Who do you think is the leading authority on IPD? Who are the national healthcare design firms? You may not have had direct experience with all of the companies who came to mind, but somehow they still came to mind. Our evidence-based branding process will help you understand the current market perceptions of your brand, your strongest attributes and how to position your brand effectively in the market place.
PLEASE DON’T LOSE IT IN THE INTERVIEW.
Now is the time to hire a professional.
You’ve been short-listed for a project you have been chasing for over a year. You understand what the client is looking for. You have built a great relationship with the members of the selection committee. If you counted up the man-hours you have spent courting the client, doing preliminary “concept” work and giving the marketing team the content they need for your proposal and presentation, you have probably spent a good chunk of money. But, it’s all worth it because this one is “yours to lose.” Sound familiar? It pains us when we see companies struggle through this process.
The bottom line is that most professionals in the built environment went to school to learn a technical skill. Most of our clients did not set out to become sales people, public speakers or stand-up comedians. But now, you’ve been called on to “perform” in an interview. There is probably one or two in your firm who know the client or who has been tracking the project. These lucky people get to stop their billable work to put together a winning presentation, another skill they have no training in. We make this process a whole lot easier on our clients. We have developed hundreds of winning presentations for developers, architects, engineers, interior designers, contractors, real estate brokers, law firms and other service providers. We work with our clients to understand the key project issues and drivers. We then dissect our clients’ true points of difference and come up with a unique presentation theme. Next, we develop the presentation framework and assist with the development of the presentation content. We work with our client’s in-house marketing team or use our in-house graphic designers to develop presentations and leave behind materials that stand apart from the competition. Lastly, we coach each presenter to make the delivery of his/her part in the presentation as effective as possible.
