May marks the beginning of “procurement season.”
Most States have concluded their legislative sessions, bond referendums have passed or are on the ballot, and AEC firms across the country are gearing up for competition.
Let the best firms win!
So, that’s the hard part. What makes your company the best these days?
Over the past twenty years, I have coached AEC teams to prepare for hundreds of interviews. I have also interviewed and debriefed dozens of public and private sector owners about how firms approach interviews. In fact, in 2018, Smartegies published the first Owners Buyers Survey (https://smartegies.com/architects-engineers-contractors-owners-really-think-sales-marketing-efforts/) for the public sector and institutional owners, where they speak their minds about what’s essential when marketing your firm.
Through my interactions with presenters and selection committees, I have learned that most buyers feel the AEC community looks like a “sea of sameness.” This is the case because so many great AEC brands now deliver excellent customer experiences that it’s harder to differentiate your firm from other great companies. In addition, the AEC buyer is becoming more sophisticated. Therefore, it takes more than technical preeminence, relationships, and customer service to win the interview today.
So, what am I seeing these days that is working? Here are a few tips to ponder as you prepare for your next interview.
01. Know your buying committee. Understanding your audience is a critical first step in preparing for your interview. Consultant selections are rarely left to one individual. I would be filthy rich if I had a dollar for every time a client said, “it’s ours to lose,” because they felt their relationships on the committee would drive the decision, only to find out the votes didn’t go as expected.
02. Understand your position. Are you the incumbent or the challenger? If you are the incumbent, you may have an existing relationship or advantage over your competitors. Others may see you as the “team to beat.” As the incumbent, you must convince the selection committee that going with a firm you are less familiar with is a greater risk. In the challenger position, your goal should be to convince the selection committee that staying with the incumbent yields less benefit than having a fresh perspective. All parties would be considered equal contenders when an incumbent is not present.
03. Change the narrative. My clients occupy different positions on the shortlists. Sometimes they are the team to beat, but often they are the underdog. Suppose all the shortlisted firms come to an interview and talk about the same things, which we have already established that most firms do. It is difficult for selection committees to remember differences between the firms after hearing from multiple teams in back-to-back interviews. Challenge yourself to make your pitch unique and frame your story differently. For your next interview, go beyond the script of, “Our Team, Our Approach, Ideas for Your Project, and Why Us?” Listen to Episode 3: The Art of the Pitch (https://smartegies.com/podcasts/duocast-2/) from Season 1 of AEC Marketing for Principals podcast (https://smartegies.com/podcast/) to learn more.
04. Rehearse. It’s that simple. The more your team practices, the better they will be on interview day. Public speaking is one of the most common fears people have. The more time you allow your people to get comfortable with their part of the pitch, the better they will perform and the more confident they will be.
I hope this helps you crush the competition this season. Newsletter #4 is in the books! Expect the next one around this time next month.
