Dear Client: Do You Intend To Hire Us?

In the world of business development, little tweaks in your approach can really go a long way. Actually, I like to refer to them as hacks. Here’s one that will help you close the deal! Over at Neuromarketing, they posted about the power of asking the client to give a prediction on whether they’ll hire […]

When Is The Best Time To Post a Blog?

I really like what Dan Zarrella, over at Hubspot, does. He uses very large data collections to make conclusions about the “science of social media.” I’ve seen his presentations and I really love his scientific approach. According to Dan: [quote]I also make the point that my results are based on huge aggregates of thousands, millions, […]

15 Grammar Goofs That Make Your Marketing Look Silly

It wasn’t until I got into the A/E/C marketing world that I learned how poor my writing really was.  Comparatively speaking, it was outstanding from the get go. But once I realized how critical writing is to this job, I raised the standards I set for myself. As a result, I spent a great deal […]

Become a YOUtility

Jay Baer perfectly defined a concept  you’ve heard from many people including me, Ford Harding, Tim Klabunde, Mel Lester, Mark Buckshon, etc. You succeed in business development by becoming a YOUtility. I think the term nails the concept (no pun intended). I’ve always found it a little hard to explain, especially to technical folks. The […]

Make Your WordPress Site Lightning Fast

I know many people in the A/E/C industry use WordPress for their corporate site (including me). Wouldn’t you love it to be lightning fast? One of the key plug-ins I use to speed up my WordPress sites is W3 Total Cache. I first learned about it from Brian Hill. Alex Denning over at Noupe wrote […]

The Secret To Starting Great Conversations At Networking Events

One industry professional that continuously impresses me is Tim Klabunde. Granted, I haven’t used Adobe After Effects in many years. But I remember looking at it and thinking, “I certainly don’t have time to learn this!” But I guess somewhere between transitioning to his new role as Principal of Structural Engineering Group and running DCN, […]

Is Your Firm Stealing Your Rolodex?

I have a question for you. I never understood people who hesitate to share info on their contacts with their firm. The way I see it is there is nobody in my address book whose address and phone number can’t be bought. With sites like Jigsaw.com, association directories, and businesses who sell lists of industry […]

Your A/E/C Social Media Intervention

Please have a seat.  This is an intervention. We’re here because we love you and would like to say a few things about your social media use. First, you signed up for LinkedIn. Hey, we did it too. We see nothing wrong with that. And if that was were you stopped, we wouldn’t be here. […]

What I Use: Matt Handal’s Favorite Gear and Tools

Lifehacker did this great series on hardware and software used by each of their writers. It sounds lame, but I found it very compelling. What I found was a few amazing tools that I had no idea existed. So, I decided to do my own. Maybe there are some things I use that you didn’t […]

Why Your Architecture or Engineering Firm May Become a Small Business on March 12th

If your firm works on government projects, there is some news that you need to know. The federal government is changing their definition of “small business” for architecture and engineering firms. These new definitions take effect on March 12th and they may have a significant impact on your business. The changes have to do with […]