A/E/C Marketing Advice, Training, and Support Group
Sure, you’ve submitted countless proposals. You’ve certainly won and lost your share of competitions. But do you really know whether your proposals are any good? There is a great episode of 30 Rock where Jon Hamm plays Tina Fey’s new boyfriend who she learns is “living in a bubble.” Everybody compliments what he does and […]
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I see it all the time. People go to networking events and immediately give people a reason to distrust them. And worst of all, they have no idea they are doing it. So, I’m going to explain what this mistake is and give you an easy way to avoid it. But first, let me tell […]
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It never fails. People always make the same stupid mistake. They assume that extroverts have an advantage when it comes to sales. Worse yet, since they are not extroverts, they assume they don’t have what it takes to sell. So what do they do? They go out and hire an extrovert to sell for them. […]
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Email is the primary form of communication in the business world. But the business letter is still around. Eventually, you’ll have to write one. But you might not remember how to put one together. Don’t worry, I got you covered. I’m proud to announce BusinessLetter.co (yes, .com was taken). This site reminds you how to […]
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Many years ago, I was on the phone with Tim Klabunde (now with Timmons Group) and he said something that probably changed my life. Today, I sent Tim an email that said: “You’re gonna love this…” The email contained a link to an article printed in the New York Times entitled, “Is Giving The Secret […]
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It’s been a while since I gave you something that was truly, mind numbingly, awesome! OK, FancyHands was close…but you had to pay for that. But what I have for you today takes the cake. Let me explain… CRM…Urggg! CRM is obviously a huge frustration in our industry. A few years ago, I even got […]
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We’ve all been there in one time or another. We ask for something important and either we don’t get it or we get it way too late. Why do they do that? Is it because they are inconsiderate jerks who just don’t get it? Maybe. But maybe there are other, more plausible, reasons. Let’s look […]
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Wally Zimolong over at Supplemental Conditions posted a piece about federal bid protest statistics. There were a few statistics in the report that I thought were pretty telling. First off, the number of formal bid protests rose almost 50% between 2008 and 2012. But the statistic that stayed consistent was also pretty disturbing. Over 40% […]
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Some people think proposal competitions are all the same. We compete and whomever had the best relationship wins. These people are wrong. This is because the type of procurement has a dramatic effect on the proposal competition. Let’s look at a few procurement types and discuss what effect they have. Low Bid Low bid or […]
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Remember those old choose your own adventure books? You would read a passage and which page you would turn to depended on which decision you would make. Well, proposals aren’t choose your own adventure books! Someone will evaluate your proposal. For the love of God, do not make that person’s job hard. Address every single […]
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I provide helpful advice to marketers in the architecture, engineering, and construction world.
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