Another great question posed by blog reader Amy A. She has 20+ years of experience with other firms and 4+ years as a sole proprietor; I’m sure we all relate well.
She recently went to an interview on a project she really wanted to get for her firm and believed she could do well at. By her good fortune, the referral source was also in on the interview and was able to offer some feedback: two main points:
- “Discounted” the 20+ years of experience as the work was done for someone else
- “Current firm work” is renovation/addition, no pure “new construction”
Amy’s question is “how have other architects addressed these types of client concerns?”
Over the years I have developed my own “style” of describing architectural services, the design and construction process, and how my firm can do a great job of helping the client. Typically the “sales” part of the presentation is more a question, answer, and discussion; that when it goes well, the client “sells” him/her self on my firm. What I really like about this approach is the old “you can bring a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” analogy. Even if I were the best sales person in the world, I like having trust on my side for starters rather than dealing with a client who develops “buyers' remorse” shortly after the contract is signed. Life’s too short for that kind of noise.
How and or what do other architects see as the key point to address Amy’s situation? How does your perception of “what architects do” help or hurt in the current economy and project outlooks?
- Lisa Stacholy, AIA
Comments (3)
Excellent suggestions; let me add on to Bud's "Selling Benefits" concept.
(of course, adapt this to your own situation)
Benefits to using LKS Architects:
1) Documented experience with this project type, then say and hand over part of the leave-behind materials; "here are our clients names/numbers".
2) Documented experience managing project budgets during design and into construction, suggesting further opportunities to make your dollars stretch "we call this serendipity, no matter how good a design is, it can always be better, we keep our eyes open".
3) Documented expertise in accomplishing project goals say "face it, it's not about my ego, or the ego my engineers and design team, it is about how well we as a team with you and the contractor can get from 'right here' to your 'opening day' and doing what YOU are good at doing".
Cheers!
Posted by Lisa Stacholy | August 25, 2009 4:25 PM
Posted on August 25, 2009 16:25
Have you seen the “Kohler architect’s commercial”? After giving the prospects a tour of his office (all white) and a glimpse of his portfolio (and the many “prestigious” awards won), the architect (dressed all in black of course) finally asks why the prospects have come to him. When the prospect asks the architect to design a home around a faucet, the architect has a perplexed and “are you kidding me” look on his face. Perhaps they all could have saved time and effort had the architect asked, prior to setting a meeting, what “can I do for you”. Let’s face it; selling is really about overcoming objections that a prospect may have. The sooner you uncover these objections, the better for everyone.
In Amy's case, the prospect had two significant objections that needed to be overcome. As a seller, you can't be dismissive about the objections. Rather, take the objections as insight into who the prospect is and what their concerns are. This is valuable information. The discounted experience objection indicates that the prospect didn't know what Amy was doing at her old firm and how that experience would be relevant to the prospect's project. Perhaps that experience would have been a way of addressing the "type of work" objection too.
Also, don't sell features (such as "process"). Rather, sell "benefits". In a selling situation, no one will buy a feature while everyone will buy a benefit. So I try to uncover what the prospect’s issues are, how those issues can be addressed and what benefits I can bring to the project. Let’s face it; no one buys a Mercedes Benz because it has four tires, an engine and some sheet metal. They buy it because it’s well built, comfortable, has higher status, etc.
So first you have to uncover the buyer's issues / concerns to learn what benefits they are looking for. To this end, ask a lot of questions and probe around until you find "where it hurts". This is easier than it seems as people love to talk about themselves and will tell you everything you need to know. After learning what their issues are, explain how you were able to solve a similar problem previously. Whether this was solved last week or 20 years ago makes no difference nor does it matter whether or not it was new construction or renovation. What does matter is that you, as an architect, can take away their pain / make their life better by using your skill and expertise to their benefit. And that’s really what you want to sell!
Posted by Bud Dietrich AIA | August 21, 2009 8:38 AM
Posted on August 21, 2009 08:38
Simple. Renovation is more difficult than new construction. You have to deal with historical problems as well as new demands. New construction is comparatively simple.
Second. focus on the customer and understanding what their issues are. When they are sure you understand and can mange their issues then you have a chance. If they won't tell their story its a beauty contest not an opportunity to sell.
Posted by Louis B Smith, AIA | August 19, 2009 2:28 PM
Posted on August 19, 2009 14:28