Imagine starting a business that specializes in building tiny houses. Potential new customers are contacting you daily. Two of your children have joined you, and the business has grown. So far, all business leadership aspects have been handled within the family; however, because the enterprise has grown so rapidly, no one really has the business acumen to take it to the next level. In addition, you are now 60 years old and wondering if the pieces are really in place for the tiny house empire to fund your retirement and continue to provide a means of support for family members.

This is a common problem for family-owned businesses in construction and other industries. It is not easy for many people running successful family-owned businesses to take those next steps because they don’t see a reason to break out of the mold that has brought them success. But regardless of whether the family’s intent is to position the business for an eventual sale or keep it in the family for years to come, succession planning is crucial.

A white paper published by Abbott Downing in 2012, “Preparing for Family Business Transitions,” evaluated successful transitions of family businesses and noted several key factors that they had in common. Owners of successful and sustainable family businesses realized the need for succession planning and began to develop a written business/succession plan at least three to five years before an expected business transition. They did not wait until the originating family member was on the verge of retirement. They communicated a clear vision and understanding of the succession plan with family members and other backers. The business owner evaluated all of his or her roles in the business and considered whether they could be absorbed by one person or should be assigned to multiple people. The families thought carefully about areas of possible conflict and developed methods of conflict resolution. Each family built a successful transition team and identified “next-level” managers able to move the business forward.

While all elements of these plans proved to be important, one key factor was the families’ choice of next-level managers. They are experienced individuals who have worked for entities at the next financial level and who understand what it will take to move a business forward. This is a difficult decision, especially when no clear choice exists for an individual with the business acumen necessary to advance the company. The best next-level manager or CEO may come from outside the family, and from outside existing management.

An option for a forward-thinking owner is to groom a family member or other manager within the organization to provide next-level leadership. One company that has been tackling these issues is Miles Fiberglass, a small family business whose next-level leaders are second-generation family members. Lori Miles-Olund, president and next-in-line CEO, and daughter of Lowell Miles, the company’s founder and current CEO, stated that succession planning has been one of the company’s greatest challenges. Miles Fiberglass is already working with third-generation family members to groom them for management positions in the company.

Making sure that leadership is passed to qualified individuals as opposed merely to family members who are next in line, getting the next generation ready to take over leadership roles, and viewing them as businesspeople with the leadership skills to do so (rather than as grown-up family members) can be difficult. Grooming younger family members for future leadership positions may involve providing them additional education or perhaps an externship with another organization to develop needed business skills.

Miles Fiberglass has a list of rules for younger family members before they can work for the company. They must have a four-year degree or an associate’s degree with two years of experience outside of the company. If the family member doesn’t have a degree, then he or she must have five years of successful work experience outside of the company. Family members cannot work for their parent, and younger members, regardless of their degree, must start at the bottom and work up.

Another company that is managing these issues is Interstate Roofing. Shelley Metzler and Brad Satran, sister and brother, purchased the company from their father, its founder, seven years ago. They grew up in the business and worked from the ground up.

Shelley worked for another roofing company while in college, and then for a manufacturing company that allowed her to gain insight into running a business. She served on the National Roofing Contractors Association’s board, and learned about an educational program called Future Executives Institute (FEI), which is a comprehensive educational course focused on leading and managing a roofing business. The extensive course offered through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management includes course work in areas that are essential to running a small business operation, including management, leadership, strategic planning, human resources, financial management, sales and marketing, roofing industry issues, risk management, family relationship/succession and personal skills development.

Shelley attributes the educational opportunity to providing the groundwork that she and Brad needed to move into next-generation leadership roles in their business. Here in the Northwest, Oregon State University’s Austin Family Business Program provides education similar to what is offered at the Kellogg School.

In addition to choosing the next-level leader, successful and healthy succession plans for family businesses will also review the leadership pipeline for crucial lower-level management positions. These are key, difficult-to-fill positions in established departments. Miles Fiberglass has been working with Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) in its SMART Talent skills training program, in preparation for employees to take over some of the company’s lower-level management positions.

The reality is that many family businesses do not have viable family members to take over key positions at executive and other levels; help will have to come from outside of the family. Outside next-level leaders could become guardians while family members are groomed to eventually step into those roles. Thoughtful consideration now will strengthen a business and ensure that it is viable for future generations.

Jean Ohman Back, an employment attorney with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, has substantial experience serving clients in the manufacturing and technology industries.��She represents companies in a variety of employment advice and litigation situations.��Contact her at 503-796-2960 or jback@schwabe.com.

The post OP-ED: Choosing the next-level leader for a family business appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

(Editor’s note: This piece originally ran in the May 5, 2011 issue of the BrieflyLegal e-newsletter)

Between the recession and baby boomers choosing to work longer, a growing number of law firms are stepping away from the traditional pyramid structure, which features a small number of senior partners at the top, a larger number of mid-level attorneys and an even bigger base of new associates.

They are shifting instead to a structure that’s more diamond shaped, where senior associates and junior partners make up the bulk of the staff. The change is more a matter of natural evolution than conscious strategy for most firms, says Linda Green Pierce, president of Portland-based Northwest Legal Search Inc.

“I am seeing this kind of arrangement at law firms,” Pierce says, “and I think it’s largely due to the overall maturity of the legal industry and the population of the generations working in firms, including the boomer generation not retiring.”

She also points to other factors as possibly contributing to the switch, including sluggish growth in demand for legal services overall and lower levels of hiring those just out of law school over the last few years. Corporate clients are more willing to pay for the higher end expertise provided by senior associates and junior partners than foot the bill for training a new associate, according to Pierce.

In addition, the bulge in the middle of the diamond is comprised of mid-level attorneys trying to climb up through the ranks. “Partner tracks are longer so those people stay in the stomach of the snake longer instead of moving up the pyramid to become a partner,” she says
.
Lewis Horowitz, managing partner at Lane Powell, oversees the firm’s Portland and Seattle offices and says it has never been structured in the traditional pyramid shape.

“Our model has always been based on having more experienced attorneys,” he says. “It has its challenges, but we have found that model to be successful because clients often hate paying for associates with only a few years experience.”

The tough reality is that it’s expensive to hire the best and the brightest, and somebody ultimately has to pay for it. “If the market for first-year lawyers was $50,000 or $60,000 a year, it would be easier to hire more of them,” Horowtiz says.

So, then, how are young attorneys supposed to get experience if no one will hire them?

“This problem is no different from other professions,” Horowitz says, adding there are several entry-level tasks for which young associates are well-suited. “There is absolutely a role for them, but the idea of one partner keeping four associates busy is an outdated model.”

The post Organizing your law firm: diamonds dazzle but pyramids lose punch appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

On a recent tour of the Columbia Slough, Matt Grumm, a representative of Commissioner Dan Saltzman‘s office, asked why new environmental zoning shouldn’t be applied to the slough when a map showed the same zoning east and west of the area.

“Because sometimes you can’t tell what’s really going on from just looking at a map,” replied Peter Livingston, president of the Columbia Corridor Association, the organization that represents business interests along the slough.

The association is taking time out during a delay in the Airport Futures project – part of which includes strengthening environmental zoning along the slough – to show city councilors and others how nearby businesses would be affected. The CCA believes the tours have created a dialogue between businesses and the city.

As part of the Port of Portland’s efforts to update the airport’s comprehensive plan, the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has been charged with the task of strengthening nearby environmental zoning. Presently, everything 50 feet from the bank of the slough is considered to be in a conservation zone. If the proposed zoning were approved by City Council, the area would become a protection zone.

Under conservation zoning, future development and improvements are allowed in exchange for a set amount of mitigation or restoration work, but under protection zoning, neither is allowed. Businesses could operate as they do now, but expansions and improvements would be strictly prohibited.

“While 50 feet doesn’t seem like much on a map, the new zoning would affect several operating industrial businesses along the slough,” said Corky Collier, the Columbia Corridor Association’s executive director. “That’s what we came here to show you.”

A recent tour paused at the home of aluminum manufacturer Sapa Inc. The company wouldn’t be allowed to repave the fire escape path out its back door if the area were rezoned. The tour also stopped at the manufacturing facility of Hanset Stainless Inc., which would be allowed to replace an existing propane filling station. However, if the company were to grow, and needed to install a bigger one, then it would have to move it and rewire the entire building.

“They’ve told us throughout this entire process that you can keep doing what you’re doing,” Collier said. “But what businesses do is grow.

“It’s OK to discourage building on the side of the slough through mitigation. But don’t just disallow it.”

Probably the most glaring example of how the proposed zoning could affect businesses was Silver Eagle Manufacturing. The company recently received a contract to manufacture 48 fifth-wheel tactical trailers for the U.S. Army. Silver Eagle is almost at capacity on its Columbia Slough lot, according to Mike Williams, the company’s chief financial officer, so if the new zoning were in place, it would either have to move or decline the contract offer.

After concerns about these issues were raised by the association and other interest groups earlier in the process, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability staffers suggested a compromise of 25 feet of protection zone directly off the bank followed by 25 feet of conservation zone. But then the Planning Commission voted for the original plan.

City Council was set to vote on the proposed rezoning last week, or turn toward the compromise, but the Port of Portland is now waiting on the Federal Aviation Administration.

In an agreement with the city, port officials agreed to plant $1.8 million worth of trees along the slough and the Columbia Watershed because it isn’t safe for trees to be planted at the airport, said Chris Corich, Port of Portland project manager for the Airport Futures project. The problem is that FAA regulations prohibit spending money made at the airport on projects away from it, he said.

“(The FAA) is working through it and as soon as we get the go-ahead, we will move forward with the project,” he said.

In the meantime, the Columbia Corridor Association will continue to offer the tours. Mayor Sam Adams, all four city commissioners and a handful of city staffers have already taken the tour, so the association is now turning its attention to environmentalists. Among tour guests scheduled for later this week are: Mike Houck, director of the Urban Greenspace Institute; and Bob Sallinger, conservation director with the Audubon Society.

“So far the talks have gone pretty well,” Collier said. “We aren’t trying to hammer anything through here; we just want to make sure that they have the right questions in front of them.

“Now we are just waiting to find out if this is going to be actual dialogue or just a gesture.”

Some city staffers spoke highly of the tour.

“It was very useful,” Grumm said. “You can hear it and you can read the maps, but until you see it you just don’t know.”

The post Portland rezoning concerns business group appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Marketing With Your Whole Brain
Conducted by Carol Doscher of Graceworks
based on Whole Brain® Thinking, from Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Advantage

I love this stuff. I love learning how the brain works, what our preferences are for communicating and thinking and how to interact with all the folks who think differently from each other. Ask anyone who knows me – this is my element.

That also means I am familiar with a lot of the thinking that is out there on thinking. So when I sat in on this session, I was not too surprised that I had heard much of the information before from other sources.

Here’s the fast-food version of Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Thinking:

You’ve all heard of left-brain/right-brain, where the left brain controls the rational and analytical functions and the right brain handles creativity. Well, we also have “top/bottom” hemispheres. The top hemisphere, called the cerebral system, deals with higher-level thinking. The bottom hemisphere, called the limbic system, is more instinctive.

These two sets of hemispheres metaphorically divide the brain into four quadrants:

• A Quadrant – called the rational self = intellect coupled with analytical (the researchers, critical-thinkers, analyzers)
• B Quadrant – called the safe-keeping self = instinctual with analytical (the planners, the organizers, the people who get things done)
• C Quadrant – called the feeling self = creative with instinctive (sensitive to others, emotional, the teachers, talks a lot)
• D Quadrant – called the experimental self = creative and intellectual (imagines, risk-takers, breaks rules, synthesizers, brain-stormers)

Individuals may prefer one quadrant over the others in conducting their day-to-day activities. Or they may straddle two quadrants on a regular basis. Or they may float between three quadrants with relative ease.

A large part of the session was spent doing exercises to help identify individuals who prefer a particular quadrant, and how to interact between the quadrants. We eventually discussed how to tweak our messaging to reach each quadrant and elicit desired actions and responses. Overall, it was an excellent approach to tailoring our marketing efforts to specific audiences, and a reminder that we do not all think the same way.

To learn more about Whole Brain® Thinking, go to

The post Reaching your target audience requires your whole brain appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Speaker: Lee Slade, PE, Principal at Walter P. Moore

Marketing is not magic – it is a series of doing the right things, with some intentionality, to reach the goals you set. Mr. Slade shared good information on the current state of the economy and future outlook and then the strategies his firm has taken to thrive, despite the crises. I typed as fast as I could and still couldn’t get it all. Lots of good stuff here.

Economic situation

There is still no money to be lent; still high unemployment numbers; still high commercial space availability.

There are no “insulated” markets any more.

1. Healthcare – Major projects are on hold pending recovery of credit markets and investment portfolios of not-for-profit institutions.
2. Aviation – With business and leisure flying down, airports are postponing or canceling planned capital improvements.
3. Infrastructure – Stimulus may help, though many states are broke and DOTs are hoarding design work.

Pay attention to the Wall Street Journal financial economists. They report every month on several key indicators in the economy. If you look every couple of months, you will see the trends and forecasts and be able to make some good observations yourself about what might happen and when. Overall, it’s going to be a while before things get better – like 2013 or longer.

Newly emerging threats

• Incredibly price-sensitive clients
• New competition in core markets
• Financial trouble for clients = payment problems
• Firms, institutions, governments are cost poor and lack credit

So in the face of these pretty bleak numbers and uncertain future, Mr. Slade’s firm has implemented several programs aimed at focusing on the client and delivering quality service and products. Each of those programs stem from these five suggestions for the type of culture and leadership environment to make those changes happen.

5 Suggestions for Thriving

1. Stay Upbeat

Neither clients nor co-workers will be inspired by your negative attitude – nor will you.

• Celebrate the “silver linings.”
• Celebrate the success stories.
• Celebrate the ways your firm is getting better.

2. Renew Focus on Core Business & Clients

• Be the best
• Optimize delivery
• Reduce costs
• Add value
• Why focus??
• In a down economy – grow existing clients, service existing clients, provide value
• Sort your projects by profit – big profit at top and losers at bottom, draw a line at zero, analyze the bottom projects. What are the patterns? What can you change internally? Which clients should be trimmed?

3. Pay attention to your staff

Are staff nervous? What impression are they giving to their clients?

To motivate people in an economy that is highly unstable and perpetuates fear, leaders MUST:

• Practice emotional control
• Communicate exceptionally well, as listener and information source
• Lead with realistic optimism (Joe Takash, Business Consultant)

Take in to account the different generations:

• Boomers – forced to reconsider their exit strategy – reinvent yourself to make yourself indispensable
• Xers – shouldering the responsibilities of young families and big mortgages
• Millennials – may be reconsidering their commitment to the industry

4. Hone your business development capabilities.

• Simple plans
• Basic skills
• Value-based story telling
• Invest time
• It is no longer acceptable to beat on the boat and wait for fish to jump into the boat. Now is the time to develop the tools and talent to conduct exceptional business development.

The number one issue of the Chief Marketing Officer Council () is how to connect sales to the service experience. Focus on those sales and market types that buy what you do

The CMO’s number two issue is to improve accountability and performance of the marketing and sales function.

The third most important CMO issue is the use of customer data to improve decision-making (client service surveys).

Make every interaction with the client count. Every buying decision of the client will be informed by every previous interaction, from the receptionist to the service delivery to the exit. Then gather the client’s feedback through a formal service survey. They will tell you if you are giving them the experience they want or not.

• Legitimize business development as a viable career path (in addition to project management and technical)
• Some will swim. More will watch. Folks will self-select. Invest in the ones who rise to the top
• Make good go/no-go decisions – not in or ALL in?? Are you going to do all it will take to win this?
• Provide real-time coaching with real opportunities, no practice coaching. Work with the real opportunities on the table, and do it together.
• Don’t network. Instead, develop project pursuit partnerships. These are folks who will take an assignment from you to help win the work. You’re not looking for favors. You are looking for someone who will be “all in” with you.

5. Get into your hurry-up offense

• For sustainability, hurry up is a no-huddle rather than a 2-minute drill (football analogy)
• “Hurry up” means a heightened sense of urgency.
• Business development must become a board-level topic and not just at the 30,000-foot level. The board must be actively engaged in the pursuits, or at least in motivating and coaching the pursuit champions.
• The offense means actually doing what you have been talking about doing. It requires a new level of discipline: to do what it takes and be accountable to each other. You cannot wait to do business development after client needs are done. No more excuses.
• Build new accountability loops because the old ones aren’t working. What will it take to get people to do what they need to be doing on the agreed-upon schedule?
• The offense also means no room or time for turf wars. Teamwork rules. We have enough competition without providing it for ourselves.

Yes, business is rocky and the future looks dark for a while. Yet Mr. Slade was quite inspiring. There’s a difference between being blindly optimistic and being actively optimistic. I am a big proponent of doing everything I can to affect an outcome, then calmly letting the universe churn on it. Much of Mr. Slade’s comments fit along the same philosophy. Help yourself (and your company) to succeed. Do something, while you still can, calmly, rationally, and with intent.

The post How to thrive in a down economy appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Speaker: Lee Slade, PE, Principal at Walter P. Moore

Marketing is not magic – it is a series of doing the right things, with some intentionality, to reach the goals you set. Mr. Slade shared good information on the current state of the economy and future outlook and then the strategies his firm has taken to thrive, despite the crises. I typed as fast as I could and still couldn’t get it all. Lots of good stuff here.

Economic situation

There is still no money to be lent; still high unemployment numbers; still high commercial space availability.

There are no “insulated” markets any more.

1. Healthcare – Major projects are on hold pending recovery of credit markets and investment portfolios of not-for-profit institutions.
2. Aviation – With business and leisure flying down, airports are postponing or canceling planned capital improvements.
3. Infrastructure – Stimulus may help, though many states are broke and DOTs are hoarding design work.

Pay attention to the Wall Street Journal financial economists. They report every month on several key indicators in the economy. If you look every couple of months, you will see the trends and forecasts and be able to make some good observations yourself about what might happen and when. Overall, it’s going to be a while before things get better – like 2013 or longer.

Newly emerging threats

• Incredibly price-sensitive clients
• New competition in core markets
• Financial trouble for clients = payment problems
• Firms, institutions, governments are cost poor and lack credit

So in the face of these pretty bleak numbers and uncertain future, Mr. Slade’s firm has implemented several programs aimed at focusing on the client and delivering quality service and products. Each of those programs stem from these five suggestions for the type of culture and leadership environment to make those changes happen.

5 Suggestions for Thriving

1. Stay Upbeat

Neither clients nor co-workers will be inspired by your negative attitude – nor will you.

• Celebrate the “silver linings.”
• Celebrate the success stories.
• Celebrate the ways your firm is getting better.

2. Renew Focus on Core Business & Clients

• Be the best
• Optimize delivery
• Reduce costs
• Add value
• Why focus??
• In a down economy – grow existing clients, service existing clients, provide value
• Sort your projects by profit – big profit at top and losers at bottom, draw a line at zero, analyze the bottom projects. What are the patterns? What can you change internally? Which clients should be trimmed?

3. Pay attention to your staff

Are staff nervous? What impression are they giving to their clients?

To motivate people in an economy that is highly unstable and perpetuates fear, leaders MUST:

• Practice emotional control
• Communicate exceptionally well, as listener and information source
• Lead with realistic optimism (Joe Takash, Business Consultant)

Take in to account the different generations:

• Boomers – forced to reconsider their exit strategy – reinvent yourself to make yourself indispensable
• Xers – shouldering the responsibilities of young families and big mortgages
• Millennials – may be reconsidering their commitment to the industry

4. Hone your business development capabilities.

• Simple plans
• Basic skills
• Value-based story telling
• Invest time
• It is no longer acceptable to beat on the boat and wait for fish to jump into the boat. Now is the time to develop the tools and talent to conduct exceptional business development.

The number one issue of the Chief Marketing Officer Council () is how to connect sales to the service experience. Focus on those sales and market types that buy what you do

The CMO’s number two issue is to improve accountability and performance of the marketing and sales function.

The third most important CMO issue is the use of customer data to improve decision-making (client service surveys).

Make every interaction with the client count. Every buying decision of the client will be informed by every previous interaction, from the receptionist to the service delivery to the exit. Then gather the client’s feedback through a formal service survey. They will tell you if you are giving them the experience they want or not.

• Legitimize business development as a viable career path (in addition to project management and technical)
• Some will swim. More will watch. Folks will self-select. Invest in the ones who rise to the top
• Make good go/no-go decisions – not in or ALL in?? Are you going to do all it will take to win this?
• Provide real-time coaching with real opportunities, no practice coaching. Work with the real opportunities on the table, and do it together.
• Don’t network. Instead, develop project pursuit partnerships. These are folks who will take an assignment from you to help win the work. You’re not looking for favors. You are looking for someone who will be “all in” with you.

5. Get into your hurry-up offense

• For sustainability, hurry up is a no-huddle rather than a 2-minute drill (football analogy)
• “Hurry up” means a heightened sense of urgency.
• Business development must become a board-level topic and not just at the 30,000-foot level. The board must be actively engaged in the pursuits, or at least in motivating and coaching the pursuit champions.
• The offense means actually doing what you have been talking about doing. It requires a new level of discipline: to do what it takes and be accountable to each other. You cannot wait to do business development after client needs are done. No more excuses.
• Build new accountability loops because the old ones aren’t working. What will it take to get people to do what they need to be doing on the agreed-upon schedule?
• The offense also means no room or time for turf wars. Teamwork rules. We have enough competition without providing it for ourselves.

Yes, business is rocky and the future looks dark for a while. Yet Mr. Slade was quite inspiring. There’s a difference between being blindly optimistic and being actively optimistic. I am a big proponent of doing everything I can to affect an outcome, then calmly letting the universe churn on it. Much of Mr. Slade’s comments fit along the same philosophy. Help yourself (and your company) to succeed. Do something, while you still can, calmly, rationally, and with intent.

The post How to thrive in a down economy appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Ed Friedrichs, Keynote Speaker – Friedrichs Group
Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mr. Friedrichs shared a humorous and insightful approach on marketing and building business in this economy. He was articulate, thought-provoking and on target, in my opinion. Get your pen handy…

1. Is what you’re selling relevant to your client?
I cannot tell you how many times my technical professionals have asked me to pull together a brochure or statement of qualifications about all of the services we provide. Mr. Friedrichs said that this is not only a monumental waste of time for you, but a huge disservice to the client. They only want to know what you do that is relevant to solving their current problems. Narrow your focus to what needs they currently have, and you are well on your way to making a meaningful connection.

2. What do clients want?
Clients want you to see their issues from their point of view. You must own their problems as if they were your own. Understand their business, the threats to their security and which obstacles they must overcome to get their projects pushed forward. They want leadership. They do not want a “command and control” military general to come in and dictate how the project will go. They are looking for a collaborator who will include them and engage them in a meaningful way.

3. What is relevant to your client?

We spent a fair amount of time on this topic. And, of course, each bullet is more or less important to your specific client, depending on his or her current circumstances. But at some point, each bullet will come in to play. And no, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail, but think about exploring these topics with your clients the next time you meet with them.

• Timing – Think post-Enron world and the importance (to clients) of appearing to have shareholders’ value at heart. When to start a project may be influenced by this.
• Money – We all know lending has never been tighter. A consultant who can speak a lender’s language and help a lender be comfortable with the project risks and potential earnings will be gold (literally) to a client.
• Trust – We live in a suspicious culture. It takes much longer to build the level of trust and depth of relationship necessary to become the client’s preferred service provider.
• Amazing – One of the creative elements A/E/C firms brings to the table is an ability to come up with something the client never knew was possible. Flex those creative muscles towards solving one of the client’s problems.
• Generational differences – Are you talking to your clients the way they want to be talked to? Are you training your staff to adjust their style and pattern to meet the clients’?
• Sustainability – Go to the level where your clients are. If they are interested in sustainability, go there. If they are not, do not push it. If they are having questions internally about which direction to go, help educate them. But do not get ahead (or behind) the client’s view.

4. How do you differentiate yourself?
Each firm needs to create a unique, sustainable (as in able to be sustained) advantage over its competition. That advantage needs to be flexible enough to be adjusted and individualized to every pursuit and/or client. It isn’t something carved in stone for all time. It is adaptive, and it includes:

• Be true to yourself – Lead, don’t follow. Do what your firm does best, and be the best at it. Don’t mimic or imitate a competitor. You do not have the luxuries of time or money to get good enough at it to compete.
• Define a new need – Talk to your clients and find out what is troubling them that you could solve with existing services. They might not be aware that you provide that service, so listen for opportunities to introduce them to other facets of your capabilities. If you can solve it, they will come.
• Know the business you are in – If you are selling the work, you better know enough of what you are talking about to be credible. That means non-technical staff need to become conversant in the technical language, trends and issues. You do not need to be the expert, but you need to be able to speak with authority about what your firm does and does not do.
• Adopt “partners” to help you succeed – There are other firms in the industry trying to do exactly what you are trying to do with exactly the same clients but for different services. What if you pooled your resources, intelligence and strategy for a common pursuit? Stop treating your subconsultants as commodities and view them as teaming partners in winning (and keeping) work.
• Pursue “serial consumers” of what you do, not one-off projects – It takes far more time, energy and resources to win new work from new clients. Focus on the clients who have a variety of needs, and you can feed your firm with far less upfront effort.
• Work with people you like; like the people you work with – A brutal fact of our industry is that some clients are not great clients. Shed them. Be professional, be courteous, but get rid of them. Just like in school, it only takes a handful of class clowns to ruin a good lesson. Boot them.

5. How do you build a brand and culture of client-focused value?

So if you are going to focus on the client, and direct your services to the needs of the client, and be an advocate for the client… how do you set up the whole firm to function and think that way?

• Vocabulary – Each client speaks a slightly different language. Are they public or private? Rule-driven or creative? When you speak with them, dial in to their vocabulary usage, and you will learn a great deal about what they value.
• Language – Similarly, each client has a language that identifies their concerns or greatest strengths. Are they finance focused? Architecture focused? An engineer at heart? Answer their concerns with knowledgeable information, and it shows you hearing the language as well as the vocabulary.
• Answer all of their questions – When a client asks you something or for something, find out why. Usually there is a question behind the question or a question behind that. Answer them all.
• Become action oriented – For every internal and external meeting, when something needs to be done and assigned, state who will do it, what “it” is, and when it is to be completed. Sounds simple, but try to implement it at every meeting, and see who hides under the table when it is time to make assignments.
• Deliver value in small increments – All the time – you should be able to give the client something every time they meet with you (answer their questions, or tell them you’ll get back to them and then get back to them).
• Form strong partnerships – Get your experts as your partners.
• Access expert knowledge – Develop two degrees of separation from the world expert on any question your clients might ask. It doesn’t have to be you or someone in your firm. You just have to know who to ask and be willing to go there if the client requests it.
• Deliver service that your client values – Ask your clients, “What is it that we do for you that you think is the dumbest thing we do for you, that costs you money and that you don’t value?” And on the flip side, ask “What do you wish we would do that is really valuable to you?” Ask frequently because it changes all the time in the mind of the client.

Ultimately, our job is to listen so well to the client, and provide them with such targeted solutions and outstanding service, that they wouldn’t think of going anywhere else when they have a problem. That’s a Titanic undertaking. But incremental change and adjustment is key. Mr. Friedrichs ended with an explanation about how to turn a supertanker. Essentially, a smaller rudder works in tandem with the large rudder. The smaller rudder (called a pilot rudder) can be turned more easily against the pressures of the water. And turning the pilot rudder reduces the water pressures on the larger rudder so it can be turned more easily as well.

We are all pilot rudders, then, pushing aside what pressures we can to ease the way of the main rudder in the water. Getting the information about our clients, directly from them, is a major boost to that push.

The post What does your client want? appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Ed Friedrichs, Keynote Speaker – Friedrichs Group
Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mr. Friedrichs shared a humorous and insightful approach on marketing and building business in this economy. He was articulate, thought-provoking and on target, in my opinion. Get your pen handy…

1. Is what you’re selling relevant to your client?
I cannot tell you how many times my technical professionals have asked me to pull together a brochure or statement of qualifications about all of the services we provide. Mr. Friedrichs said that this is not only a monumental waste of time for you, but a huge disservice to the client. They only want to know what you do that is relevant to solving their current problems. Narrow your focus to what needs they currently have, and you are well on your way to making a meaningful connection.

2. What do clients want?
Clients want you to see their issues from their point of view. You must own their problems as if they were your own. Understand their business, the threats to their security and which obstacles they must overcome to get their projects pushed forward. They want leadership. They do not want a “command and control” military general to come in and dictate how the project will go. They are looking for a collaborator who will include them and engage them in a meaningful way.

3. What is relevant to your client?

We spent a fair amount of time on this topic. And, of course, each bullet is more or less important to your specific client, depending on his or her current circumstances. But at some point, each bullet will come in to play. And no, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail, but think about exploring these topics with your clients the next time you meet with them.

• Timing – Think post-Enron world and the importance (to clients) of appearing to have shareholders’ value at heart. When to start a project may be influenced by this.
• Money – We all know lending has never been tighter. A consultant who can speak a lender’s language and help a lender be comfortable with the project risks and potential earnings will be gold (literally) to a client.
• Trust – We live in a suspicious culture. It takes much longer to build the level of trust and depth of relationship necessary to become the client’s preferred service provider.
• Amazing – One of the creative elements A/E/C firms brings to the table is an ability to come up with something the client never knew was possible. Flex those creative muscles towards solving one of the client’s problems.
• Generational differences – Are you talking to your clients the way they want to be talked to? Are you training your staff to adjust their style and pattern to meet the clients’?
• Sustainability – Go to the level where your clients are. If they are interested in sustainability, go there. If they are not, do not push it. If they are having questions internally about which direction to go, help educate them. But do not get ahead (or behind) the client’s view.

4. How do you differentiate yourself?
Each firm needs to create a unique, sustainable (as in able to be sustained) advantage over its competition. That advantage needs to be flexible enough to be adjusted and individualized to every pursuit and/or client. It isn’t something carved in stone for all time. It is adaptive, and it includes:

• Be true to yourself – Lead, don’t follow. Do what your firm does best, and be the best at it. Don’t mimic or imitate a competitor. You do not have the luxuries of time or money to get good enough at it to compete.
• Define a new need – Talk to your clients and find out what is troubling them that you could solve with existing services. They might not be aware that you provide that service, so listen for opportunities to introduce them to other facets of your capabilities. If you can solve it, they will come.
• Know the business you are in – If you are selling the work, you better know enough of what you are talking about to be credible. That means non-technical staff need to become conversant in the technical language, trends and issues. You do not need to be the expert, but you need to be able to speak with authority about what your firm does and does not do.
• Adopt “partners” to help you succeed – There are other firms in the industry trying to do exactly what you are trying to do with exactly the same clients but for different services. What if you pooled your resources, intelligence and strategy for a common pursuit? Stop treating your subconsultants as commodities and view them as teaming partners in winning (and keeping) work.
• Pursue “serial consumers” of what you do, not one-off projects – It takes far more time, energy and resources to win new work from new clients. Focus on the clients who have a variety of needs, and you can feed your firm with far less upfront effort.
• Work with people you like; like the people you work with – A brutal fact of our industry is that some clients are not great clients. Shed them. Be professional, be courteous, but get rid of them. Just like in school, it only takes a handful of class clowns to ruin a good lesson. Boot them.

5. How do you build a brand and culture of client-focused value?

So if you are going to focus on the client, and direct your services to the needs of the client, and be an advocate for the client… how do you set up the whole firm to function and think that way?

• Vocabulary – Each client speaks a slightly different language. Are they public or private? Rule-driven or creative? When you speak with them, dial in to their vocabulary usage, and you will learn a great deal about what they value.
• Language – Similarly, each client has a language that identifies their concerns or greatest strengths. Are they finance focused? Architecture focused? An engineer at heart? Answer their concerns with knowledgeable information, and it shows you hearing the language as well as the vocabulary.
• Answer all of their questions – When a client asks you something or for something, find out why. Usually there is a question behind the question or a question behind that. Answer them all.
• Become action oriented – For every internal and external meeting, when something needs to be done and assigned, state who will do it, what “it” is, and when it is to be completed. Sounds simple, but try to implement it at every meeting, and see who hides under the table when it is time to make assignments.
• Deliver value in small increments – All the time – you should be able to give the client something every time they meet with you (answer their questions, or tell them you’ll get back to them and then get back to them).
• Form strong partnerships – Get your experts as your partners.
• Access expert knowledge – Develop two degrees of separation from the world expert on any question your clients might ask. It doesn’t have to be you or someone in your firm. You just have to know who to ask and be willing to go there if the client requests it.
• Deliver service that your client values – Ask your clients, “What is it that we do for you that you think is the dumbest thing we do for you, that costs you money and that you don’t value?” And on the flip side, ask “What do you wish we would do that is really valuable to you?” Ask frequently because it changes all the time in the mind of the client.

Ultimately, our job is to listen so well to the client, and provide them with such targeted solutions and outstanding service, that they wouldn’t think of going anywhere else when they have a problem. That’s a Titanic undertaking. But incremental change and adjustment is key. Mr. Friedrichs ended with an explanation about how to turn a supertanker. Essentially, a smaller rudder works in tandem with the large rudder. The smaller rudder (called a pilot rudder) can be turned more easily against the pressures of the water. And turning the pilot rudder reduces the water pressures on the larger rudder so it can be turned more easily as well.

We are all pilot rudders, then, pushing aside what pressures we can to ease the way of the main rudder in the water. Getting the information about our clients, directly from them, is a major boost to that push.

The post What does your client want? appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Mary Cruz, Director of Chapter Services from SMPS National facilitated the SMPS Volunteer Leadership Roundtable. I thought it was going to be a group of board members from various chapters discussing what was working/not working for them as board members. I had my own concerns about membership retention, recruiting committee members and staying engaged. The board meetings seem to be focused on day-to-day operations issues and less on policy and future growth.

What really happened was a 30,000-foot overview of the resources available to SMPS members at all volunteer levels. Apparently there is information about board management, planning and producing relevant programs and research on business development in the A/E/C industry. All this is available to members at the Web site. It includes best practices from other chapters with forms and templates for commonly-needed items.

I’ve been on the board five years, and had no idea. I have some homework to do.

We finished up the roundtable talking about how to make the case for SMPS membership in the face of dwindling financial resources at our companies. We even discussed how to advocate keeping marketing staff when times are lean.

At the risk of getting on a soapbox, here are some pretty compelling answers to those difficult scenarios:

For membership:

1. Frequent opportunities to engage with existing and potential clients in a non-threatening, and productive environment (through panels, on committees, as audience-members)
2. Access to best marketing practices, current market research, trend information and tips/tricks for edging out the competition that is not available through any other source
3. Contacts to any firm, any discipline, anywhere there is an SMPS member. What would you like to know about that job in Cincinnati? I can call someone and have an answer today.

For maintaining marketing/business development staff. (This is anecdotal – we shared many similar stories):

1. Compare the cost of a marketer doing what they do best with the cost of a technical professional doing the same task(s). Then double the amount of time it takes that technical professional to do it. Then halve the probability that they will win the project. This is the price difference between having a dedicated marketer and not having one.
2. Take the typical technical professional to a conference. When they return, ask them what they learned that will help the firm earn money or who they spoke to who has projects we might be interested in. More than 70 percent of the technical professional’s retention of conference events will be focused on the technical content. Less than 5 percent will be on client contacts and future work. Put a marketer or business development person through the same scenario, and you will have five or more project and client leads for every day they attended.
3. Someone is talking to your clients about the services the client needs. If you want the business, it had better be someone from your company who is knowledgeable and trained in closing the deal.

Later, I found an interesting article on the Web: .��

The post SMPS online resources you might not know about appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Mary Cruz, Director of Chapter Services from SMPS National facilitated the SMPS Volunteer Leadership Roundtable. I thought it was going to be a group of board members from various chapters discussing what was working/not working for them as board members. I had my own concerns about membership retention, recruiting committee members and staying engaged. The board meetings seem to be focused on day-to-day operations issues and less on policy and future growth.

What really happened was a 30,000-foot overview of the resources available to SMPS members at all volunteer levels. Apparently there is information about board management, planning and producing relevant programs and research on business development in the A/E/C industry. All this is available to members at the Web site. It includes best practices from other chapters with forms and templates for commonly-needed items.

I’ve been on the board five years, and had no idea. I have some homework to do.

We finished up the roundtable talking about how to make the case for SMPS membership in the face of dwindling financial resources at our companies. We even discussed how to advocate keeping marketing staff when times are lean.

At the risk of getting on a soapbox, here are some pretty compelling answers to those difficult scenarios:

For membership:

1. Frequent opportunities to engage with existing and potential clients in a non-threatening, and productive environment (through panels, on committees, as audience-members)
2. Access to best marketing practices, current market research, trend information and tips/tricks for edging out the competition that is not available through any other source
3. Contacts to any firm, any discipline, anywhere there is an SMPS member. What would you like to know about that job in Cincinnati? I can call someone and have an answer today.

For maintaining marketing/business development staff. (This is anecdotal – we shared many similar stories):

1. Compare the cost of a marketer doing what they do best with the cost of a technical professional doing the same task(s). Then double the amount of time it takes that technical professional to do it. Then halve the probability that they will win the project. This is the price difference between having a dedicated marketer and not having one.
2. Take the typical technical professional to a conference. When they return, ask them what they learned that will help the firm earn money or who they spoke to who has projects we might be interested in. More than 70 percent of the technical professional’s retention of conference events will be focused on the technical content. Less than 5 percent will be on client contacts and future work. Put a marketer or business development person through the same scenario, and you will have five or more project and client leads for every day they attended.
3. Someone is talking to your clients about the services the client needs. If you want the business, it had better be someone from your company who is knowledgeable and trained in closing the deal.

Later, I found an interesting article on the Web: .��

The post SMPS online resources you might not know about appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.