In order to have any control over your work environment and assignments, you have to move onto and then up the management ladder in your firm; this requires that you market – and market successfully. This is particularly true for anyone who has hopes of becoming a principal in his or her firm.
Unfortunately, we often see that technical staff members are afraid of marketing, in large part because they fear the unknown and they think they never market. In fact, many fine technical folks choose to remain on a senior technical track simply to get out of having to be part of any “scary” marketing activities.
But, as marketers know, anyone at project manager, senior technical or higher level actually performs marketing tasks every single day. It’s just that nobody ever told them these tasks are actually marketing!
This session begins to reduce or remove the fears that technical staff often have when told they must participate in a marketing activity. This is accomplished by:
n Talking about many of the things that technical staff already do on an almost daily basis that are actually marketing activities;
n Explaining, and hopefully eliminating, many of the “myths” of marketing to reduce the factors that create the fear of participating;
n Explaining why a “cold call” should never happen, and providing several alternative methodologies to “warm up” marketing calls; and
n Developing the concept of pursuing clients rather than pursuing projects, and explaining the special contribution that only technical people can make to this effort.
We talk about concepts such as “everybody markets,” the 15- to 30-second “elevator speech,” the value of processes such as Go/No Go, and many of the mindsets you have to develop to be a successful marketer. In addition, attendees will get a chance to discuss some of the marketing activities they have tried, successful or not, and share lessons learned.
Bernie Siben
Bernie Siben, CPSM, has a B.A. in Liberal Studies (focusing on Communications) and 31 years of experience in strategic planning and marketing production activities for A/E and related firms, including the development of strategic marketing plans and the management, hands-on design and production of marketing, public relations and technical print materials. His experience includes more than 20 years at various management levels. He has developed brochures and pamphlets, Letters of Interest, SOQs, technical proposals, SF 254/255s and 330s, and statistical yearbooks. His SOQs and proposals have encompassed streets and highways; water and wastewater utilities; railroads and mass transit; airports, seaports and related passenger and freight terminals; water quality and hydrologic and hydraulic studies; asbestos abatement; land planning and development; park and corporate campus planning and development; environmental support for wetlands and other permits; and full-service A-E projects, including both specific assignments and Indefinite Delivery contracts. In addition to extensive article writing for the SMPS Marketer magazine, the ZweigWhite A/E Marketing Letter and other industry periodicals, he recently completed a book on A/E marketing to the public sector called “A Horse of a Different Color: Marketing in the Public Sector,” which was published by PSMJ Resources (www.psmj.com).
