Writing time
For the past year, I've been writing most of the content for our Canadian publications. For the next couple of days, I'll be busy putting the pieces together for the October issues. Blog entries may be fewer and less frequent while I focus energies on the tasks at hand.
The good news is that we are now ready to hire a full-time staff writer/editor who I hope will be working by this time next month. We've posted the career opportunity on relevant job boards within Canada (journalism training/experience is required) and I will post the link later today once it is confirmed.

Success, again, is in your current client relations
I'm travelling today and tomorrow -- today I visited a successful general contractor in a relatively rural area of Southwestern Ontario; then travelled to a resort north of Toronto to attend part of the Ready Mixed Contractors Association of Ontario convention. Research and writing for these events will consume my energies for the next couple of days, so blogging will be lighter than normal (at least until Sunday).
But I want to share with you right now the powerful impressions I received at that general contractor -- where they are ready to take risks and expand their knowledge in areas of specialized expertise, but where they thrive because of their solid and natural client relationships.
When you work out in a relatively rural area, and want to do most of your business within a 100km radius of your office, you are not going to thrive by specializing in a narrow type of business niche -- you need to be a 'generalist' within your geography. And this means doing stuff that is often done by specialists; like water treatment plants, multi-story condo buildings, hospitals, and the like.
Now this diversification of course contains the seeds of both risk and opportunity -- risk in getting over your head in areas where you don't have competence; and opportunity, because you become relatively immune from market downturns because even in the most difficult times at least some of your knowledge/services will be in demand.
But how can you manage the risks effectively? Great relationships, is the answer.
For example, your project superintendent is so well liked on a conventional low-bid-wins-the-job project that the client, to avoid having to work with anyone else, accepts your proposal for a design-bid initiative.
Then your client has a job that requires expertise not in your normal range of skills. But you have an inside track; you can explain frankly to your client how you will overcome your lack of previous experience, and assure the client that if anything snags along the way, you will fix it. Your client trusts you, and gives the go-ahead.
So, next problem, you really don't know much about the specialized function. But you've conducted yourself properly previously with designers, architects, engineers, and consultants. Would they be willing to help guide you through the first job -- which, as it progresses, you can co-ordinate with your own understanding of the contracting business?
In other words, by really treating your clients right, you will understand the single most construction industry marketing lesson you can learn here or anywhere else. Great relationships, really incredible service, absolute integrity, and true sensitivity to the needs of your current clients will give you the edge in jobs and projects that, in a purely hard-ball environment, you wouldn't have a chance in a million to win.
And so the rural contractor grows at a comfortable, planned rate, year after year, and 'markets' through respect and integrity.
P.S. To write my story, I asked for testimonials. Within two minutes, the administrative assistant had brought out an inch-thick stack. This company has obviously earned its clients' respect -- and also knows that it is important to ask for testimonials when the job is well done.

Gatekeepers

The question on linkedin.com, "How do you get past the "gatekeeper" when trying to get into a company to find a person?" has attracted several responses that indicate some general themes and practices of salesmanship.

Henry Goudreau, HG Associates

The Measure Call


Marketing consultant Henry Goudreau in his CD Series advocates the use of the "Measure Call". This call/visit occurs after you've systematically qualified the initial lead and, Goudreau suggests, is the point where you find what really matters to your potential client.

For residential work, this 'measure call' is the visit to the home to take measurements and determine the scope of work. But, Goudreau wisely suggests, during this visit you absolutely must refuse to discuss price, even if the homeowner pesters you for a ballpark number. Instead, while you are taking notes and measurements, you use the time to engage in 'small talk' with various questions to determine exactly why the prospective client wants the work done. Then, you arrange a second visit with a well-thought, comprehensive proposal, that answers the prospect's hot button priorities.

Goudreau suggests a similar approach for commercial, industrial or even government work. In these cases, he said once he called members of an organization's Board of Directors individually, listened to their specific concerns and priorities, and then, when he made his formal presentation to the Board, included these concerns in his observations. And for a government design-build project, he again arranged a pre-meeting with the decision-making group; discovered what really matters to them, and then presented an appropriately responsive proposal.

This requires work and effort -- clearly you need to have a screening resource to qualify your prospects because you are going to need to spend time with an additional visit and/or phone calls to gather the insights you need. But it makes a whole lot more sense to do things this way than to just blast out a standard proposal, and 'pitch' your service -- you then, even if you have a chance of winning the work, will likely win it only on price -- and that will probably be unprofitable for you.

Unfortunately, in his CD, Goudreau moves on to an 80s style approach and recommends you not take 'I'll think it over' for an answer. Even though he says he does not advocate 'high pressure', he goes on to say that you should never leave that second call where you make the meaningful presentation without an order in hand. He suggests you press for the decision and hold the pen for the clients to sign. Maybe this approach works if you are a died-in-the-soul hard-rock salesperson, but it doesn't ring right to me. Obviously you need to have confidence to ask for the order, and you should investigate for hidden objections if the potential client uses the traditional "I'd like to think it over" stall, but if you are doing things right, in my opinion, the process should flow so naturally that if the client is the type who really likes to deliberateand think carefully and not sign on the spot, then you will still get the business with some 'think it over' time. The point at which some sincere effort to put the deal through transforms to high pressure can be murky --I think you need to assess the situation on a case-by-case basis.

The name of the boat is "Change Order" and the name of the dinghy is "Original Contract".

Who paid for the boat?

I discovered this image by visiting the leads service Constructiondeal.com and its Contractor Update blog. Ryan at architecture.mmp tracked down the photo (and Ryan's blog is an impressive resource for architects, though it appears focused more on design than marketing issues).

Constructiondeal.com has the friendliest and most positive interface I've seen yet in lead referral services. Only trouble is, while I'm receiving their weekly newsletter/update (well designed, certainly not spam!) there are no leads showing for my selected market areas and categories. (I chose certain areas of North Carolina and cast a wide enough net that there 'should' be some worthy leads/projects in these regions.)

This shows one of the most interesting paradoxes of marketing. If you do everything right, impression wise, but have nothing to sell, you will sell nothing. And, as the dinghy/boat image reveals, sometimes the real money is not in the sale but what happens after you receive the order!

P.S. Constructiondeal.com may be more effective for residential rather than B to B or commercial projects (the leads I am seeking) -- in this sector they face entrenched competition from well-established leads resources such as the inexpensive and comprehensive McGraw-Hill E-leads service.

Note: See this posting from March 24, 2009, where the original photographer reports he took the image while in Vermillion, Ohio in late July 2007.

Bernie Siben

Persue the client -- not the project

Bernie Siben's blog, in his August posting, "The Wrong Stuff Part 3" makes a solid point about why you should not persue RFPs where your business doesn't already have a relationship/inside track. He says this type of initiative, besides wasting your time, could irritate your potential future clients because you are wasting their time, as well.

The non-commercial Internet
An intriguing observation about using the Internet for business is that it doesn't really work for sales and marketing (even in the context of a construction marketing ideas blog). Sure, there are tacky and purportedly proven successful approaches to marketing over the web -- you see this all the time with these lengthy web pages filled with testimonials, calls to action, video clips, and offers of 'free newsletters' which turn out to be thinly or not-so-thinly disguised sales pitches. They work to some extent, I suppose, as do corporate (or even small business) websites which are sought out by potential clients, perhaps at the early stage of research processes. These are the variations of the electronic brochure -- useful if someone already knows about you, is looking for some more information and confidence-building support, but wants to gain insights about you without too much direct involvement.
Keyword advertising and 'pay-per-click' lead generation also have their place; here you have extremely effective measurability, and can match your commercial marketing to the organic or non-commercial side of the web. Nothing wrong with this -- it can be the most cost effective advertising you do.
But all of these elements overlay the following very direct and blunt observation: If you really want to take a leadership role on the Internet, you have to put your business interests to second place, and focus on giving real value without any expectation of return. A deviation from this role will, short term, cause your marketing to be perceived as spam and, long term, will harm your reputation.
The reason for is observation is simple. We are past the stage where readers -- at least readers with reasonable intelligence and experience; and these are most likely to be your clients for AEC services -- believe everything they see or read on the web. They quickly scan the website and if it 'smells' promotional or self-serving, avoid it like the plague. Yes, once you are well established, you can build some subtle marketing or promotion into your site or blog, but if it overpowers the thing -- or is seen as its main obvious purpose -- bam, readers will hit the delete or back button almost as fast as the speed of light.
So, is there value in creating content-rich websites and blogs where readers can gather information and even solve their underlying problems without giving you a cent of business -- especially when creating the useful content may take many hours of work and result in your giving away your insights and what many people would consider to be proprietary secrets?
The answer is 'yes' if you allow for longer-range impact.

• Your authoritative website and/or blog will achieve, naturally, sufficient back links that it will begin rising in the organic search engine rankings. This is not instant, and since the search engines like Google and Yahoo are indeed businesses which sell paid advertising for their profitability, they are not going to rush to give you top space on truly valuable keywords unless your content really is useful and non self-serving;
• Your Internet presence may eventually result in media attention, positive publicity and a higher reputation;
• You may find your web presence enhances your current client and employee relationships.

These advantages, of course, are offset by the time and effort you need to spend at the work. But if you are thoughtful, you won't need to spend as long as you think.
For your website, for example, consider including several pages of knowledge and resources relevant to your area of expertise and skill (and your local or regional market considerations). Done right, this 'evergreen' content only will need occasional refreshing and updating -- or can be supplemented with a blog or similar resource; requiring some time each day or week, but not much effort in maintenance or posting. Don't worry about selling anything on these pages -- in fact, edit them so that your marketing message is 'out' and your value to readers is in.
Then relax. Your phone won't ring, you won't receive enthusiastic emails saying "I want to do business with you" and you'll wonder if anyone is reading your words. At least initially. But after about a year, if you do it right, you'll begin seeing signs that things are working. And I believe after two to three years, you'll see tangible and meaningful business success from your efforts.
Does this posting seem a little autobiographical? It is.

Thud (3): More on the Canwest go! Local directory
Tonight I talked with a prospective salesperson seeking employment with our organization. He had worked on the pay-per-call phone book experiment for CanWest Global, but didn't make the cut there and left the company earlier in the summer.

He explained a little more how they set the prices for this rather innovative product which, if successful on a wider scale, will revolutionize the printed directory segment.

Apparently, the publishers garnered 'average cost per lead' information on the 300 top Yellow Pages categories, and set the prices according to this table.

Furthermore, salespeople working on this project were paid on commission, but could collect a draw and received an expense allowance. The salesperson who discussed the business with me explained that the sales team was supposed to collect a 10 per cent 'deposit' (based on estimated total sales) on closing the sale; and receive another 10 per cent on the back-end based on pay-per-call.

Many advertisers, he said, balked at the 10 per cent deposit, saying they would only pay if they achieved results. The salesperson said the top producers accepted the clients requests not to pay the deposit, and so wrote up the orders without collecting a cent of cash. (This piece of news may surprise, and perhaps annoy, the clients who paid the deposit!) Because of course the risk to the client went to zero, these salespeople naturally closed more orders. They in turn must hope that people actually call the numbers and revenue flows through to CanWest, or they won't be paid. (However, these sales reps didn't starve; again because of the modest allowance for expenses.)

Again, the jury is still out on the viability and effectiveness of this new medium. Within a few weeks, I will call some advertisers first hand for their assessments.
See my previous posting on this topic here.

Your first impressions, then second and third

Have you ever encountered a situation when someone seems great at first impression, then lets you down? Or (presumably more rarely), you encounter someone who just doesn't seem right, but turns out to be wonderful and effective?

Is there a way around the problems of false assumptions and stereotypes -- so you hire the right people and, equally important, seek the correct prospects to work with and become your clients?

I believe first impressions are, indeed, important -- but you need to set the stage so you see the right, spontaneous first impression that measures the right thing. And then you need to validate your impressions, quickly.

Take, for example, your decision to hire an employee. Assuming the candidate is not someone you already know (perhaps from a freelance assignment or previous arrangement), do resumes and formal face-to-face interviews provide much useful information? Yes, but you know they are filtered -- both by the stereotyping of the function, and the fact they can be faked to some extent. (Resumes certainly can be dressed up.)

You still want a 'first impression' but is the resume what really matters? Our solution: A pre-employment questionnaire; designed to test certain job related skills, ask one or two screening interview/type questions, and describe the job. Obviously, the candidate's decision not to complete the questionnaire solves the 'first impression' question. And the actual responses, and the way they are presented (and whether they a re consistent with the design and writing style of the resume) provide us with plenty of additional information.

Then, there is the interview. A structured sit-down interview invites stilted questions and responses. A 'surprise' prequalification phone interview provides much better first impression validity. (Of course we are respectful that the call may not actually be convenient to the other person and will reschedule if appropriate -- again, the fact of the inconvenience, however, may be another first impression 'signal' -- is the person at another job, or trying to juggle some hidden problem around?)

These first impressions are vital to us -- without good results on the early going, there is no reason to take it further. But this still doesn't help with the people who know how (either deliberately or intuitively) to 'connect' right away.

We then seek to use objective measuring tools. This can be an online sales test (for salespeople), or (for most candidates) some brief work assignment, either hourly or freelance, that at least partly reflects the actual work. We want to see if the person actually can do the work.

Finally, there is the 'last impression' -- the reference checks and validity; usually at this stage, we've weeded out most problems, but it never hurts to have a final verification (and a clear employment contract).

In other words, sure, first impressions are important -- just be sure the first impressions you are 'counting' really are relevant to the work at hand -- and, whatever you do, validate your impressions before making any commitments.

See also this article by Michelle Sterling.

The postcard service

Colony Press in Illiniois sends out postcards -- and offers a service that could be of relevance to residential contractors seeking 'near neighbour' promotional advantages. I'm not sure, however, whether this approach is as cost effective as having someone do a little door-knocking or using your own letter of introduction a little more personalized. (See At Our Doorstep -- the $10,000 note). The service offer also indicates a cost-per-lead that may be higher than you can achieve with some good Internet marketing.

Nevertheless, there is something to be said for a simple, systematic approach -- no need to fuss around or divert staff resources.

The "Florida Contractors Exam" blog

Karyn Elliot, director of Education/Marketing for HG & Associates in Sarasota, FL, has started a blog which references this rather specialized URL, though internally appears to have the name "Elite Contractors Blog"

HG & Associates is lead by marketing consultant Henry Goudreau (photo at right).
The most recent entry gives a warning to contractors that hard times are on the way. She writes:

Right now we are in a major colon cleansing of the weak from the strong. I think conservative forward-thinking, tightening the old money belt and the mastering of better business skills is the most prudent course of action for any owner to take. This is exactly what makes the difference in the existing survival situation we have now. Knowledge is power, ego isn't.

HG & Associates is one of a few marketing/consulting organizations serving the industry. I don't know enough about their services to endorse them; selecting and using a consultant is one of the more challenging business decisions you will encounter. Be thoughtful and careful before rushing any decision. This entry in the Losing My Mind blog -- "Getting Good Advice Without Consultant Fees" cites among other references one of my own blog entries.

Image from Bernie Siben's website

The limits (and strengths) of E-Marketing for the AEC sector

Recently, posters to the SMPS listserve have been discussing the advantages and limits of e-marketing in the construction, architectural and engineering environment. These observations touch close to my heart, of course, because I have been developing this blog for the last eight months and learning the ropes of e-newsletters over the past year.

Marketing consultant Bernie Siben of the Siben Consult, LLC, host of blog
http://www.builtenvironment.blogs.com/. posted this observation and granted me permission to reproduce it here:

I have a pretty good website and I maintain a blog about marketing for the A/E/C/Planning/Environmental industry. After making initial mailings of brochures via the US Postal Service, I've sent out hundreds of emails regarding services, helpful information that I find in my Internet research, links to interesting websites, and other things that I hope will bring value to a prospective client.
What I'm finding is that 95 per cent or more of these emails don't even get opened.
They either wind up being filtered out as spam if my email address isn't already in someone's address book, or just ignored/deleted by someone doesn't already know my name. And we're getting so inundated with spam today, that we seem to be OK with missing the occasional piece with value as long as the rest is screened out. So, ultimately, every contact process has to start with a personal touch -- a meeting or a phone call -- or with a recommendation from a colleague or friend who will call someone else, recommend me, and tell them to expect my call.
I think that e-marketing can be very successful when you are marketing to folks already on your list, where your name is already in their electronic address books. Self-produced webinars are great if you have already established your credibility among the folks on your mailing list. If not, getting folks like ZweigWhite to produce/present your webinar is great because THEIR credibility gives credibility to YOU!
But for initial contacts with prospective new clients, we have to find a more personal and interactive way, or we risk getting thrown out with the electronic "trash" just because there's so much of it.

Seiben is absolutely right, as is Tom Merker, Director of Business Development,The Clark Enersen Partners in Kansas City, MO, who observed:

But we have to realize that e-marketing is nothing more than regular direct marketing. It just has a different format. A good response rate for direct marketing is 3-5 percent (unless you're giving away free stuff, then you can count on about 10-15 percent). It is what it is. Nothing will ever replace personal contact as the #1 way of marketing in our industry.

The message here is that e-marketing can support, but not replace, personal relationships. Face-to-face and direct contact are vital, especially in the early going, if you are to build a meaningful business.

Of course, it shouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that while you can do much over the Internet, large scale (or for that matter even much more modest) AEC projects require significant investments in energy and money -- and often intense working relationships, especially as the projects move through the critical stages. You can't achieve these results exclusively, or even primarily, over the Internet.

(However, I also note that online marketing is much like the real world in another sense -- you may dream of instant success, but the story usually takes much longer to gel into something meaningful. Although I consider this blog to be a very productive initiative, I can't trace hard business to it yet -- and that is after eight months. So why continue? Bit by bit, piece by piece, I can see it is improving my reputation and setting the stage for future business relationships.)

Strengths and weaknesses

I found this gem of a posting, Management Matters by Mike Myatt: Should You Play to Strengths or Shore Up Weaknesses?, in a roundabout way after receiving a Google Alerts reference to this blog's Technocati listing. There, I noticed that Multi-Housing News had permalinked us on its "Out and About" Blog. This blog meets the criteria for permalinking on our site as well, so will be added to the list. (The guidelines for permalink are that it must be a blog and directly relevant to AEC marketing).

Somewhat intrigued by the source of the "Out and About" blog, I removed the suffix to the blog URL and discovered Myatt's apparently very new blog, assuming it isn't auto dated so it always shows a recent date, and has only one entry.

But the posting is still inspired, because it really looks at the issue of prioritizing what we should focus our energies on. It ties back to Marcus Buckingham's book "The One Thing You Need to Know" and his argument that we should really focus on our strengths and not weaknesses (see my previous posting on his influential book.)

Myatt takes this thought further and suggests that indeed focusing on weaknesses is vitally important when overcoming the weakness is essential to resolve a barrier that is blocking your achieving your strengths. In other words, if you are an executive and have poor communications or interpersonal skills, you will need to work on the weakness even though it is hard -- but if your administrative skills are poor, why bother; you can always delegate these tasks to other employees.

Good stuff, indeed. But who is Mike Myatt, and how does this intriguing one-off posting find its way to the web? Googling the name, we find he is chief strategy officer of N2Growth. My guess is this blog is a hidden thing part of a search engine optimization strategy. However, it is still a truly useful posting.

The Constant Contact survey page. We use this software (and collect a modest referral fee if you sign up for it.)

The use (and abuse) of surveys

Improving online technologies have made it incredibly easy to set up and distribute online surveys. From a marketing (and market research) perspective, we seem to get the best of all worlds -- for a tiny investment in effort and time, we receive virtually instant feedback. It is something of an instant gratification game.

Fair enough. But where do we draw the line. One marketing guru (who I will not name here because, in fairness, I haven't spoken with him) has sent me two 'surveys' in the last couple of weeks. Streaming down the survey, I quickly realized he was engaged in a lead-gathering and data mining exercise. Since most online surveys allow for truly incredible information gathering about who responded, and how each individual responds to an individual question, this data will allow the survey operator's sales representatives to tailor their 'pitch' to the respondents. When the salesperson calls back, the (perhaps unsophisticated) survey participant will, the theory goes, be awed by the sales representative's sensitive and deep understanding and appreciation of the survey-taker's real business concerns.

Yes, this approach perhaps works, but have you noticed the problem underlying this somewhat manipulative approach to survey use. More and more of us are simply refusing to respond to surveys. This doesn't turn off the tap, of course. At 9:30 p.m. in the midst of a family holiday, some guy called our home and tried to engage me in a 'survey'. I am now usually courteous to inbound sales calls (see my previous posting on why), but I gave this guy a blast. My son cheered me!

There is another paradox here, of course. As fewer and fewer respond to surveys, the responses become even more meaningful. Sure, some people complete surveys because they like to or have nothing better to do. But most of the time, people will go to the trouble to complete a survey when they feel a pressing need to respond -- when there is an exceptional motivating circumstance. So, for example, when we stayed at a hotel and service and environment proved to be terrible, we certainly responded to the follow-up survey. (Hilton/Embassy Suites got it right here -- the manager called me back, apologized, and gave us a free night stay voucher -- that worked!)

If, however, you set a survey within a totally voluntary context, you will be impressed by how little most people want to have to do with these things. As an example, in my recent Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter (for which I can track click through responses), we achieved record-breaking interest in the story about the contractor who obtains $10,000 worth of work, in three hours, with a badly-written 'handwritten' note. This is of course a wonderful too-good-to-be-true story. I will follow up on it next week.

I also built in a link to a brief (two question) online survey asking readers to tell us their best and worst marketing experience. Zero response. Nada. Not a thing.

My point is that you should appreciate the power and utility of online surveys -- these things really work -- but also be wary of the irritation factor. But maybe that marketing guru doesn't care about 'irritation'. He knows that the people who bother to complete his survey are hurting enough to respond -- and these are his perfect leads.

Going with the flow
Anyone who has enjoyed the life of a self employed person knows that things don't always work out as planned. Certainly my vision for today received a jolt at 9:00 pm last night when someone we thought would be coming in for testing looked promising, decided at the last minute that our opportunity wasn't for him. Achhh. We've been seeking candidates for two sales positions (with a reasonable base salary) for the last two months. We've received hundreds of resumes and initial applications, but we are selective -- the last thing we want to do is hire someone who is applying for work purely for the job and pay. (Of course we pay our employees fairly and well -- but competency, passion, and enjoyment of work are important as well.)
My mind whirred into action. No time for blog entries this morning -- despite yesterday's visits reaching (a still somewhat modest) record. I drafted an email to our Ottawa-area readership inviting people to let me know if they know someone who might be interested in the work; and discovered a potentially useful free website at this region's main community college. And I reviewed some additional resumes and questionnaires, and found a few candidates worthy of additional attention.
As the business day winds to a close, I feel much better -- we achieved progress on the recruitment front, and also got a lot done on other aspects of the business.
P.S. I expect to follow with additional discussions about Rob Norton and his handwritten note success story -- certainly, many readers of our bi-weekly newsletter expressed interest in the achievements outlined in the previous blog entry.

Citizen Marketers

Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba's Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message outlines the impact of "social media" on marketing practices -- with sometimes dramatic and unexpected results.

Most of the examples cited in the book are business-to-consumer and none specifically tie to the construction industry (the focus is on retailers, branded goods such as soft drinks, and movies and entertainment). The reason in part is the "one per cent rule" -- the authors suggest, for all the noise, only about one per cent of the 'target market' for various Citizen Marketing initiatives actually gets involved. Of course, the one per cent can be a big actual number with popular music or national retailers -- but you are going to find only a handful of people (authorities) with the resources to build a bridge, hospital, or for that matter, to complete a small tenant fit-up. (The numbers may be higher for home builders and residential renovations, of course, but I don't think this sector is at the forefront of mass citizen marketing just yet.)

Then why is the topic important and relevant here -- it is, I think, a signal of the future and represents the importance of new and more challenging influences in decision-making processes. While you aren't going to get a mass outpouring of responses to your construction marketing initiatives (after all, this is a niche market), it is always helpful to know something about the larger world.

The authors' blog is going into my bookmarks -- however, in line with this blog's scope, I won't permalink it as it obviously is not specifically focused on the construction industry.

Image from constructionbreak.com (Construction Break has produced printed newsletters for the construction industry for several years.) You can't click at the above image, but you can get the same results here.

Your newsletter invited!

Are you producing or distributing an electronic newsletter for your current and potential clients? Please feel free to add me to your list -- I'm especially interested in how different construction businesses and allied professionals are communicating and hope to share with readers some best practices and great newsletter examples in future issues of this blog and my own Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter, which is scheduled for distribution on Tuesday

You have my permission to send your newsletters to buckshon@constructionnrgroup.com. Of course, a personal note or your blog comments are most welcome, as well.

At our doorstep

This sheet arrived at our doorstep. on the other side is a graphic image of brickwork tools, the contractor's name and phone number and:

• Interlock
• Aslphalt
• Complete roof Drainage
• Landscaping
• Snow Blowing

I put this document aside for review -- it certainly has relevance for construction marketing. But before I could do anything with it, my wife crumpled it up in a ball to throw it out. "Stop," I told her.

She has been complaining to me about work needed around the house; especially certain elements that would match someone capable of brickwork (the matters have since been resolved, but good contractors are not always easy to find.)

Tomorrow I will call the contractor to find if his marketing is successful.

Thud! (2)

Bill Caswell of Caswell Corporate Coaching Company (CCCC), our business consultants, says he has signed up for the Canwest go! Local directory. He paid a set up fee of about $700 for a couple of listings and ads with the special phone numbers. How much will he pay if anyone calls? "Hundreds of dollars per call," he says.

"Hundreds of dollars?" I asked incredulously. Yes, it seems the publishers have developed a formula based on the estimated value of services and the overall closing rate expected on inquiries. Different standards apply for different industries. For example, a pizza restaurant would not pay as much per lead. He also noted there is a cap on the cost -- if for some reason the ad is exceptionally successful, the fees stop.

The directory had been out -- at least to my home -- for about a week so I asked him if he had received any calls. "Not yet," he said. We agreed that the call volume should be highest when the directory first appears -- given the novelty value and immediate response -- but would presumably taper off.

We didn't address how go! Local will deal with "call fraud", that is the strategic or malicious calling of businesses by people who have no real interest in purchasing anything -- but just want to run up the charges. (In this case, a call to Bill's number would be very expensive; this is one 'ad' I would not want to post the number anywhere but its intended place).

Overall, the jury is still out on this business model. I notice lots of very big ads from Realtors -- they presumably love the model because they, themselves, are only paid for performance, so a lead generation system that only 'costs' if real leads are generated would be of interest to them. A few residential service contractors are also using the book.

Links and referrals

Cool. Professional Roofing has referenced this blog. Meanwhile, for a variety of keywords relating to the topics here, we are receiving front page and even first place listings on Google, Yahoo, and MSN. I can see this with the number of inbound references, tracked through Google Analytics and mybloglog.com.

So, what does it all mean? In a marketing sense, is this creating business? Not immediately, and that really is okay here. I'm writing this blog not to sell consultancy services, or to get you to advertise in our publications, but because I believe the marketing of construction related services and professions can be improved, and am interested in both the trends and issues in these areas. (There are of course less direct uses of this blog -- in Canada, we are recruiting some key employees and the blog is one way to introduce our business -- and values -- to them).

As I learn more about the business I believe much money is wasted on ill-thought advertising and not enough is spent on carefully considered marketing (which can, of course, include effective advertising). Here, to summarize, are some simple strategies. These supplement the Seven Tips for Construction Marketing Success which you can request online by clicking on the relevant link.

• Your current clients are the foundation and essence of your marketing for new business. If you give them excellent value and service to the point that you are truly exceptional, you'll win the their references, future business, and -- if you really get it right -- their active support and encouragement. I believe 80 per cent of your marketing efforts should be concentrated with the clients you have now.


• You can:


• Send thank you notes


• Return calls promptly


• Resolve issues quickly and, if you sense a possible problem, proactively communicate how you will deal with the concerns


• Share rewards and gifts (within reason)


• Promote and publicize your customers -- even better, refer business to them!


• Communicate frequently -- electronic newsletters can help; also personal calls, visits, and events are often appropriate.

In advocating you focus the bulk of your marketing on current clients, you should appreciate that the other "20 per cent" can provide the critical edge to your business. And I see three primary strategies within that 20 per cent.

1. Attain positive media publicity for your business in relevant (to your markets) communities.
2. Join and participate in relevant trade associations or groups, either as an associate/supporter at your client level or, within the industry, with groups that allow you to enhance your best practices and peer network, especially in non-competitive markets. I like the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS).
3. Use selective Internet marketing and advertising resources -- but be wary about 'pay per lead' services unless you have good tracking and management/measurement systems to be sure you are obtaining value for money.

It is ironic that while my business earns more than 90 per cent of its revenue from advertising, I don't encourage you to rush out and spend more than necessary on advertising. But this advice is consistent with our values. Much of our revenue is derived from special editorial features which are supported by supplier advertising. The features, of course, generate positive publicity without requiring any advertising investment. The advertisers are supporting their clients -- in line with our belief that this is the highest and best form of marketing.

The latter point explains one of the purposes of this blog. While our advertisers are giving us money to support their clients, they have become our clients, as well. And we wish to deliver more than the ink on paper, and invoices. Hence, this blog. Solid, practical marketing ideas and advice, without expecting anything in return, helps us to deliver the value our clients have a right to expect.

The power of J. D. Power

I first learned about J.D. Power and Associates two years ago when home builders began observing that this market research and surveying organization (now owned by McGraw-Hill) would soon start its customer satisfaction surveys of Ottawa home builders among consumers. The impact of Power's unbiased and self-funded surveys became crystal-clear to me this week, when hundreds of people packed a meeting hall to recognize Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders' Association (OCHBA) members who had achieved customer satisfaction success -- and Darren Slind, J.D. Power's senior director of the new home builder and performance practices, outlined some of the consequences -- both positive and negative -- of great -- or poor -- client service.

Power's ability to rate builders (it also surveys automakers -- its original market -- electronics, and other consumer-based services, as well as certain business-to-business services) creates a fascinating and dramatic dynamic in the marketplace -- the possibility of a positive rating spurs builders to improve client service -- and the fear of a negative rating causes angst and anguish among the companies who don't make the grade.

Not all so-called customer satisfaction surveys are honest. Some, essentially, give you a reward and the right to use their image in marketing collateral in exchange for a substantial fee. The survey results are cooked to ensure that the businesses who pay the fees can claim to be providing 'client satisfaction' and the whole award then becomes part of a somewhat scammy marketing ploy.

J.D. Power succeeds largely because it plays it straight. You can't buy in or influence the results of the surveys -- but of course for a substantial fee you can purchase the comprehensive survey report and engage in consultancy services to actually improve your customer satisfaction results. J.D. Power's perspective is that while the marketing value of a 'win' is of course important, what really counts is the impact of great client satisfaction on your bottom line -- the survey just measures what is actually happening in the marketplace.

Slind says truly satisfied clients are far more likely to refer and recommend friends and acquaintances to you than clients who are merely feel things are okay.

"You can't hope to meet or exceed customer expectations if you don't understand them first," he says. "Discovery of home buyer needs is critical. What opportunities do you have to adjust your message and/or process to more clearly match the expectations of your customers?"

Here is my original report on Slind's observations, originally published in The OCHBA Impact!, the OCHBA's internal newsletter.

Trade associations -- different values for different businesses

Hundreds of people packed the banquet hall for the September meeting of the Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders' Association; the largest gathering for a regular meeting (not the annual Christmas extravaganza) I can recall since I started attending these events in 1990 or 1991. The reason for all the interest: The introduction of new Customer Service Awards, and the presence of J.D. Power in Ottawa.

I'll cover the J. D. Power story in a future blog entry. This time however, I am thinking about the remarks of a fencing contractor who has been a member of the association "off and on" as long as my business.

"Yes, we get real value from our membership, but the value is different than if we were a newly established business," the contractor said. A new business -- one without experience or connections in the marketplace -- can gain significant marketing position through association membership, especially in the home building community, with the association's motto: "Be a member, Do business with a member". For an established business, however, the company already knows who is who in the local marketplace; the direct marketing value is therefore less dramatic.

(The focus here is on supplier or affiliate memberships -- neither my business, nor the fencing company are home builders. We supply services to them, in my case, especially, we supply marketing/information services to the trade suppliers.)

Here, the advantages of association membership are more subtle; membership can in part provide a degree of protection from interlopers; active association membership (with executive committee or board membership roles) plugs you in closely within your community and helps you preserve market position or respond to competitive threats; and of course you still gain the market insights and intelligence -- and ability to use the association to voice concerns you couldn't otherwise express.

However, you will receive even more value -- and power -- from your association membership if you are new to the business, or marketplace. Here, you can immerse yourself in connections and relationship development and the potential for new market development is immense. Just beware, you won't necessarily crack the association 'code' right away -- I sense it takes between two and four years before you are connected enough for trust and acceptance to reach the stage where you will gain the hidden insights and gems of understanding (and marketing power) that a good association membership can provide you.

Small world, big world
Facebook.com recently introduced an application which allows you to show on a world map where you have visited, lived, and wish to see. Thinking myself rather well traveled (especially to some truly arcane places in Africa) I thought I had spanned the globe in experience. But when you go to the map
http://facebook.whereivebeen.com/fullScreen.php?sID=3234549-1m97ihx4m26kpgoeq2v0xuui64cd8e9x
you'll see that, indeed, I've only been to a fraction of the places on earth -- even in my favourite continent (outside of home base), Africa. (A few entries are invisible without great effort because they are indeed dots on the map, such as Singapore and Hong Kong.)
I write this posting to encourage you to put yourself in perspective. What do you know about other cultures, other lands, and other perspectives? Is this knowledge valuable in construction marketing? I would say 'yes', especially with the globalization of the economy, with migration and (especially in the U.S.) immigration issues of vital importance to the construction industry.

Authenticity
There is an irony in marketing. The most successful technique to attract new clients and profitable business occurs naturally. You do nothing, and the clients arrive. Your business is successful, it seems, almost without effort.
The reason you are successful has much less to your marketing methodology than your authenticity. Your business rings true with clients in such an effective and evocative manner that they love doing business with you. They tell their friends, who try you out. And these friends are so satisfied, they tell their friends. Your restraint on growth is not a lack of clients -- it is your capacity to administer and oversee the right kind of employees who will ensure your business model and standards are maintained.
Compare this approach to the "traditional" marketing concepts which involve quite a bit of gaming and manipulation. In the worst excesses, you pound enough people with your message, in the most abrupt and least costly manner possible, so that even if a few decide to try your service out, you can make some cash. Hmm. Think spam. Or telemarketing calls. Or, worse, computerized telemarketing calls telling you "you qualify for a mortgage". Fun ... not.
Or think about publicity, blogs, and communication techniques designed to get you to buy something. Sometimes this stuff works, really well. Just don't be caught running a mine in Utah. People can often see through though your BS. If they don't, they may fall for your gimmick once or twice; but will they buy more, permanently.
So, is it really true, the saying: "If you need to sell it, why would anyone buy it?" Partly, I think. If, for example, you are in the business of designing hospitals, or building post offices, or if you are a renovation siding contractor, you had better be darn good at what you do for the natural marketing to take place. (Or, at least, the only one anywhere nearby designing hospitals, or installing siding. Think post-Katrina Louisiana.)
The partly is that you CAN use marketing skills and techniques to enhance, encourage, and amplify the natural processes, if you are authentic, sincere, and your underlying values are clear. You can justify the marketing costs in an incremental, logical manner. Your payback from effective marketing can far exceed your existing business structure, and take you to a new level of success.
Be real.

Note: I searched for 'cover art' after writing this article, and discovered this page link to Authenticity: Simple Strategies for Greater Meaning and Purpose at Work and at Home by George and Sedena Cappannelli. Is the book the real thing? Can't be sure -- haven't read it yet. No Amazon.com reviews, either. But there is nothing negative, either, and their points (at least the ones I can see in free previews) ring true to me.

What skills are you seeking in your employees?
Seth Godin's blog posting "What are you hiring for?" resonates with me. Great cover letters, interviewing skills, resumes, and all that stuff are absolutely useless when it comes down to the skills and traits we are looking for in employees. What really matters is, can the prospective employee do the work required excellently, with good integrity, and in a manner that supports rather than destroys the overall enterprise.
Of course, it is never easy to find truly great employees. We've been advertising for some time now, and have received hundreds of initial applications, but even now we haven't committed to hiring anyone (though there are a few serious candidates). Our hiring system is challenging but fair.

1. We don't read nor screen resumes at the initial stage. Virtually everyone who applies is sent a questionnaire. It describes the work, and asks a few questions that give us an idea of whether the candidate is suitable for the work.
2. We only review resumes for people who answer the questionnaire. At that point, we compare the resume with the answers; and look for understanding and comprehension, and (if appropriate) relevant experience and proof of qualifications. We also review our "are there any skeletons in your closet" question -- we aren't checking references at this stage, but invite candidates to tell us if there will be any problems when we do.
3. Then we have a phone interview. This is brief, allows us to probe a bit deeper, and then determine whether the matter should be reviewed further.
4. For sales candidates we administer an online sales aptitude test. This tells us a lot; failure on the test is a yellow flag -- we won't say 'no' necessarily, but certainly will not pay any money for the candidate to prove him or herself.
5. Next stage is the working assignment. Usually a couple of days or maybe a freelance task, this is compensated, and is our way of sizing up the prospective employee -- and allows the candidate to size us up as well.
6. Finally, we check references, thoroughly, before preparing the written job offer/employment contract.

So, what counts is whether the prospective employee can prove he or she can do the job, not whether the candidate can write a nice resume and cover letter; or 'interview well'. In fact, we don't even bother with interviews -- we'll meet local candidates for the work assignment, and out-of-town candidates, if they pass all the tests and are ready for a contract offer, we might have a visit or informal meeting. But why bother with the phony show-and-tell exercises. They don't help us find the people we are really seeking.

References vs. referrrals

This intriguing blog entry on Bnet.com (a useful collection of general sales and marketing resources), Reference accounts can be headaches, clarifies that references are much less useful and valuable than referrals in the selling process. With references, things can go very wrong, at the very last minute, the writer notes.


Of course the converse can be said on the buying -- or hiring -- side. Reference checking is an important resource, both in negotiating purchases, and hiring employees and contractors. As the poster notes, sometimes the reference will point out discounts or deals available to you that you may not have known about, and of course, you can often (if you listen carefully) discern potential problems if you listen carefully.

Image from voicestar.com, provider of the back-end technology for the go! Local directory

Thud!

It's as thick as the Yellow Pages -- and the pages are mostly yellow, but this directory published by Canwest Global (which owns our local daily newspaper, The Ottawa Citizen) is definitely not the venerable and well-established directory. While the publishers of the traditional Yellow Pages have come up with their own solution to the Internet marketing juggernaut, this go! Local product could (if successful) revolutionize the print directory business.

Why? Well, if you look at the ads, many full page, you'll see almost all of them start with the 212 exchange (not to be confused with NYC's 212 area code). These are in fact "pay per response" ads, much the same as Google Adwords, but here, you pay only if someone phones you.

I met the people selling the technology engine used in the Canwest product, voicestar.com at the Future of Online Advertising conference in New York City in June. For publishers, the concept is surprisingly inexpensive, and creates a solution to the challenge conventional media is facing with the new Pay Per Click models on the Internet -- how do you monetize a print product so that you can satisfy the advertiser's desire to pay only if the ad 'works' and still make some money?

I'm not sure of course whether the go! Local model -- which also combines an Internet directory with the printed publication -- will work. It obviously depends on both the advertising rates and the responses. Are printed directories like this finding their way into t he round basket, unread? Is the useful shelf life of the directory long enough to cover the production costs?

One thing is certain, however. If a local publisher offered this service and you are conventionally advertising in the Yellow Pages, I would jump at the opportunity to try the Yellow Pages ad in the new medium. Why not? You'll only pay the publisher if your phone rings, and presumably (and hopefully!) you know your conversion rate average based on the number of initial inquiries you receive from your ad. You'll quickly be able to tell if the cost-per-lead is profitable for your business.

Marketing commercial tenant fit-ups
Over at contractortalk.com, Darren Beck of Beck Construction and Remodelling in Clarksville, TN, posted this question:

Hello everone,I've noticed a lot of strip malls going up around my area lately. The individual spaces stay empty a month or two then get finished out. I would really like to get involved in some of this finish-out work. Have any of you tried specific things to target these commercial tenant finish-outs? I've tried calling the real estate agents listing the units a few times to no avail.
I wonder if it would be worthwhile to track down the owners? I've been kicking around the idea of making some flyers and just sticking them to the doors of empty spaces. Kinda like door hangers for commercial work!

Response is still light, but one contractor said he found business simply by sticking a business card in the door of the unfinished commercial unit. "Crash" wrote:

I have got many projects just by placing a card in the door. Many time the gc is from out-of-town and actually needs local contractors to do these jobs. About two years ago I placed a card in the door for a proposed bank location, in a strip mall. I have been doing banks all over the state every sense-just from that one card.......

But perhaps the most interesting answer to this question is one I uncovered that may also give clues to what you should be doing, overall, to develop your marketing program for commercial construction work. It is a job posting (perhaps now expired) for a Director of Marketing and Communications for Columbia Construction Company in North Reading, MA.

External Marketing and Communication
Regularly distribute press releases
locally on project wins and key personnel moves and/or hires
Meet with editors of local papers to get our name and message published
Develop and Place Ads in targeted community organization publications or regional/local business journals
Develop articles for use in local/regional trade publications
Oversee scheduled mailings to key existing and targeted clients
Mail segment brochures to relevant existing/potential clients with letter
Participate and create client/architect events twice a year
Assist in the development of in-house seminars targeting specific market segments to our clients
Work with BD to target industry events for possible sponsorship, speaking engagements etc.
Ensure job site signage is prevalent on all projects
Assist in development of a project performance scorecard and send to clients at end of job to gauge performance, solicit feedback.
Internal Marketing
Supervise firm’s RFP protocol process including responding to RFPs from clients and overseeing all proposals for new business
Participate in planning and presentation sessions.
Manage Employee newsletter highlighting key activities, initiatives, wins, etc.
Assist with all- staff meetings
Routinely visit jobsites
Develop e-mail “Flash News” to highlight brief announcements, wins or congratulatory notes
Develop a Reward & Recognition program that recognizes best efforts of practices reinforcing Company’s operating principles, etc.
Post Company “theme” and develop internal poster campaign to highlight initiatives, such as Safety etc….

This is a fascinating and revealing list of 'to do's' for marketing . . . but maybe, indeed, the simplest solution in this case is to stick your business card in the door.

Image from http://www.ideabook.com/store_creative_advertising.html

The advertising paradox


Our business earns 99 per cent of its revenue from advertising. Yet the services that we provide which generate the highest degree of value don't cost recipients a cent. Our advertisers, it seems, pay freight for a whole lot of great free stuff for the majority of readers, yet the question that has always challenged me is: "How can we be sure our advertisers receive real value for their money."


This is something you need to think about in your own business, both in terms of the overall framework question, and the specific issues of advertising expenditures within your marketing budgets.


Google and Craigslist have, for example, caused havoc within traditional advertising markets. Both provide powerful, free services. As an example, today, I found that my evaluation period for winzip had expired and they wanted me to pay for the software. I don't like wasting $30 if I can get around the problem, legally, so I googled "free winzip", saw a reference to an advertising-supported website listing alternatives, read the editorial comments, selected my alternative, downloaded it, and, voila, the alternative open source (and not advertising loaded) freeware is doing the job. You can find this at http://free-backup.info/free-winzip.html


At various times in the process, advertisers were available for me to 'buy' but since I was looking for something totally free, I declined to click on any of the ads.


Clearly, this use of Internet resources is distorting markets and causing havoc to traditional practices.


But there are ironies here. I sought a free decompression software to process a data file from Dun and Bradstreet that I had paid $1,000 to purchase. Almost all of the data is freely available and I could have most of the information on the file for no cost -- but D&B had one piece of critical information, available possibly from public sources, but for which I have no easy access. I analyzed the costs for the information and determined that the data -- with the crucial information to our business -- is worth every cent. (And yes, since the application of how we are going to use this data is proprietary, I am not going to share it on this blog!)


So, how do you plan your advertising and marketing budgets, and determine the right way to proceed:

• If your advertising as it is currently conducted works -- that is brings in measurable business in a systematic and logical manner -- then of course continue -- but be careful, you may find better and free alternatives. For example, if you are using the Yellow Pages, consider the Internet options especially with the search engines directly rather than through intermediary providers.


• If you are invited to spend money on advertising by sales reps, ask yourself if the advertising is justified and fits within your budget framework. If it doesn't, pass. (Note your budget framework may be "Keeping our current clients satisfied and loyal is the most important thing, and they w ant us to advertise to support them," in which case, yes, advertise! (Self serving plug: That is how we sell most of our advertising.)


• If you are thinking of longer range issues like brand protection and soft marketing issues, can you obtain some extra value and benefits from your current advertising media partners? Most will be happy to help you -- if only to enhance your loyalty and commitment, and willingness to spend more on their media.


• Finally, consider non-advertising options to promote your business. The highest and best promotion is through great connections and service to your existing clients, followed by effective publicity and media relations.

So, indeed, we give away most of our valuable services for free, but for advertisers (who ask for it!), we go out of our way to provide consultation and advice especially on media relations and publicity. This blog, in fact, originated from that perspective. If you are a non advertiser and are reading and enjoying it, that is great, as well.