Christmas 2009

Reprinted from the Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter, Dec. 22.

How will you remember 2009? For some, it has been a year of genuine turmoil and struggle, as formerly thriving businesses faced painful retrenchments and struggled to survive. Some readers lost their jobs, some their businesses. We had our own share of challenges, as rosy economic projections last October gave way to an acute business crisis that tore into our business until we were able to bring things under control in the summer. Within the gloom and pain, however, we discovered some bright beacons for the future. The original idea to relaunch a printed Washington (D.C.) Construction News evolved, at the suggestion of Tim Klabunde, into the multi-media Design and Construction Report. Tim introduced me to the online social networking Linkedin.com groups, and the highly successful Design and Construction Network. We also discovered how timeless business principals distilled by our consultant Bill Caswell of Caswell Corporate Coaching Company could help our (and your) business both weather the storm and restore its capacity to thrive. Bill is leading a special seminar on Feb. 12: "Taking your Construction Business to the Next Level" which will tell you how to move forward and overcome your business challenges. Most importantly, we realized how important traditional values and relationships are in the electronic age. Architectural, engineering and construction businesses thrive by delivering top quality services -- built on relationships founded in respect and integrity. Best wishes for the Holiday Season and Happy New Year! Mark Buckshon President Construction News and Report Group of Companies

The solstice

Winter's here -- and for many of us, the Christmas break means relatively light business volume for the next couple of weeks.

I've got a few days of intense work getting our January issues to print before things slow down, then will use the quiet time between Christmas and New Years to catch up on some projects that have needed attention for some time. These include the review of galley proofs for the Construction Marketing Ideas book, and the migration of this blog's primary focus to the Wordpress site.

(If you go to constructionmarketingideas.com you'll see I am now updating that site daily with fresh content -- during the holidays, I will create the enhancements, links and resources necessary for it to be the primary site. I'll continue maintaining this site afterwords, at least until the new blog takes second place on relevant search engines!)

Doing business when others aren't

Can you find profitable clients and achieve useful business results in the quiet days of the Christmas holiday season? Sure, if you know what you want to do.

Most senior 'decision makers' never stop working -- their passion, interest, and drive in their business means they are always on the job, in some way or another. However, many of their employees are away -- and so, if you have good reason to initiate communication with someone senior and wish to avoid the gatekeeper, you might just get through a little more quickly.

But why would you want to do that? I mean, why would you find it necessary to 'get around' a gatekeeper. If your proposal, idea, vision, or objectives aren't so compelling that they would truly be relevant to the person you wish to reach, then should you waste his or her time? However, if you really believe in what you are offering, and wish to be just a little different (and possibly more successful), it never hurts to call during these quiet days.

If your market is consumers and home owners, of course, these days are more the time of retailers than construction businesses, unless of course you are on a sunny Caribbean island!