During this special AEC Marketing for Principals episode, host Katie Cash discusses how AEC firms can pivot their interview presentations to the virtual world. Public and private owners are continuing to leverage technology and transition their procurement process to online virtual experiences. So, how can shortlisted AEC firms inform, influence, and entertain the selection committee virtually and secure their next project win?

This episode is an excerpt from a webinar Smartegies recently hosted. Access the entire webinar and view the presentation slides below.

What You Will Learn:

• How to convert traditional in-person presentations to online interviews
• Creative ways firms are taking advantage of this virtual adaptation
• Key presentation tips to win your next interview

During this special AEC Marketing for Principals episode, hosts Judy Sparks and Katie Cash discuss how AEC firms are pivoting their marketing strategies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smartegies recently put on a webinar for leaders in the AEC industry answering the question, “How do you market during a pandemic?” This episode is an excerpt from our webinar.

Prior to the webinar, Smarteiges conducted a survey asking attendees how they are reallocating canceled events spend during this time. During the episode, Judy will talk through the findings. She will also discuss two tools she developed to help AEC firm owners, principals, and marketing departments analyze their business, and devise the right marketing response to keep their business moving during COVID-19.

What You Will Learn:

• Insight into how Smartegies is helping clients keep their business moving
• Creative ways firms are staying visible and relevant
• How digital media usage has changed over the last several weeks

What You Will Learn:

• The key takeaways from season 1 of AEC Marketing for Principals
• Jere Smith’s advice for the proposal process
• Judy and Katie’s approach to the formal presentation
• Marvin Woodward’s insights about winning work with GSFIC
• Brenda Christman’s advice for in-house marketers
• Larry Callahan’s take on the industrial market in the Southeast
• Dave Loeffel’s perspective on multifamily developments

Resources:

• Website: https://smartegies.com
• Twitter: @Smartegies

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View the Smart Notes for this Episode

ARCO specializes in industrial development, an industry that has been moving in a new direction as recent trends in e-commerce, cold storage, and sustainability continue to grow stronger. In that space, Jake Stefan and his team have built a strong reputation for the innovative, solutions-based approach that ARCO brings to every project. That said, it takes a strong AEC marketing strategy to win their business.

They are in the people business, and because ARCO operates on a national scale, they need AEC partners who reflect their values and put customer service first. Stefan looks for honest design, subcontracting, and engineering partners who are going to challenge the team and look for better ways to achieve their goals.

In this episode of AEC Marketing for Principals, Jake Stefan joins host Judy Sparks and Katie Cash to speak in detail about what he wants to see in ARCO’s partnerships. Stefan breaks down the different requirements for each discipline and explains how firms can build a relationship with ARCO so they can start winning work.
 

What You Will Learn:

• ARCO’s primary focus on industrial development
• How industrial real estate is being driven in a different direction by new trends in e-commerce, cold storage, and the sustainability culture.
• What Jake Stefan looks for in a design, subcontractor, and engineering partner
• Insights to help you build an AEC marketing strategy that will get you in the door
• How to start building a relationship with ARCO
• The three things Jake Stefan wants to know when you reach out to ARCO

Resources:

• Website: www.arcodb.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arco-designbuild-inc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arcodb/
• Twitter: @ARCODesignBuild

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Many seller-doers at boutique firms assume marketing responsibilities, but there comes a time where half-hearted marketing starts to hinder productivity without yielding any results. Owners often ask themselves if they need a marketing department, but hiring a team is inevitable if you plan to grow.

AEC firms can benefit from building a marketing team because when it comes to principals and technical professionals, the business needs eventually outweigh their marketing skillsets and external resources are required. Your resources should match your desired level of sophistication at the firm, but more importantly, they should reflect your plans for growth.

In this episode of AEC Marketing for Principals, Whitney Thrower joins hosts Judy Sparks and Katie Cash to talk about marketing as an investment with serious ROI. Thrower explains what it takes to build an effective marketing team at any size and how to tell when your firm is ready to do so.

What You Will Learn:

• Whitney Thrower’s journey into AEC marketing
• How an internal marketing team is structured
• The different roles in a marketing team and their responsibilities
• Marketing leadership
• Decentralized vs. centralized marketing teams
• The right time to build a marketing department

Resources:

• Website: www.smartegies.com
• Twitter: @Smartegies

Highlands Residential is an apartment development company specializing in multifamily developments that target an empty-nester clientele. By focusing on recently-retired individuals, aged 55 and older, Highlands’ founder and CEO, Dave Loeffel, can deliver destinations unique to the desires and needs of this age exclusive audience.

Experiential living is a hot trend in multifamily right now, and Loeffel works hard to keep Highlands ahead of the curve. By delivering an unparalleled brand experience and prioritizing quality in every project, Loeffel continues to build thriving communities that enhance the neighborhoods around them and maintain occupancy over time.

In this episode of AEC Marketing for Principals, Loeffel discusses the internal and external factors that make Highlands’ business model successful, and what they look for in AEC partners. Listen to this episode and see what it takes to chase multifamily work with Highlands Residential

What You Will Learn:

• What Dave Loeffel look for in ideal AEC partners
• Introducing multifamily developments into thriving communities
• What three things your content should cover during your first meeting
• The importance of understanding your firm’s capabilities relative to the project at hand

Resources:

• Website: www.highlandsresidential.com

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For 70 years, Pattillo has focused strictly on the vertical of industrial development, erecting over 1000 facilities of quality and scale while building a significant portfolio of prime industrial real estate. However, the explosion of e-commerce is creating an entirely new set of needs and unique problems that must be met by developers with no playbook and limited resources.

The demand for e-commerce grows by roughly 10% each year. The need for fulfillment centers increases simultaneously, but there is not an abundance of 1M sq/ft facilities in the market, so developers generally start from scratch. For industry leaders like Larry Callahan, the trend of younger and taller buildings is demanding, but Pattillo has made great strides to adapt and help their clients respond to significant changes in consumer behavior.

In this episode of AEC Marketing for Principals, Larry Callahan, CEO of Pattillo Industrial Real Estate, joins host Judy Sparks and Katie Cash to discuss the current trends in the industrial real estate space. Callahan shares his perspective on the effects of e-commerce on development, as well as what it takes to partner with Pattillo on a project of that magnitude.

What You Will Learn:

• How retail and industrial are converging to support the needs of e-commerce
• The size of new industrial developments and the parcels they’re built on
• How Last-mile delivery and technological evolution are driving the warehouse needs
• Why fulfillment center location preferences are starting to change
• What Pattillo looks for in potential AEC partners, and how to win work with them
• Who is involved in the selection process for Pattillo Industrial Real Estate

Resources:

• Website: www.pattillore.com
• Twitter: @pattillore

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When it comes to AEC marketing, account based marketing (ABM) is changing the way that AEC firms communicate with their high-value accounts by improving efficiency and increasing booked revenue. For the longest time, relationships took precedence when design and construction firms sought out new business, but everyone has those relationships now. ABM is the new strategy design and construction firms are adopting to help sell more at a faster pace and keep their sales team focused on the best prospects.

ABM enables marketing teams to form relationships with key prospects that spend habitually before the sales team makes the first touchpoint. By creating a carefully constructed digital dialogue with high-end clients, they will know your firm better than your competitors’ and vice versa. That means strategically building brand equity so that your sales team is reaching marketing qualified leads at a point in the sales cycle when they are ready to buy.

Katie Fisher and the corporate solutions division of JLL dedicate their efforts to become experts in ABM because of the positive results it can generate. As they pilot the program in their division, they have been able to produce consistent messaging in a consistent voice that is tailored to the target and created for the buying authority.

What You Will Learn:

• Katie Fisher’s role as Sr. Director of Field Marketing at JLL
• Account-based marketing and why it’s effective as an AEC marketing strategy
• How Fisher’s team is using ABM at JLL
• Measuring the results of your ABM strategy

Resources:

• Website: www.us.jll.com
• Twitter: @KFish2482

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Although account-based marketing (ABM) is a recently adopted practice in the design and construction industry, many firms have been employing strategies of account-based sales (ABS) for some time now. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, account-based sales uses conventional one-to-one sales tactics but focuses strictly on higher-end clients that are spending habitually.

Similar to the synergistic nature of sales and marketing that we discussed in our previous duocast⁠—“Sales, Marketing, and BD – What’s the Difference?— ABM and ABS also work in unison, but at a higher level. The objective is to know your key prospects better than your competitors and vice versa because it will increase your chances of closing before you ever pick up the phone. ABM and ABS invalidate the traditional method of building an abundant but unqualified pipeline, shifting your resources and manpower to areas where your firm will see the highest return.

By taking the path of least resistance, your firm can work efficiently to build relationships and develop marketing qualified leads online before the sales team ever makes the first touchpoint. The cost of client acquisition continues to be problematic, but ABM and ABS provide a solution that will maximize your biz dev efforts and position your brand to win big.

What You Will Learn:

• The difference between sales, biz dev, and marketing
• Account-based sales vs. account-based marketing
• What makes up an ABM strategy, and how to structure it
• KPIs and behaviors that determine a customer’s level of interest
• How ABM impacts the sales and marketing teams
• Different tiers of clients

Resources:

• Website: www.smartegies.com

Click Here for the Full Transcript

Aaron Wright built an impressive resume on the technology side of construction with major firms like Robins & Morton and Hoar Construction. But his passion for all-things-building transcended his role and inspired him to explore all facets of the industry. Wright always saw a need for a platform that was dedicated to construction video content and three years ago, The Construction Channel made its debut.

Wright entered the industry at a point where virtual construction technology was taking off and digital streaming was in a breakout stage as well. It was a tough sell in an industry where traditional marketing methods reigned, but the more Wright saw the industry evolve, the more he was convinced that his idea could provide a new means for building brand recognition, winning projects, and attracting new talent.

The Construction Channel now has over 23,000 YouTube subscribers and it continues to find new applications for AEC video content with a storytelling focus. In this episode of AEC Marketing for Principals, Wright joins hosts Judy Sparks and Katie Cash to tell his story, and talk about the impact that niche video content is making on the industry as a whole.

What You Will Learn:

• Aaron Wright’s story and why he created The Construction Channel
• The role of construction-focused video content in recruiting
• B2B applications of content on The Construction Channel
• Why you should use video to tell your brand story
• Different types of content that The Construction Channel has produced

Resources:

• Website: www.constructionchannel.tv
• Twitter: @constructtv