Marketers Take Flight

Are you feeling like you are ready for the next step in your marketing career?  Or maybe you are ready to shift and take on a different role but you just aren’t sure how to do that.  You see others have made these shifts and you want to work with them, figure out how they did it. Maybe it’s time you needed a champion on your side.  

In this episode, I am interviewing Erika Booker who talks about how to identify what you want, find a champion and make the mentor/mentee relationship work for both of you.  It’s not just about the next steps in your career but about the inner discovery of yourself.  Taking care of yourself means you have the time and energy to put the best creativity into your work.  There are lots of great tips here on how to achieve your next personal and professional goals.

Here are a few highlights:

• How do you figure out what it is you want? 5:31
• Gathering Your Discovery: 6:42
• Eating the Frog: 11:40
• Networking – Flex that muscle: 11:49
• Keep your creativity level up: 14:09
• How do you discover what is important to your firm and leadership:15:24
• Your leaders aren’t all alike: 19:40
• Make your own path: 21:25
• Identify your firms’ champions: 24:30
  • What’s a Mentor: 24:21
  • What’s an advocate: 24:49
• Is your champion at your firm? 28:18
• How to find a mentor working at a small firm: 29:42
• How do you make the “ask” (from a prospective mentor): 31:46
• Set your expectations as a mentee: 35:19

 Learn more about Erika and get all the links mentioned over on the show notes page.

Get Yourself a Mentor
Are you looking for a mentor? Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing professional?  For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Want more AEC marketing goodness?

• New to proposals? Download my FREE “RFPs for Beginners – The Ultimate Proposal Management Checklist.”
• Stop planning, start creating with my FREE “Ultimate AEC Content Marketing Starter Kit.”
• Follow Lindsay on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Collaborate with other AEC Marketers in our Facebook Group.
• Purchase bite-sized, on-demand templates and training at the Marketers Place.
• Enroll in online training: The Proposal Pro or Content Marketing Clarity.

We are back for the second episode with Bryon McCartney.  If you remember from Episode 44, Bryon dove deep into your website SEO best practices.  In this episode, we continue our conversation about websites and how to create content for them to make the biggest impact on your future clients.

While ‘news’ and updates are good for your website, Bryon talks about the importance of creating content that will draw your next client in.  Think about your ideal client and write your content to them.  Consistency is key and we discuss a few strategic ways even small firms can reach their audiences with high-quality content.  Don’t forget to harvest that content and repurpose it.  Today’s episode will explain all this and more.

Here are a few highlights:

• 3 key content categories that work: 5:58
• Postmortem meetings:  10:01
• Content ideas:  12:23
• Dedicated content creation: 13:35
• How  small firms create consistently high-quality content: 16:14
• Systematic, measurable, and repeatable content creation: 19:01
• How to measure the success of this effort: 22:27
• What are you excited about? – Don’t miss this one: 32:07

Visit the show notes webpage to learn more about Bryon and get the links to the resources mentioned in the show.

Get Yourself a Mentor
Are you looking for a mentor? Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing professional?  For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Want more AEC marketing goodness?

• New to proposals? Download my FREE “RFPs for Beginners – The Ultimate Proposal Management Checklist.”
• Stop planning, start creating with my FREE “Ultimate AEC Content Marketing Starter Kit.”
• Follow Lindsay on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Collaborate with other AEC Marketers in our Facebook Group.
• Purchase bite-sized, on-demand templates and training at the Marketers Place.
• Enroll in online training: The Proposal Pro or Content Marketing Clarity.

Do you often struggle when trying to manage proposals? Do you often feel like whatever you do, no one seems to respect you or worse, even listen to you? What if I told you weren’t alone? What if there were some ways to overcome this? And what if those ways didn’t even involve proposals or anyone else but you?

What? How is that possible? It’s a power you have already inside you. I had it inside me too and it took me years and hundreds of hours of reading and learning to uncover it. And, I want to share it with you so that you uncover and start using your power now. 

Before I get to this power, I wanted to tell you that this is a special, limited-time bonus that will only be available publicly until November 30, 2021. That’s just in a few days! 

This type of inspirational content is just a sample of the type of bonus content you can get by becoming a Marketers Take Flight Community Member. 

If you’re looking for a mentor. Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing, push you to that next career level while giving you actionable advice, as this very episode, then join the Marketers Take Flight membership community. 

For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Can A/E/C firms really expect to get leads based on their website?  

In today’s episode, I’m talking to Bryon McCartney who answers this question and many others about our websites and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Bryon knows that a bad website is going to equal lost opportunities.  He walks us through what every website needs to have.  

Did you know that 84% of A/E/C buyers visit a firm's website during the buying process?  And that getting online leads is cheaper and less time-consuming than other methods.  Bryon even has a story for us on one client who received a lead via their website and then booked it – no proposal process needed!

This interview was so informational, we have split it in two.  In this one, we talk about four key best practices for every website, the three critical questions people want to know when they visit your website, and why you should have different paths for different types of visitors on your website.  

Here are a few highlights:

• After evaluating 550 websites, what are the key takeaways? 8:53
• What is Archi Babble? 16:28
•  Ideas to think about when creating your site: 18:48
• 3 critical questions people want to know when they come to your site: 20:49
• Behind the scenes foundational SEO: 21:51
• On-Page Content – What?  Why? How? 26:26
• Off-Page Content – What? Why? How? 27:52
• Different Visitor Paths: 33:55
•  Attract your Ideal Client: 35:34

Visit the show notes webpage to learn more about Bryon and get the links to the resources mentioned in the show.

Get Yourself a Mentor
Are you looking for a mentor? Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing professional?  For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Want more AEC marketing goodness?

• New to proposals? Download my FREE “RFPs for Beginners – The Ultimate Proposal Management Checklist.”
• Stop planning, start creating with my FREE “Ultimate AEC Content Marketing Starter Kit.”
• Follow Lindsay on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Collaborate with other AEC Marketers in our Facebook Group.
• Purchase bite-sized, on-demand templates and training at the Marketers Place.
• Enroll in online training: The Proposal Pro or Content Marketing Clarity.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is especially true when you are welcoming a new team member. It’s hard enough these days to convince the firm leaders you need extra help. Then once you get the approval to hire another marketer, to find that perfect person, and convince them to join your firm. 

So, by the time you get to send that offer letter, you want to make sure that person is excited and feels welcome by you and your firm. And, in this episode, I am going to share some creative and fun ways to welcome your new team members.

This is a special bonus episode of the Marketers Take Flight Podcast. And all of these bonus episodes will only be available until November 30, 2021. And it’s just a sample of the type of bonus content you can get by becoming a Marketers Take Flight Community Member. 

If you’re looking for a mentor. Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing, push you to that next career level while giving you actionable advice, like this very episode, then join the Marketers Take Flight membership community. 

For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

In this episode, we are talking about how to recruit, grow and manage your remote team. I'm talking with Kari Nemiro, who manages a 20-person team with members across the US.  She has cultivated a remote marketing team that supports a larger organization.

Even if you have a one- or two-person remote team, managing a team on its own is difficult but then managing a team that isn’t in the same office as you have its own unique challenges.  Kari’s approach believes in a solid foundation of trust, honest communication, and respect.  She’s got some great tips to keep you and your team on track.

Here are a few highlights:

• What are the qualities to look for when recruiting for a remote team? 7:31
• What other industries do you recruit from that may have similar skillsets? 11:50
• How do you collaborate when your team is spread out? 14:00
• How do you hold your team accountable? 19:30

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Kari Nemiro LinkedIn
• Tetra Tech
•  4 Types of AEC Marketing Departments
• Marketers Take Flight YouTube Channel

Get Yourself a Mentor
Are you looking for a mentor? Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing professional?  For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Want more AEC marketing goodness?

• New to proposals? Download my FREE “RFPs for Beginners – The Ultimate Proposal Management Checklist.”
• Stop planning, start creating with my FREE “Ultimate AEC Content Marketing Starter Kit.”
• Follow Lindsay on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Collaborate with other AEC Marketers in our Facebook Group.
• Purchase bite-sized, on-demand templates and training at the Marketers Place.
• Enroll in online training: The Proposal Pro or Content Marketing Clarity.

I’m continuing our conversation about automating CRM information management using workflows. In the last limited-time bonus episode I explained what workflows are, the benefits of building workflows, and how to identify when you can use a workflow. 

In this episode, I walk you through the planning and exact script I use to build workflows with my clients. I also share examples of the most popular CRM workflows I see and tell you how to get my workflow builder worksheet to help you build your own workflows – no matter what CRM system you have. 

This is a special bonus episode of the Marketers Take Flight Podcast that will only be available until November 30, 2021. And it’s just a sample of the type of bonus content you can get by becoming a Marketers Take Flight Community Member. 

If you’re looking for a mentor. Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing, push you to that next career level while giving you actionable advice, like this very episode, then join the Marketers Take Flight membership community. 

For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Is your firm thinking about a new CRM system?  Does your firm even need a CRM system?  In this episode, I’m back interviewing Jan Flesher and Courtney Kearney on where firms go wrong when selecting a new CRM system.  From deciding if your firm even needs one to streamline those people involved in the selection process, today’s episode covers all the important aspects of CRMs.  

We talk about what you’ll need to gather first to analyze what type of CRM system you need.  What is its purpose?  Who will use it?  What data will you collect?  What data needs to be collected.  We answer these and lots more in this episode, “Selecting the best AEC CRM.”

•  Where do firms go wrong when selecting a CRM system? 4:15
• You need a clear definition – CRM is a journey: 6:03
• Project Phases and Milestones to keep track of: 6:26
• Is Principal Involvement Necessary? 7:48
• What really IS a CRM? 8:43
• Beware of the Squirrel Mentality: 10:42
• Don’t forget your Mobile Apps: 12:01
• Why is proper education on using the CRM necessary? 13:01
• Who should be involved when selecting a CRM system? 17:39
• Don’t forget about the Finance department: 23:36
• How can Courtney’s firm help you? 28:03
• How can Jan’s firm help you? 30:10
• How can Lindsay’s firm help you? 35:16
• Courtneys #1 piece of advice for those new to AEC industry: 36:46
• Jan’s #1 piece of advice for those new to the AEC industry: 37:11

Learn more about Jan and Courtney and get the resources mentioned in the episode here: https://www.marketerstakeflight.com/42

Get Yourself a Mentor
Are you looking for a mentor? Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing professional?  For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Want more AEC marketing goodness?

• New to proposals? Download my FREE “RFPs for Beginners – The Ultimate Proposal Management Checklist.”
• Stop planning, start creating with my FREE “Ultimate AEC Content Marketing Starter Kit.”
• Follow Lindsay on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Collaborate with other AEC Marketers in our Facebook Group.
• Purchase bite-sized, on-demand templates and training at the Marketers Place.
• Enroll in online training: The Proposal Pro or Content Marketing Clarity.

Many CRM users are unaware of the vast capabilities of workflows. From managing repetitive tasks to ensuring information is updated, workflows are extremely versatile and easy to set up – no matter if you use Deltek Vision, Deltek Vantagepoint, Cosential, or other non-industry specific CRMs. Most CRM workflow functionally operates the same. 

In this special, limited-time bonus episode I am going to talk about what workflows are and how to identify when you can use a workflow. In the next bonus episode, I’ll share the script I use with clients to actually build their workflows, examples of the most popular CRM workflows, tell you how you can get my workflow builder worksheet to help you build your own workflows – no matter what CRM system you own.

This is a special bonus episode of the Marketers Take Flight Podcast that will only be available until November 30, 2021. And it’s just a sample of the type of bonus content you can get by becoming a Marketers Take Flight Community Member. 

If you’re looking for a mentor. Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing, push you to that next career level while giving you actionable advice, like this very episode, then join the Marketers Take Flight membership community. 

For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

How do you know if you need a CRM for your architecture, engineering, or construction (A/E/C) firm? How do you select the right CRM for your firm? How can you make sure you are getting the most out of your CRM?

In the first part of this two-part series, I ask Jan Flesher, PMP and Courtney Kearney, CPSM these questions.  And, you may be surprised to hear that not every firm needs a CRM! 

We also discuss the tipping point of when a firm should think about getting a CRM. Jan and Courtney have some great advice on what firms should think about when researching CRMs, what is the number one thing your firm should consider before bringing on a CRM.

This interview continues into the next episode but you don’t want to miss this one. Jan and Courtney have great advice and loads of knowledge to share.

• Jan Flesher’s Introduction - 1:59
• Courtney Kearney’s Introduction - 8:51
• Jan’s thoughts on when a firm should think about a CRM - 16:16
• Courtney’s thoughts on when a firm should think about a CRM - 18:39
• Courtney’s first piece of advice for a firm when considering a CRM - 24:00
• Jan’s first piece of advice for a firm when considering a CRM - 26:40

Get Yourself a Mentor
Are you looking for a mentor? Someone to go alongside you AND who gets what it’s like to be an AEC marketing professional?  For as little as $5/month you’ll get bonus podcast content, early and discounted access to training, and individualized support from me. Go to marketerstakeflight.com/mentor to learn more and join today.

Want more AEC marketing goodness?

• New to proposals? Download my FREE “RFPs for Beginners – The Ultimate Proposal Management Checklist.”
• Stop planning, start creating with my FREE “Ultimate AEC Content Marketing Starter Kit.”
• Follow Lindsay on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Collaborate with other AEC Marketers in our Facebook Group.
• Purchase bite-sized, on-demand templates and training at the Marketers Place.
• Enroll in online training: The Proposal Pro or Content Marketing Clarity.