Marketers Take Flight

We all know that we should preposition our firm for the project before the RFP is advertised. We know we should be doing our capture planning including gathering intel about the project and stakeholders, meeting with the client, introducing our team to the client, etc. BEFORE the RFP is advertised. 

So, why don’t more of us do it? Well, one reason I hear often is that we don’t know the RFP is coming. That we just don’t know how to find about the potential project before it hits the street, and everyone knows. Often times by the time it’s advertised another competitor already knew about it and did their prepositioning and there’s a cone of silence once it's advertised, so you can’t even talk to the client. 

In this bonus episode, I am sharing three ways I’ve found RFPs before they have been advertised. And, I include an Intelligence Gathering freebie to help get you started.

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.

 Get the Intelligence Gathering freebie: www.marketerstakeflight.com/intelligence 

Have you ever felt like your internal proposal process was taking too long?  Your team is spread out, working from home or maybe they just aren’t meeting deadlines. Well, marketers, today’s episode will bring you some insight on how to better prepare and execute your next proposal process.  Our guest, Kate Robinette, CPSM will give you some steps to help your team juggle multiple proposals, stay on task with proposals and maybe even help you streamline your process.

Kate dives into how she’s been able to handle her team’s proposal process. She shepherds them to the finish line by keeping them on task.  We talk about her 'No Meeting, Meetings' as well as her proposal outline and how she helps new members integrate into the team.  You don’t want to miss this episode, lots of great advice in here.  Here are some highlights:

• How to kick off the proposal process with a team: 5:30
• Kate’s “No Meeting, Meeting” Reminders: 9:15
• How to keep that proposal process moving along: 10:08
• Review weekly calendar tasks:  13:41
• Kate’s advice on how to write better proposals (hint: edit and read): 18:07
• What to do after the initial meeting: 20:15
• Work on multiple proposal processes at once: 23:26
• Kate’s proposal outline: 26:44

About Our Guest

Kate Robinette, CPSM

Partner, Go! Strategies, LLC

Kate is a theater nerd who learned about AEC marketing when a board member of the arts council where she worked suggested she talk to his marketing director. She quickly realized her linear thinking, strategic analysis, writing, and logistics management were a killer combination for helping to win work. She spent 20 years honing her craft. Now she helps companies strengthen their marketing and BD teams, culture, and employee engagement with the same combination of talents and a (slightly less) deadline-driven rigor.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

➢    Kate Robinette LinkedIn

➢    Go! Strategies, LLC

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 struggle to get information about your firm’s projects from your technical staff? And, don’t you usually need this information when you are under the pressure of a proposal deadline?

One of the most asked questions I get from proposal managers is how to get the information they need in a timely manner from technical professionals. It’s a challenge I am faced with time and time again. I don’t believe the challenge will ever be solved. However, there are ways to help improve this process, work around technical staff, and minimize the effects late content can have on your schedule. 

And in this special bonus episode, I am going to be sharing four strategies I’ve used in the past to help me get the information I need from my technical peers.

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.

In this episode, I continue our professional skills-building conversation with Keelin and Matt. If you are a newbie to marketing and the proposal process, you do not want to miss this. We are answering questions that you may be afraid to ask, or maybe you just don’t know where to go and get these answers. 

If you missed episode 38, we started our conversation on identifying roadblocks, follow-up, and knowing when you are speaking up too little or too much. This week, we’ll dive into what task you should be working on and what you need to complete that action. We’ll also talk about making mistakes. Everyone makes them, even us. Lastly, Matt and Keelin both answer their rapid file questions. You don’t want to miss their answers to the #1 piece of advice for new AEC Marketers. They both offer valuable insight.

• Identifying what project or task you should be working on and what action to take to complete the assignment: 2:51
• What happens when you make a mistake? 8:22
• Matt’s #1 piece of advice for Marketers new to the AEC Industry: 14:58
• Keelin’s #1 piece of advice for Marketers new to the AEC Industry: 15:38

About Our Guests

Keelin Cox, CPSM, ENV SP

Senior Marketing Specialist

Stantec

Keelin Cox, CPSM, ENV SP is a creative thinker and problem solver with a focus on thoughtful interactions throughout the AEC industry. As a senior marketing specialist at Stantec, she is invested in supporting the water sector to build winning proposals, create smart strategies, and help her teams serve their communities. Keelin is the host of the AEC Marketeer podcast that explores AEC marketing and beyond.

Matt Handal

An out of the box thinker, Matt's passion is doing what others assume can't be done. He is an aggressive marketer who has helped construction, engineering, architectural, and real estate consulting firms realize tens of millions in fees from projects ranging from $500K to $2B.

He has a healthy disrespect for the status quo and loves to challenge conventional wisdom.

Matt is a co-author of the Marketing Handbook for the Design & Construction Professional and author of the Society for Marketing Professional Services' research whitepaper on "Marketing and the Mind."

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Marketers Take Flight YouTube Channel
• AEC Marketeer Podcast
•  Help Everybody Everyday Blog
• Proposal Development Secrets Book

Rate, Review and Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Check out this episode on our

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.

Are you new to the industry or maybe recently graduated college new to the professional world?

Or have you been around for a few years, but not sure how or who to approach with some of your questions?

Maybe you have questions about communication, conflict, or basic professionalism?

Well, in this episode,  I’m bringing in two guests to answer the questions you were too afraid to ask. Matt Handal, author of the Proposal Development Secrets Book, and Keelin Cox, host of the AEC Marketeer Podcast bring insight to questions around communication, conflict, and different workplace situations.  

There’s so much information to unpack in this episode, we’ll release part two next time. But I’d love to know your thoughts on this format. It’s a new format for us and allows me to bring you different ideas, information, and guests. Let me know what you think.  

• Introducing Matt Handal: 2:38
• Introducing Keelin Cox: 3:49
• Identifying Roadblocks and Finding Work Arounds: 5:28
• Why is follow up important?: 13:01
• How do you know if you are speaking up too much (or too little): 20:35 

About Our Guests

Keelin Cox, CPSM, ENV SP

Senior Marketing Specialist

Stantec

Keelin Cox, CPSM, ENV SP is a creative thinker and problem solver with a focus on thoughtful interactions throughout the AEC industry. As a senior marketing specialist at Stantec, she is invested in supporting the water sector to build winning proposals, create smart strategies, and help her teams serve their communities. Keelin is the host of the AEC Marketeer podcast that explores AEC marketing and beyond.

Matt Handal

An out of the box thinker, Matt's passion is doing what others assume can't be done. He is an aggressive marketer who has helped construction, engineering, architectural, and real estate consulting firms realize tens of millions in fees from projects ranging from $500K to $2B.

He has a healthy disrespect for the status quo and loves to challenge conventional wisdom.

Matt is a co-author of the Marketing Handbook for the Design & Construction Professional and author of the Society for Marketing Professional Services' research whitepaper on "Marketing and the Mind."

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Marketers Take Flight YouTube Channel
• AEC Marketeer Podcast
•  Help Everybody Everyday Blog
• Proposal Development Secrets Book

Rate, Review, and Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Check out this episode on our

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.

Have you ever wanted to refine your proposal process? How do you ruthlessly eliminate waste from your proposals? In today’s episode, we are talking to Kathryn Bennett, CPSM about lean principles.

We’ll be helping you reduce your non-value added activities in your proposals and help you measure your process effectively. You’ll understand how to ask “WHY” problems are occurring and start working on how you can fix them.

A few highlights you may want to review:

• Kathryn's experience: 1:40
• What are the lean principles? 3:39
• Where do you see inefficiencies in your proposal management today? 5:11
  • Waste - Information for experts: 5:44
  • Waste - Review Purgatory: 6:00
  • Waste - Put your hands on the right content: 6:20
• Lean process improvement: 8:47
• Late edits: 10:59
• Root cause analysis - ASK WHY 5X’s:  11:23
• What should or proposal department measure? 12:47
• Trends for inefficiencies: 13:58
• Some metrics to think about: 15:20
• Go with your gut to make the change: 16:34
• What one thing can you do to be more efficient? 18:03

About our Guests:

Kathryn Bennett, CPSM

Director of RFP Excellence, Loopio

Kathryn Bennett, CPSM is the Director of RFP Excellence at Loopio. She has more than a dozen years of proposal management and technical communications experience. Kathryn believes that every proposal manager should be able to go home at the end of a 40-hour workweek, and she's made it her personal mandate to support better processes so proposal managers don't suffer from burnout. 

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• Loopio
• Loopicon 2021 Loopicon registration information: Sept. 28-29
• American Society for Quality
• End Your File Frustration Forever!
• Loopio 2021 benchmark report
• Kathryn's LinkedIn Page

Rate, Review, and Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And, don't forget to download the app on iTunes or the Podcast ap

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.

Most of us have been to an in-person conference or event before.  During the last year that has changed. Today on the show, I’m talking to two organizers who took on the task of creating an in-person event for this year’s SMPS SERC.

While there are always challenges to events, this year brought new challenges and new feedback which could change the way events are held in the future. Join us today to talk about organizing and attending an in-person conference or event.

A few highlights you may want to review:

• Emily and Rachael tell us how they got involved in creating events: 1:57
• SMPS SERC event format: 4:06
• Virtual vs. In-person conference: 4:57
• How long does it take to organize?: 6:02
• Health or safety precautions to consider: 9:19
• Details that look different now: 11:08
• Was a better experience created: 12:31
• Feedback from members: 13:32
• How to connect with virtual attendees: 14:50
• Instructions and how-tos make a better event: 16:31
• Advice for others planning events: 17:16
• More information on SERC 2022: 18:46

About our Guests:

Emily Hawarah, Marketing Coordinator, KCI Technologies

Emily started her career in AEC marketing in 2013 and attended her first SMPS Southeastern Regional Conference in Raleigh in 2014. The year and a half she spent as a conference co-chair (that just so happened to coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic) was life-changing and eye-opening! 

Rachael Frohardt, Marketing Manager, PCL Construction

Rachael Frohardt is the Marketing Manager for the Southeast Buildings division of PCL Construction, the nation’s 9th largest general contractor. Rachael leads a team of talented marketing, communications and creative professionals focused on achieving PCL’s strategic vision. Her passion, intellect, and industry experience allow her to challenge the status quo while catapulting the development of innovative marketing and communications strategies. Rachael is a past president for the SMPS Central Florida chapter and Chapter President of the Year winner. She is the mother of two young children who inspire her every day to work hard, dream big and make chicken nuggets.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

• 2022 SMPS Southeastern Regional Conference

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.

Welcome back, Marketers! We are back and kicking off season 2 with a new episode. Have you ever wondered why a client may choose another firm over yours? Interested in making the client’s experience a better one? Today, I’m interviewing Sreoshy Banerjea, an urban designer and architect who has taken her knowledge and dug deep to find out what our clients want in a proposal. 

Sreoshy’s research looks at what the client is looking for within your firm, your proposals, and more. From the basic factors like spelling errors to more sophisticated considerations such as diversity in age. We will discuss the biggest pet peeve of the client, as well as what makes a winning proposal. 

Sreoshy has created a course on writing a better proposal and winning that client each time.  Her course, ATLAS Framework, is available here: https://atlas.newzenler.com/f/atlasroadmap

What to review the highlights of today’s episode?  

• Sreoshy’s career path: 2:04
• Sreoshy tells us about the recent client research she’s conducted: 4:42
• What do you look for when hiring and selecting consultants? 4:57
• Common factors from the client’s side that made them want to eliminate proposals?: 7:32
  • Basic Factors: 7:57
  • Sophisticated Factors:  8:11
• Diversity in Age?: 11:06
• Client looking for the day-to-day lead to present AND lead the meeting: 12:45
• Technical details/Project Delivery aspect: 14:59
• Quality Control, do you have a system in place? 16:22
• Common winning elements for proposals: 17:05
  • What’s the biggest factor? 17:44
  • Other winning elements? 18:17
• Which proposals have the more winning patterns?  20:15
• Clients biggest pet peeves reviewing proposals? 21:55
• ATLAS Framework – how can it help firms create better proposals? 26:44

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.

This podcast is for marketing and business development professionals who work in the architecture, engineering, construction industry. 

And, I’m officially kicking off season 2. In the first season, we dug deep into proposal management, writing, and communications. This season I am mixing it up. 

This season’s topics include:

• Clients’ proposal pet peeves
• Organizing in-person events
•  Managing remote marketing departments
• Selecting the right CRM for your firm
• Lean approaches to proposal management
•  Communicating to get what you want
• Running better BD meetings
• And lots more.

If you are responsible for marketing and/or proposal management and work at architecture, engineering, construction, or related firm, this is the podcast for you. Regardless of your level, you will walk away with actionable tips and feeling inspired. 

Also, feel free to visit my website MarketersTakeFlight.com. This is where you will be able to find show notes, additional training, and other great resources. You can also reach out to me there to request a future topic for the show.

So, make sure you hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss out on season 2. 

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.

This is a special bonus episode of the Marketers Take Flight podcast.

While I am in-between seasons of my podcast, I have been a guest on a few other industry podcasts. One of those is the AEC Marketeer hosted by Keelin Cox. She was not only gracious enough to have me on her show, but she also provided me with a copy to share with you!

In this episode, we talk about how to evaluate your business processes. I talk about the differences between different processes I see working with AEC firms across the country - small, mid, and large firms.

Make sure that you check out Keelin's podcast, AEC Marketeer, wherever you listen to your podcasts. Her mission is very similar to mine - help, support, and inspire as many AEC marketers as possible!

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.