Dealing With The Reality of Unemployment

Having recently been unemployed, I would like to offer the following insight on how to deal with this new reality for so many in our industry. First and foremost, get registered with the Department of Labor immediately, regardless of your severance situation. They will know if, and when, you are eligible to receive an unemployment payment. In Atlanta, the system is backlogged, so it can take over a month to receive your first payment, apply now, before you think you need to.

Next, get out there -- and stay in front of people! Let others know you are looking for a job and get the word out. Attend association meetings, go out to lunch with your peers, keep up with what is going on in the industry, go on interviews - even if you do not believe you are right for that position. You never know what you will learn. And even if it is not the right “fit” for you, someone else you know may be perfect for that role--Pay It Forward!

For those who are employed and want to help, keep in touch with your unemployed friends, colleagues and peers. Most importantly, we are all in this game together, so let them know that they are not alone. Take them out to lunch, offer to pay for their registration to attend an association meeting, and pass along job leads as you hear of them. Write a recommendation of them to post on the SMPS Pay it Forward website, along with their resume.

These times are uncertain, at best. But one thing is certain, SMPS is here to stay, and we are here for our members and colleagues. We get closer to the end of the economic downturn every day. Now is a great time to get in front of those clients who are typically too busy to meet. This is the time to make a plan for “the turnaround”. What is your firm doing now to position itself for new project opportunities? You never know, the person you connect with a new job today, could be your new best client tomorrow. Build those relationships, stay connected, and remember, your friends at SMPS are here for you.

_____________________

Beth Harris was recently hired by McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc., as Regional Marketing Manager. MBP is a construction program management, cost estimating, scheduling, litigation/claims support firm in Buckhead.

Beth Harris

McDonough Bolyard Peck, Inc.

President of SMPS Atlanta

Vectors vs. Pixels

Here's a situation you may be familiar with. You've just joined a firm and you need to do a design that requires a vector image. Your boss doesn't understand why you can't just use a jpg, tif, or gif image and no one knows what a vector image is.

If you feel shy or irritated when trying to explain the importance of vectors, or maybe you need an entertaining reminder yourself, check out this funny 3-minute video by MacMerc.TV called Pixels vs. vectors. Additionally, iStock has a helpful article on vector tips and tricks: Points and Paths article.

Lastly, a great place to find that vector image is to call the printer that provides stationary or signs to your firm.

Sarah Mackley
Innovative Solutions Group, Ltd. (ISG)
SMPS Atlanta, Director of Communications

Best Practices Program Synopsis

For the October 28 “Best Practices” presentation, Karen Courtney of Barton Malow and Pete Kienle, of McKim & Creed featured real world examples and life lessons beginning with some definitions and differences between marketing (one to many), business development (one to one) and sales (closing the deal).

As they moved into the “Business Acquisition”: process, they talked about delineating the different stages of the sales process and where most firms spend the majority of their time. By contrast, they illustrated how that differs from where winning firms spend most of their time. The bottom line is more effort up front in the “target” and “intelligence” (relationship building) phase pays big dividends when it comes to getting the job. They referred to this process as “wiring the job.”

Expounding more on targeting and intelligence, they covered many unique places to look for leads and the sales funnel rule of thumb. It opened many eyes as to just how many places and ways you can acquire a lead from rumors you hear at your child’s baseball game to alumni reports. There was a definite push to become focused on a manageable number of prospects where your firm does have experience in what the prospect is attempting to build. A great tip in this section was to always call and ask questions about the RFP. It just shows you respect the prospect enough to make sure you have everything they require.

Next, in the Go/No Go section, the white board brainstorming came up with several suggestions a committee should consider during this phase. Does your firm have:

• A relationship with this prospect?
• Relevant experience with this project type?
• Appropriate staff to do the job?
• Funding source?
• Enough marketing staff to create the proposal?
• A possibility for future work?
• Profit margin?
• Prospect?
• Internal champion?

Cultivate was the next area of concentration and focuses on creating those lasting relationships. Karen even told a story about an out of town shopping excursion she once had with a client. She also gave excellent insight including “trust is the number one reason a firm is selected” and “it takes a minimum of seven contacts (communications) to make a sale.”

They spoke of the fact that we all must find our value proposition, practice our elevator speech and find or create differentiators between ourselves and our competitors. We also received a great tip about a good access letter in the 14th addition of the AIA handbook.

In the “Strategic Plan” section, they advised us to set a goal, develop a strategy and devise a tactic. For marketing in a slow economy they encouraged to keep talking, bury your competition, promote yourself, give accolades to those that do a great job and keep marketing and developing business!

Mark Fore
National Business Development Manager
CEI Engineering Associates, Inc.

What's On My Mind...

These days I’m finding it’s important to cut through the clutter and focus on what is important. The challenge is figuring out just what is the important stuff.

We all have that ever-present balancing act between our personal and professional lives. The way I see it is, as you get older, you really need to “protect” your me time, or the thing that makes you YOU, gets lost. Time is a premium. I can’t tell you how many times I have turned to my husband or children and said, “I just wish there was more time in the day.” That’s at the point where I’m climbing in bed and then falling asleep immediately. And, then again, there are those times I lay awake all night worrying about things – some within my control and other totally out of my control. I’m sure you’ve felt that way too.

My thought here is to share a few tidbits or, perhaps even, mantras that may serve as some guideposts for you in your own individual journeys:

• Stay on a quest of continuous learning! Personally, I like knowing a little about a lot of things. It keeps life interesting. I like to know about what’s on the horizon. It gives you great conversation starters.
• Celebrate your wins; pat yourself on the back. Especially in our industry, I know you may often feel like you are unappreciated or not valued. The truth is if YOU know your value, that’s all that matters. Walk with your head held high and smile. And, if you don’t like your situation, you are the only one who can change it.
• Don’t be afraid to ‘ask for forgiveness instead of permission.’ I have found that if I’m waiting for someone to give me permission to do something, that particular opportunity is long gone. Trust your gut, must of the time it is right. But, if you totally mess something up, quickly admit to your failing. If you don’t, the consequences can be disastrous.
• Avoid looking back and saying “I wish I would’ve.” If you ever find you are at a crossroad of indecision or even fear, ask yourself, “Will I wish I would have done that?” Much of life is serendipity. And, if you think about it, we spend a lot of energy ‘creating our own luck.’ Think about it.
• Be in it to win it! Everyone wants to win. Give it your all. Think positively and know you are going to win. You deserve to win!

Since this is a ‘blog’ and the EAC has been challenged to participate, I look forward to hearing your feedback and comments to this posting, share your insights that may serve as inspiration to others.

Peggy Henderson
Senior Associate
Heery International

Freebies!! Everyone loves free stuff.

Here are some links that will get you going on your stock photography library. Nothing is totally free. You are required to register at each of the sites. Be sure to declick receiving free mailings or offers. Also note the usage requirements. Happy photo hunting!

Freebies: Free weekly images at istockphoto

Every week on istockphoto, a free image is provided for download. Downloads continue to be free for three extra weeks. Click here to see previous images.

Freebies: Free monthly illustration at istockphoto
Every month on istockphoto, a free image is provided for download. Downloads continue to be free for three extra weeks. Click here to see illustrations.

Freebies: GoMedia Vector Pack 9
GoMedia has just released the latest vector pack. It is offering a free sample pack for download. Be sure to download it!

Freebies: Dreamstime - 3600 Stock Photos Free!
At Dreamstime you can access to 3600 stock photos for free. Here’s the link: Dreamstime to access the free image section.

Freebies: Daily Free Stock Photos at Crestock

Crestock is giving away a free, high quality photo every single day! Here is a montage of some of the better photos I have downloaded over the past 2 weeks. They even have an RSS feed so you can get the daily updates directly in your favourite RSS reader.

Sarah Mackley
Innovative Solutions Group, Ltd. (ISG)
SMPS-GA Director of Communications

Choosing the Right Public Relations Partner

Strategic Approach
Public relations firms come in all different shapes and sizes. Finding the right firm that fits your company is the first step.

Your PR firm should have:

• Knowledge about your business
• Industry expertise across critical sectors
• Experience and relationships with local media and industry trade publications
• Proven success in the marketplace
• Seasoned PR professionals as day-to-day contacts

Strategic Exploration
The strategic exploration process enables your chosen PR firm to attain a comprehensive understanding of your company’s business, brand, customers, markets and processes.

• Material Review – Background information and materials help facilitate a broader understanding of the mission, goals and resources of the company
• Exploratory Interviews and Research – Interviews with key executives within the company helps define brand philosophy, company visions for growth, company goals and overall brand perception and impact
• Competitive Analysis – Competitor analysis allows for a comprehensive review of how your competitors stack up in the industry
• Information Analysis and Development of Program Recommendations – Analysis of data and background information gathered help develop a brand and communications blueprint
• Discussion and dialogue on recommendations – After the brand and communications blueprint has been submitted, decide on a set of goals and objectives prior to implementation

Implementation
During implementation, your PR firm should offer:

• Proactive management of your PR objectives
• Consistent Support for Mission & Vision from look & feel design standpoint to a comprehensive verbal support structure
• Audience Positioning to frame a distinct, differentiated identity and create a foothold with key client groups and organizations
• Strategic Outreach to create alliances with businesses, associations, organizations and groups to strengthen reach and resources
• Thought Leadership on issues, trends and topics that extend brand relevance and reputation with key regional, national and international audiences
• Executive Visibility including compelling ways to deliver identity and promote involvement through representative senior leadership
• Audience Research & Analysis tools to support targeted messaging outreach and impact measurement of the identity process

Measure Results
Establishing a company’s thought leadership promotes brand awareness and expertise in a given area. Public relations, like any other marketing tool, must be strategically planned for, diligently implemented and measured on a regular basis. A public relations road map must be developed and then implemented effectively and efficiently, measuring results on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

At the end of the implementation stage, did your PR firm:

• Establish industry leading visibility?
• Drive trade media coverage?
• Perform above expectations?
• Deliver against measurable goals?
• Provide creative, strategic solutions for your business?

Judy Sparks
SMPS Atlanta Executive Advisory Panel
Brand Resources Group, Inc.

Smarter Internal Marketing

I was reading an article in RainToday on 6 Steps for Creating a Marketing Plan that Works Best for You. (If you haven’t utilized RainToday as a resource, you should really subscribe.) The article talked about marketing to the path of least resistance and evaluating how you could make your efforts easier. This is one thing that I think too many marketers continue to overlook in their path of improving and changing things within their company.

As marketers we try to focus on getting buy-in from everyone all at once. However, logic tells us you will never get everyone to agree. So why do we struggle so much to get approval from those that disagree with us? As I’ve continued through my career I’ve realized that if you focus on what you CAN do versus what you CAN’T, success comes so much easier. So the next time you find yourself stressed because you can’t get an initiative through, focus on those individuals you can get buy-in from. It’s amazing how quickly those that opposed the initiative come around when they start to see the success it brings.

Another approach is called WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?). Are you able to really listen, so you can demonstrate how it will benefit them? Not what you feel should be important to them, but what they feel is important. For example, I hear marketers talk about needing more staff all the time, but all they do is complain about how much work they have. Take a look from the President’s perspective. Can you demonstrate how it benefits the company? What is the ROI? What is the industry standard?

When you think about it, this is what we do as marketers. So use your skills. Our job is to convince someone to use our services -- this just happens to be internal marketing. If you anticipate what is important to the person you have approached and know the questions they will ask, have those answers ready. You will begin to see a dramatic improvement with the success of your internal marketing efforts.


Sarah Mackley
Innovative Solutions Group, Ltd. (ISG)
SMPS-GA Director of Communications