How to maintain a client roster that sparks joy. Published in Modern Steel Construction. There are amazing clients, decent clients, and all-out bad clients. As the end of this year approaches, while you’re likely taking a hard look at your business strategy, it’s also a good time to … [Read more...] about Tidy Up
Articles
Marketing and business development tactics
Anne Scarlett has authored over 75 published articles. They are organized by topic in the sidebar to the right. Often, Anne expands upon these topics, presenting to audiences in intimate training sessions as well as at highly-attended conferences. In addition, her insights are frequently quoted in A/E/C industry publications. Representative articles:
Make Networking Work for You
A robust and focused networking strategy is one of the oldest and most effective ways to demonstrate your value to potential clients. Published in Modern Steel Construction. Who doesn’t love a good referral? After all, when someone has referred your services to a prospect, it means you’ve been … [Read more...] about Make Networking Work for You
Best Practices for Preparing AEP Fee Proposals
Published in RainToday. Finally, you receive a long-anticipated RFP. Don’t let all your prep work go to waste by submitting a lackluster fee proposal! Let’s rewind. In the architecture/engineering/planning (AEP) space, the selling cycle is often years in the making. Years! During the process, you … [Read more...] about Best Practices for Preparing AEP Fee Proposals
Improve your writing; Improve your business.
Published in RainToday. Your colleague sends you a mediocre email correspondence about a co-selling opportunity. It contains minor grammatical and spelling errors, and most of the piece is written in passive voice. You open a sub-consultant’s fee proposal to incorporate into your full-service … [Read more...] about Improve your writing; Improve your business.
I’m sorry…you were saying?
Published in RainToday and Modern Steel Construction. Recently, my firm received a query from a ‘hot prospect’ through our website. Based upon a series of initial conversations, I deduced that the prospect had a notably short attention span. It is possible – but certainly not my business – that she … [Read more...] about I’m sorry…you were saying?
Delivering—and receiving—bad news in business
Published in Modern Steel Construction and RainToday. In the professional services realm—regardless of your industry—you will repeatedly experience disappointments, setbacks, unwanted surprises, conflicts, and even devastations. Let's call it "bad news." Maybe the bad news comes from the client. … [Read more...] about Delivering—and receiving—bad news in business
Speak your prospects’ language; Don’t get lost in translation!
Published in Modern Steel Construction and RainToday. Have you ever been in a situation where you were surrounded by people who didn’t speak your “language?” Perhaps it was overt, such as when traveling abroad and realizing that crucial information was being shared rapid-fire, but it was all going … [Read more...] about Speak your prospects’ language; Don’t get lost in translation!
Respecting boundaries in networking
Published in Modern Steel Construction; PSMJ; and RainToday. Sometimes the line between effective networking and ‘gone-too-far’ gets crossed. Where do you draw this line? Consider these three scenarios below. Do any of them sound familiar? -Scenario I: You’re approached by a business contact (or … [Read more...] about Respecting boundaries in networking
‘How prospects learn’ is a critical part of the selling process.
Modify your approach to best fit your prospects' learning preferences. Published in RainToday. As service providers, there's a plethora of things to think about when selling. We strive to create rapport, build trust, offer value, overcome objections and barriers, create a client-for-life … [Read more...] about ‘How prospects learn’ is a critical part of the selling process.
Tips to Convert Small Talk into Business Conversation.
Tips on elevating small talk (and maybe easing into business). Published in Modern Steel Construction; PSMJ; and RainToday. Many technical (and non!) folks in the AEC industry are not keen on ‘small talk’. We find ourselves feeling inauthentic, facing dead-end conversations, or wasting our time. As … [Read more...] about Tips to Convert Small Talk into Business Conversation.