BuiltEnvironment

Training -- how to

A few weeks ago, there was a question in one of the SMPS listserves about staff training, whether it was better to use in-house people as trainers or bring others in, and whether it was better to go offsite for training or keep it in the office.

In the current issue (January 2010, page 20) of Structural Engineering & Design, Lisa Willard, PE, and Brian Quinn, PE, wrote,

"Many times, engineers like to play around with the program and try to get a feel for it on their own. They might read through the manual or ask others in the office for suggestions.

"Using these methods, an engineer might become competent with the program over time. But, direct instruction from a trainer could allow the engineer to use the program to a higher level in a shorter time frame and be more proficient in its use. Very likely, time and money could be saved by having the trainer demonstrate the most effective ways to use the program upfront."

I think this really makes the case for formal training -- whether the subject is technical or marketing-related, and whether the staff is technical or marketers. After all, if a project requires the use of a specific program, don't you want staff to be effective -- and productive -- as quickly as possible?

I believe that Willard and Quinn also make the case for offsite training, because training onsite is subject to all sorts of interruptions. Ten people may each have only one question, which will require only a moment to answer, but that still adds up to ten interruptions of the training session. And if a client happens to pay a surprise visit, you know that someone will be walking out of the training session to see the client. Clients come first -- they pay the bills!

Finally, and (I believe) most important, is the fact that having a trainer in the room means that no question goes unanswered, that every misunderstanding is cleared up before anyone can memorize something that is wrong, and that everything done right is confirmed and validated so that ONLY correct information is firmly impressed into memory.

A seat at the table

I have been developing an email list for my firm's new marketing piece. Working with Engineering News-Record's 2009 ranking of the Top 500 Design Firms, I have been looking at three sources to find appropriate contact(s) at each firm. One such source is the individual firm's website.

Once I locate a firm's site, I look for any listing of people -- specifically, the firm's day-to-day leadership. I'm not interested in their board of directors. What I'm looking for is their chief marketing officer, marketing director(s) and/or manager(s). In other words, the people who strategize, plan and manage the firm's marketing activities.

I have now looked at the websites of the top 155 firms on the ENR list. I am very surprised that a large percentage of these firms do not show a single marketing position on their lists of firm leaders. The lists included chief financial officers but no chief marketing officers, human resources directors but no marketing directors, IT managers but no marketing managers.

More surprising, a number of firms had a group with some variation on the name "strategic management committee," and this group often did not include a marketing leader either. I am flabbergasted!

Marketing staff focus on winning projects that the technical staff will bill time to next quarter, next year, and on into the future. How does a firm anticipate ongoing success if their marketing leaders don't have a seat at the table when it comes time to chart the firm's future and the course that will make that future achievable?

Maybe these firms just don't see that their marketing staff are professionals; they see marketing staff as "administrative baggage" who don't contribute to the bottom line because they don't generally have billable hours. Maybe they don't realize that, if not for marketing staff, there might not be enough projects to sustain a technical staff of the current size!

Marketers worry about the future while the technical folks concentrate on the work that's already on their desks. It should not be about billable hours -- if marketers don't help sell work, there will be fewer projects to bill, and firm growth will either slow or reverse. Marketers need to proclaim and defend their contribution to the firm's bottom line.

By the way, the new marketing piece is called The luxury of time. If anyone in interested, I'll be happy to share it with you. Just drop me an email at [email protected].

What is the most exciting thing that you did last year?

I wrote a book and had it published. "A Horse of a Different Color: Marketing in the Public Sector" is now available at www.psmj.com

The value of visibility

Based on a recent blog posting, I received a message from a man I had never met before. His message read:

"I just received your book announcement. . . I'm encouraged to see something published on public sector marketing. I chair the Education Committee of (an SMPS) chapter. I'll add you to our list of potential future speakers."

I had marketed a number of SMPS chapters for speaking opportunities during the 2009-2010 program season, but had not -- for reasons I no longer remember -- included that chapter in my effort.

Since speaking engagements make up a large part of my marketing effort, and are responsible for a number of projects coming my way, I love getting messages like that.

When I wrote "The Fast Lane," a column in the Zweig A/E Marketing Letter, I received a number of requests for help whose solutions ranged from quick answers to strategic marketing consultations to complete development of new SOQs and proposals. Those opportunities were a big part of why I wrote that column for 3+ years.

In 2009, I had speaking engagements in Chicago, Orlando, Seattle, Spokane and Cincinnati, and also conducted a pair of webinars based on my new book ("A Horse of a Different Color: Marketing in the Public Sector" -- available at www.psmj.com). All five "in-person" sessions were followed by brief discussions about helping an attendee's firm with a strategic or marketing issue.

So far, in 2010, I'll be speaking in Washington DC (SMPS chapter, January 27) and Indianapolis (SMPS Heartland Regional Conference). With luck, each of these sessions will be followed by similar discussions, ending in projects large or small.

This fall and winter, I've been writing for PSMJ's A/E Rainmaker newsletter and the IOMA Principal's Report. Again, with luck, readers of these two publications will contact me with projects.

And that's the value of visibility to a firm like The Siben Consult, LLC. Every opportunity for visibility -- whether in person or in writing -- is a marketing activity. My business is significantly fueled by my success rate in converting these opportunities to real projects.