Somewhere over the Atlantic, on my way to South Africa, I read an article that included the following sentence: "The world is run by those who show up!"
My first thought was, "Duh, that should be obvious." But then I thought, "consider how many people complain about the government and 'bad' laws and ordinances -- but NEVER show up at the polls to vote in an election."
My father said that, when I moved to a new city, I should register to vote as a member of the local "in" party, so if I ever needed a favor from an elected official or political appointee, I would be on their donor list and more likely to get the help I need." Cynical? Yes. My 60+ years of watching government work tells me that money talks!
What does this mean for the A/E industry? Here are some things to consider.
When you show up at a client's office, particularly when there is no RFQ/RFP "on the street," you demonstrate your desire to develop (or strengthen) a real relationship, leading to respect and trust, and ultimately leading to projects for that client.
When you show up at a city council meeting, you demonstrate your desire to be part of the workings of that local government, and your desire to develop (or strengthen) relationships with elected leaders.
When you show up at a pre-proposal meeting, you demonstrate many things: To the client, you demonstrate your desire to work on their projects and your willingness to invest your time in their processes. To the WBE, MBE, HUB, 8(a) or other firms who might be subconsultants, you demonstrate your intention to pursue the project, your need for subconsultants, and your desire to be approached by these firms as potential teaming partners. To the competition, you demonstrate that you are in contention for the project and intend to win it.
When you show up to visit the client's project managers, you demonstrate your desire to have a real relationship with them, to be more than just a consultant who does the work and submits a bill. If you show up when there is no RFQ/RFP "on the street" and you have no current project, you demonstrate your desire to be a friend, and to have a relationship outside/beyond the confines of a contract. You might even get the opportunity to help write the next RFQ or RFP, or to comment on an early draft, either of which gives you a competitive edge in pursuing that project.
All of these things are part of the client relationship, and we all know that relationships are as important as technical credentials in winning work. Therefore, you must get in your car, travel the miles, and put your butt print in the client's guest chair (my favorite phrase to describe this activity!), because showing up is half the battle!