Salary vs Commission: Another option
In a recent SMPS Listserve thread, one member asked about the possibility of using commission to create incentives for sales in the AEC space. Most members (including myself) agree that commission-only models simply don’t work for long-cycle projects especially when many people are involved in winning and working on the jobs. See this earlier posting [...]
Salary vs commissions: Another look at the issues
Recently, on the internal Society for Marketing Professional Services listserve, a well-established (and highly successful) engineering practice marketer asked this question: Forgive me in advance if this topic has been posted before. Would you be willing to share whether or not you have personally worked within or your company has established a commission-based sales environment? [...]
Testimonials in your emails: A powerful (and free) idea
Doug Reitmeyer, who offers a service to help U.S.-based contractors learn how to access federal government bidding opportunities, has shown an incredible degree of marketing savvy despite his humble observation in a recent email to me, “I’m just a contractor, not a marketer, so I’ll leave that stuff up to you and let you guide [...]
Media pubicity: selling and buying
A representative of a new social networking site focusing on the AEC community sent me an email a about a week ago inviting me to review and consider publicizing his site. I looked briefly at the email, decided not to delete it (most news releases find their way into the trash can) but didn’t rush [...]
Authenticity: Can you fake it until you make it?
An interesting question I sometimes face both in my own business and in assessing others is whether the organization is really what it says it is. Are we dealing with a “one man band” working from a basement or a successful, vibrant business (or is the one-man band actually a successfully, vibrant one-man (or person) [...]
Should you offer/pay referral fees, and if so, how much?
Randy Travis, Owner at Ramtra Home Value Improvements, in Huntington Woods, MI, asked this question at the LinkedIn Construction Business Owners Group: What is a fair referral / lead fee? Do you pay a percentage or a set fee based on the project value. If a business partner gives you a lead do you pay [...]
Crisis management and construction marketing
Earlier this week, I encountered a virtual “perfect storm” of business challenges and issues, almost all simultaneously. Some of the problems had been brewing for some time but others were genuine surprises. I’ve reported on one of them here: The strange saga involving the threat to my Google AdSense account. The other issues need to [...]
More evidence about the marketing power of follow-up inspections
I’ve described in several previous posts and my Construction Marketing Ideas book the advantages of setting up follow-up inspection/service visits as part of your initial contract with your clients. The reason is simple: Visits to remedy problems and ensure satisfaction build good will and put you in the perfect position to receive follow-up and referral [...]
Contradictory advice: Where to turn?
Some basic truths and fundamentals apply in the marketing business but you can read two or more completely different (and sincere) interpretations of of best and bad practices. For example, take the “free stuff” arguments described yesterday. The Reciprocity Principle suggests that generosity results in rewards; give a little free and gain a lot in [...]
When to give … when to sell
Consider this dichotomy. The best relationship-building and marketing approach I know is to be generous with your time, spirit and relationships. But you won’t be in business for long if you give your services away for free or you spend time, money and effort to undercut your prices and value proposition. The latter in part [...]
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