These results (and readers’ reviews) are gratifying. While this book won’t make the New York Times bestsellers list or cause me to be a guest on Oprah, undoubtedly the book has proven successful within this market niche.  And that, of course, is what great marketing is all about.

You can preview sections of the book — and if you wish to purchase it, select the retailer with the best price — at Google Books.  (If you order directly from my office, I’ll autograph it for you.)

This morning, we’re heading on a road trip to Boston, MA for the annual Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Build Business conference. It’s about a six hour drive (without stops, at speed limit) to Boston from Ottawa.  Tomorrow (Wednesday), I’ll attend Certified Professional Services Marketer (CSPM) events before the full conference gets under-way on Thursday and Friday.  We will cap off the weekend with a visit to Fenway Park to take in a (bleacher seat) view of a game between the Red Sox and the Texas Rangers.

Over the years, SMPS has structured its annual conference with some standardized processes and protocols, mixing networking events, lectures, workshops and informal “connecting points” to create a worthwhile event.  The association holds its conferences in the summer unlike many other business associations — this can create steamy “opportunities” (I decided to take a pass on the conference last year in Las Vegas, Nevada) but also connects well with lighter conventional work loads and family vacation scheduling.

Of course, I’ll be reporting on the conference in this blog.  Depending on whether there is high speed wifi within the conference centre, you may see multiple postings each day as i absorb specific seminars and lectures and report on the observations in near real-time.

If you are in Boston and wish to connect with me one-on-one please feel free to email me at buckshon@cnrgp.com.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable parts of my work is the opportunity to connect with and “pick brains” from successful businesses.  Ironically, there is an inverse correlation between the need to implement the ideas in my Construction Marketing Ideas book and the success of the business — and even more interesting is that most of the people I can track who purchase or request  the book don’t “need it” in that they are already successful in their marketing approaches!  (The book is available from the Construction Marketing Ideas website or other booksellers including Amazon.com and is free to Construction News and Report Group advertising clients who request it.)

If you read this posting or the weekly Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter this morning, you probably will be connecting while I drive along some of the more scenic highways of eastern Ontario.  I might be a little slower than usual in replying to your emails or phone messages.

In the Webinar, I’ll distill some of the fundamental concepts in my Construction Marketing Ideas book – how to make marketing both fun and effective for your business.

You can find more registration information here.

I advertise extensively.

You spend a significant amount of money each month to promote your business with paid advertising in magazines, newspapers, the Web and perhaps television and radio.  You measure the effectiveness of your media, but you aren’t worried about immediate results — single ads don’t usually work on their own; the process is cumulative.  Your marketing budget is perhaps in the 10s of thousands of dollars each month.  Media sales reps love you because you’ll try new things and not be fearful to sign ongoing advertising contracts.

I market strategically, with a real budget, but focus on relationship development and the client experience,

You might spend as much money (as a portion of your overall business revenue) on marketing as the first group of advertising-focused marketers, but the process to an outsider is more subtle:  ‘Thank you’ programs for existing clients, hired public relations and communication specialists; planned community and charitable projects and association membership and support, and investment in CRM (Client Relations Management) systems and staff training to create “wow” client experiences.

I rely on word of mouth, repeat business, and open bid competitions (in other words, I don’t really market).

You might buy the occasional ad because a salesperson calls and suggests you support a charity or existing client and you may spend a little money haphazardly here and there on marketing because you have to or are desperate.  Advertising, you think, is a waste of money, and it usually is when you spend it the way you do.  Marketing, you believe if BS — just do a good job at a fair price and you’ll have enough business.

Since my business earns 95 per cent of its revenue from advertising, you might think that I advocate that you should go to the first model.  Ironically, most of our clients are in the third:  They are haphazard and not very smart about how they spend money on marketing and advertising.  I started this blog and wrote my book to help them but few get it.  (When I communicate directly with clients offering additional support and resources — making clear I am not simply trying to sell them more advertising — the only ones who respond are generally in the first and/or second categories.  They don’t need the services/support but understand its reasoning and value.)

In fact, I think the second approach, a thoughtful, client-centred but but budgeted approach to marketing, is truly the wisest approach.  Paid advertising can certainly be part of the picture, especially if you wish to connect with consumers rather than other businesses, but other approaches to marketing focusing on extending and expanding existing client relationships asre probably much more cost-effective and can be a lot more enjoyable.  Best of all, this approach works beneath the surface of your competitors’ radar, giving you incredible control and power in developing your “stealth” and pinpoint effectiveness.  The potential clients who you really want to serve know you are the best, but others you don’t care to have any business with don’t even know you are there.

The challenge is the second approach is probably the hardest to execute if you don’t know what you are doing.  Advertising sales representatives and marketing consultants who work for “free” but collect their fees from media commissions or other third party-sources are unlikely to be too helpful in the broader approach.  Your competitors who practice these principals won’t exactly broadcast their secrets.  And you still must face the fact that this is not a route based on instant gratification:  You can’t simply pick up the phone, buy the adverting, and then wait for the leads and clients to emerge. It takes work and time which you will rationally justify takes you away from billable work and immediate revenue.

You can get there by reading, learning, connecting with non-competitive peers, and doing it yourself (with a clear budget).  This approach, in fact, is the wisest route if you are just starting out in business.  Or you can contract with consultants or specialized employees who will do the heavy lifting for you.  Here, you need to know enough to know who to hire/contract and who is stringing you along with BS (telling you what you want to hear, and delivering what you say you want, even though it isn’t really what you really need.)

In my business, I know only of two or three people who practice the first version of marketing effectively and perhaps a small handful who succeed at the second approach.  Most of these businesses are successful and have lasted through several recession ups and downs.  (A few in the first category have flamed out; they were pouring huge amounts into advertising and marketing but weren’t playing by the rules:  Scratch the surface, and you would find a hollow or unethical underbelly.  I recall visiting one of these big advertisers/marketers in prison, confirming from that meeting that he belonged there.)

If you are like most in the architectural, engineering and construction industry, you probably fall into the third category.  I suppose if your approach “works” nothing I suggest will cause you to rush to change.  But you can move into the second category, which I believe takes you further along the path of success than any alternative with some thought, a reasonable budget and a commitment to combine patience, persistence and measuring (metrics) to achieve results.  I show you how in my book and will describe the process in greater detail at the July 8 Webinar.  (Early-bird discount ends tomorrow.)

Mark Buckshon is a journalist who publishes regional construction industry publications in the US and Canadian market. He is also a prolific Blogger.

Construction Marketing Ideas has been written for the North American Architectural, Engineering or Construction (AEC) business, but has much of relevance to those same companies in the UK. If you are not in this group it is still well worth a read as it contains plenty of useful ideas.

Many of his suggestions have been drawn from a few key businesses that he has got to know and all are practical. He also provides a number of useful references for further reading. The first half of the book sets out the foundations for an effective business, covering subjects such as brand, identifying strengths, customer relationships and the business plan. Then he moves on to make practical suggestions for promoting your business. For those who are not in small AEC companies, his views on the use of digital media will probably be most useful as they are based on practical experience.

Although there are a number of references to US organisations it is an easy book to read and contributes to a very small library of specialist construction marketing books.

This review is truly a wonderful surprise, because I didn’t send the reviewer a review copy — he purchased the book, like anyone else!

(The book naturally is written primarily for readers in the U.S. and Canadian market so indeed it focuses on organizations such as The Society for Marketing Professional Services which are relevant more on this side of the pond.)

You can email me at buckshon@cnrgp.com or phone 888-432-3555.

The rebuild is under way and will take a few days (perhaps a week) of tweaking and adjusting.  Some links might not work properly and some familiar features may disappear or be modified.  But I expect when the project is completed, the site will be much fresher and be easier to navigate and use.

Bobby Darnell, for example, observed in an email:

I have to agree with Vivian…you give away too much!

My degree is a BBA in Finance and one of my investment professors said that ‘Advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.’

I believe you are sitting on top of a marketing revenue goldmine but just need to maybe reconsider how you promote yourself.  Without ANY advertising, except for links on my blog, I sell a program called ‘Building New Business’ levels I, II and III.  I have made over $20,000 in ‘passive’ revenue from this and my entire program is only 65 pages long.  The reason I put ‘passive’ in quotes is that it is an interactive business development solution, meaning, I am on the phone with the client, working with them through the first part of the program.  (The reason for it being ‘interactive’ is (1) I don’t want to just sell a ‘home-study’ course that people will buy and inundate them with stuff so they never complete it and get too busy to return it for their money back.  I want my clients to see results.  The second reason is (2) There is so much that I convey over the phone that prevents them from just copying and giving it away to their friends.

Anyway, we have talked about this some in the past and I would be happy to chat with you some more.  You are an inspiration to me, the reason I began blogging and I believe you just need to think about maybe tilting your head a bit, looking at your business model a little differently and charge more!!

You can also read the comment from Cassandra Pollack:

I received your email 2 days ago, and it piqued my interest. I am planning on bringing up your webinar at our Friday sales meeting. Perhaps other people are interested, but they need to consider it, or need to talk to someone else to get the approval to spend the $. Or, it’s on their to-do list for “sometime before June 1.”

After writing the posting, I reached out for some marketing support and received confirmation that the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) will publicize the event in upcoming newsletters and member communications.

In my limited experience in co-ordinating Webinars for Bill Caswell, we have noticed that about half of the people register ahead of the event and half sign up on the day of the actual Webinar.  This makes sense because most of us don’t want to tie up or commit our resources/time when we know that something might happen at the last minute to derail our plans — and conversely on the day of the event, we may know we have a true block of time available to spend on the project.

Bobby Darnell’s points about fees and individualization touch close to the project’s concept.  The real value of the event for participants will be our one-on-one conversation  to develop a basic media plan and system.   This will be immediately useful.

Years ago, I learned the value of intelligent perseverance for what is really important in life.  Thoughtful effort and “carrying on” is not the same as blindly repeating mistakes hoping somehow things will work out in the end. With media publicity and consulting, you need some luck and inspiration to succeed.  But if you do enough of the right things, in the correct manner, you will likely ultimately hit a marketing home run.

Three were great.  They combined inspiration, ideas and resourcefulness.  (I especially remember enjoying Mel Lester’s observations.)  Alas, the fourth presentation on a topic that at the time seemed alluring (I forget it now) proved to be an utter disappointment.  The speakers were bland, boring, ill-prepared, and talked corporatespeak rather than real substance.  Then I noticed their business had paid to be a major sponsor at the conference and presumably, as part of the sponsorship arrangement, they had  been given a speakers’ spot.

With more speaking and presentation experience, I’ll win the opportunity to speak at SMPS events without paying sponsorship or even attendance fees and then, as I improve and gain more credentials, will earn speaking fees (and write more books which capture the ideas, win recognition and even more business.)

I paid my way to that conference (including the conference fees) despite hoping earlier on to be accepted as a presenter of a panel discussion on social networking topics (after all, this blog was then and is still the longest-running continuously maintained blog serving the AEC community).

Sigh.  Then a smile.  This year, I’ll attend again on my own dime.  I could pay for a coveted speakers’ spot with a generous conference sponsorship fee which would set me back several thousand dollars.  Or I could spend some time learning what works, who speaks well, writing and blogging about the experiences, so next year I can propose a topic and/or earn a coveted foundation white paper award and go on stage without paying a cent. This year, for sure, I’ll most likely avoid presentations where I see any correlation with sponsorship fees — no need to waste my time on speakers who paid for their speaking spots!  (Actually, I will plan quick previews of a couple of these paid presentations just to see how bad they are and validate my observations.  I expect I’ll be proven wrong at least once, but my prejudices are now firmly in place.)

Bill Caswell certainly appreciates these values about buying or earning recognition.  He earned my business by speaking at an Innovators Alliance meeting a few years ago as my business entered a steep decline, offering a genuine “results guaranteed or you pay nothing” offer (with no up-front fees).  I took it.  Last fall, I proposed he organize a Webinar which I would promote on a revenue-sharing arrangement.  The day of the event, technical glitches added to the seemingly low attendance suggested this would be our first and last Webinar.  But surprising things happened.  Bill’s presentation attracted additional business for both of us.  We discovered that speaking and giving Webinars has powerful marketing advantages far greater than the cost of putting on the presentation and the actual revenue achieved from it.  Accordingly we set out to find a solution to the technical problems and started planning our next Webinar.

We won’t get rich at the event, again, but will continue learning.  The work with Bill Caswell will help me prepare for my first Webinar in co-operation with Tim Klabunde and the Deisgn and Construction Network in July on Construction Marketing Ideas, correlated with the publication of Construction Marketing Ideas: Practical strategies and resources to attract and retain clients for your architectural, engineering or construction business.

This is a good opportunity to direct you to one of my more effective posts: RIMC:  The Construction Marketing Table, where I advocate that if you get three pillars of marketing success correct, you will undoubtedly succeed.  Combine effective relationships, consistency and intensity (or focus) in your marketing and you won’t need to spend much if any money.  If you are deficient in any of these areas, you can buy yourself into the game — but if all you have is money, you won’t have it for long unless you can get at least two of the three other elements right.

Here is the paradox which goes against the grain of self-interest.  (I earn 95 per cent of my money by selling advertising!) If you need to spend a small fortune on marketing and advertising to stay in business, you probably aren’t that good.  If you earn your reputation for quality, service, and high-value relationships, you will undoubtedly succeed.  But you have to earn your reputation:  It won’t come to you on a silver platter and you will need to work on delivering value and quality, one step at a time, with plenty of effort.

Once you’ve earned your reputation and then have a truly viable business, you can elect to become a serious and consistent advertiser:  Your marketing budget will push your business to the next level and, if monitor and measure your results, ensure your viability through most economic conditions.

These aren’t simple solutions and easy roads to travel. It took a year and a half from conception to completion to write my first book and only a few days after its publication to know that I had succeeded.  Readers are buying it, early reviews are positive and the actual sales are quite gratifying (the book is on track to reaching break-even well ahead of schedule.)

Here is a question for you:  Is it a wiser marketing expense to spend $49 on a relevant Webinar, $1,000 on conference fees for an event packed with competent speakers and resources (ignoring the paid sponsors!), $39.95 on a useful marketing book or should you pour $15,000 into an advertising campaign sold to you by a media sales rep who you think knows how to bring business your way?

You can find the answers by asking the right questions.  I believe a  little money invested in learning how to market effectively is a whole lot better spent than a lot of money wasted to buy your way to prominence.  But you won’t earn your way to success without effort and some persistence.  So I encourage you to invest $78.95 ($39.95 plus $49.00) today for 90 minutes of learning this afternoon and a few hours reading in the next couple of weeks.

• Construction Marketing Ideas: Practical strategies and resources to attract and retain clients for your architectural, engineering or construction business.

• How to increase Company Performance through increased Co-operation (3:00 to 5:00 pm EDT today.)