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________________________________________________________________________________________
American Consulting
Engineers Council
Volume XXII, Number 2 January 30, 2001
1015 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7474
Fax
202-898-0068
www.acec.org
E-mail acec@acec.org
Francis George, Editor
___________________
ACEC
Means
Business
When presenting a proposal to a prospective client, engineering firms should specifically sell the benefits of their firm, the ones they never have a chance to do in their proposal. Here are a few tips to help firms win projects.
1. Understand what the client wants - You can't find that simply by reading the Request for Proposal. You've got to talk to the people who are doing the hiring; they are usually available and willing to talk.
2. Include the buyer benefits - Most presenters tell what they plan to do, but they don't emphasize the benefit to the owner. At times, the benefit can be inferred; sometimes it cannot. Effective presenters describe their services in simple, declarative sentences, and then explained the benefits that would accrue if the owner hired their firm to provide those services.
3. Prepare and rehearse - It is usually obvious which presenters prepared and which did not. The ones who prepare and rehearse are well organized; they address important points with simple, declarative sentences, and they seem relaxed and unconfused. Those who do not prepare usually stumble, hesitate, and consequently miss their mark.
4. Don't talk about yourself too much - Several companies fail miserably because they focus too much on themselves and what they do. Your proposal already includes this information. What owners want to know is how you will do their particular job, and the companies that come out on top make it clear from the beginning how they will do the job.
5. Bring excitement and innovation - Firms that come out on top are excited by the opportunity and have innovative approaches. Don't simply present a canned "we're big, and this is the way we do it" approach. Companies that sell with this approach fail. Those that meet the unique needs of the project succeed.
Excerpted from Wired: How to Crawl Inside Your Client. s Mind for Success in Business Development, by David Stone. Wired is available from ACEC. Publication #LW-332, $49 members, $69 nonmembers, $4 s/h. Send orders to ACEC (fax: 202-789-7220, or publications@acec.org). Include your Mastercard, Visa, or American Express number with the expiration date, contact name, firm name, address, tel., and e-mail address.
2001 "Academy Awards Of Engineering"
in
DC Join
your engineering colleagues at the black-tie gala celebration of
ACEC's annual Engineering Excellence Awards. ACEC will host an
elegant banquet on March 13 in Washington, DC, in conjunction with
Consulting Congress Day, to spotlight the engineering
accomplishments of ACEC's member firms. Contact Daisy Nappier (dnappier@acec.org) or Susan
Courtney (scourtney@acec.org) at
ACEC.
Subscribe to the Electronic LAST WORD
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Presidential Inaugural
Highlights ACEC leaders and staff
participated in several invitation-only presidential inaugural
activities. Ray Flemons, ACEC Texas National Director, and
Chairman-elect Steve Goddard attended President Bush's swearing-in, inaugural balls,
and related events with ACEC's EVP David Raymond and Government Affairs
Director Jack Kalavritinos. ACEC hosted a breakfast for Chief Deputy
Whip Roy Blunt and his Missouri key constituents. In addition, ACEC
co-sponsored several Republican National Committee events. ACEC has
actively participated in the Bush-Cheney transition, with staff and
consultants advising several agency teams.
ACEC's Executive Vice President Dave Raymond
(left) greets U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham at a
pre-inaugural reception held in Abraham's honor.
The VIP view from ACEC's seats at Bush's
inauguration.
Study Backs Structural, Geotech'
Engineers In a move aimed at protecting geotechnical and structural firms
from frivolous lawsuits, Arizona Consulting Engineers Association
(ACEA) commissioned a study of residential slab-on-grade floors, the
source of a spate of recent law suits. Some California lawyers have
sought out homeowners and convinced them to file suit if their
home's slab was not quite level. Similar litigation began to appear in nearby states, at which
point ACEA hired Arizona State University (ASU) researchers to
field-test 89 newly poured and nine recently loaded floors in
metropolitan Phoenix. The data show that most slabs are imperfect at
the outset, with only 6.7% meeting Arizona Registrar of Contractors'
minimum standards for workmanship at the time they are poured. ASU
researchers attribute this to the fact that graded pads are often
disturbed by placement of subfloor utility trenches, which are often
backfilled without proper compaction. The bottom line? The defects did not appear related to
geotechnical or structural engineering work. "Congratulations to
ACEA for going on the offensive," said ACEC Vice President Orrin
"Mac" MacMurray, who serves as ACEC Executive Committee's liaison to
ACEA. "This report should help thwart flimsy claims against our
members." The 2001 ACEC/NSPE QBS Awards Program, hosted this year by ACEC,
formally began in January. ACEC has joined with NSPE (National
Society of Professional Engineers) for the past four years to
recognize public agencies that make exemplary use of the
Qualifications-based Selection (QBS) process at the state and local
levels. The program expanded two years ago to allow private-sector
participation. Applications for the 2001 awards have been sent to all ACEC
Member Organizations and NSPE State Chapters and will be available
on ACEC's website (www.acec.org/programs/legregstate.htm).
Submissions are due March 1, and award winners will be announced in
April. QBS Awards will be presented at the ACEC Annual Convention in
San Antonio, TX, on May 14. ACEC encourages Member Organizations to
submit candidates for these awards. More information: Roger Jordan
(rjordan@acec.org). ACEC's Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) program received a near-record
number of entries. 156, in nine different categories.
These competitive engineering and surveying projects will be
reviewed by 28 distinguished judges in early February and be rated
on their innovative application of new or existing techniques;
technical value to the engineering profession; social and economic
considerations; complexity; and the degree to which owner/client
needs are met or exceeded. Forty-one of ACEC's 51 state and regional Member Organizations
are represented, and "both the quality and quantity are truly
outstanding," according to ACEC Senior Vice President Lamar Dunn.
"That should make the March 13 gala awards banquet in Washington
even more exciting." Dunn is ACEC's Executive Committee liaison to
the EEA Committee as well as a longtime supporter of EEA for the
Consulting Engineers of Tennessee. Check ACEC's website
(www.acec.org) for banquet details and
registration. Introduce a Girl To
Engineering National Engineers Week 2001 (E-week), co-chaired this year by
the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and IBM, will
launch the first annual "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,"
February 18-24, to expose K-12 girls to engineering. Female engineers in ACEC firms are urged to participate in this
nationwide effort. Focusing its message on math and science
education and engineering careers, EWeek will rely on its
participating organizations to mobilize as many as 10,000 engineers
(preferably women) to reach as many girls as possible. Recent statistics underscore the urgency of the need to encourage
girls to excel in math and science as early as elementary school, so
they will be ready and interested in formal engineering courses in
college. For more information or to order an activity pack, visit E-week
at www.eweek.org or write to
eweek@nspe.org To register to get involved, visit
www.eweek .org/2000/News/Eweek/girlsroster.shtml Federal Markets Conference to Feature Army Chief of
Engineers On March 12, ACEC. s second annual Federal Markets Conference will be
held at Loews L. Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC, just prior to
ACEC's Consulting Congress Day. Come learn about current and projected business opportunities in
the federal government. Among featured programs are the Government
Services Administration, military programs, Bureau of Prisons, and
others. U.S. Army Chief of Engineers Lt. General Robert B. Flowers and
will sign the USACE-ACEC Partnering Agreement. Information:
www.acec.org or call ACEC's Education Dept.
(202-347-7474). CEOs and owners from across the country will gather to discuss
and analyze current business operations and plan for the future at
the Hyatt Sarasota in Sarasota Bay, Sarasota, FL, on Feb. 25-27,
2001. With the assistance of consultants, participants will examine
business practices, personnel management, profitability, and
ownership transition. The seminar is limited to 35 participants in
order to facilitate discussion and networking. Registration is $545/member. For more information, visit
www.acec.org or call ACEC's Education
Department (202-347-7474). ACEC's
new Hall of $avings program is designed to save ACEC
members money and to enhance their membership investment. Through partnerships with
many reputable businesses, ACEC now offers products and services
that will help you and your business save money while receiving
top-quality service and products. You can select from diverse
vendors whose products/services will improve your bottom line
through quality, discounts, and the all-important expense tracking
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License
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Rental Car ·
National
Car Rental ·
ACEC
Life/Health Insurance ·
ACEC
Business Insurance ·
ACEC
Retirement Trust ORDER quality products and
services More information: Carole DeLong (cdelong@acec.org,
202-347-7474) or visit www.acec.org. The following editions of the Last
Word are available online, to retrieve a particular issue, choose
the date from the drop down box below, and click "Go Get
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