Top Blog Posts of 2014

I was complaining to my wife about the latest "year in review" magazine edition I had received in the mail when I remembered that I always finish the year by reviewing my top blog posts over the previous 12 months. Oh well, there would seem to be a sizable audience out there who appreciate the look-backs even if I don't. So for you, I offer my 10 most popular posts of 2014. 

And let me take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to the growing number of you who read my blog regularly. Blogging on a weekly basis can be a real hassle at times, but you (and especially the feedback I receive from some of you) make it all worthwhile. May you have a prosperous new year. If I can help in any way, don't hesitate to ask.

1. Is Your Sales Approach Aligned with the Buyer? This post was a surprise first-place finisher, recalling how I felt bereft of good ideas when I wrote it. But the story I told to illustrate the point seemed to resonate, indicating that I'm not the only one who has experienced different buyers in a single client organization being in different places in the buying process.

2. Does Free Advice Devalue Your Services? I've debated this point with clients and colleagues for years, and the popularity of this post suggests that the debate still rages. It's an important question for those of us who are convinced that the best way to sell is to serve the buyer. My experience and research debunks the myth that helping prospective clients (for free) ultimately hurts your firm.

3. Hiring the Right Rainmaker. Many A/E firms turn to hiring a dedicated seller (or more) to make up for the shortcomings of their seller-doers. It makes sense, but is not a decision without risks. In my experience, more rainmaker hires disappoint than meet expectations. This post offers advice on how to make this option work for your firm.

4. 3 Dimensions of the Client Relationship. There are still many in our profession who seem to think that building client relationships through the sales process is all about making friends. But the other two dimensions of the relationship are more important—and often overlooked.

5. Creating Skimmable Proposal Content. This is the most important proposal differentiator that no one talks about—making your proposals easy to read and navigate. This post outlines a process for helping technical professionals, who tend to be overly verbose, create proposal content that can be readily skimmed by client reviewers (which is what they're going to do with or without your help).

6. Investing Nonbillable Time. Many firms mistakenly characterize nonbillable time as a hindrance to maximizing profitability. Nothing could be further from the truth. Putting nonbillable time to its best use is critical to sustained profitability and business success. Unfortunately most firms fail to take the steps necessary to do this.

7. Selling: It's Not About You. We all dislike the apparent self-interest observed in how most salespeople approach us. But do we repeat the same mistakes when we step into the seller's role? In my experience, yes. This post describes how to avoid the widely disdained sales stereotype, starting with shifting the focus from yourself to the buyer.

8. Why You Should Be Hoarding Content. Why aren't more A/E firms embracing content marketing? Because most of them are content poor. But there are many benefits of developing the practice of constantly accumulating good content that go beyond simply supporting your marketing efforts.

9. Collaboration as Competitive Advantage. Our industry recognizes the need for a more collaborative, cross-disciplinary planning and design process. But success in this realm is still rare. You can take advantage of this shortcoming by following the steps in this post in making collaboration a differentiator for your firm.

10. Is Advertising Worth It? Companies in other industries spend billions on advertising, so it must have value in our profession—right? Surveys of professional service marketers don't give much credence to advertising. Your marketing dollars are probably better spent elsewhere, as this post explains why.