March Luncheon: An Insider’s Perspective to the A/E/C Industry

The SMPS Austin Chapter is pleased to announce its March Luncheon: “An Insider’s Perspective to the A/E/C Industry.” For this special panel Q&A event, SMPS has invited three Owner’s representatives who, prior to their current roles, served on the consulting side as either an architect, engineer or general contractor. Please join us as these industry experts answer your questions and share information they wish they had known as consultants - including lessons learned, best practices, and advice for pursuing future business relationships. We hope to see you there for this informative insider’s view to A/E/C professional practice and business development!

Speakers:
Don Bulloch, Director of Construction, Endeavor Real Estate Group;
Cole Erderly, PE, Facilities Engineer, Samsung Austin Semiconductor;
Edgar Farrera, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Sustainability, Circuit of The Americas

Seating is limited, so register early.

THE DISCOUNTED PRICE ENDS AFTER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH!!

When: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: University of Texas Club - President's Room
2108 E. Robert Dedman Drive
Austin, Texas 78712

Attire: Business

Event Registration Fees:
Member:  $35.00 for a limited time ($45.00 original price)
Non-Member:  $50.00 for a limited time ($60.00 original price)

RSVP Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids - AEC Bowl

The 30th Anniversary of Bowl for Kids (BFK) is quickly approaching! This annual event benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas brings together AEC firms in support of local mentoring efforts. We need your support by forming teams of 5 to raise pledges and bowl with your fellow AEC industry colleagues on Saturday, March 2nd at Highland Lanes.

BFKS has been the largest annual fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters since 1983. It involves more than 800 bowlers, more than 2,500 financial pledges, and reaches hundreds of local companies. For more information contact Cara Lyons at lyons@gscarchitects.com or 512.433.2580. You can also visit the event website by clicking here.

Event Recap: SMPS Austin Communication Awards

Congratulations to our 2012 SMPS Austin Communication Award winners! This is the third annual event for the Austin Chapter and we were pleased to have the most participation yet. A very special thank you to all of our guest jurors: Stacy Armijo, Pierpont Communications; David Dixon, UT System; Larry Jolly, Jolly Design;Julie Loignon, Circuit of the Americas; and Bill Mullane, Austin Community College.

This year's awards reception and networking event took place on January 15th at III Forks in downtown Austin. Again, congratulations to our winners:

Brochure: TTG Goetting

Holiday Piece: Coleman & Associates (pictured above, top)

Website: Pfluger Architects (pictured above, bottom)

Promotional Piece: Coleman & Associates

Also, a special shout out to Deborah Black with Hamilton Associates, and the programs committee for volunteering to coordinate this year's competition. This event wouldn't have been possible without our dedicated volunteers. Thank you and congratulations to all our winners!

Letter from the President

I began my tenure as Austin Chapter President on September 1st, and as I am writing my first letter, I keep asking myself, "Where should I start?" Should I mention the fact that we now have all three platinum sponsor spots filled (thank you to Raba Kistner, TTG Goetting and Haynes Whaley); that we have hosted three highly-attended and well sponsored luncheons the first three months of our fiscal year, including the record-breaking November UT Medical School luncheon that drew over 125 attendees and 10 luncheon sponsors; that we've reached our membership goal to date of 91; or that we've implemented a consecutively sold out educational series? Or, should I talk about new programs that were implemented in the last few years and continue to see growth, such as the mentor protégé program or the communication awards?

Instead, I wanted to take a moment to discuss the changes we've implemented and what is yet to come. At the board retreat in August, we created a strategic plan to become the premier organization for AEC professionals to develop business development and marketing opportunities and skills. SMPS is an organization that covers all spectrums in one room - marketing, business development, executives and owners. We had a frank discussion about what it takes to continue to elevate our chapter to reach this goal and we understand this comes down to a few key elements: quality over quantity and involvement.

We have limited our programs to one major event each month that targets a larger audience. We have also implemented an educational track to focus on the development of the next generation of marketing leaders. This will ensure we're hosting a high quality event that attracts the right audience each time and not host an event just for the sake of meeting a calendar requirement. Also, this will reduce the burden placed on our Chapter leaders and volunteers so they aren't getting burned out and remain dedicated to our success.

Speaking of our volunteers, this brings me to the issue of how do we keep involvement in the Chapter high? I continue to be impressed at the talent, skills and dedication of all of our volunteers, but we need help to continue to elevate the chapter. We need people with good ideas and a commitment to the advancement of the AEC industry. We need an assortment of personalities and job roles to bring new perspectives and ideas, share the workload or have connections in place that are crucial to an event's success. We need you!

Please reach out to me or any of our board members if you are interested in getting more involved. Thank you to our members, volunteers, sponsors and chapter leaders as well as the national staff for your unwavering support and helping us achieve milestones. I look forward to all that we will accomplish together in the coming year!

Tricia Knapik, CPSM
PSM Strategies
SMPS Austin Chapter President

Guest Article: The Huge Mistake Most People Make When Writing Proposals

By: Matt Handal

When writing proposals, you have to set your firm apart. So, what do we do? We try everything in the book to convince the client we are better. Our work is better, our people are better, and our customer service is better.

There is just one problem: that’s a huge mistake.

Tying to convince the client that you are better is actually a fool's game. Much of the time, it will be near impossible to successfully convey that your firm is better. Here's why:

You’re Probably Not Better

Yes, I just put it out there. Odds are your firm is not better. In a competition of 10, 20, or 50 firms, there can only be one firm that's better than the rest. Those odds are not on your side. And there is really nothing you can do to make your firm the best in the couple of weeks before the proposal is due.

And let’s just say, for the sake of argument, your firm is the best. Is that going to be so obvious to the client that they couldn’t accidently choose another firm? Is your firm a 10 and everyone else is a 2? Or is your firm a 10 and everyone else is a 9.5? If there is not a huge difference between your firm and others, it’s going to be extremely tough for the proposal evaluator to discern who the better firm is. You can’t assume they’ll pick up on subtle differences. Instead, they’ll focus on obvious differences, like price, to make their decision.

Different is Better Than Better

If you could only eat one of these for the rest of your life, which would you choose: a Mackintosh apple or a Fuji apple? 99% of you have no idea. That’s because it’s a tough choice. For the most part, an apple is an apple.

Let’s make that choice easier. If you could only eat one of these for the rest of your life, which would you choose: a Mackintosh apple, a Fuji apple, or an ice cream cone? It’s much easier to choose now, right? It’s easier to choose the ice cream cone because you only have to make one decision: ice cream over apple. If you choose apple, now you have a second decision: Mackintosh or Fuji. It’s easier to choose the thing that sticks out, the choice that is different.

It's going to be easier to prove your firm is different than prove it is better. Different sells. Show that you are different. Different is better than better.

For more valuable proposal secrets, head over to www.helpeverybodyeverday.com.

February Lunch & Learn: Email Marketing Roundtable Discussion

We will have a handful of experts to lead the discussion in different options for email marketing services. If you are interested in learning more about what services others in our industry are using or if you have experience that you would like to share, please join us for this discussion.

When: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Where: DPR
9606 N Mo Pac Expy, Suite 300, Austin, Texas 78759

Attire: Business Attire

Event Registration Fee:
Member: $20.00
Non-Member: $35.00

RSVP Tuesday, February 26, 2013

SMPS Happy Hour & Membership Drive - February 26th!

We want you! SMPS Austin is running a Membership Drive now through April 15th.

New members will receive a $50 rebate if they join our chapter in this timeframe.

Join online at http://www.smps.org/Membership/Membership/

Come catch up with old friends or make a few new ones at the Membership Drive Kickoff Happy Hour on Tuesday, February 26th at Rattle Inn from 5 to 7.

Questions? Email or call Luci Miller (luci@millerblueprint.com or 512.970.6098).

Hope to see you February 26th at Rattle Inn!