SMPS Georgia -- New Blog

The SMPS Georgia Chapter has just launched a blog for AEC Marketers. First entry is recorded from Friday, May 16. I will set up a permalink and am looking forward to seeing other chapter blogs -- if I can see two or three more, I'll create a special blogroll section for them.

Motivation, eh (2)

The low budget 1992 movie, Glengarry Glen Ross, (see video clip in previous posting) can teach us something about motivation.

I learned about the movie clip in the previous posting from a contractortalk.com posting by WPC07834, a New Jersey based marketing consultant who has been using the forums to (effectively) promote his door-to-door canvassing consulting service. He started the thread "10 step selling method" with this question: "Does anyone have the 10 step selling method they can post or email me?"

I piped in (before someone posted the video clip) with this 10-step program, which reflects my values:

OK, here's my 10 steps

1. Hire sales reps systematically, carefully, prudently

2. Treat all employees with respect; expect the same (with accountability) in return

3. Ditto for current/potential clients and the community at large

4. Return calls promptly even from solicitations (I've converted more than a few to sales!)

5. Blog, involve yourself in your community, support associations, without worrying about 'getting business' (it will come).

6. Deliver more than expected to current clients, with respect and where possible fun.

7. Respect your clients and prospects time -- if you are going to call cold, be sure you are offering something more than just another 'offer'.

8. Recognize the power of relationships, especially within the supply chain, and position yourself accordingly.

9. Respect privacy, (I will be courteous with business callers during business hours, but never knock on my home door to sell anything, ever!)

10. Have fun. If it's a grind, find something else to do (or get someone else to do it who enjoys it.)

WPC0784's response:

Ok, Nice try but not what I was looking for. This is more like what I had in mind.

Does anyone know this?

1.Entry

2. Warm Up

3. Measure

4. Company story

5. Product demonstation

6. Price condition

7. pre close

8. Close

9. Button up

10. Replace the lead

I use the 3 step method.

W arm up

P itch

C lose

Ok, but what about that video clip, posted to the thread without comment by California kitchen remodeller A.W. Davis? WPC0784's initial response: "I love that part. Its pretty motivating."

I decided to take a few minutes to look into the source of that clip a little closer. Turns out, from Wikipedia, that:

Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1992 independent film, adapted by David Mamet from his acclaimed 1984 Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning play of the same name. The film depicts two days in the lives of four real estate agents and how they become desperate when the corporate office sends a representative to "motivate" them by announcing that, in one week, all except the top two salesmen will be fired.

It turns out that the big-name actors for the low budget film liked the script so much that they voluntarily took pay cuts and (without compensation) stayed around the set for the filming-- no one needed to coerce them or 'sell' them on working on the project. Also, it turns out that, despite the film's low budget, it still lost (a little) money in production.

This takes me back to Alfe Kohn's "Punished By Rewards" thoughts regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the debate between salary versus commission, and the values and approaches we use in instilling pride and motivating sales results. I sense, reading the posts here and looking into these issues more closely, that WPC0784 are at the opposite end of a very close spectrum.

It is no secret that I detest selling models which involve pushing yourself in the face of reluctant consumers (or business owners) and instead advocate the more positive approach of systematically building on referral and repeat business (a process, incidentally, that WPC0784 uses effectively in the forums to attract clients for his door-to-door canvassing consulting service). Instead, I advocate building a talented team, with a culture of mutual respect, high performance standards (accountability) and active integration of your current business operations with the market business development for new clients. The idea is to attract the right people (with the right intrinsic motivation) to draw out the positive qualities of clients, suppliers, and the marketplace to attract and retain business. In this context, cold calling and pavement pounding have their (small) place but effective and meaningful long term relationships are the centre of the strategy.

But, when we go back to the Glengarry Glen Ross example, we find some interesting points, showing the delicious ironies here. The film's producers were able to tap into the intrinsic motivation of highly talented actors who took a (personal) financial bath to have the opportunity to play in the movie, but even a low budget, and talented stars, could not make the film profitable In the end, effectively, you may find both ends of the marketing and sales model -- the high-pressure, intense, performance based in-your-face push marketing; or the softer, more humane, respectful, and longer-range vision relationship approach both 'work'. The explanation of which approach to use, and in which context, probably relates to your own values, and your own marketplace. And as WPC0804 shows, you can use one approach (soft) to sell the other (hard). Just some food for thought.

Motivation, eh

Please read the next posting for the context from where I learned about this image.

About Ascribe

This video image is from the home page of the Ascribe website.

Ascribe Buildings & Projects CPM (Collaborative Portfolio Manager), "is a simple plug-in to your website allowing you to build and manage reciprocal links through your project webpages with other companies that had a hand in that project," the company says on its website.

"Manage your company’s portfolio with Ascribe and increase your project’s traffic by over 40 times! Ascribe has been the missing piece of your website that makes it a real marketing tool, not just an online brochure."

An intriguing concept -- and they have a blog, which is how I found about them, by researching possible additional permalinks. It turns out they are attending SMPS conferences both regionally and nationally. The Ascribe blog certainly qualifies for a permalink.

Employee blogs

Image is from Daniel Smith's blog entry, Filtering Through Online Information Overload To Find The Gems Worth Reading (Part 1.5)

Two of this company's employees, Daniel Smith and Chase, have started their own blogs. Both have qualities that define people who are great at sales and who are suited to this business's culture -- they have a reasonably competitive and individualistic spirit but can see beyond themselves. I certainly don't require nor expect anyone working in this company to start a blog; blogging is something you should do if you enjoy it, not for any immediate return. Still, I enjoy peeking into their contributions because they are certainly not following (my) corporate script and I can learn from them.

Daniel has two blogs, one personal at http://www.smithereensblog.blogspot.com/ and the second more closely related to our business, at the second, Tracking Construction Trends, at http://constructiontrendtracker.blogspot.com/. Daniel has discovered that Google's Blogger allows you to set up several blogs on one console; I've used this facility to create one page blogs to address highly specific issues while we rebuild our websites. His writing is evocative, informative and fun. You'll enjoy for example, Filtering Through Online Information Overload To Find The Gems Worth Reading (Part 1.5)

Meanwhile, Chase recently moved his blog to Blogger as well, at http://chasemarketing.blogspot.com/. His recent postings, Tracking Value for Your Client: How to do it effectively (Part I) and "Show me the Value!" "Show me the Value Jerry!" - Tracking Value for your client part 2 are inspiring articles which support clients and show how you can find more business through advertising.

Is blogging worthwhile? I'm noticing some marketing consultants, members of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), have revitalized or restored earlier blog efforts -- and new blogs relevant to the theme of Construction Marketing Ideas are launched with increasing frequency. This means my blogroll is getting longer. You'll especially enjoy reading Tim Klabunde's CofeBuz -- the Marketing and Business Blog (he recently referenced one of my blog entries) and Ford Harding's postings. I also enjoy Craig Galati's Heart of Business and recently Bernie Siben reactivated his BuiltEnvironment Blog.

If you know of other blogs relevant to construction marketing, please let me know. I'll be happy to add relevant blogs to the listings.

Key Performance Indicators -- unintended consequences

It took some searching (because link backs aren't obvious from the blog), but I traced Jerry's Blog to Jerry Tice (see his linkedin.com page) and The Appalachian Group of Companies.

Ford Harding graciously sent me a link to this posting "Is accountability a performance management issue: Unintended Consequences" in Jerry's Blog -- Striving for Organizational Excellence. The writer addresses the problem that setting measurable targets can distort business practices and result in dangerous excesses; sometimes serious ethical breaches, or possibly seeking short term gain at the expense of long-term viability.

As everyone in business knows – if you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it. But what happens if you are measuring the wrong thing? Well obviously it can drive the wrong result. Worse still is that it may drive exactly the result you hoped it would, but it drives it way too far or drives other undesirable results along with it that are not seen until something hits the fan. In nearly every one of our consulting engagements we work with our clients to set up a set of metrics that can be measured directly on the floor in very short intervals, typically 1 to 2 hours. We do this to enable front line managers to drive barriers to performance to the surface so that they can be resolved on the fly instead of building up to unrecoverable levels. Often, probably more times than not, we discover after a few days that the measure that the client told us was the one to watch turns out to be the wrong metric. Either its focus is too narrow and other important metrics suffered (the old production vs. quality dilemma for example) or the focus of the metric is way too broad and we never achieve the intended result. I see the same thing on the verge of happening on a grand scale with a trend that is developing in the talent and performance management fields.

Ford Harding, in comment, writes:

Jerry
This is a serious issue for professional firms pushing for growth. As the incentives to sell go up, so must the controls to avoid both selling something the firm shouldn’t and providing advice to a client more geared at selling more work than looking after the client’s best interests. Note that in Andersen’s case the partner in charge of the Enron account successfully challenged the firm’s controls.

Firm management may exhort its partners to sell, sell, sell, but it seldom balances that message with a reminder of the need to use good judgement, behave ethically and abide by controls while doing so. They take it for granted that the partners remember and care about such things. Unfortunately, not all partners do.

Good post,
Ford Harding

Jerry's initial solution -- that is to make sure the measurement cycle is short and fast enough to quickly determine if something wrong is happening, is a good approach, of course, for production-line or fast acting situations, but our business (I think) operates on a longer cycle and in any case, our staff are highly decentralized, often working from home offices with much autonomy. So how do you determine an appropriate fast acting and quickly repaired measurement cycle?

However, I shudder to fear when we get down to setting out our KPIs that we mess this up -- and fall into the traps described here. This is a problem that needs attention; but I am (alas) still at a loss for a good solution. Hopefully, our short term internal KPI (something I don't think should rightfully be broadcast outside our organization) is valid, and we can review/implement it without damage pending our full-scale planning meeting in the fall.

Selling: Working hard, smart or both

This is a great quote from Napoleon Hill -- and is the foundation of success, and happiness. If you do work you really enjoy, and do it well, you'll persevere -- and succeed. Since I really enjoy writing and journalism it certainly makes sense for me to own a publishing business, and I can contribute the most to the company by simultaneously writing and selling -- even though we have really competent writers and salespeople on staff. So why not write about selling -- and, voila, you have the Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

Some things -- sales especially -- work best when you do less to achieve more. Of course you have to do less of the wrong things, and more of the right ones. And the "wrong things" can include trying to hard; forcing yourself into a desperate bind where clients feel your angst and need to meet quota -- and run for the hills to avoid you.

Yet the irony here is that you need to get yourself in the right places, at the right times, to find the results you are seeking. This can involve hard work, working smart, or both. You can achieve great results without hard work if your work is truly smart -- but woe is you if you think you are 'smart' but really aren't doing the right thing. Conversely hard work in itself can be a quick road to burnout and failure, if you don't listen to the signals and adapt and change course -- or persevere where appropriate.

Some say sales is a "numbers game" and advocate measuring the number of calls you make, the conversion rate, and the revenue per effort. The theory goes that if you know the numbers, and make enough calls, you will get the results you are seeking. But I can think of few things as demoralizing and disenchanting -- and generally ineffective -- than cold calling down lists of names in a rote-like fashion, hoping someone will buy something, anything.

Certainly in the not-too-distant past I could be held responsible for working not too hard and certainly not too smart. I purportedly delegated things to my employees, and then I embarked on projects which I could "justify" saved the company money, or helped its interests, but really were expensive distractions. At one point, in the midst of the distractions, I brought myself back on track briefly -- personally taking charge of sales for a failing publication. But the minute someone showed up who looked 'good' (he ultimately pulled a fast one on me), I dropped the real hard work like a lead brick, to get back to my hobby-like distractions.

Eventually, out of absolute necessity, I got back to basics -- taking on more jobs than anyone my age should; writing the papers and (for several months) holding on with one competent salesperson. This meant that I had to be actively engaged in the sales process as well -- any slip-ups would leave us well below viability and quota. We now have a competent sales team of three; with salaries, this increases overhead and the break-even point, but gives the business a little more stability and reliability; it leaves room for one or sometimes even two representatives to have an off-month, and we can still find enough business to meet our numbers.

I don't work so hard now, since hiring a competent staff editor, but I continue to write, to fill in, and to look for leads and opportunities. And I find them. This is not the 'grind it out and hope they will buy' type of work; it is a series of seemingly spontaneous but highly effective responses to opportunities. A few minutes here, a brief call or email there, and I can contribute some useful business to the sales team and bring in some worthwhile orders.

Everyone I realize has their own style, and you aren't going to get very far in sales unless you are able to find and seek out the business; but I think the best business comes when it simply doesn't feel like you are 'selling' but are naturally engaged in sharing, contributing, and relating to current and potential clients. Hence this blog. I enjoy the topic; it is certainly relevant, and, yes, it generates a few worthwhile leads and some useful opportunities.

I am an advocate of receiving by giving; sharing, contributing, supporting, and bringing worthwhile businesses together. Can you do the same thing -- and find the way to sell effectively by working hard enough to work smart?

Phone message courtesy

This image arises from my search on Google images for "returning calls" -- it is from a posting of someone reporting on their efforts to build a patio deck -- New Patio -- or -- How long does it Take? The story, alas, shows some of what is wrong with the industry -- with reliability, delays, poor communications, and more described. Ouch!

As you know, I advocate returning all calls asap -- whether or not they appear to have immediate business value. Even if the message is for 'rote' solicitation call, you can still courteously decline (often by leaving a voice message). And I've found much profitable business often results from returning these calls and discovering that the opportunity to purchase is an opportunity to do business -- though of course I never force the issue.

One thing I notice in returning calls, however, is how few people who leave a message have the courtesy to make it easy for me to take down the information to return their call. They rush through their contact information and phone number at the end of a lengthy message. This means that I have to replay the message one, two, or sometimes three times to get the information I need to respond. (No wonder why I prefer people to communicate by email!)

The solution to this problem is simple -- slow down, and repeat your contact information and number twice, spelling out your name if need be. It just takes a few seconds at your end, but makes it much easier for the person you are calling to return the call.

Some worthy resources

Here are a couple of resources to consider in your construction marketing toolkit.

constructionlinks.ca



Joe Roel has built one of the largest Canadian e-lists for construction marketing -- with extensive links information relevant to specifiers and project managers at http://www.constructionlinks.ca/. He saw the opportunity in online media before many of us caught on and built the database from the ground up. Today, he sent me this promotional note:

How can Construction Links help you be found?

Think of our search engines as the librarian’s assistant. At the start of a project, when the designer is looking for products to use on his project. They go to http://www.constructionlinks.ca/

Our index cards are designed so that the designer can quickly and easily conduct product searches and identify the manufacturers/distributors he wants to work with.

Our search engines include Both MasterFormat™ 95 and 2004, keyword in MasterFormat, Keyword in product/service description, company name and searches can be restricted to green products/services (products that have been classified as friendly to the environment or that can help projects achieve their LEED credits).

No matter what the product is that you manufacture or distribute, it belongs in our database and will be found by your target audience when they are looking for it.

Get linked today, start being found by your target audience and specified in their projects.

Although Joe's note has the 'stamp' of marketing hyperbole (first time I've found a use for that big word!) in it, the main thing I find about Joe's service is its depth -- at least within the Canadian context -- and that depth did not occur quickly or without a lot of hard work on his part. So, when Roger Ali, responsible for the Construction Specifications Canada Toronto Chapter trade show asked for some guidance on e-marketing, I connected him with Joe. This of course is the correct implementation of positive networking principals, where you put your own needs aside and think in terms of the people with whom you are working. Since Roger is working on a trade show geared exactly to Joe's market interest; and the same applies for Joe to Roger, why not link them!


Infinite Source Systems

I'm enjoying Steve Sulpher's newsletter, The Source: Construction Industry News. In the latest issue, he writes: Eight Steps to More Effective Bidding Practices. Of course, these steps are most effectively achieved if Infinite Source Systems software is used, but I think you can find value in the observations regardless.

I first met Steve in Ottawa when (as we were launching Ottawa Construction News) he was president of the Ottawa Construction Association. He has since moved to Vancouver (where I was born, have family, and therefore visit at least once a year) and Infinite Source Systems, which has software and services of value to construction businesses truly wishing to streamline their processes. Sulpher, of course, knows the industry and understands its concerns and values -- so, not surprisingly he also sees value in sponsoring and supporting groups such as the Ontario General Contractors' Association.

I like the way both Joe Roel and Steve Sulpher use a variety of creative marketing approaches to build their brand reputation, and develop their market. You might wish to look at their marketing models -- and their actual services -- in developing your own strategies.

From negative to positive

I've enjoyed reading this posting by Ford Harding (and you can see the next installment by checking his blog). He outlines some common false assumptions and reasons for not doing the things we are supposed to do to build sales -- excuses that I admit to finding very close to home.

I especially can relate to this point:

Why bother going to an association meeting when I hate doing it and am no good at small talk?
Why? Because it is a highly efficient way to meet and catch up with many market contacts. Also, because networkers know that there is no such thing as small talk; there is only business talk and relationship talk. And finally, because you don’t have to be good at small talk. You need to listen to other people, so that you learn about them.

I solve this problem by going with a purpose -- of course I'm a journalist/writer by trade, so that is the role I rightfully play. At a recent association meeting I listened with interest as the owners representative and general contractor described an exciting $500 million building project, with great pictures. A brief conversation at the end of the meeting and some follow up and, voila, we have a solid revenue-generating feature.

But I also appreciate that "going with a purpose" does not necessarily mean "going to sell". In fact, my attitude at these meetings is virtually always to listen, to learn, and to help others, perhaps by bringing some connections or mutually beneficial ideas. It certainly isn't a game of counting business cards, or "gathering leads" -- I think if I attended association events with such an overt attitude I wouldn't sell a thing.

But I get ideas -- and tomorrow have some follow-up to do from today's Toronto Construction Association meeting. Indeed, it pays to go and participate in relevant associations.

The Toronto Construction Association members' day

Today, for the ninth year in a row, I attended the Toronto Construction Association's annual Members' Day. The event combines some education, some business opportunities, and some socializing -- with a free lunch and no-cost exhibit space for members. The theme this year: Environmental opportunities -- with both challenges and business potential through environmentally-sensitive construction.

I burned some carbon to fly in from Ottawa , but think overall the world is better for events such as the Members' Day -- a concept other associations might wish to consider. So much association time and money is spent on fund-raising, solicitation, and selling, that it is a treat and brand image builder to say: "Forget the expense -- we'll take care of everything" for a change. So no one is expected to pay for the barbeque meal; and exhibitors are not required to pay for their table top display space; and if any selling is done, it is with members gently encouraging each other to do business with their organizations.

In the last decade much has changed, of course. I sit in Air Canada' s Maple Leaf Lounge indulging in the luxuries of first class travel (on a cheap ticket, I am not about to waste the company's money), listening to Clem Thelot's old Rhodesian songs over the Internet via wireless as I write this blog entry. A decade ago, the concept of taking a 'day trip' to another city seemed totally unique and adventurous, and while we knew the Internet would have a place in our lives, we could never have predicted the way things have turned out.)

Nevetheless, it is good that some traditions continue, and I hope to be able to attend the TCA Members' Day in another decade -- and the association will continue to thrive and grow as it serves its community with creativity and traditional perspectives.

The environment

In a few minutes I'll be on my way to the airport to consume some carbon and make my way (with Chase) to the annual Toronto Construction Association Member's Day. I'll post about this important event later today.

In the meantime, you may wish to read Daniel Smith's blog entry about Minto Development's Eco Home -- an initiative that combines research, marketing, and environmental sensitivity; showing how all the elements can be packaged into one project.

The quality of the experience

In a recent blog entry, consultant Bernie Siben makes this important point:

"The quality of the work experience can be a bigger differentiator than the quality of the work product."

He writes:

Think of any service your firm performs, and let's assume you do high-quality work. The quality of your work differentiates you from other firms that don't produce the same high-quality product.
Now, it is pretty much a "given" that there will be at least one other firm in your market that provides the same service at a similar level of quality as your firm -- perhaps at the same price or better -- perhaps on the same schedule or faster. What
differentiates your firm from that other firm?
What makes your firm the obvious selection in a market where two or three firms can provide the same work product at the same quality for the same price in the same timeframe? The difference lies in the quality of the work experience. Are you more fun to work with than another firm? Do you give your clients a stronger sense of "all bases are covered, you can sleep nights while we're on the job!"?
That's a very powerful differentiator!

This is absolutely true, and I think the effect of the experience quality is multiplied in large, complex, projects, involving hours (days/weeks) of interaction and communication. Sure, the technical competence between two organizations may be the same, but if you enjoy the experience with one more than the other -- in fact if you enjoy it so much that it creates a degree of 'wow' in your mind -- will you more likely use that business again, or recommend it to others?

Accepting responsibility, respect,and open book business management

In searching for an image to go with this posting, I found this article about initiative: "A Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard, written in the early 20th century and posted by Foundations Magazine.

We all have our own unique personality and business style. One of my good friends, for example, operated his business the old-fashioned way. He built up a successful local publishing company (with a few missteps and crises along the way) before selling out just at the right time and reaching semi-retirement while still in his 50s. I've probably got another decade to go before I reach true financial independence. My friend believed in controlling the business, in compartmentalizing operations, and certainly had no intention or plan to give his employees any more than the lowest salary he could get away with.

I've always taken a different view of things; of openness, respecting individuals, providing freedom and empowering others. Nice talk, of course, but these ideals backfired badly when my former employees, thinking as individuals, and without a cohesive or responsible leadership from me, started doing their own thing, too much. Ultimately, the business almost failed because everyone acted in their own personal self interest without seeing the overall direction and vision required for business success.

I survived the painful three year downturn in 2003-2006 by remembering the crucial life lesson I learned during my first business crisis, in 1990-91. Then, my new publishing company had hit the hard wall of the early 90s recession. I had burned through our small reserves, and a grant from my mother. Now, it looked like we were about to fail.

I recall returning to my modest apartment, at age 38, thinking all would collapse. Then, I had one of those insightful flashes -- recalled from a Brian Tracy motivational tape. "I am responsible for myself," I thought. "No one is to 'blame' for the problems I'm experiencing -- but I have my health, my self-will, and I'll do what I can to make good and make things right."

Simple concepts, of course, but at the time they were revolutionary to me. I vowed to practice affirmations, to speak out loud the expression of self-reliance, and began rebuilding my life -- and the business.

As the second crisis in 2003-2006 deepened, I also accepted responsibility -- and faced a crucial decision-point when I realized the only hope to survive would be a brutal personal salary cut and my taking on virtually all of the writing and editing of our (remaining) publications. This meant hours of roll-up-your-sleeves work, but proved to be successful, as I got closer to our markets, uncovered several deep problems in our business practices, and began hiring people who could capably take overall control of the business within the next decade.

Is my approach to business better or worse than my friend's? I cannot be sure, but believe it is -- if the goal is to build a business that will thrive and survive in future generations and operate in many markets, including cities many miles away from Ottawa. Some entrepreneurs, of course, hand their successful businesses to their children as they grow up -- but I sense Eric will be happiest using his probable relative financial freedom to do other things (as are my friend's sons.) I would rather the company's employees take on the ownership role after, over time, paying me fairly for their shares (while earning fair salaries for their work.)

So the employees are now seeing the books -- something my friend would think to be heresy --The employees even see when I use owners' prerogative for personal advantages (I explain the reason, show the financial implications, and offer examples of how these practices must be limited in an employee-owned business). Equally, despite this openness, I am increasingly involved in setting standards and requiring accountability, while actively contributing to sales, and writing.

How can you apply these concepts in relationship to construction marketing?

• Consider your market, your relationships, and your own personality style -- I'm not sure there is one 'right way' but know the right way for you must be consistent with your own values and principals.


• Then, as much as possible, see the world through the perception and mind-set of your current and potential clients. Respect them, and their perspectives.


• Ensure your employees values are aligned with yours and your clients. The goal is to create harmony -- a situation where the natural comfort and relationships build without stress or artificiality.


• Don't be afraid to lead, to say 'no' or to demand that employees do the right thing and your clients fulfill their part of the bargain (which may simply be paying you fairly for your work on time).

With these attitudes and practices, I think you'll find you retain your existing clients, attract new ones through word-of-mouth referrals, and use other marketing resources effectively including outbound 'push' marketing (such as canvassing and telemarketing), bidding on projects through RFPs/tenders and lead services, and advertising. And you will succeed in growing your business.

the 80/20 rule -- watch out for the 20 (or 10, or 5)

This posting in the Chris on Engineering blog explains better than I've seen elsewhere the application of the 80/20 rule.

Today, Daniel Smith and I discussed a potential advertiser for our publications. The new business wishes to promote an Internet-related service. Its owners had spent significant money exhibiting at a renovations show, and received no satisfactory results. The enterprise, operated part-time, has a budget of $2,000 for business development. Daniel, working with them to find a way to help them generate business, suggested some ideas on how they could improve their approach. He then asked me for advice on how we could help out.

Alas, in this case, I turned into a rather blunt boss, telling him to decline their business. This is after we spent about 10 minutes discussing the enterprise. Neither of us could figure out how the business would realistically earn a profit. I told Daniel I wasn't interested in doing a half-size (that is 50 per cent below our minimum volume) advertorial feature for them because it probably wouldn't work, and we would spend more time serving them than we could possibly hope to achieve in useful business. In any case, I couldn't ethically encourage a situation where we would drain almost half of their marketing budget on a single advertorial story.

I have some grey hairs, having survived (and sometimes thrived) in business for 20 years. At the very beginning, I drew up a plan that just didn't add up as a rational business, but I listened to my heart and gut feelings, and proceeded. But I also set a condition: I would only launch the business if I could do it with absolutely no money.

With some creative interpretation of the Unemployment Insurance legislation, my former employer assisted me with a planned layoff (I realize this isn't quite 'right' but two decades have passed, and now the government actually has a program that allows budding entrepreneurs to collect unemployment benefits while launching their business), so I had some income support, but how could I pay the bills of my fledgling publishing enterprise?

I decided to see if I could collect the money from advertisers before publishing, without a prototype, just an idea. To help make the offer appealing, I set up the Net and Gross pricing system -- offering a 25 per cent discount for prepayment. (We continue the system, but now provide the discount if advertisers settle their account quickly after publication).

I succeeded. Several clients liked the idea, and were willing to hand me a cheque on the spot. I sold a few thousand dollars worth of advertising, enough to produce certified cheques for the design house and printer. And I was in business.

You can compare my start-up approach to the Internet start-up business with no revenue, and no proven market. "Woah!", I say. If you wish to start a business without a track record, you've got to preserve your capital -- and make sure that customers will pay before you go too far.

We simply cannot ethically take their money because I can't see how we can generate the kind of fast and immediate returns they need to survive. The entrepreneurs should not be talking with one of my advertising representatives: They should be on the phone, meeting people, and getting people to pay for their idea, not spending money on wishful dreams.

Meanwhile, we should use our time more wisely and work with potential clients who can pay and will benefit from our services.

I pointed out to Daniel how, just before discussing this matter, we had reviewed our progress in seeking business relating to a $500 million project. While we had spent about 15 minutes on the Internet pipe-dream, we had spent just a minute figuring our strategy to find business where there is real money and valid opportunity. Here, more clearly than ever, the 80/20 principle applies -- spend just a little more time and effort on the things that produce results, and cut just a little from the things that don't (20 per cent each side) and you'll gain far more than you spend.

CSC-CSI and marketing

The CSC Ottawa Chapter AGM on May 8. The chapter website is at http://www.cscottawa.ca

Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) and the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) chapters provide some of the most unique and rewarding marketing opportunities within our industry. The reason is because of the core role of the specification writing process within the planning/construction/cycle. If you can encourage the person writing the specs for the project to use your materials or technologies, you have a 'sale' down the road -- regardless of which contractor or sub-trade actually does the work. And if you are a contractor or sub-trade, the spec writing stage often provides really valuable clues and evidence about upcoming projects now well under way in the planning/designing process, providing clues about future work. Everyone in the industry clearly benefits from clear, consistent specifications -- reducing the risks of change orders, or inconsistent design.

These facts make the specifications writing community a prime marketing focus for building product manufacturers and building technology service providers, of course, but you'll find plenty of other people you want to meet and know at local chapter meetings. So I hesitated not a second in attending the CSC Ottawa annual chapter meeting on May 8. We learned about the multi-million dollar work at the Victoria Memorial Museum Building (Canadian Museum of Nature) and and executive/committee members provided reports on their activities.

Paul Butcher from Ottawa Community Housing Corporation will take the helm as chapter chair.

But the best stuff occurred informally, at the table with people I knew and hadn't met yet -- representing a general contractor, new telecommunications industry members, and a senior representative of the CSC Toronto chapter. (I make it my practice to put all comments and observations at the dinner table for events such as this to be off the record unless we agree otherwise -- otherwise, conversations can become quite stilted and way too over cautious.)

CSC/CSI individual member dues are quite reasonable -- if you haven't already joined, I recommend membership; you'll develop connections and meet some truly worthwhile people (and find business from the process).