Mistake: Not Having Metrics

In a recent survey of national architectural practices, firms were asked “Why does your firm not have metrics by which to measure its business development efforts?" Forty one percent of all respondents indicated that they don’t know the variables. Forty seven percent of all respondents indicated that they don’t know the calculations.

Just like any other aspect of business, business development has metrics, and first you have to isolate the variables. For lay people, that means separate your costs: cost of labor; cost of technical staff; cost of marketing/business development staff.

Whatever you do, don’t lump it all in the administration column. Additionally, track reproduction and binding costs, mailing, public relations, potential fee and conference costs. Once your costs are aggregated, you’re able to perform a variety of calculations and analysis that can measure the financial return on your business development efforts.

For more information on how to calculate and analyze business development metrics, check out the link to the presentation slides on this AIA KnowledgeNet webpage.

Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting (Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.