I Have Plans A, B and C

And, if I think about it long enough, I have plans D, E and F! So, there I was, leading my first international seminar. I had been invited by the Alberta Association of Architects to teach 75 people about business development, marketing and proposals. I had three hours to deliver the curriculum, which included a 15-minute break at the hour and forty-five minute mark. My students were experienced firm owners, architect / principals and partners who, at 8:30am, were not yet in the talkative mode for which I had structured the seminar.

Thirty minutes into my presentation, which included a PowerPoint and flip charts, it happened: The blue screen of death. My laptop froze. Without missing a beat, I heeded some of my own advice that I dispense freely in a course on presentations. I briefly apologized for the failed PowerPoint, and kept the presentation moving by switching to my flip charts. I was without electronic media for an hour.

In the back of my head, I kept thinking, "This is bad. My first international audience, and I have failed." I had to block out my thoughts, however, and continue to lecture on roles, responsibilities, competition and value propositioning.

At the break, I rebooted my laptop. The moderator told me to "just wiggle” the mouse, to keep it from timing out. The course resumed at 10:15am and concluded promptly, as scheduled, at 11:45. Despite my dread of poor reviews, I received amazing praise: "You've clearly done this a few times!" to "You rock!" to "You never missed a beat."

I tell my clients all the time: We rely too much on our media to sell or deliver, whether it's a new project, a meet and greet or even a course. The smarter strategy is to rely on ourselves, to know our subject area and to have a backup plan. Technology fails every day, but you don't have to fail with it. The backup plan only helps you. For the record, I've been invited back to Alberta to lecture next year. See you in 2014, Alberta!

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.

Local v. the Best

“I need a local presentation coach. Do you have a recommendation?” Yes, I do, but “Why does local matter? Shouldn’t you want ‘the best’?”

This client’s mistake was failing to acknowledge and properly use technology to find the best consultant, instead of the closest. The best one I knew (in my opinion) was in California. The fact that the client was on the other side of the U.S. in an engineering company shouldn’t have mattered at all. Too often, we think that all of our consultants have to serve us locally. Much of that is the nature of our business—we need a local civil engineer or local person to do community outreach. But the truth is, this is a global community.

In the age of technology, marketing consultants in Texas are writing proposals for firms in the West, accounting firms in Georgia are providing services to firms in the mid-West, and that is how it should be. Our quest shouldn’t be for the local firm unless local is the best. This is especially true of back-of-house functions that are largely managed via e-mail, video conference, Go To Meeting® or other platforms.

Accountants, marketing professionals, information technology specialists and even many human resources functions are managed effectively every day and at a lower cost via a virtual or distance provider. Ask yourself:

1. Is local necessary or preferred? If it is preferred, then what’s the trade off? If you’re in Canada and you need someone with expertise in Canadian law, then this might not apply. But, ask the question.

2. Is there a cost saving or benefit? Too often we assume distance costs more. Today, distance often costs less. There is no travel time and there is efficiency to be gained when an individual can focus on the task for which they are the best qualified.

In the end, the client hired the presentation coach from the West, and scored higher than they ever had. A winning choice!

Karen Compton, CPSM, 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.