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Typing from my iPhone, and perhaps exceeded characters, but hopefully that last post made sense!
Just wanted to report some feedback regarding three levels of service proposals. So far, I’ve offered three such proposals, fine-tuning each one after the other. The first proposal is still in limbo, due to family illness. The second proposal is still being considered by the client, hopefully, I’ll hear back this week. The latest proposal, which I sent that last week, was accepted by my client. They chose the mid level service, and negotiated on the price a little, Which was fine with me, because it was above what I typically would have offered. What was interesting is they had interviewed other architects who offered proposals at an hourly rate, but preferred my fixed fee proposal which was above their hourly rate , Because they knew or at least had uncertainty that their hours would exceed my fixed fee. They also commented they felt more comfortable with me and that I was more responsive than the other architects. Another comment they had was that it was nearly impossible to compare proposals from various architects, and I think that’s where my three tier proposal with fixed fees helped.
Once again, the old John Jones architect would have pre-negotiated himself down in the proposal. What an idiot. At least with the three-tier proposal I start with my pre- rate but scale back services, so with them picking the mid-level service, I’m getting more
In finding your “niche”, I’d suggest some soul searching on what types of projects bring the most satisfaction to you; what skills you have (is there a locality that has a difficult zoning code that you’ve mastered), and who you enjoy working with. And if it’s important, which projects bring the most $$$ for the least effort/time. All the best!
I have no idea what the niche idenitification exercise is, but I’d suggest the following is most important to picking your niche:
what work do you enjoy the most?
what work do you have the most experience with?
what municipality are you most familiar with?
what work do you enjoy the most?
what work do you enjoy the most?
what work do you enjoy the most?
That is all. It’s your life. Choose it. : )
Hey Sharon George, AIA go get those classroom parents, and every other project you desire! Great meeting you last week!
Jane Elizabeth Clark, how’s the HABIT going. Can you share a success story, or what marketing tips you use?
Signs on every jobsite!!! Except, jobs that maybe don’t represent you or your target market. I used to be under the impression that every lead was a good lead. Every referral a good referral. BUT, I was speaking to a builder not long ago, and he said something that stuck with me: “Crappy projects (low budget projects, compromised projects) get Crappy referrals.” I thought about it… no bathroom remodel ever got me a $2.5M house project. That said, every project that hits your niche, absolutely get your jobsite sign out. You’ll get a million calls from painters, flooring guys, sheetrockers, but the handful you get from homeowners or decision makers who appreciate your design will be priceless.
Thanks String. That mic had shown up in my research. Glad to hear your opinion on it.
Brandon Reed, Designer and Landscape Architect – it was a pleasure meeting you at the SUMMIT!!!! Thank you (& Diana) for sharing a cab ride with me! If you shoot me an email John@JohnJonesAIA.com I’ll be happy to send you what I did (no guarantee of results yet). See you again! JJ
The “basic” service was under my ballpark quote, the “plus” was in the range of quote, but with less service than I was thinking at the time, and the “premium” was above the ballpark quote, but with the services I had in mind, plus some other “services” that were easy to add. I’ll share the results when I hear back from the potential clients. I say an earlier post about selling the benefits, which in my mind is hard to incorporate into a proposal that already incorporates 3 tiers of “features”. Hopefully, the benefits of the features in the matrix are readily apparent. If anyone has a solution to this, I’d love to hear it. Also, I’m happy to share my proposal, if someone can explain how I can upload a pdf file here. I’m a newbie to this forum. Thanks awesome marketing peeps!
I just sent out my first 3-tier proposal this morning. I had asked another think-tank forum I’m part of for a template as well, but no dice. This is an experiment I am so jazzed about… It’s one of those small projects was referred to me, but not in my niche (or target fee, or everything), and one I didn’t care if I got or not, even though I need more income. In any case, I had “ballparked” a fee range to the clients at the on-site consultation, and I could sense a bit of shock. Having just read about the 3-tier proposal in a recent email from Enoch, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to experiment (since again, I didn’t care). So I closed the meeting saying I’d see what I could do with my fee by giving them “a couple options”. What I had “ballparked” included what I typically do (which I realized included services that aren’t completely necessary, just me going the distance). So in the end, I provided “Architecture Basic, Plus, and Premium” services.
I just logged in to share the same sentiment. I am ready to put “Massive Action” to the strategies AMG has helped me develop with the tools they’ve provided. The SUMMIT was inspiring, and has motivated me to action! And it was great meeting you face to face, Ed! See you online soon!
Hi Mette, I just saw you (unfortunately we didn’t get to meet face to face) at the AMA SUMMIT in NYC. Would you be willing to share your “Why Builders Hate Architects” with me? John@JohnJonesAIA.com…. the insight would be so helpful for the niche I’m in. Thank you also for your inspiring presentation in NY – loved it!!!
