International Construction Law Review
BOOK REVIEW
SARAH LUPTON
Marketing and Selling Professional Services in Architecture and Construction. By Basil Sawczuk. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. ISBN 978–1–4051–8187–7. 254 pp. £42.50.
For many firms of consultants 2010 brings the prospect of a slow recovery from recession, with fierce competition for commissions. The arrival of this book is therefore timely, as a lull in workload affords the time for reflection and development of new marketing strategies. These will need to take account of the fact that over recent years clients have become more sophisticated and have higher expectations, and the process of bidding for work has become increasingly complex.
The author’s extensive experience in this field is clearly evident in the helpful content and clear presentation of this book. He is a qualified architect who has specialised in marketing and selling for over 25 years, working in business development for DGI International and subsequently for W S Atkins as Marketing Director of its Property Services Division. This role involved selling the services of architects, civil, structural and building services engineers, surveyors and facilities managers, working from over 50 regional offices. He has also worked with law firms and a major contractor, and he now works as an independent consultant.
The book covers marketing and selling in the widest sense, i.e., far more than simply techniques for advertising and promoting services. Instead the author sets out a structured approach to winning business, which comprises seven stages, tracking through from the identification of target clients to securing the work, delivery of a tailored service and obtaining of repeat business.
What is the value of this book to readers of this Review who are not architects or other professionals directly concerned with marketing of services? Beyond broadening one’s understanding of the architectural profession, the answer is that it provides information that is not readily available about professional practices and which could be very useful in evaluation of how a professional ought to have approached a task or project.
Stage 1 sets out procedures for analysing a firm’s existing client base, including categorising clients according to “lifetime value”, assessing the potential for acquiring work in specific market sectors and developing a strategy for selling to existing and new clients. The book advocates direct targeting of selected clients, rather than a random or scattergun approach. Stage 2 looks at identifying client needs and at establishing contact with the client, including preliminary telephone calls and the first meeting. The third stage is to tailor the service offered to suit the target client’s needs, and differentiate it from the services offered by competitors. The fourth
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