CONFIDENTIAL REPORT

THE #1
CLIENT GETTING
STRATEGY FOR
ARCHITECTS
HOW TO GET THE
PHONE TO RING
CONFIDENTIAL REPORT
THE #1 CLIENT GETTING STRATEGY FOR ARCHITECTS

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 CONFIDENTIAL REPORT
THE #1 CLIENT GETTING STRATEGY FOR ARCHITECTS

One of the great lies that architects are told…

‘If you do a great job then you will be constantly referred and
always busy’
This is not only untrue it is also dangerous advice.

You work your butt off doing great work and you are NOT rich and NOT always busy. Your
clients do NOT refer in the quantity you need. They probably could, they probably should
but they do NOT.

That is why you are reading this document – you want a better way.

Your lecturers seldom teach selling and marketing skills at architecture school despite this
being essential to running a business

…because the phone will not always ring when we need it to.

Faced with this realization we now have to get very honest with ourselves…

…In the real world we need to learn HOW to get clients.


You need to be a great architect AND a great marketer of
architectural services!
Now to problem #2…

How do we get clients without

1. Looking like a salesperson?

2. Looking desperate?

3. Losing your shirt on advertising that does NOT work?

As a professional you want to look dignified, in demand and at the top of the tree (an
expert).

That is hard to do when you are cold calling builders begging for work or staring at the
phone praying for a ring.

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There has to be a better way where you can maintain dignity and get more of the RIGHT
type of clients and projects.

Fortunately a small number of architects have found a way. Mona Quinn used a method I
gave her and generated 150 leads in a single weekend.

She has since tripled her income and increased her fees. Client come to her now and she
chooses who she will accept as a client. She gets to work on better quality of projects and
better quality clients. Clients who love great design and can afford it.

Imagine that.

But this transformation does not happen by accident.

You can apply the exactly the same strategy to taught her. When you do, everything will
change for you. Your peers and competitors will wonder what you have done. They might
even think you are doing something illegal.

Three things happen when you execute this strategy well.

1. Ideal clients request meeting with you

2. You are seen as an expert (because you are the teacher)

3. You can increase your fees without resistance

Once I explain you will see.

Continue to next page…

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THE #1 CLIENT GETTING STRATEGY FOR ARCHITECTS

The Monkey’s Fist

"Who ever educates the market owns the market"
The number one spot goes to the Monkey's Fist.

It is more of a 'strategy' than a 'place', but I've given it the #1 spot because of its deadly
effectiveness.

Execute this strategy right and the Monkey’s Fist could be the only marketing strategy you
ever need.

I know it's a strange name. If you're a yachtsman or you've spent any time at sea you may
recognize the name.

Here's a quick story about how the name of this strategy came about:

Two years ago my uncle (a tour operator) invited my wife and I on board a large cruise ship
docked in Wellington, New Zealand.

While standing on the deck of a ship I noticed that the ropes needed to tie the ship to the
dock were huge. I wondered how any seaman could ever lift such a thick rope, let alone hurl
it so that it would reach the pier.

So we waited.

We discovered that the crew doesn't even try to throw the heavy rope, known as a "hawser".

Instead, a solitary crewman hurled a special knot of line tied around a little iron ball, called a
"monkey's fist," which was attached to a thin rope about the size of a clothes line to a
longshoreman standing on the pier, waiting to receive it.

The longshoreman then collects the monkey’s fist and hauls the line in until he grabs the
hawser.

Once the hawser is in hand, it is a simple matter to loop the hawser around the cleats on the
pier.

Throwing a hawser is too big a first step for any sailor, just as it's too big a first step for any
marketer to approach ice-cold prospects and instantly persuade them to buy.

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The first step in the relationship between buyer and seller has to be easy.

Mona Quinn of Callidus Architects had over 150 new leads within a couple of months after
using this strategy.

Here’s how to do it:

Instead of marketing your services directly, market problem solving information about
design, building and renovating that answers the questions and solves the problems of your
ideal clients.

This positions you as the expert.

The key is to provide this information in exchange for the prospect’s contact details and
permission to send it through – just like the way you got this report (I practice what I preach).

This is called lead generation marketing and it can transform an architect’s business
overnight.

This strategy is unique and still untapped.

While other architects are marketing their services, you are marketing educational tools and
resources that help people get clarity, make decisions and move forward.

By building an educational service in front of your architectural service you become one of
the ‘good guys and gals’.

Instead of being perceived as a sales person by your market, you are perceived as a helpful
and trusted advisor.

Being trusted by your market is the #1 factor in selling high value architectural services.

With this ace in your pocket, you'll find that the quantity (and quality) of your prospective
clients will increase.

Here are some more reasons why the Monkey's Fist strategy is #1:

1. Who ever educates the market owns the market. Experts educate, sales people sell
(we want to be seen as the expert not a salesperson)

2. People will willingly give their name and contact details for relevant educational
material, typically 10x more than traditional marketing.

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3. Because we are offering educational materials we capture people earlier in the

process when they are doing research. At this early stage they are less likely to be
talking with other architects so we have a chance to establish a relationship first.

4. Because we are educating we help to shape the buying criteria of what prospects
should be looking for in an architect. Done well you would be the only architect in
the world who meets the criteria you suggest.

5. People who request appointments after they have been through your education
and indoctrination process are better quality clients, you have pre-trained them.

6. You can automate the education process (freeing up your time to focus on
delivering great projects, not marketing).

Here’s an example of an offer for a Monkey’s Fist:

Warning: this strategy requires a thorough follow up sequence to get prospects to book a
meeting.

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Notes:

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