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O P I N I O N
A s an owner or leader of an A/E firm, you have a tough job. You have the responsibility of making good decisions in a very unpredictable and unstable environment. It’s hard to predict exactly what is going to happen so you can prepare your business and people for it. Know your purpose, intent, and philosophy of business, but be willing to change if it becomes prudent to do so. Be smart in how you run your business
Mark Zweig
2)Knowing what is going on with the clients you want to work with is also important. You can’t just focus on current clients even if they are the most important to you. Some of your current clients may drop off. That means you will need new clients to replace some of that lost business. And there could be better, more profitable clients to serve. So see my questions above. Add to them a question or two on who these potential clients are working with and what they like or don’t like about them, and what, if anything, would motivate them to change horses. You never know, you may pick up a new client in the process! 3)Knowing what is happening in your client industries is essential, too! This is one of the (many) reasons we have been so fond of market
You have to tune into what is happening in the organizations (clients) you serve, along with what is happening with the overall economic environment. Here are more of my thoughts: 1)Knowing what is happening with your current clients is most important! In uncertain times, you have to know what is happening with your clients. That means you have to get on the phone or Zoom or whatever you and your clients prefer to talk to them about their business. What problems are they having? What do they have coming up? What services are they buying and what do they think their future needs will be? Are they needing something you don’t currently provide, but could if you wanted to? Can you get any commitments from them that will solidify your relationship now, such as an annual service agreement, open-end contract, or contracts for specific projects?
See MARK ZWEIG, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 4, 2021, ISSUE 1373
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