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FROM THE FOUNDER
Selling big design projects
Winning big design projects requires strategy, preparation, credibility, and connecting authentically with decision-makers to secure long-term success.
S elling big design projects is what most of our readers are all about. We all need big projects with big fees that go for a long time. They provide the base of revenue necessary to meet our big payrolls and overhead expenses, and help each of us sleep better at night.
Mark Zweig
We spend a lot of time and money going after these projects. Accounting for the time for meetings with expensive people, travel expenses for multiple people, costly design concept models and more, it could be $100K or $200K alone in marketing time and expenses to go after one of these bigger projects. Yet historically, most firms have about a 15%-20% win rate on them. That means for every one you win, you lose four. The money spent and the morale-killing disappointment can really add up. I have been one of the people selling these jobs and I have also been on the other end hiring the architects and engineers. Here are a few of the things I have learned over the 45 years I have been in this business about what it takes to land these big projects: 1. Understand the totality of the situation. Who is in charge? Do you know this person or these people? How did the last project you did for this client go? What will people inside the client firm be saying about you? Will political contributions come into play and have you done what you need to in order to be on “the list” if that ever comes up? Is there going to be pressure to “pass the work around” and have you already “had your turn” such that
may keep you from going after the project in the first place? What is the most important thing to accomplish on the project? There is a lot to know versus just showing up out of the blue with your SOQ hoping to make a short list. 2. Put the right team together. The right team has so many potential dimensions to it that it takes a lot of serious thought. Do you have the right local firm that is respected by the client if that is a consideration? If you are the local firm, did you bring in the right experts from out of town for the project type if that is needed, or did you just go to the firms you know and have always worked with that have some experience but don’t look like they are the best? Have you got the right subject matter experts involved or is it your usual consultants? How does your client feel about these other firms? Critical stuff here. 3. Bring the people who will work on the job to the presentation. They have to be experienced enough to be credible yet energetic enough to create enthusiasm. A mix of young and old versus
See MARK ZWEIG, page 6
THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 29, 2025, ISSUE 1603
ELEVATE THE INDUSTRY®
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