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out something that shows a picture of each team member, what their name is, what company they are with, what their role will be on the project, etc. Be open to interruptions along the way to answer questions versus telling them to hold all questions to the end of your spiel. 7. Keep the BS to a minimum. Most of these clients couldn’t care less about your design process or charts showing how this project dovetails perfectly with your other jobs that will be winding up at the exact right time to work on theirs. They know this stuff is cooked up and means very little because it’s always the same. And keep the acronyms and buzzwords down that not everyone who is there will understand. They probably aren’t all design professionals themselves. Respect that. 8. Bring up and address the most likely concerns. Don’t hope certain questions won’t come up. You know what these are. Instead, raise them yourselves and answer them. They may not all be vocalized. Better to confront. 9. Don’t be a cliche. Engineers who show up looking like engineers with plastic pocket protectors or ill-fitting jackets, and who look at their feet when they speak aren’t going to sell the job. Ditto for architects with their all-black outfits with turtlenecks or capes. Leave the costumes at home. Try to be as much like your likely audience as possible. As always, I could go on here but am out of time and space. But really – please consider my advice here if you want to be more successful. This stuff may seem common sense to you, but my experience is that common sense is not always so common! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
MARK ZWEIG, from page 5
all young or all old may help your team connect with those on the client end who will be making the decision. The CEO stating they are committed to the job probably means very little – sorry. The client knows that is probably going to be the last time they see that person. And can these people communicate effectively? It’s not just good enough to have the resume when the language usage and body language of the presenters is all wrong. 4. Show you have done your homework. Have you done any research you can share that is relevant here? Have you done any research on end users of this type of facility and what their wants, needs, and complaints are? Have you done any research to see how these projects are holding up over time. If you haven’t done any research yourself, is there other research you can reference? Get into the details here. I would not underestimate the importance of research, whether primary (you did it) or secondary (you found what others have done). It just makes you so much more credible. 5. Show you have done similar work and don’t stretch too far afield to prove that. Getting very granular about the client type, project type, and nuances of this specific potential project is what it takes. I know we all know in our gut that all clients want to know if we are going to be learning at their expense. Most don’t want to have to educate their design professionals. The client wants to learn from your experience, not the other way around. 6. Connect with the decision makers or selection committee. When you are at the presentation, try to address and meet each member of the group that you will be presenting to. Don’t wait to make those introductions for when the presentation actually starts – seems too impersonal. Hand
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THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 29, 2025, ISSUE 1603
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