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O P I N I O N
Two firms, one team Firms that prepare together find that the investment in time and resources equates to project wins and good relationships.
T eaming with other AEC firms is a common strategy to win work that requires different types of expertise, size, and capabilities. What is not so common is presenting a seamless partnership to the client, both in the proposal and during the interview. “Sometimes I get the impression that teams met in the parking lot before they walked in,” said the director of a large city transportation department in the Puget Sound region.
Scott Johnston
2)Build a balanced proposal together. Often, one team will take the lead on the proposal, usually because it has the marketing horsepower or is the prime – and it shows. When the lead firm has slick “Teaming with other AEC firms is a common strategy to win work that requires different types of expertise, size, and capabilities. What is not so common is presenting a seamless partnership to the client, both in the proposal and during the interview.”
To build a team that is more than the sum of its parts, follow these six strategies: 1)Visit the site together – early. Insights gained by spending time together at the site will translate into memorable stories and anecdotes both in the pro- posal and during the interview. Both teams will have a canvas to describe how their unique expertise will translate into designing, building, or improving the project. Being able to describe in the local vernacular things you saw together – the big rock, the fir tree, the gully – shows that you have invested the time to partner effectively. One team we worked with was interviewing for a highly visible university project that featured outside study and gathering areas. The landscape architect flew in late and walked the site at night with a flash- light!
See SCOTT JOHNSTON, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER May 15, 2017, ISSUE 1200
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