AEC Managing Partner Newsletter May 2006
Welcome to the May 2006 Edition of the AEC Managing Partner Newsletter.
The last few months have been very busy and I am more than a little bit relieved to be sending out my newsletter before the middle of the month - or worse yet skipping it altogether. It seems I have struck a chord with my program on incentive compensation. I have been selected to present this program at 3 national conventions later this year. I hope to see you at one of these events. Please be sure to visit each of the sites listed in this newsletter for more information. In this Months Newsletter: 1. Avoid Being Under Paid for Your Creative Efforts - Seven Things You Can Do 2. Producing Better Financial Information 3. Herb Cannon to Speak at SMPS/PMSA Build Business National Convention on August 19, 2006 4. Herb Cannon to Speak at Society for Design Administration National Convention on June 9th 2006 5. Herb Cannon to Speak at TCEC Leadership Forum on July 21st 2006 6. Herb Cannon To Speak at Axium Users Conference on October 20th 2006 7. Incentive Compensation Program
Avoid Being Under Paid for Your Creative Efforts - Seven Things You Can Do
1. Don't create the perception (or reality) that you are desperate for the project at any price, under any terms or conditions. Clients can smell desperation from 3 time zones away and many will take advantage of it.
2. Don't Fall in love with the prospect of working on a particular project if you know it will be a bleeder. You don't need to lose money in order to do something you love.
3. Avoid working with clients that have a history of problem projects. Construction delays, litigation with design professionals. You know who they are. Don't think they will treat you different, because they won't.
4. Before you start fee negotiations with your client, make sure you set 2 numbers. The first is the desired fee. The second is the walk away number. The walk away number is the minimum fee you are willing to accept - anything less and you walk away.
5. Become an expert in a specific project type. Experts always get paid more - everyone else competes for commodity work where the fees are too low to make a decent profit.
6. Don't rely on word of mouth to let potential clients know you are an expert. If you are one of the nation's leading experts you need to explicitly say so. Make sure it is included on your website, personal profile and other marketing materials.
7. Have a proactive plan for identifying scope creep - and asking for a fee increase before doing the work. Show me a project that is losing money and I will show you a project that has unidentified scope creep. Please visit my website for more ideas on improving profits. More Ideas http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/fa1771a54d/595109/TEST
Producing Better Financial Information
Last month I wrote an article that was published in Focal Point, a quarterly publication produced by Axium Software. Please visit the site to read the article - I think it is actually one of my better efforts. Focal Point Newsletter http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/cda5c2a76e/595109/TEST
Herb Cannon to Speak at Society for Design Administration National Conference
Herb Cannon will be speaking at the Society for Design Administration National Conference in Los Angeles on Friday June 9th. The session topic is Incentive Compensation - The Key to Higher Profits. As an affiliate of the AIA - the convention is being held at the same time and place as the AIA National Conference. Visit the SDA Website for more information SDA Website http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/7e0f38911d/595109/TEST
Herb Cannon to Speak at TCEC Leadership Forum
On July 21, 2006, Herb Cannon will be presenting at the Texas Council of Engineering Companies Leadership Forum on the topic of: Business Management Skills. This is the 6th consecutive year he is presenting to this group Visit the TCEC Website http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/7be8a07acf/595109/TEST
Herb Cannon to Speak at SMPS/PSMA National Convention
Herb Cannon has been selected to present at the National Build Business Convention on the topic: Incentive Compensation - The Key to Higher Revenues and Profits. The Conference is scheduled for August 16 -19th in Hollywood California. Please visit the Build Business Website for complete details. SMPS/PSMA Website http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/e10b1bfbe6/595109/TEST
Herb Cannon to Speak at Axium Users Conference
Herb Cannon has been selected to speak at the Axium users conference on October 20th 2006 on the Topic of Incentive Compensation. Please visit the Axium Website for details. Visit Axium http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/b99adcd2b7/595109/TEST
AEC Management Solution Inc.'s Incentive Compensation Program
This program answers all of your questions about how to design and implement a powerful incentive compensation plan to dramatically increase profits and reward your top performers. This is the program that has been selected for presentation at 3 National Conventions. Tell Me More About Incentive Compensation http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/67e0b07e79/595109/TEST
Want to Reprint an Article from AEC Managing Partner?
As a publisher of a print or web-based publication, you are hereby granted the right to reprint any article contained in this newsletter with the following provisions 1) The words "By Herbert M. Cannon" must be included immediately following the article title. 2) The following "resource box" is included following or preceding each article. Herbert M. Cannon, President of AEC Management Solutions, Inc. and Publisher of AEC Managing Partner Newsletter, is a management consultant, seminar provider and speaker exclusive to the A/E Industry. He is available to speak at company meetings and conferences. For more information contact Herb via e-mail hcannon@aecmanagementsolutions.com. Or visit his website at www.aecmanagementsolutions.com 3) You quickly notify us of any publication, either in print or on the Internet. Notification may be made via e-mail at hcannon@aecmanagementsolutions.com 4) You send us a hard copy of any printed publication in which one Herb's articles appear. Printed issues may be sent to 183 Higgins Road Matawan, NJ 07747 More Articles http://r.vresp.com/?AECManagementSolutio/5a9b4b901c/595109/TEST
Thank you for taking the time to read my monthly newsletter. As always, I look forward to your feedback.
Regards,
Herb Cannon
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