Contract - May 2016 - 42

Building Existing Client Relationships
by Evelyn M. Lee, AIA

Evelyn M. Lee, AIA, writes
a regular column for Contract
on business practices in design
and professional development.
Lee is a senior strategist at
MKThink, the ideas company
for the built environment
based in San Francisco,
and holds graduate degrees
in architecture, public
administration, and business
administration. Lee has served
on the AIA national board
of directors and, in 2014,
she received the AIA Young
Architects Award. Her website
is evelynlee.com.

Many principals of design firms of all sizes have
told me that at least 80 to 90 percent of their current
project portfolio is repeat clients. While this
is obviously an enviable position to be in, I believe
that firms and designers do not commit enough
resources to growing these types of relationships.
As a result, we spin our wheels and expend time
and effort on new client acquisition.
Here are three simple steps to help build and
continue the client relationship:
1. Put them on the firm's email list
This really simple task builds an informal touch point
with your existing as well as potential clients. In fact,
whenever you get business cards from individuals,
you should make sure that you connect to them
on LinkedIn and place them on the firm's mailing list.
Whether or not they open an email blast sent by your
firm, you will stay on a person's radar by showing
up in their inbox. You may be surprised at how much
your contacts enjoy learning about your firm's new
work, or that the project manager whom they were
working with has been promoted to associate
principal or principal.
2. Seek out opportunities to learn from your clients
We are great at responding to client feedback
while engaged in a project, but what do we do when
our scope of work is complete? I recommend setting
up at least two follow-up meetings with the client
following occupancy. The first should be within
three months: Call it a celebratory lunch or drinks
with the preface that you would like to thank
them for being a client, and that you want to learn
how you could have served them better throughout
the process. Take it one step further and consider
introducing them to another principal in the firm.
It may be easier for a client to be critical with

42

someone who was not personally vested in the
project, and it gives the client an opportunity
to meet more of the firm's leadership. This meeting
is also a perfect time to ask if a client would
be willing to either serve as a reference or supply
a quote for marketing purposes.
The second meeting should be one year
after project completion to learn how it has
stood the test of time relative to the client's
expectations. Again, premise the meeting
as one in which you would like to understand
more about the successes and failures of
the project from their perspective as the client.
I have always found it much easier to get
individuals to meet with me, even with their
extremely busy schedules, when I make it clear
that it is their knowledge that I am seeking.
This meeting is not only a good excuse to follow
up with the client but it provides an easy
conversation opener to see if there are
opportunities for new projects in the near
or distant future.
3. Recognize important dates or life events
and send congratulatory notes
Recently, I was at a project meeting with
a client, the chief financial officer of a university,
who had just returned from visiting his new
granddaughter on the East Coast. Being
a new mother myself, we instantly shared baby
photos on our phones. At the end of the meeting,
I noted the names and birthdates of both
of his grandchildren, and once back at the office,
I put the dates on my calendar as a reminder
to send him an email a day or two before each
birthday. These sidebar conversations are great
for creating relationships that extend beyond
project work, and I now have two more reasons
throughout the year to reach out and ask him
how Genevieve and Olivia are doing.
Finally, I often take a moment to follow
up with handwritten thank-you notes on personal
or firm stationary. Besides keeping one's
penmanship sharp in a technology-driven world,
you may be amazed at how well individuals
respond to written words as opposed to typed.
The next time you review your business
development plan, consider how much money
your marketing team is spending on responding
to RFPs and how much more you should ultimately
be spending on your existing clients. c

contractdesign.com

MAY 2016

PHOTOGRAPHY: CARL BOWER

COLUMNIST


http://www.evelynlee.com http://www.contractdesign.com

Contract - May 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - May 2016

Contract - May 2016
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Columnist: Building Existing Client Relationships
Editors’ Picks from Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Product Focus: Disruptive Designs
Product Focus: Antidote to Sitting
The Washington Post
Sunset Magazine
Venafi
Symantec
Malwarebytes
JustFab at 800 Apollo
Designers Select: Workplace
Sources
Ad Index
Exhibition: OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu Crafts an Ethereal Set for the Met’s “Manus x Machina”
2016 Official NeoCon Product Preview
Contract - May 2016 - Intro
Contract - May 2016 - Contract - May 2016
Contract - May 2016 - Cover2
Contract - May 2016 - 1
Contract - May 2016 - 2
Contract - May 2016 - 3
Contract - May 2016 - 4
Contract - May 2016 - 5
Contract - May 2016 - 6
Contract - May 2016 - 7
Contract - May 2016 - Contents
Contract - May 2016 - 9
Contract - May 2016 - 10
Contract - May 2016 - 11
Contract - May 2016 - 12
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Contract - May 2016 - 21
Contract - May 2016 - 22
Contract - May 2016 - 23
Contract - May 2016 - Editorial
Contract - May 2016 - 25
Contract - May 2016 - 26
Contract - May 2016 - 27
Contract - May 2016 - 28
Contract - May 2016 - 29
Contract - May 2016 - Industry News
Contract - May 2016 - 31
Contract - May 2016 - 32
Contract - May 2016 - 33
Contract - May 2016 - 34
Contract - May 2016 - 35
Contract - May 2016 - 36
Contract - May 2016 - 37
Contract - May 2016 - 38
Contract - May 2016 - 39
Contract - May 2016 - 40
Contract - May 2016 - 41
Contract - May 2016 - Columnist: Building Existing Client Relationships
Contract - May 2016 - 43
Contract - May 2016 - 44
Contract - May 2016 - 45
Contract - May 2016 - Editors’ Picks from Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Contract - May 2016 - 47
Contract - May 2016 - 48
Contract - May 2016 - 49
Contract - May 2016 - 50
Contract - May 2016 - 51
Contract - May 2016 - 52
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Contract - May 2016 - 58
Contract - May 2016 - 59
Contract - May 2016 - 60
Contract - May 2016 - 61
Contract - May 2016 - Product Focus: Disruptive Designs
Contract - May 2016 - 63
Contract - May 2016 - 64
Contract - May 2016 - 65
Contract - May 2016 - 66
Contract - May 2016 - 67
Contract - May 2016 - Product Focus: Antidote to Sitting
Contract - May 2016 - 69
Contract - May 2016 - 70
Contract - May 2016 - 71
Contract - May 2016 - 72
Contract - May 2016 - 2016 Official NeoCon Product Preview
Contract - May 2016 - SCover2
Contract - May 2016 - S1
Contract - May 2016 - S2
Contract - May 2016 - S3
Contract - May 2016 - S4
Contract - May 2016 - S5
Contract - May 2016 - S6
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Contract - May 2016 - S35
Contract - May 2016 - S36
Contract - May 2016 - S37
Contract - May 2016 - S38
Contract - May 2016 - S39
Contract - May 2016 - S40
Contract - May 2016 - SCover3
Contract - May 2016 - SCover4
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Contract - May 2016 - The Washington Post
Contract - May 2016 - 85
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Contract - May 2016 - 87
Contract - May 2016 - 88
Contract - May 2016 - 89
Contract - May 2016 - 90
Contract - May 2016 - 91
Contract - May 2016 - 92
Contract - May 2016 - 93
Contract - May 2016 - Sunset Magazine
Contract - May 2016 - 95
Contract - May 2016 - 96
Contract - May 2016 - 97
Contract - May 2016 - 98
Contract - May 2016 - 99
Contract - May 2016 - Venafi
Contract - May 2016 - 101
Contract - May 2016 - 102
Contract - May 2016 - 103
Contract - May 2016 - 104
Contract - May 2016 - 105
Contract - May 2016 - Symantec
Contract - May 2016 - 107
Contract - May 2016 - 108
Contract - May 2016 - 109
Contract - May 2016 - 110
Contract - May 2016 - 111
Contract - May 2016 - 112
Contract - May 2016 - 113
Contract - May 2016 - Malwarebytes
Contract - May 2016 - 115
Contract - May 2016 - 116
Contract - May 2016 - 117
Contract - May 2016 - 118
Contract - May 2016 - 119
Contract - May 2016 - JustFab at 800 Apollo
Contract - May 2016 - 121
Contract - May 2016 - 122
Contract - May 2016 - 123
Contract - May 2016 - 124
Contract - May 2016 - 125
Contract - May 2016 - 126
Contract - May 2016 - 127
Contract - May 2016 - 128
Contract - May 2016 - 129
Contract - May 2016 - Designers Select: Workplace
Contract - May 2016 - 131
Contract - May 2016 - Sources
Contract - May 2016 - 133
Contract - May 2016 - Ad Index
Contract - May 2016 - 135
Contract - May 2016 - Exhibition: OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu Crafts an Ethereal Set for the Met’s “Manus x Machina”
Contract - May 2016 - Cover3
Contract - May 2016 - Cover4
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