In this ‘episode, I talk to Gabe Lett, FSMPS, CPSM, LPC, author of THE AEC PROFESSIONAL'S GUIDEBOOK, and a marketing guru in the AEC industry that helps civil engineers find the right clients and projects for the maximum mutual benefit. In the episode, we talk about marketing and business development for civil engineers and why civil engineers should partner with their marketing professionals. Engineering Quotes: Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Gabe about Marketing and Business Development: Can you tell us about The AEC Professional’s Guidebook and how it will be helpful to civil engineers? The civil engineering profession does not celebrate and promote itself to the level it should, based on the value civil engineers create for our quality of life. What can be done about it, both from the marketing and civil engineering industry? How important do you deem coaching and training for engineers when it comes to sales in engineering? Why do you think that great marketing is the link between technical success and business success? Why is it so important for civil engineers to partner with their marketing professionals, and how can this help to avoid commoditization? Do you have any final advice for civil engineers out there? Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Marketing and Business Development for Civil Engineers: This Guidebook consists of seventy lessons for building a strong career. It focuses on six areas in your career which are marketing and business development, project management, professional development, leadership, and writing. Each lesson has an actionable challenge that you can do daily in your career. Even though engineers like to work with objects or things, they will soon realize that their business is also a people business. Everything you do in your business is revolving around people and their needs. Understanding how to listen better, what is motivating people's decisions, and their behaviors can help engineers to deal with people and make their projects happen. There is a gap between what the public understands what civil engineers do and how they bring value and quality to the public’s everyday lives. Marketers are in a prime position to bridge this gap. They can do this by helping the civil engineering profession focus more on the results that come from their work rather than the process of how the work gets done. Marketers are storytellers, and they can tell the story about the results that civil engineering work produces and how they impact the public's everyday life. These results are the highways, water supply, electricity supply, and wastewater, to mention a few. Civil engineering firms employ non-technical marketers to bring in business but must understand that technical people and engineers are the ones who will bring the deal across the finish line to the point of a signed contract. It is not the correct path because the person finishing the contract is someone the client has not met yet. Professional business developers, who are not engineers, should be professional door openers. Once the door is open, it is up to the technical professional to walk through the door and close the deal. Getting sales training is important for any engineer who has client-facing responsibilities. Sales training does not mean trying to get new sales for the company. It means doing the necessary research to arm yourself with the correct information that the client is needing. Business development is about answering the question that the client has before they have asked it, or solving a problem they did not know they had. In business development, the best projects that you get are word-of-mouth projects. You automatically have some credibility because you were referred by s...