Clarity comes through action: how to help your clients take the first momentous step
I turned up to a client workshop recently and announced that I was there to provide clarity.
I help architects to find the clarity they need to build a practice that they love; and you help your clients find clarity to achieve their dreams. Sounds simple, right?
I hadn’t planned to say that; it just spilled out of my mouth when I stepped through their studio door. I was bubbling with enthusiasm about imparting the information I’d gathered to help them resolve a problem they’d been wrestling with for months (or is that years?).
My clients were keen to explore and investigate the development of a new product, but they weren’t sure what to focus on first, or which steps to take next.
I approached this as a start-up planning exercise and did some research around their chosen topic.
And I was armed with resources, step-by-step guides, processes for them to follow, and a structure for our 90-minute all-hands workshop.
I was confident that they’d get insights and a breakthrough that would propel them forward into action.
And they did!
At the end of our session, they were all buzzing with excitement about their ideas – and the possibilities and opportunities they could envision – and it was absolutely inspiring to witness.
By taking that first step - and inviting me to help them brainstorm in a workshop - they emerged with a clear sense of what they needed to do next, and how to take confident steps towards their goals, which had previously seemed Big, Hairy and Audacious and out-of-reach. (Have you heard of the B-HAG, as defined by Jim Collins?)
I love the saying that “clarity comes through action”, because often all you need to do to reveal the path ahead of you is to get into motion by taking the first step.
What’s the difference between an outcome and a process?
My architect clients frequently tell me that their clients often don’t know what to do next, or even which service provider to approach in the first instance to help them work out what the path looks like. The clients have usually identified a problem that they need to solve, but they have no idea who or what is needed, or where or how to start.
Does this sound familiar?
You’ve probably come across a version of this scenario in your discussions with your potential clients.
And we know that most consumers don’t understand what an architect actually does, or the full scope of a typical service, or what sets an architect apart from another service provider who could potentially help.
And it can be hard to counter messaging like this Facebook ad from Drafting Help - a company on Sydney’s Northern Beaches - which said: “Architect too expensive? Why pay more for an architect when our Expert draughtsmen can deliver the same quality designs for less? Save $$.”
Another challenge is that potential clients believe that architects only work on big budget projects and won’t be interested in helping them with their lowly project (and in many cases, this is true, but it’s changing).
How is this problem exacerbated by marketing?
It doesn’t help that plenty of your competitors are positioning their services as being equal to or better than architecture, at significantly lower cost, just like the advertisement pictured at right.
We know that “drawings for council approval” are not necessarily the same as “architecture”, but a lot of potential clients can’t distinguish between the two.
As architects, you know that the magic happens in the early stages of a project, when you resolve all of the problems, constraints, issues and regulatory conundrums with a beautiful and impressive design that meets the budget and brief, and offers inbuilt flexibility for the future, to cater for changes that may occur over time. You’ll factor in sustainability, material selection, and other concerns such as Connecting with Country and perhaps even embodied carbon and life-cycle analysis.
The drafting company isn’t offering such a holistic solution, but it’s still hard for you to convince your clients to invest in your services, because they don’t appreciate the value you provide, and they are being told by your competitors that it’s not necessary to use an architect to achieve their desired outcome.
The way I see it, it’s beholden on architects to change those common misconceptions and falsehoods by changing the way you explain your services to your prospective clients.
What do I mean by this?
In the early stages of a project, architects are in the business of providing clarity. And when they – the architects – can provide clarity about the path ahead, and recommendations about the best next steps, the clients become sufficiently knowledgeable and empowered to make informed decisions about whether to continue down their chosen path.
With more information, and a carefully considered view of their problem, the best way for them to proceed will become obvious.
In short, you can provide clarity for your clients about where and how they should invest their time, money and energy to realise their aspirations. And that is a very valuable service; and one that isn’t yet well understood or appreciated in the market place.
This knowledge gap between what your clients think you offer and what you actually provide arises because many architects focus their marketing on how they deliver a particular outcome – such as a new house, a completed renovation for a growing family, or a new workplace for a commercial client – and fail to highlight all of the value that’s included in their process.
How can architects unlock the value of their process?
I think there is a missing link in architecture marketing and communications because architects are so steeped in their processes – they literally are immersed in them every day like a fish in water – that they don’t realise how unusual these skills are.
Architects can hold and navigate through an incredible volume of complexity and competing interests, and evaluate all of the possible options before cutting away some possibilities and alternatives, to create their design solution. This ability to hold space and guide your clients as they make thousands of small and not-so-small decisions - decisions that will affect their future path and materially shape the project - is unique and incredible valuable.
It’s what you spent five years at university to learn, and several more years of post-graduate education to become registered. It’s why you need to complete CPD every year to continually expand your knowledge. It’s what sets you apart from all the other players - the draftspeople, the builders, the building designers - who are telling consumers they can do the same thing as you.
They can’t.
The process that you employ to lead your clients from confusion and overwhelm to clarity and confidence is extremely valuable, because it gets them out of indecision and chaos, and into inspired action, in a way that considers every possible facet and angle.
Usually this critical thinking occurs at the front-end of a project, sometimes even before the client has signed a contract or agreement with you (Hint: don’t do that! Don’t give away your best and most valuable ideas until the client has agreed to pay you for them!)
Your process sets your clients on the right course for them, to achieve their goals, while taking into account all of the obvious and hidden constraints and parameters (some of which are invisible to a novice client, although you as the architect are well-versed in all the possible permutations and scenarios they might have to contend with during the course of the project).
That means your architecture process skills are valuable, even if the client ultimately decides to not proceed – even if no project ever eventuates.
Why? Because your process is your superpower that provides clarity for your clients. So the more you can explain the value of this process to future clients, the more new clients will seek you out and approach your practice to obtain the clarity and confidence they need to help them move forward in an informed and empowered way.
Setting an intention to shift your marketing from only focussing on outcomes (where there is a lot of competition for your clients’ attention) to focussing on your process (which is unique to you and the way you provide architecture services) is a key plank in the transition to make architecture more accessible to a wider range of people.
Because it’s no longer about the finished product – the glorified object – it’s about listening to your clients’ dreams, fears, worries, concerns, problems, confusion – and guiding them towards a resolution that works for their brief, budget, site, climate, context and more.
And who else in the built environment professions is offering this kind of clarity-seeking-service?
How can you market your process - and the clarity you provide - to clients?
As I mentioned earlier, architects don’t necessarily realise there is value in their process which helps their clients to achieve clarity.
Especially today, when we are all bombarded with more messaging and news and content than we can possibly review, digest and act upon. And much of it is blatantly false and misleading. People are time-and-attention poor, and some will choose to pay for and invest in the help of experts who can steer them towards their goals more effectively and efficiently. (Some will still opt to engage the draftsman, and they’ll probably never fully appreciate what they missed out on. And some don’t have the funds to engage an architect, although more architects are offering different process-driven services as a way of making architecture more accessible, regardless of budget).
The process of helping your clients to make informed decisions and find clarity is actually a service that you can monetise. A side benefit of this approach is that your process may also give your clients confidence in your skills, expertise, knowledge and experience, meaning they’ll feel reassured to take the next steps with you (and potentially see the project to fruition).
This passage from Dr Carol N Hildebrand about making better decisions sums up this appraoch beautifully.
She wrote:
"Most of us have weak decision-making muscles. We do not realize what it means to make a real decision. We fail to recognize the force of change that a truly congruent, committed decision makes.
The word ‘decision’ comes from Latin roots, with de meaning ‘down’ or ‘away from’ and caedere meaning ‘to cut’. Therefore, a decision means cutting from any other possibility. A true decision means you are committed to achieving a result and cutting yourself off from any other possibility.
Committed decisions show up in two places: your calendar and your bank account. No matter what you say you value, or even think your priorities are, you have only to look at last year's calendar and bank account to see the decisions you have made about what you truly value.
See how you have reserved your time. Look at your expenditures. Those are the trails to the decisions you have made."
Source: James Clear, https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/march-16-2023, cited from On Time (and lightly edited by him for clarity)
What does this mean for your practice and your marketing?
Do you currently offer a service that enables prospective clients tap into your knowledge and expertise to gain the clarity they need, to move ahead?
That might be a paid initial consult where they can access to ask you questions and get a breakthrough. Are you currently giving away this time and expertise for free? One architect posted on LinkedIn recently that his first one-hour meeting with a client costs $1800.
You could also offer a fixed-price feasibility study service for clients to test the waters with you, to see if your ideas align with their values and vision.
There are many architects offering these kinds of services now, in myriad different ways. Here a few that may inspire you to think about your own positioning and services through this lens of providing clarity and direction:
Amelia Lee runs Undercover Architect, a podcast and award-winning online resource to teach homeowners how to design, build or renovate their home.
Sarah Lebner runs Cooee Architecture, which connects regional people with low-carbon homes, and fulfilling lives within them, and
Rebecca Caldwell leads Maytree Studios, which co-creates residential, projects with its clients, and which provides details of the current waitlist duration on the practice website.
(None of these are my clients, but all three are my co-presenters at the National Architecture Conference session, in the session called Practice? What are we Practicing for?)
Another example is my Acupuncture Service - a “book-an-hour” session that enables architects to seek my input around any business development or marketing topic of their choice. They can book the service online and select an online calendar appointment at a time that suits us both.
If you’re interested in putting together a similar service, it requires some initial set-up tasks including:
adding legal e-commerce terms on your website,
connection to an online payment platform like Stripe or PayPal,
a link to a calendar booking system, and
auto-responder emails that confirm the purchase (with a tax invoice) and the calendar appointment details.
And I can help you with this in an Acupuncture Session (did you see what I did there?).
Offering this kind of service is a great way to redirect people who just want to “pick your brains”, to let them know that your knowledge, skills and expertise are valuable, and you charge accordingly. I recently spotted an architect on LinkedIn who said that his initial consultation fee is $1800, and he can charge that figure because his skills and expertise are highly appreciated and valued in his particular sector of the market. That’s one of the possible outcomes of strong brand recognition!
Sounds Like Design also offers two other services that provide clarity and confidence for architects, including:
An online CPD course – Architecture Marketing 360 - which is a 101-style course about modern marketing. It outlines Sounds Like Design’s proprietary Six Channel System and the processes that we developed to help architects navigate the complexity of the marketing landscape, so you can build a pipeline of clients and projects you love working on.
A one-on-one consulting package – Review + Reset - which takes place over 3 months. It’s a deep-dive into your current business development and marketing activities, where we co-create your new blueprint, enabling you to delegate and automate key tasks, and free up your time for the creative work you really love doing.
If you’d like to get more clarity around which of our services is the best fit for you right now, you can take our quiz, here, or download this brochure that outlines our services:
Click on the image above to download the brochure and gain clarity around your next best business development and marketing moves…