Creating an Unexpected Path to Profitable Revenue
December 16, 2013 | By Wayne O'Neill
CLIENT INDUSTRY: ARCHITECTURAL FIRM
Architectural firm focused on zoos & aquariums, higher education, healthcare and government.
CLIENT GOALS: CREATE DESIGN WORK BY IDENTIFYING FUNDING FOR PROJECTS
While this firm has a strong reputation and market experience, it would frequently run into the same issue over and over. Their clients would say, “We are in love with your design and plans, but just don’t have the funding for this project.”
OUR DELIVERY PATH
Work Creation via Partner Collaboration
We helped our client create a strategic partnership with a third party service provider, who happened to be another client of ours. When working together, the two companies could ultimately help project owners free up operational budget – by leveraging an energy performance contract from the service provider — that would help them pay for a new architectural project – with design from the architectural firm.
We like to call this a “Stewardship to Equity” strategy.
What is “Stewardship to Equity”
Let’s break it down. “Stewardship” means responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving. So, you need to behaviorally demonstrate financial diligence with your own assets. “Equity” essentially translates to the value or worth you create. So by exhibiting proper “stewardship” over your assets (i.e. leveraging an energy performance contract), you can create “equity” that can be invested into capital projects (i.e. design of a new facility).
Opportunity Facilitation via the “Meeting Behind the Meeting”
We facilitated a meeting behind the meeting during a large industry association convention that enabled our client to present their new value creation model to 10-15 decision makers in their target audience. The meeting provided a platform for the third party company to present their Energy Performance Contract model that could essentially save these decision makers money in their operational budgets. We helped these owners see that by freeing up funds from their operational budget, they would have the capital to move forward with strategic capital projects. Stated more succinctly, they would have the money to move forward hiring the architectural firm to design their new project.
Improved Positioning
We helped improve our clients’ position in the market with project owners. Now instead of reacting to project owner requests, they could help the project owners find funding and plan their capital projects. Our architecture client also became the project driver for both the project owner and any third party companies who could provide operational budget savings.
CLIENT IMPACT: NEW FUNDING SOURCES FOR ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS AND POSITION AS A CREATOR OF PROJECTS
- Our client has recently landed multiple projects by helping the project owner identify a funding source. In the end, the owner, the company providing the service that leads to cost savings and the architectural firm are all winners.
- Our client grasped the significance of helping owners discover alternative financial models to fund projects that are being slowed down by budget cuts.
- Our client is now seen as a strategic partner for their clients to help them achieve their strategic plan, not just do the drawings.
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