“Architects are underpaid, undervalued and regularly have your ideas stolen - but nothing will change until you STOP SELLING and fix your broken sales process”
– Richard Petrie

You are about to ‘unlearn’ everything you have been taught about selling design services. This ineffective and counter-productive process gets you ripped off more than any other professional service I have ever worked with. 
Let me give you an example. 

A friend of mine recently called me to tell me that architects were the worst sales people on earth. 

"I interviewed 11 architects and they all wanted to rush me a proposal… in each case I hardly felt that they understood our real needs and yet they were ready to sign me up for the biggest purchase of my life. The whole process was way too fast." — Simon.

The problem is they were all trying to SELL.

Using an outdated sales process is the weakest way to win projects because ‘selling’ instantly puts you on the back foot and gives all the power to the client.

Everything I teach about winning projects is DO NOT SELL.
When you make the switch to a consultative approach everything changes.

With a consultant’s sales process designed for architects, you will win projects you used to lose, become respected and can start getting paid for all the work you currently do for free.

Let me explain.

There is a company that sells carpet in New Zealand called Carpet Court. Their point of difference is that they will drive to your home with their van so you can see and touch their carpets at your house.

Here is their sales process…

1. Incoming call
2. Book appointment (free)
3. Proposal/Quote (free)
4. Follow up (if you haven’t purchased)
5. Follow up (if you haven’t purchased)
6. Follow up (if you haven’t purchased)

The whole process centers around doing as many quotes or proposals as possible. And for selling a commodity item like carpet this might be an adequate sales process. But this is no way to sell design services, yet it is exactly how 99% of architects sell their services.

The problem with this process is it positions you as a ‘salesperson’.
Think about it. Sales people have brochures, drive to meetings for free and try to deliver proposals and wait for an answer like a puppy waiting for breakfast.

Bad, bad, bad positioning.

This is the sales process for 99% of architects (not AMI architects). The problem is that architects are following architects who are following architects who are following architects who are lost.

Now consider this…

A friend I play squash with, Hamish, sells sports shoes. You can buy the same shoes anywhere in town. However Hamish sells at full retail price in an industry famous for discounting and only works with customers who value his service.

His company is called Shoe Clinic and before they sell anyone a shoe you are put on a treadmill and your running style is diagnosed. Then the ‘consultant’ will prescribe a pair of shoes that are the right match for you depending on your specific needs. 

They do NOT sell, they diagnose and then prescribe.

Hamish sells the same product as every other shoe shop in town but seldom discounts. Now before you say, oh Hamish must be a gifted salesman it won’t work for others, know that Hamish has 19 franchises around New Zealand doing the same thing.

I say if a sport shoe salesman can do this then why can’t an architect?

Let’s Look At The Standard (and Horribly Ineffective) Architecture Firm Sales Process (How NOT to Do It)

Most firms have a 4-step 'sales' process:

1. A call or email comes in. A potential client contacts the firm to get some information on doing a project. At this point, they either make an appointment for an initial consultation, or say, "I'm going to call around and get back to you."

2. The free consultation. During this face-to-face meeting, the architect tries to impress the client with his or her knowledge of the project type the client is considering - maybe even drawing up some sketches.

3. The proposal. After the architect has an idea about the scope of the project (perhaps after a site visit or 2nd meeting) a proposal is developed. The architect sends the proposal via email and waits for a response. And waits some more.

4. The follow up. After no response, if the architect is particularly ambitious, he or she will call once or twice to check on the status of the proposal. Then the client either moves ahead or fades away.

In this typical architecture firm process, potential clients are left bewildered and confused. They don't have enough information to differentiate one firm from another.

All the glossy portfolios and project descriptions look the same.
Don't be John, okay?
They end up going off of 'gut feel,' choosing the firm that was the most pro-active, or just choosing the firm that is the cheapest.

Architects are left wondering where they went wrong.

Why aren't people responding to my emails? What is going on in the potential client's head?

This is when the architect's self-doubt creeps in.

"Will I annoy them if I call them?"

"I don't want to scare them off."

"How much follow up is too much?"

"I don't want to appear needy."

"I don't want to beg for the project."

"Why aren't they returning my calls?"

And when these projects fade away the architect is left bewildered where things went wrong.

It's frustrating because by this time the architect has invested time and money into winning this project - time on the phone, time in meetings, and time creating and sending a proposal.

Maybe the potential client gives a reason for not moving ahead - "you're too expensive" or "I don't have the money" (I'll talk later about how to minimize these problems).

What happens when you sell this way?

• You will drive all over town to attend meetings you won’t get paid for (e.g. free site visits, free home visits).
• You will have your fees questioned and squeezed, because that’s what happens when you sell like a salesperson.
• You will feel you need to give away design ideas for free trying to impress clients to show them how good you are.
• Potential clients may take the free ideas and give them to a draftsperson or cheaper architect.
• You will earn less than you deserve
• The client has the power

Ok, I do not like this process and few architects I have ever met like it either. But ‘sales’ is a necessary evil required to get to the fun part which is designing stuff.

Is There a Better Way?

Well obviously or I would not be writing this letter. You should know me better than that by now. 

Ok, so let’s think about a profession that charges really high fees and seems to have little or no trouble converting clients.

Think about how an expensive surgeon might engage with patients:

1. Call comes in from a patient or referral from another doctor
2. Initial meeting arranged
3. Doctor does a diagnosis
4. Doctor prescribes options
5. Doctor outlines the roadmap and his/her availability
6. Client gives the go ahead

The surgeon’s process receives a very different reaction:

• Patients travel to the doctor even if they are sick, only the hospitalized get the surgeon traveling to them
• Doctors charge patients right from the first meeting
• Patients pay high fees
• Patients fit around the doctor's availability and location, and the answer is often given when the prescription is received
• The doctor has the power
The carpet salesman and the doctor have very different experiences, very different levels of power and not surprisingly, income.

Ok the question now is if you currently operate more like a carpet salesman than a surgeon, can we create a sales process that models the doctor’s, and gives you all the good things a doctor gets like power, control and income?

You know the answer already.

I want to introduce you to MY architect enrollment process. I call this the LCC Method. 

Architects and designers who use this process will:

• Win projects you currently lose
• Win better quality projects partly because you will disqualify the projects you should not be entertaining, and partly because you will have a superior method of qualifying people that high value clients will respond to
• Charge higher fees
• Have the client fit within your rules (better behaved clients) because I am going to give you tools, scripts and a method to disqualify them if they do not.

Ok, sounds too good to be true, I know, I know, you are used to driving all over town to free site visits and giving away design ideas for free and generally being ripped off, used and abused by your market. Maybe you even feel comfortable under this form of abuse.

If you want someone to step in and help you, then this is it.

Just hold off any fears, doubts and negative thoughts and entertain the possibility that my LCC Method actually works the way I say it does.

What if the LCC Method does work? Maybe not for all clients but the better clients who value higher-end design. What would have to happen for you to execute this game changer?

Now for some tough love.

You are going to have to change the way you think, because what I have for you is as much about a mindset as it is a series of proven steps.


1) No more driving to free site visits.
2) No more free advice.
3) No more following the client’s buying process of shopping for architects.
4) No more beauty pageants where you are lined up against the wall and stripped almost naked and then the client chooses the lowest fees.
5) The days of losing your dignity are over. Any attempt by the client to demean or reduce you to a fee is a contest you will walk away from.
“Either the client follows your process for buying or you end up following their process for not buying”
What are the LCC Method Rules?

The client comes to you for the first meeting knowing there will be no advice.

Before the first meeting the client is given your process and your rules which they must agree to BEFORE the first meeting. No point wasting your time or theirs if you can't agree to the rules of the road.

The initial meeting is about YOU qualifying them and their project to see if they are a fit for you.

If clients want advice then the clients start paying for advice on the second meeting.

Oh, my word this is a rather dramatic mind shift isn’t it.

Especially if you have been trained to act like a humble servant for the past 20 years.

Look - architects are ‘pleasers’ - you want your clients to love your work, so you will go to almost any length to get that smile and pat on the head. That includes doing outrageous amounts of out of scope work for free.

That old way of the humble servant and carpet salesman will never make you rich or win you the projects you really want. Not consistently anyway.

The LCC Method redesigns the rules clients have to abide by. You take back the power and get respected like a surgeon and paid like a lawyer.

Ok, so right now you might love the idea of power and control over clients but there is a nagging doubt in your head. After all, no one but the starchitects get away with such an audacious process.
What Some Our Members Say About Working With Us
British architect takes action, using a Monkey’s Fist and architect referral marketing
“We've been enrolled [in AMI] since March 10, 2017. In just three months … we’ve taken action. First thing was a Monkey's Fist ... and a Needs and Options Review to describe to the customer what the benefits are for them. At a trade show this year, we've got 65 leads. ... Far better than the results we got last year at the same show. In our first edition of a newsletter, we featured an interview with someone who's on our Dirty 30 list ... He’s found work from it, and we're able to refer work to him. Another key part is referral marketing.”

“Financially, we're looking upwards of 50% profit ... It's just where we want to be. It's enabled us to do a lot of things, including come to this great Architect Business Development Summit. We've always wanted to come to New York. Getting our time back has been great. I'm able to manage our time ... I'm booking people in advance. AMI has accelerated our journey … I encourage any of you who have any doubts at the moment ... take action, do it today, do it now.”

James Sizer
SA Architectural Services
Norfolk, England
Architect’s confidence and client’s understanding leads to a ‘phenomenal close rate’
“I'm paced to earn 35% more money this year. My billings for the first two months are up 175% from last year. The reason is - I've been closing projects. I've sent out 9 proposals from mid-December to mid-February … 7 have signed up.”

“Now I think of marketing as educating, and I feel empowered. I'm attracting the right kind of clients. My website educates. … and the proposals I've been sending out are to my ideal clients. When people come into my office and talk to me … I use the FAB method of speaking to them. My preparation makes me confident. Speaking the language of the buyer ... I make sure [my clients] understand the value of what I'll bring to them ... The combination of my confidence and their comprehension is a phenomenal close rate … Take the best thing, not the first thing.”

Peter Twohy
2e Architects
Towson, Maryland
75% success rate in signing clients who receive a Shock and Awe Box
"Last summer, I finally signed up for the Architect Marketing training. ... I eagerly devoured the 12 marketing lessons. What I learned from the AMI training was completely different than approaches from the earlier PR in marketing companies. My first success was with a potential [client] who couldn't get another architect in town to call him back. Our LCC was to go and look at a piece of property he was considering buying. We charged $400 for the site visit and that turned into a $175,000 fee for his new house - not bad!

We've had about a 75% success rate in signing potential clients who have first received our Shock and Awe Box. ... We also raised our fees as instructed by Richard...and that was actually pretty easy. The area where I'm seeing the most potential growth is with the ArchReach and Circle of Love. ... With custom homes, it could be years as people mull and think about their new house before they finally get started. ... Now, when our monthly Circle of Love emails goes out, there are several potentials who always email me back . I expect when they're ready to build they'll call us first."

Jane Frederick
Frederick + Frederick Architects
Beaufort, South Carolina

The LCC Method:
An Incredible 7-Step Selling System For Architects and Designers

This program is about the Mindset & the Art of Selling Without Selling by following clear and predicable steps to start winning more of the projects you should be winning
STEP 1
Rapport: Creating a Human Connection
✓   Why does a high-rapport connection seem to possess magical qualities between two human beings

✓   ​What rapport really is, and how we can turn on rapport more often

✓   How to get into rapport

✓   ​How to lead a prospect emotionally to a state of mind where they are more likely to say "Yes"
STEP 2
Qualification
1st base: Does the person meet the 5 essential criteria to be considered a genuine prospect?

2nd base: Will the client agree to your rules and your road map?

3rd base: Does the client understand their risks and are they prepared to put in place the measures to reduce that risk?

4th base: Does the client agree to pay you to conduct your pre-design research?

Only if the client gets around all four bases can you accept them for the design phase!
STEP 3
Diagnosis
✓   ​The questions you need to ask to find out what the client thinks they want
​
✓   The questions you need to ask to find out what the client really wants

✓   ​The two questions that won my first client 80% of her projects while making her prospective clients cry (in a good way...)
Three tier fee proposal yields high results
“One of the techniques [from AMI is] on proposal writing. The suggestion is to include three different levels of fees. The first level of fee would be less than what the client was asking for - not only lower fee, lower services. The second was exactly what the client was looking for in terms of services. ... The third was a 'wow factor' fee; - everything you can include in the services and make sure it includes something the client wasn't looking for. “

“The result of that type of proposal was really surprising. 5 out of 5 clients were very appreciative for the multiple options. They had greater clarity ... a lower fee meant less services; a higher fee meant more services. That was something we took for granted ... but they seem to be understanding that at a much higher level. Ultimately, the payoff was... 4 out of 5 that we've submitted these last two months have been successful. We got the call-back, we won the contract, started the work, we've started turning our firm around. We're seeing half of the fee target for the year; we trust that the latter half of this year will meet the rest of our fee target or exceed it.”

Howard Lee
Vision Architects
Clarksville, Tennessee
STEP 4
Proposal / Prescribe
✓   The two things you need to run through in a presentation

✓   ​The FAB formula that bypasses logic and reason and forces the client to make decisions emotionally

✓   ​The closing technique used by the world’s most profitable companies that can – and should – always be used by architects
STEP 5
Adjust: Handling Pricing Objections
✓   What to do if the client is not ready to move ahead or has concerns

✓   How to overcome objections without resistance

✓   How to isolate exactly what is stopping the client from making a decision
STEP 6
Confirm
✓   Why this is the easiest step in the whole process

✓   What to say if the client still hesitates, to get them back on track

✓   The details you will need to put in place
STEP 7
Referrals & Testimonials
In this module you are not only going to ask and expect referrals but you will be planting the seeds constantly. This module could be the most valuable in the whole process when its ability to exponentially grow your business is applied.

✓   The secret time to ask for referrals (note - it is a lot earlier than you think but you need to know how)

✓   How to get ‘brilliant’ testimonials that tug on the heartstrings of your next potential dream client and ‘sell’ clients on you so you don’t have to
Here's what architect Chris from Massachusetts has to say...
36-year-old firm systematizes, becomes more profitable
"Before Architect Marketing, we tended to approach marketing in a very reactionary way, so that meant that we would wait for proposals to come or request for proposals … Since we've done this course, we have implemented a few things. The inner circle [and] the newsletter to our inner circle using a modified version of the templates provided by Architect Marketing. We've started using the Low Commitment Consultation in our proposals, which … certainly eases them in … We've also implemented the systematized referrals as well as the flow chart.

I want to thank all of you, String and Richard and Enoch, for giving us the insight into systematizing certainly our marketing, but also giving us a new approach to looking at other areas of the practice … As a new generation of leadership takes over for the firm, we look to the systematizing of all the areas of our practice, so that our practice can be scalable as well as more profitable."

Chris Doktor
Olson Lewis + Architects
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

4 Bonuses to Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competitors

BONUS #1
Star Story Solution Report
The Star Story Solution is an advanced strategy for those who want to truly dominate their market. Currently only our mastermind members have ever heard this training and apply it in everything they do.

With this strategy you can eliminate all competition and be positioned as the only choice even before your first meeting. You will see how religions, martial arts and politicians use this approach to rise above everyone else.
Valued at $200
BONUS #2
Power Pyramid Training
In this module you are not only going to ask and expect referrals but you will be planting the seeds constantly. This module could be the most valuable in the whole process when its ability to exponentially grow your business is applied.

✓   Advanced positioning that goes glove-in-hand with star story solution

✓   Find out how to charge premium prices and yet have more people wanting to work with you​
​
✓   Discover why low fees and free work are costing you projects and you’ll never make these mistakes again
Valued at $200
BONUS #3
Q&A Call Recordings
Want to see what other members in the group are winning with? 

Then watch the monthly recorded Q&A session to catch up... and, more importantly, attend the next live sessions with Richard and get your questions answered.
Valued at $997

 Let’s address a few reasonable questions you may have right now.

“But clients will not accept paying for pre-design advice when other architects will give advice for free”
That is the good news. Yes many would not want to pay for advice, they like the idea of YOU coming to their site and giving them free ideas. These people will not say yes to your LCC Method process.

And you can thank me for that.

Avoiding bad clients who have unrealistic expectations is part of running a successful design firm. How do you think Norman Foster or Frank Lloyd Wright reacted when someone would ask them to come for a free site visit?

At least 40% (maybe a lot more) of the potential clients you talk with are NOT suitable for you. You don’t want them as clients for whatever reason. Maybe they want too much free advice, maybe they have unrealistic expectations of the project cost or are delusional about the fees they should pay an architects.

The QUICKER you qualify these people OUT the better. The last thing you want is to have these people string you along for months and then tell you just when you expect your first check that they are going with someone else.

If you are doing residential work then a lot of these clients are doctors, lawyers, accountants and professionals like you. All these people charge for advice. They might allow a free first meeting to get to know you, but if you asked a lawyer to map out a plan to get your child off his drug charge, and you’ll pay her if you like the plan, they will laugh at you.

When people pay, they pay attention.

Frankly many people feel more comfortable paying for advice. Many feel uncomfortable being in some twilight zone, not knowing what is being charged for, and don’t like the feeling of ‘using’ a professional. For many seeing an architect do a lot of work and giving a lot of time without charging is an awkward, weird experience. They’d prefer to pay.
“But clients won’t follow a strong step-by-step process prior to hiring an architect”
Yes they will, and they do, when you present your LCC Method process in the right way. 

Clients are secretly begging to be led. Projects are risky business for the person paying, there is a good chance things can go wrong and price can explode above the budget. Clients want a strong hand running the process, if they see you buckling and compromising and easily pushed around during the sales process that does not engender confidence. 

When clients see you have a PROVEN PROCESS you revere that evaluates the fit between you and them, you project certainty and strength. You look like a pro who is not on his or her first rodeo and won’t be blown around in the wind.
“Ok, I agree I should be paid but I’ve been giving my time and advice away for so long I don’t know what to say”
I will give you the exact words to use in the LCC Method Training. You will receive the magically effective LCC Method script, but even better, I will give you a video you can send to clients before the first meeting that will explain your process for you. When It comes to words, this video has been crafted to within an inch of its life. When clients watch this video you won’t just convince them they need paid advice, they will be asking for it.

We use the metaphor of going to a doctor and doing a diagnosis first. As an architect you need to do a diagnosis on their project first too, because prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

What reasonable clients wants a design prescription without a thorough diagnosis? The close rate when clients watch this video or when you use this script is high.

The clients who do not want a paid diagnosis are not worth having.
“I don’t have much money and can’t afford the LCC Method”
That’s why you need to get onboard. Stop thinking like a pauper. There is an abundant world outside called Sunshine Island for those who take the right steps.

How much did you pay to get your design qualifications? Plenty. 30-40-70-100 thousand dollars but all that got you was a job in a firm.

For only a couple of thousand more you can have a profitable business doing projects you enjoy. You are not buying a course, you are buying a mindset and methodology to winning better projects that open a door to a better life. If you can’t bring yourself to invest in yourself then do it for your kids.
In summary...
The old way of selling design services of MEET - PROPOSAL - FOLLOW UP is outdated and puts the architect into a weak mindset of humble servant and salesman.

When you stop selling you take control and choose the clients you work with.

The LCC Method was developed for architects by people who want to buy design services. This is the way we want to hire an architect. This methodology is like a doctor onboarding a patient rather than a carpet salesman running all over town.

Who is Richard Petrie and Why Should I Listen to Him?

From Professional Athlete to High Performance Coach
Oh shoot, writing in the third person is the worst! 

Here goes...

Richard Petrie is the world's leading architect marketing coach. He has a degree in marketing from University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Formerly he was a professional athlete for the New Zealand national cricket team where he competed at the highest levels of athletic competition around the world.

He brings that same high performance mindset to marketing for his clients that include hundreds of architects around the world. 

He's the author of three books including The Big Idea Letter, Sunshine Island: A Parable of Architectural Success, and What To Do When Your Marketing Sucks and he’s consulted with business leaders and dignitaries around the world.

He's helped over 600 architects from around the world grow their businesses with his powerful marketing systems.
Here's 3 more architects who are winning by implementing Richard's marketing magic
Multi-lingual architect in Spain finds her niche
"There weren't enough leads and we weren't making money and I was sick of it. I was actually thinking of changing career when I came across the Marketing Academy and it all sounded, actually, pretty good. The main thing is that we identified a group of clients that was going to be good-value clients for us to go for. It was so screamingly obvious, but we weren't doing it. [Now] we very openly go for that market and that actually is the market with money at the moment. Things are getting better in Spain, but that's the market that's improving most rapidly. Now, I'm earning money and that's fantastic. So thank you!"

Co Govers
Zest Architecture
Barcelona, Spain
Raised revenue by 50% in six months
“I started being more consistent in charging for initial consultations, which I now call a Feasibility Study. I already had a low cost initial design package, but I raised the fees on that as well and call it a Preliminary Schematic Design. I admit, it was really scary for me to raise my fees. I was doubting my ability to convince other people that I was worth it. That worry didn't last very long. I began seeing results … within a few weeks. Within just 6 short months, I had raised my revenue for my [architecture firm] about 50%. So I had to get new talents (staff) to help me fulfill my commitments to my clients.”

“It looks like we're going to be raising our [architecture firm] revenue 70%. And the year is only halfway done! I also implemented some automations by using ArchReach - great tool. I also filmed a video on Houzz.com and I started sharing more on social media. I want to thank you ... at AMI... by bringing all of this confidence. “

Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA
J. Kretschmer Architect
Los Gatos, California
From ‘networking in vain’ to buying her own office
"I'm standing in front of what is perhaps the most visible sign of my success. This is my office that I bought last year with the increased revenue from my business … I didn't want to go into business for myself … but I needed to do this only because I was waiting for the recession to be over and then I could get a ‘real job’ again. People suggested that I try networking. I spent that year networking my ass off. I went to referral groups and Chamber of Commerce meetings. I went to coffee groups and I went to ladies groups and it was all in vain. In 2013, I joined Architect Marketing and started working with Richard, Enoch and Eric, developing strategies on how to get clients."

Rachel Burton
Swallowtail Architects
Summerville, South Carolina

Are You Ready Stop Losing The Projects You Should Be Winning?

The Architect Marketing Institute is committed to creating the best marketing programs in the world for small and medium size architecture firms and delivering them at a reasonable price since we have a mostly digital distribution and training.

Imagine how your business would look in the months and years to come with a truly unique marketing system for your firm.
Purchase the LCC Method Selling System now for only $1,997 (total value $5391).
Extended payment plan available: 4 monthly installments of $597.

The LCC Method will pay for itself many times over as you win more projects you used to lose out to competitors. You're protected by our 30-Day Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee so you can enroll now with full confidence.
Order today and you will also get access to 12x Monthly Live Q&As Calls
In addition to the LCC Method, you’ll also get access to Richard's exclusive monthly Q&As. 

In these LIVE sessions you can ask Richard your most pressing marketing questions or have Richard review your marketing right there!

These live Q&As aren't sold separately, they have only been reserved for our private clients in the past but you can get this exclusive support right now with the LCC Method.
Valued at $1,997

Skipped to the bottom?

Here's a quick recap of everything you'll get inside the LCC Method training and bonuses:
The LCC Method
An Incredible 7-Step Selling System For Architects and Designers.
(Valued at $1,997)

Star Story Solution Report
An advanced strategy to eliminate all competition and be positioned as the only choice, even before your first meeting.
(Valued at $200)

Power Pyramid Training
Learn how to charge premium prices while creating more demand for your services.
(Valued at $200)

Q&A Call Recordings
See what other members in the group are doing to attract clients and win projects.
(Valued at $997)

12x Monthly Live Q&As Calls
In these sessions you can ask Richard your most pressing marketing questions or have Richard review your marketing LIVE on the call!
(Valued at $1,997)
Total Value $5,391

Our Guarantee

You're Protected By Our 30-Day Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee
We are so confident this information will change the way you do business that we can offer a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee. If you change your mind for any reason, or no reason what so ever, just let us know and we will happily return your money in full. 

No questions, no hassle.

Need More Proof?

The success of the Architect Marketing Institute is directly related to the success of our clients — architects just like you! See more success stories on how effective marketing and sales is changing the lives of architects and design professionals from around the world.

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