Episode 2: Maximizing the Impact of AEC Proposals, with Jere Smith

Jere Smith is the Director of Capital Improvements for Atlanta Public Schools, one of the nation's largest urban school districts. He is also the President of the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA), and serves on the Atlanta Public Schools Career and Technical Education Advisory Board and the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board and has served as the President of the Association for Learning Environments. Prior to that, he served as a project manager at architectural firms, as a building inspector for the city of Atlanta, and as an engineer.

In this episode of AEC Marketing for Principals, Jere discusses best practices for firms looking to make an impact with their AEC proposals and interviews, he discusses common mistakes that firms often make that can be jarring or distracting for the selection committee, and he offers specific details for firms interested in being considered for Atlanta Public Schools’ pre-qualified pool of firm partners.

What You Will Learn:

• Jere shares how he started working with Atlanta Public Schools more than twenty years ago and discusses working on the owner-side of business. He also talks about the size of his school district and how it generates $100 million in new projects a year.
• Jere discusses how the school district pre-qualifies firms to create a pool of partners to choose from, ensuring that the firms are fully prepared and capable of doing the work.
• Jere shares why firms should spend only a third of their proposal "checking all the boxes" and then use the other two-thirds to explain why they stand out from the competition and why they are the best option for the project.
• Jere talks about the common mistakes firms often make in their proposals, including boilerplate responses, using the wrong school district name, and being too wordy and not concise in their proposals.
• Jere outlines why the physical dimensions and mechanical qualities of a proposal matters, and he discusses why overthinking a proposal with gimmicks runs the risk of distracting the reader or coming across as fake.
• Jere explains why anyone on the short list can win a project, and he discusses why it is important to go to the interview fully prepared, rehearsed, and with each speaker bringing something specific and serving a purpose.
• Jere explains why impressive technology such as fly-throughs can be attention-grabbing and can be helpful for non-technical members of the selection committee to better understand the proposal.