Industry
Engineering firms
Your value is created when technical choices are made. Commercially, the difficulty is existing at that moment rather than being called in to validate a settled solution.
- Presence ahead of technical arbitration
- Less dependence on a few referrers
- Expertise translated into arguments decision-makers understand
Real expertise, weak commercial visibility
Engineering firms are judged on technical competence but selected on criteria they control very little.
Commissions usually arrive via an architect, a general contractor or a client already met. That flow is comfortable while it lasts and fragile as soon as a partner reorganises or brings the capability in-house.
The second obstacle is vocabulary. A calculation note, a sizing methodology or regulatory know-how does not translate spontaneously into a benefit for a non-technical decision-maker — who nonetheless signs the order.
So we work on two fronts: widening the number of specifiers and clients, and reframing the offer in terms of risk avoided, schedule secured and cost controlled.
Firms concerned
Structural engineers
Design and execution commissions, with heavy dependence on architects and general contractors.
Building services and energy engineers
At the heart of regulatory and environmental requirements, yet often consulted too late to influence choices.
Specialist consultancies
Acoustics, geotechnics, façades, fire safety: sharp expertise, narrow market, uneven visibility.
Multidisciplinary practices
Able to carry a full commission, yet perceived as specialists in a single field.
Why the call comes too late
The moment when an engineering firm could add most value — defining the technical approach — is also the one where its presence is least anticipated in the process.
- 01
The commission is seen as execution
The client treats the study as a necessary formality rather than a source of optimisation.
- 02
The firm never meets the decision-maker
It is appointed through an intermediary, which distances it from whoever arbitrates the budget.
- 03
Offers are compared on fee
Without legible differentiators, the decision narrows to the fee level.
What we work on
Widening the specifier base
Identifying architecture practices, general contractors and clients matching your field and area.
Reaching the client directly
On some commissions, a direct relationship avoids being a cost line in someone else's budget.
Making expertise legible
Translating technical capability into concrete consequences for the project.
Following a long cycle
Structuring follow-up across cycles that frequently exceed twelve months.
Our approach
We first analyse where commissions actually came from over the past three years. That reading usually reveals a concentration of referrers greater than management assumes.
We then build a programme aimed at two distinct populations with two different messages: specifiers, who care about reliability and responsiveness; clients, who care about risk and total cost.
Deliberate dual targeting
Specifiers and clients do not receive the same message.
Proof through technical cases
We ground the message in real situations, described without exaggeration or unverifiable figures.
Long-term follow-up
Contacts not yet ready are kept and reactivated at the right moment rather than dropped.
Steps
- 01
Analysis of past commissions
Origin, typology, profitability, degree of dependence on referrers.
- 02
Segmentation
A clear split between specifier targets and decision-maker targets.
- 03
Message framing
One message per segment, validated by your engineers.
- 04
Outreach
Opening relationships and qualifying real needs and timing.
- 05
Handover
Passing the contact to your team with the technical context already framed.
- 06
Reactivation
Following long opportunities and re-engaging when the project firms up.
What you receive
- A map of relevant specifiers and clients in your field
- Two distinct arguments, one for specifiers and one for clients
- A documented record of contacts and their likely timing
- A periodic summary of the responses obtained
Services involved first
Related objectives
Frequently asked questions
Be present before the technical decision
A first conversation measures how concentrated your referrers are and identifies the specifiers you are missing.
Explore further
Related stakeholders
- Architects
Your most frequent specifiers.
- Suppliers and manufacturers
The manufacturers whose solutions you specify.