Marketing Coaching for Architects
You’re here because you want to do more impactful and profitable work for more appreciative clients. You believe in your practice, and your work. You want to market yourself better.
But, it’s challenging to figure it all out on your own. You aren’t sure what the best strategies are for your firm. You need some objective feedback and advice from someone with real experience in architectural marketing—someone to talk to who gets what makes architecture unique.
That’s where I come in. I help principals of small architecture firms implement proven marketing strategies, so they can grow their firms and attract more appreciative and profitable clients. Through marketing coaching, you’ll learn new skills, tools and principles that will benefit your business for years to come.
“Dave is excellent to work with – professional, friendly and a true expert in the field of architecture marketing. Our conversations with him are always enjoyable, insightful and extremely helpful in developing our thinking and approach. It’s a genuine pleasure to be involved with him.”
Simon Rochowski
Director of studioplusthree“Dave is a wonderful marketing coach. His suggestions are intelligent and doable. He understands my time constraints and figures out action items that I can successfully complete. I highly recommend working with Dave.”
Esther Sperber
Owner of Studio ST ArchitectsWhat you can expect from working with me:
- Increase in leads and client quality.
- Clear strategies that connect with your goals, and an understanding of how to position and promote your firm.
- A simple marketing plan with straightforward action steps that will give you clarity on where to direct your energy and time.
- Detailed instruction on how to harness the power of various marketing approaches, such as social media platforms; print and online media coverage; Instagram, Facebook and Google advertising; website performance, copy, conversion and SEO; and content marketing (blog, podcast, video and live events).
- Advice from an architectural marketing specialist who has honed effective strategies and tactics from working with over 100 architecture firms around the world in different stages of the journey who were facing the same challenges you’re dealing with right now.
1:1 Marketing Coaching Program for Architects
The consulting process starts with 3 90-minute strategy calls within the first 4-6 weeks, then a single 60-minute call each month on an ongoing basis.
We’ll spend the first month designing your marketing plan.
- Discovery: Learning more about you and your firm as we closely examine your current situation and give you space to reflect on your goals and direction.
- Onboarding: Guiding you through the technology and systems that we’ll use to run your marketing, so you can save time and track the progress you’re making.
- Recommendations and planning: Discussing observations and recommendations for your marketing strategy and mapping out a set of actions for you to begin working on right away.
This individualized program includes:
- Three 90-minute strategy calls over one month, so you can start out strong with a clear marketing plan and receive guidance that you can put to use after the very first call.
- Unlimited email support, so you’ll never have to rely on Google for marketing advice again.
- The most effective strategies, tools and techniques for every relevant marketing channel, so you can grow your business with confidence long after we’ve finished working together.
- Recordings of each meeting for reference, so you’ll always have them on hand to review when necessary.
Cost: A$1575 (approx. $1,225, £881) one-time.
Then meet monthly to work together on the implementation.
- Ongoing monthly 60-minute Zoom calls to work on implementing your plan together. You’ll leave each meeting with 5 to 10 specific action items and total clarity on the next steps to take to reach your goals.
- Have your questions answered, learn setup tools and systems to help you achieve more in less time, discuss strategy and planning, and work on marketing directly via screenshare, so you’ll feel continuously supported and confident executing your marketing plan.
- Unlimited email support in between regular monthly meetings to answer any questions that pop up and keep you moving forward.
Cost: A$350 (approx. $272, £196) per month.
Meet Dave
Hi there, I’m Dave, and I help principals of small architecture firms just like yours implement proven marketing strategies, so they can grow their firms and attract higher-paying and better-quality clients.
After studying architecture, graduating with a master’s degree, and working in firms in Australia and Japan, I developed a passion for architecture media, storytelling, social media and marketing.
When I started my marketing business, I offered agency services, such as running social media accounts and improving websites, and while they were effective, I always felt that my the architecture firms I was helping lacked an overall marketing strategy.
They were doing things they felt might work or saw their peers doing, without really exploring what was best for their business and their unique goals. They had nobody to advise them with objectivity and experience, and figure out what opportunities they were missing. I realized this is where I could best serve the profession, so I put my background and marketing expertise to good use. To date, I have worked with over 100 architecture firms and have helped take them to the next level through sales and marketing techniques devised to address their unique needs and reach their target clients. I’d love to do the same for you.
Marketing Coaching is for you if:
- You are a principal of an architecture firm with 20 or fewer employees.
- You want to have a clearer understanding of how to position and promote yourself, and want to know how to approach every aspect of your marketing.
- You are motivated to put the work in to improve your business.
- You are ready to take personal responsibility, be organized and engage in the process fully to see the benefits.
- You are excited to learn the tools to help you become more efficient and successful.
- You are ready for real results and for clients to say, “We just fell in love with your firm as soon as we saw your website,” or “I’ve read every one of your posts and just had to work with you.”
Marketing Coaching is NOT for you if:
- You are not a principal of an architecture firm or you have more than 20 employees
- You are looking for a quick fix, silver bullet or overnight marketing success.
- You want to completely offload your marketing duties and have someone else take care of them for you.
- You are not willing to learn new skills, experiment with different tactics, make mistakes and stretch outside your comfort zone.
Coaching is definitely for me!
Contact me to get started
After you fill out the form below, I will reach out to you within 3 business days to let you know when I’ll next be available for a free 30-minute discovery call.
“Dave just gets it! He quickly understood our small Architecture firm. We were convinced by his knowledge and experience from our very first meeting. Dave continues to give us regular direction and invaluable advice, in our inspiring monthly meetings!”
David Nicholson
Director of Robert Nichol & Sons“It’s a bit of a mine field out there, but Dave made it easy for us. Once we had identified a few streams to focus on, he implemented some aspects for us and coached one of our staff through the remaining actions. The results spoke for themselves. Our Instagram following doubled within the space of a couple of months.”
Philip Stejskal
Director of Philip Stejskal ArchitectureFrequently asked questions.
What size are the firms that you work with?
I have performed most paid services for firms with 1-20 people. My entire consulting and advisory practice is built on knowing the differences between firms of different sizes. If you have only two employees, I can help you at the current stage and tell you what is coming next. If you have 20 people, I understand your unique issues too.
Speaking of expectations, can you explain further what mine should be?
My work is not a silver bullet. What clients appreciate the most, though, is an outside perspective on how they are really doing, or how to accomplish something without reinventing the wheel. They realise that change is still dependent on them, but they want to be pointed in the right direction based on what has been successful for other architecture firms.
What will a typical meeting look like if we work together on a monthly basis?
Each session will typically start off with an assessment of your situation and a review of changes you have made since our previous meeting. We’ll then form a game plan for the month ahead, decide on 5-10 specific tasks for you to complete before our next meeting, and discuss the implementation in detail. We may also work on more complicated tasks together during the session to save you time.
How long should we expect the process to take before I start to see results?
Long-term results take time and consistent effort every month. My carefully planned process will usually take 12 months for the typical firm to see a significant improvement. However, you will start picking up signs of progress right away. New clients will mention that your website and social media really resonated with them, your traffic and audience will start growing faster, and you’ll start feeling more confident and positive about the direction your firm is heading.
Can you help me to implement some of the recommendations?
In most cases, it’ll be better for you to implement the changes yourself. However, occasionally I’ll assist you in finding and managing a freelancer, or offer to provide assistance with the implementation myself.
How can you help me from Melbourne?
Melbourne is my home base, but I have figured out how to work with firms all over the world. My clients hire me because they think I know what I’m doing and not because I’m nearby. I conduct all engagements via Zoom.
Can you show me sample recommendations?
No.
I’d recommend that you read everything that interests you here and on my blog to get a feel for how I think and work with clients, and then just go with your gut. I appreciate new clients taking the time to familiarise themselves with my content.
I’m not an architect, can we still work together?
No. My expertise is highly specialised and tested for architecture practices. I do not offer speculative marketing advice to brands in other verticals. I will happily refer you to someone else who will be a better fit for your firm.
Who will be working with us?
Dave Sharp does all the work with clients. When you engage me, you’re working with me directly.
What does your monthly consulting fee cover?
The monthly fee covers my time meeting with you each month, the research I conduct prior to that meeting and a portion of the capacity I have available to answer questions via email and think about your firm between our meetings. It also contributes directly to the advanced tools and apps I use to provide you with useful data and insightful analysis during our meetings.
My firm has plenty of work, how can you help me?
My process adapts to firms at every stage of the growth journey, whether they’re just getting started, or they’re already the established industry leaders and are looking for new opportunities. I have worked with a number of fast-growing, successful firms who have no trouble getting work. Instead, they seek my advice on a wide range of subjects including: improving client quality, systems and processes, delegation and management, reporting to shareholders & boards, auditing external marketing vendors, personal branding, book launches, public speaking, pro bono & philanthropic initiatives and much more.
What do you provide for me after each meeting?
You will receive a todo list that summarises all of the action items and recommendations generated during our meeting.
You will also receive a link to a Google Drive folder than contains the full HD recordings of our meetings so that you can re-watch anything you’ve missed.
After our meeting I’ll be available to answer your questions and provide further advice (where possible) via email as you implement the action items.
How soon can we start?
I request at least a three-week lead-time for new coaching relationships. I typically have 1-2 openings for new clients each month, but those fill up quickly. The sooner we can start the conversation, the better.