Background
Ayers Saint Gross is a 100-year-old design firm with a staff of over 140 people that specializes in master plans and building designs for higher education institutions. ASG has provided architectural services to many leading universities, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Problem
Large-scale architectural projects are not always awarded on the merit of a sound proposal or innovative design. The oral presentation and final interview often can make or break the decision to select a firm. Because presentations are so highly weighted in the selection process, GuruMaker was brought in to help the firm’s principals and associates improve their pitching and oral presentation skills.
Solution
For close to a decade, GuruMaker has been helping ASG prepare for high-stakes interviews and presentations that demonstrate clear value and feature compelling storylines and visuals that supported their message. We consistently made sure that questions asked and issues flagged by the selection committees in the RFP were all addressed effectively.
GuruMaker worked with the team to ensure their strengths and relevant experience were brought to the fore so the client clearly understood their unique value to a given project. We also worked one-on-one with individual team members, helping them find opportunities to create authentic personal connections to the client since the winning firm’s stakeholders would be working closely with the client’s stakeholders.
Result
Ayers Saint Gross was awarded numerous multimillion dollar planning and design contracts after we helped the team prepare their final presentations. Firm principals credit GuruMaker for many successful project interviews and continue to utilize our services after nearly a decade-long professional relationship.
Adam Gross, one of the firm’s Senior Principals, has said that GuruMaker has “greatly enhanced our presentation skills office-wide, and in so doing have touched the lives of many people in our company, making them more confident, more articulate and better employees.”