The etiquette of project solicitation

[a7x1984]

Our firm does a ton of rehabilitation/adaptive re-use projects for various building uses. I tend to see many buildings in the city (as I am biking or walking around)with banners/signs from developers/rehabilitation contractors advertising new space for lease.

Although there may be no RFP or need for structural engineering, my instinct is to contact the developer/contractor to offer our consulting services. What are some things to watch out for when emailing/calling to offer professional services when the potential client hasn't sought you out first? My apologies if this question seems naive or obviously simple.


"Structural engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand into shapes we cannot..."...ah...screw it, we don't know what the heck we are doing.

 

[msquared48]

The first and foremost thing is to go in prepared - you will be making a cold call here. You have to do your due dilligence and research the company as to what they do, what their needs might be, what you can provide, and, probably more important than all the previous, is know who you want to talk to BY NAME!

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Go for it. But my experience has shown they will probably blow you off and proceed anyway!!