It's time to get back to the basics! Here's how to win more-and do more-work

Everywhere I turn, the news is glum. Home prices are down. Taxes are up. Unemployment is leveled off at 9%. Construction and development are dead. The economic recovery is coming (is it?) in fits and starts. Business is down, that's for sure. Competition is up. Everyone is looking at everything. The clients are in the driver's seat, able to name their price and their terms. As a business owner and business developer in the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, how can I not only survive but thrive in this economy? My approach is to go back to basics to win more and do more work. Back to Basics Rule #1. Smile and be kind. Everyone remembers a stranger who was kind or someone who gave you a warm smile. It may have been a server at a restaurant, a bus driver, or a person on the street. This simple tip can help you win more business. People like to do business with people they like and people they trust. Be friendly. Show kindness to strangers and to your business associates. The person you greet warmly in the elevator may be the prospect that you are visiting this morning. The receptionist that you smile at may have influence on the selection process for the project. Back to Basics Rule #2. Be honest. Just like you can tell when someone is trying to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge, your clients and prospects can tell when you aren't telling the truth. Whether that's over promising, overstating your capabilities, or making up excuses for not meeting their needs. My best advice is to tell the truth and take your medicine. If your firm messed up and missed a deadline or a requirement, own up to it and then explain what you are going to do to make it right. Being honest about it will go a long way in earning respect with your client. Getting caught in a lie is the last thing you want in a client-consultant relationship. Back to Basics Rule #3. Do a good turn. This simple phrase from the Boy Scouts of America became a hit movie several years ago called "Pay It Forward." It was also highlighted in series of commercials for a national insurance carrier. It simply means doing something nice for someone else. It may be a random act of kindness to a stranger or a targeted action to a client or prospect. It should be part of our culture-our way of doing business. Doing a good turn could mean being a people connector-introducing business associates to each other that might be good for their businesses. It might mean going the extra mile to drop something off at a client's office or home after hours. It could be returning the shopping cart to the corral in the parking lot before you leave the store. Whatever that good turn is, it promotes a business culture of selflessness, kindness, and connection which is basic in all of us. Back to Basics Rule #4. Facetime, not facebook. I know that social media is the "in" thing right now. And believe me, I'm not bashing it's usefulness for marketing or business development. But in tough times, I can't rely on communicating with my most important clients and prospects behind email, texting and facebook messages. Something is lost in the written word, and even more so in the shortened acronym's of texts and emails (gtg, ttyl!) That something is emotion. Many a time has my email or text message been misinterpreted by someone because they read it with different emphasis than I intended. Face to face discussions are the most memorable, where the best connection is made between you and your prospect or client. Second best is a phone conversation. Use facetime and phone calls to maximize your relationship and connection with your clients and build long lasting loyalty. Incorporate these simples rules in your workday, in your life and watch how the returns come in. The economic news out there may be grim, but you don't need to be grim in your personal outlook. Smile, be honest, do good to others and connect, and go out there and get some new work. Gil Brindley is president and owner of Benjamin Brindley and Sons and Brindley Engineering Services PC, Miller Place, N.Y. and president of the Long Island Chapter of the Society of Marketing Professional Services.