Our display will show you how to maximize your space and preserve acoustic control within your project. Our walls have a 57 STC acoustical rating, are fully automatic, save valuable floor space, and are fully automatic. Skyfold walls use a simple to use turnkey operation (no manual operation) and require no floor or wall tracks. Stop by the booth to learn more and see some samples. We hope to see you there.

Discover thousands of innovative products and resources for corporate hospitality, healthcare, retail, government, institutional and residential interiors from more than 700 showrooms and exhibitors. NeoCon is where the contract industry kicks off its year. Get engaged, get educated, get inspired, and enjoy each moment. – neocon.com

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“My client is not in a hurry,” Antoni Gaudí used to say. The pious architect was speaking of God, explaining why the Roman Catholic Sagrada Família church was taking so long to complete. Nearly a century later it remains a work in progress—a dream of spires and ornate facades rising hundreds of feet above downtown Barcelona, drawing the eyes (and euros) of some two million visitors a year. This November Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it as a basilica. A final completion date of 2026 appears likely. And if history begets history, the time is ripe to reappraise Gaudí’s epic endeavor—and the prescient ideas behind it.” – National Geographic

Seeing this architectural marvel in person is way more inspiring than you could ever imagine from looking at pictures. Walking through the open space and seeing the intricate details reminds me of why I was interested in architecture in the first place. One of my favorite aspects of the design is its connection with nature. The outside looks like it is made of sand. Inside, the giant columns are reminiscent of tree trunks. This comes as no surprise when reading about the architect. Gaudí was inspired by nature, religion, and architecture as an art. I have come to respect the work of Gaudí and will always remember my experience exploring the Sagrada Família cathedral. I’ll be looking forward to seeing the building progress toward completion.

If you ever have the chance, go see the Sagrada Família. You won’t regret it. Here are some snapshots from my visit:

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is an incredible tool. Within minutes you can set up a free Dropbox account where you can store 2GB of of your files. Paid accounts allow for up to unlimited storage space. Imagine being able to access your most important files right from your iPad anywhere in the world. Not only that, but they are completely secure on the Dropbox servers. In the event that your computer or external hard drive fails, Dropbox will keep your most important files secure and accessible. It’s also very user-friendly and has many public file sharing options. I use it to share large files such as presentations or even videos, which I could never do before. Remember, your potential customers and clients are counting on you to be on top of your game. Don’t be caught without the files you need. Dropbox can help you be prepared with everything you’ll need to make a sale and keep your customers happy.

2. Keynote

For those who don’t know, Apple has their own version of Microsoft Office called iWork. One of the most useful applications is Keynote, a substitution for PowerPoint. Many professionals (such as myself) agree that Keynote is easier to use, automatically applies cleaner formatting, and always looks great. I love using Keynote from my iPad. You can build the slides and run your presentation right from the iPad, displaying it through a projector. My favorite part of the Keynote iPad app is the presenter’s view. Using the presenter’s view, you can see the next slide, presenter notes, and a timer. With this feature my presentations always go smoothly and never run over time. For sales reps who give many presentations about products, Keynote will likely prove very valuable and help you close your sales.

3. Pages

Pages is another app from the iWork suite. An admirable substitution for Microsoft Word, Pages has been delighting new users for years. One of the neat characteristics of the Pages app is that it contains tons of incredible templates ready to use. Browsing through their template gallery is impressive. They have everything from invoices to resumes to letterhead. Pages is without a doubt one of the top word processing apps available today. As a sales rep, you never know when you’ll need to whip up a professional looking proposal or other document. Next time you’ll be ready to go with Pages on your iPad.

4. Evernote

Evernote is another favorite for both business and personal use. Evernote is the ultimate notebook. Using the app, you can write notes, add multimedia, impressive formatting, and sync over the cloud. It’s quick and reliable. Imagine taking a business trip and easily jotting down thoughts, contacts, etc. directly into Evernote. Later, you log onto your computer and find all your notes sitting there, ready for you to follow up. Remember, keeping notes regarding potential sales deals is an extremely important part of being a successful sales rep.

5. Due

Due is most definitely one of the best apps for prioritizing and ensuring that work gets done when it needs to. This app makes it incredibly easy to set customizable reminders for your professional life. You don’t even have to make an account to use it, just download and start organizing your tasks. The possibilities for this app are huge. Reminders can be as simple as “When to stop steeping my tea” or as complicated as “Remind me to catch up with old customers every month.” As a sales rep, it’s impossible to remember everything that you should to be the perfect salesperson. Due can help you remember.

1. Get Your Team Excited

What’s more powerful than a group of people who are passionate about something.? Think of all the incredible feats humanity has accomplished over the years. All of them were driven by an unquenchable thirst to change something or do something important! If you can make your team excited to be working on a particular project, they will do everything they can to accomplish their goals, work well together, and get the job done at a level far beyond your expectations. An excited team can work wonders in business. Find ways to motivate them.

“Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.” – Dale Carnegie

2. Be organized without being stifling to creativity.

Businesses have a bad habit of letting their employees run around with no real organizational system. Other businesses are so organized that very little gets done! The trick is to find a healthy balance. Create smart deadlines and establish guidelines for company communication and work ethic. Make sure you set a good example by always responding to emails and practicing what you preach. At the same time, encourage your employees to be creative without going off the rails that you’ve constructed. Google has had incredible success in this area. They encourage employees to work on creative projects, but never let it turn into a free-for-all. Allowing for organized creativity is a smart practice that will improve your business.

“Early in my career I felt that organization would destroy my creativity. Whereas now, I feel the opposite. Discipline is the foundation that allows you to be creative.” – Verna Gibson

3. Ask team members for advice.

Imagine you are an employee and the boss walks up to you and asks for advice. It doesn’t have to be something big or something confidential. It could be something as simple as asking your employees what kind of qualities they think would be best in a new hire. Practicing this simple gesture can turn a B+ employee into an A+ employee. Making your employees feel involved and important will not only bring them together as a team, but improve their confidence, and boost their respect for you. Genuinely respecting others is an easy and sure-fire way to get them to respect you.

“No matter how busy you are, you must take time to make the other person feel important.” – Mary Kay Ash

4. Want a team? Hire a TEAM.

How can you expect your team to perform well if you don’t consider each employee’s place within the team from the start? Great teams are well constructed. Imagine if sports teams hired all their favorite players and didn’t take into account what their strengths were, how they interacted with others, or even what position they played. It simply wouldn’t work. If you want to have a good team, only hire team players! If you want to have an effective team, only hire people who fit the puzzle pieces you need to complete your dream team.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller

5. Focus on the positives.

A very big problem exists when managers constantly focus on the bad stuff. It’s natural that when there’s a problem, you’re going to want to fix it. However, it’s not helpful to spend MOST of your time trying to change the bad habits of certain employees. Spend the necessary time on issues, but spend most of your time encouraging and rewarding the employees who go above and beyond! These employees will stand out and become leaders by example. You will most likely find that the employees giving you problems in the past will start to shape up and do better work. Remember, positivity trumps negativity every time and criticism is usually greeted by defensive behavior. That’s why positivity is a necessary ingredient in being a good leader.

“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.” – C. JoyBell C.

Photo by by LyndaSanchez on Flickr

Swiss artists Lang/Baumann love stairs. The duo has devoted an entire project on the theme, a series of Surrealist scenarios that could easily be nightmares. Stairs of all shapes and styles are, it needs to be said, physically suspended—no Photoshop here—from the sides of towers and coiled around castle turrets, found hovering in art galleries and shooting down palazzo halls. – Architzer Blog

Photos: Lang/Baumann

Build rapport.

Before you start discussing business, build rapport with your prospect. To accomplish this, do some homework. Find out if you have a colleague in common. Has the prospect’s company been in the news lately? Is he or she interested in sports? Get a little insight into the company and the individual so you can make the rapport genuine. Tools like LinkedIn are great for this.

Ask questions.

Don’t jump into a canned sales spiel. The most effective way to sell is to ask the prospect questions and see where he or she leads you. Of course, your questions are carefully structured to elicit the prospect’s needs — ones that your product just happens to be able to fill. So think about the three major selling points of your product or service. Develop intelligent questions to probe your customer’s reactions and needs.

Ask questions that require more than a yes or no response, and that deal with more than just costs, price, procedures and the technical aspects of the prospect’s business. Most importantly, ask questions that will reveal the prospect’s motivation to purchase, his or her problems and needs, and the prospect’s decision-making processes. Don’t be afraid to ask a client why he or she feels a certain way. That’s how you’ll get to really understand your customers.

Be sure to write down what you learn.

Don’t rely on your memory to remind you of what’s important to your prospect. This shows your prospect you are truly listening to what he or she is saying. In this way, you can specifically answer objections by showing how the customer will benefit from your product or service. It could be, for instance, by saving money, increasing productivity of the building space, or creating a safer building.

Learn to listen.

Salespeople who do all the talking during a presentation not only bore the prospect, but also generally lose the sale. A good rule of thumb is to listen 75 percent of the time and talk 25 percent of the time.

When you do speak, focus on asking questions. Ask questions; then shut up. You can improve your listening skills by taking notes and observing your prospect’s body language, not jumping to conclusions.

Don’t interrupt. It’s tempting to step in and tell the prospect something you think is vitally important. Before you speak, ask yourself if what you’re about to say is really necessary.

Answer objections with “feel,” “felt” and “found.”

Don’t argue with a prospect. Simply say “I understand how you feel. A lot of my present customers felt the same way. But when they found out how much time they saved by using our product, or how much usable space they gained they were amazed.” Prospects like to hear about other people who have been in a similar situation.

Probe deeper.

If a prospect tells you “We’re looking for cost savings and efficiency,” will you immediately tell him how your product meets his need for cost savings and efficiency? You could …. but a really smart salesperson won’t — he or she will ask more questions and probe deeper: “I understand why that is important. Can you give me a specific example?” Asking for more information — and listening to the answers — enables you to better position your product and show you understand the client’s needs.

Summarize your key selling points.

Now that you have collected all the information and issues important to your prospect you can talk briefly about your selling points. Of course, you will have to highlight and emphasize your solutions and product attributes that directly address the prospects areas of concern.

Close the sale.

There is no magic to closing the sale. If you have followed all the previous steps, all you should have to do is ask for the customer’s order. However, some salespeople make the mistake of simply not asking for the final decision. It’s as if they forget what their goal is.

For some, “closing” sounds too negative. If you’re one of them, try changing your thinking to something more positive, such as “deciding.” As you talk with the customer, build in the close by having fun with it. Say something like “So how many do you want? We have it in a rainbow of colors; do you want them all?” Make sure you’re leading them to make the decision.

Remember to stick to the basics.

Good Selling!

Source: Start Your Own Business, Fifth Edition, published by Entrepreneur Press.
© 2013 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. Mobile | Standard

Photo: Simon James, on Flickr

“We treated the cats like our clients: what do they need, how will they live within this space, what materials can we use that a cat will gravitate towards?” says architect Charlton Hutton, whose team from M Moser Associates produced the winning design, a modular stack of pods tricked out with scratch-friendly outdoor carpet. All of the cat houses were on view Thursday night at Steelcase Showroom on Columbus Circle. On Friday Architecture for Animals dispatched the shelters to locations across the five boroughs. – Source: Architizer

A diagram of M Moser’s design

Since cats like to sit at different heights, the M Moser team built a series of elevated pods supported by asymmetrical posts. Each pod has a sliding panel for air circulation in summer and a wraparound canopy that doubles as a weather barrier and an outdoor perch. The design also includes a wayfinding feature: a spring green entry portal. “Based on our research, we found that cats distinguish between the low- to mid-light wave spectrum — meaning purple, blue, yellow, and green, with blue and green being the strongest colors they see,” says Hutton. The architects beta-tested their design with their own cats, he adds: “They weren’t too fond of the power tools, but as soon as the assembly started they were all over the outdoor carpet we used for the interior insulation and began climbing in and out of the boxes.” – Source: Architizer

Here’s a favorite of mine by Zimmerman Workshop Architecture + Design that uses Spanish moss to blend the structure into the gardens that they are placed within. I really like their use of a curtain type door.

Thanks to Architizer for writing about this and thanks to the architects who are helping these animals in New York City. I always knew architects were good people.

The Skyfold retractable wall helps increase flexibility and productivity within the Center for Survivorship while letting the sun shine in. The cancer survivors that use this facility are working hard to rehabilitate, stay fit, and maintain positive attitudes. The wall makes it easy to transform the available space to allow for different groups of people and various activities. It also preserves the aesthetic and environment necessary for activities like yoga, meditation, and counseling.

Skyfold walls have incredible acoustic benefits (51 STC acoustical rating), durability, and are very easy to operate and maintain. Keith had the following comment about his center and his Skyfold walls….

“Having a facility so beautiful and functional is incredibly important to members. They need to feel comfortable, welcome, and inspired to keep recovering. Many of our survivors don’t want to go back to their hospitals. Part of our approach is, if you exercise you’ll reduce your chances of getting cancer again by 50 percent. We opened up the (Skyfold ) wall to let in daylight to studios for yoga. With the operable Skyfold wall we can divide the large space in two, to conduct a workshop on one side while we have a speaker giving a presentation on the other.”

The designers of the Center for Survivorship clearly wanted elegant aesthetics adding bamboo flooring, large glass partitions, and (of course) the Skyfold wall. Architect David Preusch was impressed with Skyfold saying, “The center needed the rooms to be adaptable to be large or small at various times. Skyfold was the ideal space-planning solution… Skyfold is a lift-up wall, and it’s very beautiful.” The facility and its use of Skyfold’s powerlift partitions will likely inspire many more advanced centers such as this one. It’s truly a wonderful place, with an important mission, and an inspiring application of technology. If you have any questions about Skyfold, please get in touch.

Case Study: Center for Survivorship

Quotes Source: SKYFOLD Case Study 05 by C.C. Sullivan

Here are the top 12 blog posts from the RSM Services, Inc. blog in 2012. It’s been a great year for RSM and the blog has been a big part of that. If you haven’t already read these posts, it might be worth your time to check them out. If you have read them, maybe revisit your favorites and send me your thoughts.

According to the detailed website statistics, these posts were the most appreciated and most viewed from 2012. What’s interesting is that the popular posts were a nice even mix of every area that RSM Services specializes in. 4 were Smoke Curtain posts, 4 were Operable Wall posts, 1 was about and design/acoustics, and 3 were about sales and marketing related to the industry.

1) Otis Elevator Stainless frames

2) Fibershield-HC: Atrium Horizontal Fire Shutter Curtain

3) First Skyfold Wall in Springfield Massachusetts – Putnam Vocational Tech High School

4) Swiss Tech Convention Center – Awesome design complete with movable Skyfold walls!

5) Before and After Photos the Secret of Architecture and Design Marketing

6) How to Improve Classroom Acoustics

7) What do Basketballs and Elevator Doors have in Common?

8) Four Seasons – 57 STC Standard. Is it the new norm?

9) Announcing New Product: 55 STC Rated Operable Wall

10) Stealth Benefits of Smoke Guard by guest blogger Dave Bauer, Architect

11) Dr. Seuss Quotes to Inspire and Motivate

12) Seven Reasons Every Salesperson Should Own An iPad

I’d also like to say a big thank you to all of the visitors who contributed visits to these posts on the blog. You’d be surprised how many Architects, Designers, and Fire Protection Engineers have contacted me about our products after finding RSM Services through the blog. Many of the contacts have been from different locations around the country and have resulted in sales orders. This blog has been important in the growth of the company during 2012.

Social media is quickly becoming vital in our industry as well as all other industries. If you’re in a similar situation as I was and thinking about blogging, I highly recommend getting started. Even if you post every once and a while, do it. Learn as you go and your audience will grow. They will find your blog through Google searches, social media, links, and other places you might not even expect.

Let’s make 2013 an even better year on go2rsm.com and beyond. Stay tuned for plenty of new blog posts and updates from us.

Today I’d like to address the benefits of LinkedIn Company Pages. This is a place for you to list your company, outline details, post products, post career opportunities, and more. It’s a wonderful resource. Here are some key reasons why you should head over to LinkedIn and quickly set up your company profile.

1. You can gain better SEO.

Why not use LinkedIn’s Company Pages to take advantage of their natural Search Engine Optimization? Having your company listed in as many places as possible will make sure your company shows up in more Internet searches and drive more potential customers to you. LinkedIn is a very well established website and will show up in searches before many other sites. Your Company Page will be no exception.

2. You can create a professional company overview complete with branding.

The “look” of these Company Pages are great! All the information is presented in an organized and attractive manner. If a potential customer were to find your company through LinkedIn via browsing, referral, or a search, this page will have everything they need to make a good first impression and point them in the right direction. Don’t forget to take advantage of the customization options that will make your page brand consistent with your company.

Take a look at my Company Page on LinkedIn:

3. You can attract customers and applicants in YOUR area.

LinkedIn users are often searching for new companies, users, and opportunities in their area. LinkedIn is optimized to show your location and filter searches and related items to areas that are useful to the people who may be looking for your company. That means that your potential customers and potential new employees can find you easier. These are real professionals in your area that you may not have otherwise connected with. LinkedIn helps you do that.

4. You can easily promote your sites and social networks.

LinkedIn Company Pages are also a great way to promote your website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social networks. Whatever your company is using, can be linked and promoted with these pages. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of this opportunity. Your Company Page can become a hub that directs potential customers to all the places they need to go to learn more about what you do and form a lasting relationship that will lead to sales and new opportunities.

5. Connect your employees and products with your customers

One of the best aspects of LinkedIn’s Company Pages are the tabs that showcase employees, job postings, and products. Utilizing all of these sections will help get your page exposure, help you hire better employees, and make money for you and your company. In particular, listing your connections as employees will draw in their connections as well. Suddenly, with the help of LinkedIn Company Pages, you have a highly influential and visible way to promote your business and make sure potential customers are getting the best information to make a good first impression and form a long-lasting professional relationship.

Liked this article? Please share and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Cyclist Focused on His Goal

Like the cyclist and my good friend Eric Cohen pictured here, people can see when you’re focused and respect it. Whether your goal is to win that stage race or close that contract, your focus will make all the difference. Continuously re-focus throughout the day to make sure you don’t get off track and waste valuable time on less important tasks.  I like to use a daily Self Management Matrix tool that one of my Mentor’s shared with me for the first few weeks of every year. It reminds me stay  focused on tasks that add value to (and for) my sales team and principals. If you have free time during a work day, try to immerse yourself in productive tasks like additional training (reading, watching webinars, practicing your sales presentation, etc…) or by making a visit to a job site to make sure the installation is going smoothly.  Staying focused keeps a sales professional always moving forward toward success.

For more info like this visit peaksalestraining.wordpress.com

Want the bullet points?

Why use a Smoke Guard System?

• In a fire, smoke travels up elevator shafts and is very dangerous
• Unprotected elevator doors can pull smoke from one floor and spread it to all of the floors in a building
• Smoke Guard contains smoke by covering elevator doors quickly and efficiently

How it works:

Think about it. If all customers only bought the lowest costing items would companies like Whole Foods, Apple Computers or Skyfold even exist? These companies are thriving precisely because customers don’t only consider price. Why are these companies so successful? Because they believe that their customers are willing to pay a little more for the best.

You can strengthen your beliefs as well. With clear thoughts and deep commitment you can enjoy improved performance. 
Once you understand that your belief and your belief system are the root of your sales success or the bane of your failure, you can do something about it.

I’m very fond of the concepts outlined in James Allen’s classic literary essay “As a Man Thinketh” published in 1902. In short he says, what you believe and think about directly impacts your reality. And this is exactly what I’m talking about. If you are salesperson and you want to improve your success, you can. And all you have to do is believe it and take action. But you must believe it with all your heart. If you do, your actions and words will naturally follow.

One of my favorite sales training gurus, Jeffery Gitomer says there are five elements to belief that directly impact a salesperson’s success. In order to be a great salesperson you must be the master believer of all five. Read this selection from his website:

1. You have to believe you work for the greatest company in the world.
2. You have to believe your products and services are the greatest in the world.
3. You have to believe in yourself.

NOTE: STOP here – if the above three beliefs – company, products and services, and self – are not present and deep. The next two will be impossible to comprehend, let alone master.

4. You have to believe in your ability to differentiate from your competition in a way that the customer PERCEIVES as BOTH different AND valuable. Why? Because if the customer fails to perceive a difference between you and your competition, if they fail to perceive your value, then all that’s left is price.
5. BIGGEST ASPECT OF BELIEF: You must believe that the customer is BETTER OFF having purchased from you. Not just believing this in your head. Rather, believing it in your heart.

BEWARE: There are negative beliefs that will also limit your success, even if you possess the critical POSITIVE five above. For example; belief your prices are too high or belief your competition has a lock on the business you’re trying to get.

REMEMBER: You and you alone control your beliefs with your thoughts and your attitude. This understanding is critical to building and maintaining a positive and optimistic belief system for all you say and do.

Check out more great sales training concepts from Jeffrey Gitomer.

Photo by H. Michael Karshis

1. Never be late

You’d be surprised how often people are late to meetings. In fact, people are usually late to meetings. If you are the person who is always on time, imagine how you will stand out.

2. Have a specific plan + agenda

Be organized, have a plan for the meeting ,and also have a #1 goal out of each meeting. Make some reasonable bullet points for what is to be discussed in order to achieve that goal.

3. Remember names

This should be a golden rule for you. Always remember the names of the people you are meeting with, and use their names when speaking with them. Dale Carnegie said, “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” He was right. Also remember that forgetting someone’s name is unprofessional and makes people wonder what else you are going to forget. If you have a bad memory ask for their business card while giving them your own card at the start of the meeting. Then keep their card in front of you as a reference. You can always look down to remind yourself who is who throughout the meeting.

4. Make sure you listen more than you talk

People like to talk, so being the person who listens in a meeting will be very beneficial to you. Especially when trying to make a sale, our instinct is to blab on and on about what our product can do or what our ideas could accomplish. Keep in mind that your listener will only listen for so long. Get them talking and you will win more sales.

5. Avoid a sales pitch

Even if you are in a sales meeting. Sales pitches often don’t make sales. You want to have a dialogue and solve problems for your customers. Don’t go in with a script. Go in with a plan.

6. Know your product in and out

If you want your customers to NOT trust you, simply show them that you don’t know your product! Too often I see salespeople not knowing their products in and out. Never make this mistake. You should devote a significant amount of time into researching the pros and cons of all your products as well as how they work.

7. Keep your phone off

This seems like a no-brainer, but that would mean that most people don’t have brains. We all have left our phones on during meetings and we all have definitely heard phones ring, ding, and buzz throughout meetings. It’s not respectful. Even if you ignore the call or text, everyone else will still think it’s rude. Your energy and attention should be 100% on the person you are meeting with.

8. Never be too professional

This might seem like a strange suggestion, but it’s important. You want to make your clients, customers, and team feel like you are a real person. It’s never fun (and certainly not inspiring) to meet with someone who is all business all the time. Be friendly and smile.

9. Never argue

It’s very easy to get defensive when a client or potential customer asks you the hard questions. It’s vital that you always remain calm, and seek to truly understand the other person’s concerns. Remember that acting defensive will always result in a defensive attitude and ill feelings about you and your company  from the other side.  The solution is simple, don’t argue.

10. Avoid politics and religion

These things come up more than you might think! We’re currently in an election month here in the United States, so many people are talking about politics and religion. Do not engage and encourage this kind of conversation in the workplace. It can often results in hard feelings and problems. Just avoid it!

11. Don’t stay too long

We all know that short meetings can turn into long ones. Try to keep meetings from dragging on. If you leave someone looking at the clock thinking to themselves, “are you kidding, I have so much to do today,” that’s very bad. This is especially the case if you are visiting someone’s office. In the same way we don’t want to overstay our welcome in people’s homes, we don’t want to overstay our welcome in their place of work. Keep face to face meetings short and productive.

12. Follow up

Too often salespeople don’t follow up and instead wait for the client to get back in touch with them. Don’t do this! You are meeting with busy people. We are all busy people. If you had a meeting, you MUST follow up. Even if they loved you in the meeting, there’s a good chance they’ll forget to get back in touch. Sometimes potential customers are looking for salespeople to show the extra initiative. Make sure you always follow up a few days after the meeting.

If you keep these tips in mind I’m willing to bet that you’ll have great in-person meetings and see a huge increase in the success of your business as a result.

Thanks for reading.

Photo by Voka – Kamer van Koophandel Limburg

I’m proud to announce the first ever Skyfold wall installation in Springfield, MA (My home town). The three vertical lifting partitions (2 Glass and 1 Steel) are happily functioning at the brand new Putnam Vocational Tech High School. I went to see this school a couple weeks ago and was amazed. It was like walking into a high-tech government facility. The reception area could have easily been used as a movie set. The  Skyfold walls only added to the look of this school. A special thanks goes out to the architect, DRA Newton MA, and our local Skyfold dealer, The Pappas Company.

Down the main hall was a beautiful conference room complete with a Skyfold wall to separate the space into two smaller conference rooms. This wall looks great, takes up no extra space, and is completely sound-proof. You can also see that the finish of these walls blends perfectly into the space. It’s a seamless and effective addition to the environment they were looking to create.

Further down the main hall opens into an atrium with lots of natural light and a high-tech staircase that changes colors using glowing lights. Next to the staircase is a large cafeteria. Two glass Skyfold walls separate the atrium from the cafeteria. The principal wanted to have the option of keeping the noise of 500+ students in the lunchroom  from the rest of the school, but also be able to open up the large cafeteria space into the central atrium area for other events.

You can see all the walls that were installed in this short video that I made. Note: Look closely at the conference room in this video. Another  traditional operable wall was installed in the same room. You can see the wasted space that was required to store the wall as well as the large, awkward pocket. The students studying in the Hospitality / Hotel Services department will be experiencing both walls throughout their use of this room. I’m confident that Skyfold will impress them and help improve their learning environment drastically. Hopefully you agree. Enjoy!

Email me with any questions about this project or Skyfold walls. The Skyfold walls may have cost a little more but the price was worth it. Not just for this project  but the thousands of other projects that now enjoy the ease of use and excellent acoustical performance the Skyfold product provides.

About John Collins

John has over 30 years experience with sales and marketing in the architectural field. He is the owner and operator of RSM Services Inc. a company that provides sales management services in the Northeast USA Region. and represents Skyfold. If you are a designer from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Syracuse or Buffalo (and all points in between) and would like to get the straight scoop on operable walls please feel free to touch base.

Here’s a description from the ICC-ES website about the ESRs:

“ICC-ES is the leader in evaluating building products for code compliance and sustainable attributes. For decades, ICC-ES has been the industry leader in performing technical evaluations for code compliance, providing regulators and construction professionals with clear evidence that products comply with codes and standards.

Having completed hundreds of evaluations of building products, components, methods, and materials, ICC-ES has a proven track record of excellence in product evaluations. This record extends to reports regarding sustainability under standards such as CALGreen (the California Green Building Standards Code), IgCC (International Green Construction Code), and other green rating systems.” – icc-es.org

According to this 2007 survey, ICC-ES determined that their ESR documents were reliable and desired by AHJs. 87% of respondents reported that they use the reports in approving alternative products and 61% reported using the products to approve code-referenced products. Since these statistics, ESR documents have increased even more in popularity.

Architects often prefer ESR documents as well. If the AHJ disapproves a product, it can be costly and time consuming (not to mention embarrassing) for the architect and building owner to find a replacement or redesign another acceptable alternative. They know the the local AHJ will probably accept the product without delay if an ESR is included, making the process that much easier for everyone involved. AHJ’s gain “peace of mind” when a product is submitted with an ESR.

Here are some things you should never do:

• intensionally misrepresent another companies product or service
• use another company’s logo in a slanderous way
• altering another companies materials or advertisements
• posting fake comments, reviews, or ratings about a competitor’s product

A claim can often be made against companies and individuals doing these things if it can be proven that the accusation is false, that the accuser knew it was false and still took action, that the accuser intended to harm the business, and that the action did indeed harm the business. There are other factors to take into account such as court-recognized statements, so definitely contact a lawyer if this is an issue affecting your company.

It’s a shame that we live in a world where this an issue. Let’s work on changing that. Let’s use better business practices. From now on, do your part in encouraging those around you to avoid slanderous and unkind comments about their competitors. Take the high road. Not only is it dangerous to do otherwise, but it’s not the right thing to do. Your customers will value your moral business stance and reward you for it. As Dale Carnegie says, “Criticism of others is futile and if you indulge in it often you should be warned that it can be fatal to your career.” He understood better than any that “any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools do.”

Source: “Badmouth vodka at your own risk” by Molly O’Leary, Idaho Business Review

Architects and their clients love atriums in their buildings, and with good reason. The natural daylight, interconnectivity, and view of the outside environment have been shown in respected studies to significantly increase productivity in the workplace and help students score better on exams in educational settings. Architecturally, an atrium can reflect the exterior scale of the building making for a very dramatic design. There is one thing, however, that architects hate about an atrium: the code required smoke control system. Why? Because smoke control systems are a complex and often costly, building code required component of an atrium.

In a article for the National Institute of Building Sciences by Todd Gritch, AIA ,ACHA and Brian Eason, AIA of HKS Inc. the technical issues of fire protection and smoke control in atriums are summarized. Here are some of the key issues they point out.

Code Requirements:

A successful atrium design must have a smoke control system. It is critical to life safety. Atrium buildings break with orthodox concepts of safety because of their open and interconnected nature. Because of its critical nature, both NFPA 101 “The Life Safety Code” and The International Building Code have extensive code provisions for Atriums. A significant difference however, is that the IBC is prescriptive and arbitrarily limits the number of floors that may be open to the atrium to three. The Life Safety Code is more performance oriented and will allow the number of floors open to atria without enclosure to be based upon the results of the required engineering analysis.

One of the basic atrium requirements is an engineered smoke control system. It is also recognized that some form of boundary is required to assist the smoke control system in containing smoke to just the atrium area. This could be a wall, shutter, or rated curtain. Both the Life Safety Code and IBC require that the atrium space be separated from adjacent areas by fire barriers having a fire rating of 1 hour or equivalent. Both codes accept adjacent spaces to be separated by properly constructed glass walls where automatic sprinklers have been installed to protect the entire surface of the glass.

Smoke Control Guidelines:

Fire records have shown that smoke is the primary threat to life during a fire in buildings. Smoke is by far the most rapidly developing threat during a fire. That means proper smoke control in an atrium building is an absolute must. NFPA 92B, quantifies the physics associated with atrium smoke control and presents methodologies for system design in an understandable and useful format. The guidelines of NFPA 92B allow the system designer to design a system and prepare associated documentation to access for adequacy in meeting the performance criteria. NFPA 92 provides a set of calculations that can be performed by the FPE to determine the quantity of exhaust necessary to evacuate the smoke generated by the largest anticipated fire size. However, a fire protection engineer (FPE) can assist in determining the smoke control system parameters.

Hire an Engineer:

An FPE involved early in the atrium design is the best source of potential fire detection and prevention system selection options. FPEs are knowledgeable about all of the atrium code issues. The codes and standards that address smoke control systems for atria are based on similar research and fundamental fire size and smoke generation models. ASHRAE 1999 Applications, Chapter 51 provides a broad design basis for smoke management and general directions for the designer.

Do a Computer Model:

Currently the most comprehensive method of determining complex smoke management criteria is with computer fire modeling (Reference ASHRAE 1999 Applications, Chapter 51.12). In many instances the results of the computer modeling will result in lower exhaust quantities being required, and therefore lowering initial project costs. The model allows multiple fire origins to be evaluated. The resulting smoke removal system needs to be adequate for all anticipated fire origin locations. Computer modeling and visualization are important tools for understanding the processes of fire behavior. Even when the exhaust quantities are determined by use of a computer fire model, smoke management systems can be well designed in adherence to all other requirements of NFPA 92.

There are lots of solutions to achieve proper smoke control whether through a mechanical active smoke exhaust/evacuation system or some strategically placed smoke curtains. But whatever the choice, an atrium in your building will have lasting beauty and productivity benefits that are well worth the effort.

See WBDG for more info.

Photo by Robert Neff

As a lover of dogs, I’m often fascinated by stories and facts about “man’s best friend.” I recently read an article about Dalmatians and how they are linked to firefighting. It was a great read and I highly recommend it.

Did you know that in the days of old (the 1800′s), firefighters traveled via horse-drawn carriage with only a limited supply of water? This was a very stressful and dangerous job for a horse. They would often get extremely restless and it would affect their job performance. There were also many thieves who chose fire departments as easy targets. They would often steal the horses and supplies. It became increasingly hard for the firemen to prevent the robberies. That’s where the dalmatians came in.

Dalmatians value family and companionship, and were bred to find companionship with the horses. They would protect the horses, firemen and supplies from thieves and keep them company throughout their long and stressful work days. Because of this, the dalmatian quickly became a symbol for firefighting and an integral part of the system.

Reading about this was very important to me, not only as an owner of dogs, but someone who works in fire protection and smoke control. I know how destructive, dangerous, and stressful fires can be for people, so much so that I’ve made it part of my living to promote wonderful safety products like the ones offered by Smoke Guard. It’s inspiring to read how my favorite animal has been playing a similar role for hundreds of years! I hope that you learned something about dalmatians after reading this post, and that you’ll give the next dog you see a smile or a treat to say thanks.

For people in the architectural industry, Pinterest has proven to be particularly helpful. There’s a category section devoted solely to architecture and it’s very popular on Pinterest. This provides many possibilities for architects and architectural businesses to influence their market. In this blog post I’ll describe my top 10 ways to market architectural products on Pinterest.

1. Add your website URL to your profile page along with your bio and picture.

You’d be surprised how people will click-through to see the woman or man behind their favorite pins and pinboards on Pinterest. Even if you don’t post anything relevant to your industry, people are likely to check out your profile and see what you do for a living. Having a complete profile (especially with a link to your website) is vital! You can also link to your other social networks and use Pinterest to help draw people into everything that you do.

2. Use your business name in your profile.

For maximum effectiveness, make this a business profile instead of a personal profile. If your audience thinks you are constantly trying to promote your business as a person, they’ll look down on you. However, if you make it clear that you ARE representing your architectural business, they’ll respect you and look to you more as a resource. If possible, use your logo and business name on your profile.

3. Provide a thoughtful description with every pin.

When you are pinning or re-pinning images on Pinterest, make sure to add a short comment/description in your own words. It’s not enough to share images, you need to be thoughtful and informative. If you’re sharing a great image from your favorite architectural blog, for example, provide a little background and suggest that your viewers read the original article. Doing this for images on your own website or blog will drive traffic and interest in your direction.

4. Use personality.

Who likes boring? Social media has no room for boring people/companies. Try to determine what your “voice” is as a business and make sure to stick to that. Think about your copywriting and online voice. Is there personality there? Be consistent. Use descriptions that were obviously written by people within your company. People like companies made and run by real people, so it’s important to show that on Pinterest.

5. Cater to your clients.

Chances are you probably have a couple areas in your architectural business that set you apart. Pinterest allows you to create unique boards to organize your pictures in. Creating boards for each of your areas of expertise is a very good idea. Potential clients will be able to clearly see what you do and not be confused by vague boards. Think of specific areas that you represent or are interested in. Focus is good and will help you gain a focused audience interested in forming professional relationships.

6. Add contributors to your boards.

Expand your audience by including other contributors. If you have staff or colleagues that work with you, give them permission to add images to your pinboards. Not only will your staff love it, but it will expand the possibility of people seeing the pins. On Pinterest, your followers will always see your pins, so including contributors will expand your audience by however many followers they have. It also makes the process more personal. Now your employees are posting to the company board and your network can see the people involved and how savvy your team is.

7. Always use beautiful images when posting on your blog/website.

From here on out, always use images on your website. It’s no surprise that the Internet loves images. We’re seeing photos on every social network, and that’s why Pinterest, a social network devoted to images, has become so popular. You need to make sure that your website is a gold mine for potential Pinterest users. Being in the architectural business is a big help in this area.

8. Go back into your website and add the most impressive photos you can find.

What’s great about being in the architectural business is that our products are often beautiful, innovative and attractive. These kinds of images are perfect for Pinterest. Chances are, you are missing out on taking advantage of Pinterest using your website or blog. Go back into your archives and find places to add beautiful images of your products. Over time, you can pin these images to your pinboards on Pinterest and get extra traffic to your site!

 9. Add a watermark to your images.

This is optional, but can help prevent your images from being shared without credit back to your company. For example, if you post to Pinterest (which credits back to you), someone could save your image and post it to somewhere like Tumblr without crediting you. Suddenly your image could be seen by millions of people, but no one will know it’s from your company. This is a big reason why people are scared to use social media. Luckily, using a small unobtrusive watermark/logo in the corner of your image will help prevent something like this from happening.

10. Add a button or widget to your website.

Make it clear to your clients and audience that you’re on Pinterest. A small icon placed by your web design team will let people know all that you’re doing on Pinterest. There are even widgets that share your latest pins on Pinterest. This is a great way to drive traffic to your Pinterest page and help promote your projects.

[for more ideas on how to use Pinterest, see Beth Heyden's article]

Some of my pins: