About Us
Most architects I meet are brilliant designers, but they're trapped by unpredictable cash flow, clients who don't value their expertise, and the gnawing fear that their firm is a 'best-kept secret.
I've dedicated my career to one thing: giving these architects the keys to unlock their own freedom.
I’m Bryon McCartney, Co-Founder and CEO at Archmark.
I have more than 35 years of experience in business, branding and marketing—including work with global brands like Calvin Klein, General Motors, and Lipton.
Since 2016, I have focused exclusively on helping architecture firm owners design businesses as soundly as they design their prized projects.
At Archmark, we blend strategic coaching with proven marketing systems to help architects attract better clients, improve visibility, and build firms that support their creative vision.
I’m also a certified StoryBrand, Small Business Flight School, and Business Made Simple coach.
If you are a firm owner who needs to think more like a CEO, without losing what makes you a great designer, then let's chat.
Visit https://www.archmark.co/calrity-call to book a call.
How We Got Started
Bryon McCartney and Kellie Nolan, have over 55 years of career experience helping clients create and build their brands and attract new customers. Kellie and Bryon take a hands-on approach and manage customers' needs directly. Make your mark with Archmark!
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (42)
"Excellent customer service"
"Bryan and Kellie are professional, responsive, and create amazing brands for their clients. I..."
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"Bryan and Kellie are professional, responsive, and create amazing brands for their clients. I highly recommend their services. "
Products & Services
Your brand is a perception that others have of you or your business
For that reason, your brand is not something you can own, you can only influen...
Attract, Find & Win Your Best Clients & Customers!
You can't be everything to everyone.
Smart marketers know that you have to focus on those ...
Build A Loyal Community Of Raving Fans!
Be Likable Social Media helps you use social media to reach and engage your target audiences, to create ...
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Recommendations Given (61)
"Barry is awesome and he really knows his stuff!"
"Mark is the mobile master of dent removal in SWFL. I've used him twice and will use him anytime I..."
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"Mark is the mobile master of dent removal in SWFL. I've used him twice and will use him anytime I need a dent removed."
Recent Activity
Hi Bruce,
My wife and I are the founders of the viewfindercenter.com. We sold the business in 2012, but we learned a lot about running this type of business, and it was a great way to put our marketing chops to use on our own business.
Targeted marketing will certainly help you. But before you...
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Hi Bruce,
My wife and I are the founders of the viewfindercenter.com. We sold the business in 2012, but we learned a lot about running this type of business, and it was a great way to put our marketing chops to use on our own business.
Targeted marketing will certainly help you. But before you start experimenting with the next tactic, I’d advise you to step back and make sure you clearly define the following:
- What are your goals? - Who is your best client? - What other options do they choose?
Our marketing firm offers a process known as the business blueprint, where we answer these questions, analyze, research and validate the answers, prepare evidence-based recommendations, and a step-by-step roadmap to help you achieve your goals. If you’d like to know more, please contact me at bryon@bebrilliant.com.
best regards.
There is no one answer to this question. It really depends on who your client is and your relationship with them. Most businesses start by making (usually unfounded) assumptions about their prospective clients. The businesses that actually survive and thrive are able to precisely understand...
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There is no one answer to this question. It really depends on who your client is and your relationship with them. Most businesses start by making (usually unfounded) assumptions about their prospective clients. The businesses that actually survive and thrive are able to precisely understand exactly what their clients' needs are and how their product/service fills those needs. To start, you have to know exactly who your ideal client is. For some businesses this is immediately evident, for others it may require research or a substantial learning curve. Start with your best guess, who do you think will benefit most from your product/service. Try to validate your guess with research and investigation. Who else is offering something similar to your product/service? Contact them. Yes, contact your competition. This is often a great way to validate an audiences' needs because unless your competitors are very narrow-minded, they will usually want to know more about you and what you are doing, which is perfectly fine because there is usually more than enough to go around. Beyond your competitors, do some research to find out who is already selling to that same client. Develop some mutually beneficial partnerships with those people. You can also look to industry associations that your ideal clients belong to. Associations generally love to help people connect with their members, it's their job. They know a lot about the target audience, and if they can't help you, they will likely know someone who can. Ultimately, what you are looking for is a 'Champion,' someone who is an ideal client or someone who already works with or sells to them. Once you have a relationship with this person, you first want to ask them about the needs of your ideal client. Get their perspective. Then ask them to introduce you to potential clients. Rather than starting with a sale with these initial contacts, focus on gathering information from them. For example, offer those first potential clients a discount or incentive for giving you feedback on your offer. Once you have had the chance to serve some clients, you can use those interactions (provided they went well) as a bridge to testimonials and referrals from those clients. I hope this is helpful. Bryon McCartney Chief Idea Guy at Be Brilliant Branding & Marketing
We primarily use Linkeidn for B2B as that is where most of our ideal clients hang out on social media. It's also very easy to target them using Linkedin's Advanced Search (a premium feature). On our page and profiles, we post a variety of content to stay top of mind with our connections. This...
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We primarily use Linkeidn for B2B as that is where most of our ideal clients hang out on social media. It's also very easy to target them using Linkedin's Advanced Search (a premium feature). On our page and profiles, we post a variety of content to stay top of mind with our connections. This revolves around content that is Educational, Engaging, and Inspiring. At the same time, we are always reaching out to new contacts that fit our desired profile. In the past six months, we've connected with about 600 new connections on Linkedin, all within our target industry and demographics, and we have had about 30 strategy calls with qualified leads and we are projecting about $100k in new business.
Here is the answer: • Define clear goals for your business promotion efforts. Goals fall into one of a few buckets: — Money (revenue, profit, sales, etc.) — TIme (more time for..., less time dealing with..., etc.) — Status (being recognized as: a leader, the best..., #1 in...) — Happiness (as in...
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Here is the answer: • Define clear goals for your business promotion efforts. Goals fall into one of a few buckets: — Money (revenue, profit, sales, etc.) — TIme (more time for..., less time dealing with..., etc.) — Status (being recognized as: a leader, the best..., #1 in...) — Happiness (as in personal happiness, company culture, etc.) — Growth (the ability to attract and retain talent) —Define reasonable goals that are easily measured. Where do you want to be in 3-6-12 months, what about 3 years, 10 years? What will it realistically take to reach these goals? Write it down somewhere and refer back to these goals frequently. • Next, you need to understand who you are talking to. — 'Everyone' is not your client or customer. — The narrowly you can define your target audience, the easier/cheaper it is to market or promote your service to that audience. — Who is your ideal client/customer, who are your raving fans? — Where did they discover your business? — Where else do they hang out (on- or offline)? • Next, you need to understand your market and the competition — What are your competitors doing that you are not? — How are they ahead or behind you? — Analyze their marketing/promotion, what opportunities and gaps can you exploit? — Get as much detail about who you are actually competing with and any other forces (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) that can influence your success. Once you have done all of this, you will likely have a clearer picture of where you stand in the market, who your competitors are and how they are winning/losing, you will also know who your target audience is and where to best meet them in the market through advertising, marketing, and promotional efforts. Now comes the hard part, you have to try things, you have to decide how you are going to get the word out, and you have to take action. Often, what we assume will work does not, so we have to adjust the message and try something different. Advertising and marketing is about trying things, measuring results, tweaking the message, media, timing or creative and seeing if the results improve. Every time you try a promotional effort, be sure to measure your results so you don't repeat mistakes and so you build on any momentum you produce. Cumulative efforts over time equal what we refer to as "Market Momentum." The more momentum your branding and marketing can generate, the closer you will come to reaching your goals.
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Wow, that's a very open-ended question, and without knowing anything about your business or who you are trying to target, it's very difficult to provide a precise answer. Here are some general rules of thumb. Know your audience? First, you need to know your audience. Are your potential clients...
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Wow, that's a very open-ended question, and without knowing anything about your business or who you are trying to target, it's very difficult to provide a precise answer. Here are some general rules of thumb. Know your audience? First, you need to know your audience. Are your potential clients on social media? If so, which platform? It would also help to know if they are on social media, whether they are accustomed or want to interact with companies like yours. A great first step is to do a customer development interview. Find 5-15 prospects and interview them about their social media habits, and whether they buy products or services like yours online. The more you know about your prospects the easier it is to focus your time, energy and money into effective outreach solutions for your business. Which platforms work for which type of audiences? What we have found is that Linkedin is really good for connecting with and engaging B2B relationships. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media platforms are more aligned with B2C audiences. That's not to say you can't find B2B audiences on those platforms, or that you can't find B2C audiences on Linkedin. Again, you need to know your audience. Putting a plan to action. Once, you understand your audience, you then need to start sharing. Social media is typically about being social. You don't want to come out with a heavy-handed sales or promotional pitch. Think about what you can do to help your potential customers or clients. Be helpful, be entertaining, be inspiring, share resources, share your story. The important thing is to be consistent. Don't be afraid to post too much, honestly, you can't share too much. You are not going to offend people with too much helpful information. And if you lose followers, it's likely because they are not a good fit for your brand or business. How often should I post promotional posts? We usually like to post one promotional message for every five helpful posts, but it can depend on the platform and how often you are posting. And it's ok to promote your business, but think about how you can do that authentically and creatively. The best approach is to work on building your brand and reputation on social media. Don't try to close deals on social, just start the conversation. Get people to know, like and trust your business first, and then try to get them to visit your website where you can control the message and brand experience more closely. Find resources There are tons of resources online for how to build an effective social media strategy for your business, but these tips should be a good start. Final words However, let me leave you with some sage advice, if you are going to try to build your brand on social media, you need to commit to doing it right. Posting one post a week is not going to cut it. You need to post every day. There are tools like Buffer and Hootsuite that can help you schedule posts, but you still need to put in the time and effort to do it right. It takes time and dedication and a lot of experimentation to build a following.
The goal is to not have to 'close' someone, you want them in the position of believing this is a product/service they need and by the time you get to sign on the dotted line, it's a no brainer for them. We sell branding, marketing, and website design services. Our sales process is based on four...
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The goal is to not have to 'close' someone, you want them in the position of believing this is a product/service they need and by the time you get to sign on the dotted line, it's a no brainer for them. We sell branding, marketing, and website design services. Our sales process is based on four stages: • Qualification • Solution • Discovery Process • Marketing Plan During the Qualification Session (usually a 15-minute call) we are first trying to determine if we are a good fit for the client and vice versa. We delve into their business situation and try to assess what their main objectives are. In the Solution session (usually a 20-30 minute call) we explore their business situation based on comparing where they are now, and where they would like to be. We present a solution that will bridge those two realities. This solution is our Discovery Process. This is a paid service where we dig really deep into their goals, competition, market situation, and much more over three interview calls (about an hour each). There are several key deliverables and outcomes from this session, and we put 20 or more hours into the process. Since it is a paid service, the client is typically invested in the process and by the end, we present a detailed marketing plan that will address the core issues and desired goals that they want to resolve. The Discovery Process costs $2499 and requires a minimum of two weeks. Most clients who are committed to understanding what is working/not working in their business and resolving their issues and they are happy to pay that money to get a detailed strategic plan or roadmap to get to the results they really want. It usually sells itself. If someone decides not to move forward, we usually find, in retrospect, that they were not an ideal candidate and were not properly qualified. The Marketing Plan presented at the end of the Discovery session is a detailed plan of services which can include a combination of our branding, marketing, and web design services. Usually, a typical client will commit to a $20-35K plan over the first six months. We don't use hard sales tactics, closing statements or anything like that, because our goal is not to perform wallet surgery on our clients. We are trying to provide them as much value as possible. We do address objections. Objections can be raised regarding costs, timing, uncertainty about the plan, etc. However, in most cases, it's rare that we do not have a rational and reasonable answer for an objection, because through all these meetings we have developed a close relationship with the client and we have provided them a ton of value in the process. Therefore, we handle each objection, remind the client of their goals and how we are going to help them achieve them, and in 95% of cases, they can't wait to get started.
I rarely watch ad-supported television, and when I do I pay little attention to ads. Facebook ads, when done well and because they are presented in the timeline/newsfeed often catch my attention if they are relevant to my interests. I have funded several Kickstarter campaigns and download free...
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I rarely watch ad-supported television, and when I do I pay little attention to ads. Facebook ads, when done well and because they are presented in the timeline/newsfeed often catch my attention if they are relevant to my interests. I have funded several Kickstarter campaigns and download free offers based on Facebook ads. This is also a major differentiation between FB and TV ads. In most cases, you can immediately take action from a Facebook ad, where with TV ads, you need to call someone or visit a website or store to take action. A while back, I wrote an article comparing FB vs TV ads, I'd love to know what you think.
For those who say "Word of mouth" I'm curious how predictable your business is? Do you have a pipeline of referrals waiting to do business with you or do you wait for those referrals to contact you and have downtime between customers? I'm also curious how much time you invest in nurturing your...
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For those who say "Word of mouth" I'm curious how predictable your business is? Do you have a pipeline of referrals waiting to do business with you or do you wait for those referrals to contact you and have downtime between customers? I'm also curious how much time you invest in nurturing your referral sources. How much time/money/effort are you spending traveling and attending networking events, taking referrers to lunch or coffee meetings, attending BNI, Chamber or other business meetups (including annual dues)? Have you added that time/money/effort up and compared it to a comparable marketing campaign spend? I'm also curious about the ROI of referrals and word of mouth. Out of every 10 customers/clients/networking partners, how many are referrers and how many referrals do they provide per month? How many of those become new clients?
That depends on how you put it to use. If you simply set up your page and rarely update it, it will look like an abandoned or neglected page. The better question is "How does a Facebook page, or any other resource in your marketing toolkit, support your business growth strategy?" Without a clear...
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That depends on how you put it to use. If you simply set up your page and rarely update it, it will look like an abandoned or neglected page. The better question is "How does a Facebook page, or any other resource in your marketing toolkit, support your business growth strategy?" Without a clear strategy, any individual marketing tactic or channel will likely fail. Growing a business effectively requires careful planning, great execution, accurate measurement, and ongoing iteration. It doesn't matter if you are B2B or B2C you need to start with a plan. A great way to start is to define some S.M.A.R.T. goals. While we focus primarily on architects, our FREE Smart Goals Guidebook can help you establish clear goals for your growing business. Follow this link to read our article and download our free guide. Once you have clear goals, you can start the process of planning which goals are key priorities and begin addressing them. Don't take on too much at one time. Be realistic about what you can accomplish within a specific timeframe and once you have a goal completed, pat yourself on the back, and then move on to the next goal. Favor progress over perfection and don't get bogged down by unnecessary distractions. If you need more advice, feel free to contact me here on Alignable.
Asana is great, many of my colleagues swear by Teamwork, we just started using Ora. We picked it up with a lifetime deal on AppSumo and it's pretty awesome. We love the flexibility of viewing and organizing projects, including a Kanban style project progress tool. It also will track time and...
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Asana is great, many of my colleagues swear by Teamwork, we just started using Ora. We picked it up with a lifetime deal on AppSumo and it's pretty awesome. We love the flexibility of viewing and organizing projects, including a Kanban style project progress tool. It also will track time and provide you with a list of your tasks.
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