Trying to cultivate a BD ecosystem within your firm but have staff who believe 'business development' is not in their job description? From seller-doers, project managers and support staff to your BD/Marketing teams, everyone plays a critical role in supporting client care and the brand experience. In this episode, Wendy Simmons and Melissa English explore the fundamentals of business development—from the 'zipper' effect to quick tips and tricks to mobilize your colleagues.
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Podcast Transcript
Welcome to The Shortlist.
We're exploring all things AEC marketing to help your firm win The Shortlist.
I'm your host, Wendy Simmons, and each episode, I'll be joined by one of my team members from Middle of Six to answer your questions.
Today, we have Melissa English back to talk about Business Development 101.
Hi, Melissa.
Hey, Wendy.
So Melissa, why is BD, and particularly BD 101, such an important topic?
Well, I tend to believe that everyone in the firm has a role to play in business development, which is the efforts you'd go into to position your firm to win work.
And people with a little bit of awareness may be doing things that can be considered business development that they didn't realize, or with a little bit more training, can be coached to do things to help build relationships with clients.
Yeah.
So we want to keep this really high level.
Depending on what your own role is in your company, this might be really helpful information to figure out what the whole ecosystem in your firm, what everyone's different roles could be.
Maybe people wear multiple hats, so this will be helpful to learn where those different lines are.
We want to talk a little bit about what quick tips you can do to start BD.
Maybe you're trying to encourage a culture of BD in your firm.
So what can you get people doing right away that's pretty easy, low barrier, and then more advanced things, and then the overall why this is important, ending on that.
So hopefully this will be a good conversation.
Melissa, should we start off with what the different roles in a company are and how they are related to business development?
Absolutely.
Some firms have a model called a seller-doer model, which is where people that do the work, like your principals and project managers, are also involved in bringing the work into the firm.
So in that case, if you are a project executive or a principal in a firm, then you have a role that's related to having those executive level relationships.
So a lot of times we like to talk about a zippering effect where people at the same role in two different organizations build relationships.
So your project executive or your principal is going to have a relationship with the CEO or the public works director, maybe even the mayor of a city.
So you're having those same types of people interacting with each other and building relationships.
Another thing that the project executive or the principal is able to commit to clients is that they guarantee that you're going to perform, that you're going to have the staff on the project that you expected to have.
So they have that responsibility since they're an owner in the firm.
Yeah, often when you get into the proposal stage, the proposal is signed by this person.
They are making that firm guarantee.
They're saying this is our team, this is our price, this is our approach, and I'm going to guarantee on behalf of our company that this is what you're going to receive.
That's that experience.
So definitely like kind of the highest level gold seal there.
But in business development, they're also building those relationships and making those commitments verbally while they're out in the community and talking about their team and sharing experience to encourage other people, get them pre-positioned in front of the client, that your firm is going to do a really good job in that area.
Yeah, absolutely.
They're definitely a big representative of your brand out in the industry.
So you're likely going to see firm principals presenting at conferences, maybe writing blog posts, even if they maybe are ghostwritten by someone else in your marketing department.
But they're an outward facing person that has that thought leadership position to show that you are an expert in your field.
And I also often see this principal or project executive level person making decisions about the approach to client care.
They might oversee the client relationship at the highest level and think about what is appropriate as far as client care goes with them.
It could be something that has a gift component.
It could be making sure that they're included on newsletters and have information coming, you know, funneling to them.
It could be that they're invited to your annual golf tournament or something like that, you know, where you're having opportunities to engage and just overseeing the full client care situation, client care relationship, so that nothing is getting lost and that the right resources are allocated.
Yeah, and another piece to that is depending on the structure of the firm, the principal level folks are probably involved in client capture planning and prepositioning planning, so deciding what clients and what projects the firm is going to pursue in the year.
So that could be in partnership with the marketing and business development team typically.
Now, what about the project manager?
So we are looking at another group of people critical to performance on every project, you know, that person who's probably a main point of contact actually on a project itself.
Where do you see their BD role being different from the project executive and others?
Yeah, I think the project manager has this great opportunity to really get to know the client very well.
You're in this shared experience of working on a project.
So you're kind of in the trenches together.
You've got those kind of war stories, whether it was like, you know, a rough project or a great project, you've built that relationship through this shared process of going through a project.
So they're hearing the concerns, they're learning about what the hot buttons are for this client.
So it's something that you can apply on the next engagement with that client.
You mentioned the zipper approach.
So here's exactly where that comes in, right?
The project manager is now having a relationship and building a relationship with the PM, you know, on the client side or even within the whole system, right?
With the architect, the design firm, the engineering firm, any, you know, anywhere in that area.
So they're building those relationships.
And as everyone grows in their career, eventually those folks will be the project executives and leaders of their firms.
And so you want to build strong relationships that are like tested in the trenches.
And then they're super strong as you go.
Yeah, it's almost like a type of succession planning, where you know those firm principles or project executives, that public works director are going to retire at some point.
And you want that next generation of leadership to already have relationships with the clients you're targeting.
So a lot of that looks like building trust, listening well to your clients and doing what you say you're going to do.
You can't really erase those mistakes quickly.
So, you know, you have to be an engaged, good project manager to have the strongest relationships and then ultimately kind of like the best business development for the future.
You know, another great thing about being the project manager is you are the one solving those problems.
So then you have those stories in your back pocket when you're interacting with another client that has a similar project.
So it's a great position to be in, to be a really strong business developer.
And often the folks that are project managers that develop a lot of business get fast tracked promotions to leadership.
Yeah, well, we'll get to this as far as the quick tips for things that you can do.
But when you are a really engaged project manager and you're listening to your clients and other people in the industry what their needs are, you can be a matchmaker very easily and make connections for people.
You can say, you know, this isn't something that I can solve for you, but let me introduce you to this other firm or this new company or something else like that to help them.
And you're building connections even if it isn't something that you are physically doing yourself.
Yeah, I found that when you are that type of person who makes those introductions, and connections, even if you really have nothing to do with the problem the person is dealing with, they just come to you because they know you're a person who's a problem solver, who's going to not just say, oh, I don't know about that, or we don't do that, but they're going to take the time to try and connect you.
So I feel like that's a really powerful tool in business development.
Another thing that the PM role will often be more in charge with is actually the implementation of a client care program or plan specific to their clients.
So that would look like hand delivering the gift and writing a nice message in the card or understanding what is important to that client or what their personal interests might be, personal and professional.
Do they like to golf or do they hate to golf?
It would be really nice to know what that is so that you can connect them and bring them into the right things.
So the PM is the most boots on the ground, right?
They're able to make those connections and guide actually the marketing team on what should be done and is appropriate.
Yeah, and they also play an important role in permeating that business development culture throughout the firm.
So mentoring and coaching the project engineers or the project architect or the PE to help them understand this is what it looks like when we take good care of our clients.
These are the things we're listening for when we have conversations with our clients.
So I think that coaching and mentorship piece can't be understated.
They can start to demonstrate some very natural business development activities.
Looks like the project engineers or younger construction administrators or people who are newer to the industry can watch and see and even probably tag along and come to industry events.
And it's being modeled by the PM and also the project executors.
So what about project support?
That's a huge category.
We kind of brought them all together because they could be someone from pre-construction leadership or anyone who's doing estimating, modeling, project engineers.
They just have a different role in the project.
They're definitely supporting that, but they're probably also not like opted out of business development.
Yeah, I would say these people are often the ones that think I don't do business development or I don't know what business development is.
And my response to that is often when you're doing a good job on the project, when you're being responsive, when you're returning phone calls quickly, when you're getting an answer back to that email quickly, that's business development.
You're doing good work for your clients and letting them know they can trust you.
Yeah, firms who have a great reputation in the industry, what we hear is it's so much about their project performance, right?
It's the things that your team are doing in pre-construction and then in the field and all the way to close out that actually is the memorable part of the brand experience.
So I agree making sure that that is as dialed in as possible as much as you possibly can to make sure that processes are being followed and communication is similar and a certain level of expectation within the company of how we do things.
That's all going to reflect really well in your company and then make it a higher choice on the list of firms to work with when it comes out.
Yeah, and another great benefit of doing good work and being responsive like that is that when you make a mistake because we're all human mistakes are going to happen, you have a little bit more grace with the client because they know, well, I know they're going to take care of me, they're going to make this right.
So I think that's another great benefit is that you're allowed to recover from your mistakes a lot more gracefully.
And then moving on to business development and marketing teams, which are often a separate group, but they try to be integrated throughout the company.
They have a different seat as far as business development goes.
Their focus is in a different way.
It's a little bit of bigger picture, and then also really hands on on making sure the ideas and the concepts and the lists get done and handled.
Since this varies so much, let's kind of go through the key points that BD and marketing take care of that is different than the project teams.
Well, I like to say whether you're a BD professional or a marketing professional in this industry, that your role is to be a door opener.
You're doing the research.
You're finding out who's competing on these different projects so that you're doing kind of that behind the scenes legwork to set your team up for success.
Right.
So that can be research, competitor analysis, it can be understanding and tracking who's moving different places, maintaining lists.
I like to think that marketing and BD can be a place where everyone in the firm is excited to go and get information.
It helps them do their jobs, be more efficient and also not have multiple ways of tracking things.
Let's try to get them into one central kind of marketing, client care database so that can be very organized every time that you want to make an effort.
Yeah, and doing research on what professional association meetings are coming up and making sure you've got coverage with your teams, if it's yourself and another professional in your firm.
I think that's some of the best ways to be out is because you're hearing different things when you listen to what someone says, if you're coming from a marketing or BD perspective or if you're coming from a project perspective.
Sure.
Plenty of firms feel like they are engaged in the industry.
They have memberships or maybe do sponsorships all over the place.
But what is the real connection that's happening there?
I think marketing and BD can help make sure, provide a little bit of accountability.
And just that heads up, everyone has a really busy calendars.
Let's come together and look at where do we want to be, who is engaged at what level can we get engaged in committees and not just only go to the breakfast meetings, that sort of thing to make sure that the dollars you're spending for memberships and sponsorships are really making an impact.
Yeah, and even keeping track of, hey, this committee is gonna have an opening for a new position.
I think it's a great fit for you just kind of having your eyes peeled for those types of opportunities.
And then of course, messaging and making sure that your firm's expertise is being communicated and put out there.
Sometimes we are really focused internally.
We know the stories, we're hearing those, making sure they're actually getting put out there so that your clients and the people who are deciding to come and choose your firm know that this is an area of expertise for you.
You know, we have to not get too focused on what we know.
We need to make sure that the rest of the world understands that too.
Yeah, I've definitely seen opportunities at, say, a project interview where a kind of save the day type of story on another project that even is for a different discipline just can sell the project.
So marketing can be that kind of repository or memory bank for those interesting stories that happen across the different divisions of your firm and bring those forth to the teams that are going out and meeting with clients and positioning the firm for success.
Another role for marketing and BD professionals is teaming partners.
You might be the person reaching out to small businesses, women or minority owned firms that your company wants to team with in the future.
So you can be a door opener for those firms and introduce them to their counterparts inside your company.
Okay, we promised a few quick tips to think about when doing business development or encouraging people in your firm.
I like to put these into four categories and we can walk through some of the ideas we have, but the first one is low effort, big impact, things that are pretty easy to do.
You may be already doing them or your team may be doing them and not even thinking of them as business development.
Then project-related items, so it's obviously something that's going to be focused more for the project teams.
Building relationships and then eventually becoming a trusted advisor.
Yes, the coveted trusted advisor where we all want to be.
Let's start slower or let's start at the easiest level here.
Low effort, big impact.
What are some things that you might recommend to people new to BD or to just check the list that you're doing the kind of basic things?
Yeah, let's make sure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date.
It's got a photograph that looks like what you look like right now.
That's a good one.
Not 20 years old.
LinkedIn and Instagram and other social media channels are a great, easy way to engage with your network.
A like, a share, a comment, go a long way and don't take a lot of time.
Also, attending industry events, making sure you're actively attending those.
I mean, one evening event, you could talk to 10, 20, 30 people, so that's a high impact, low effort for one evening's worth of late night work.
And you may already be doing this, participating in community events related to your project or anticipation of another project.
It's similar to the industry association events.
It's going to feel very similar, but now you're talking to people in the community and learning more about their concerns, or if something's coming up that you'll just have more intel for later on.
Yeah, another easy one is a project that just completed.
That's really interesting, setting up a tour.
I'm sure there's plenty of professional associations, or even just within your company or with your teaming partners, they can come and see how the project turned out.
And Melissa hit on this really well in that last section, but being responsive to clients, it is a memorable experience when an email is answered, or a phone call is picked up in a timely manner.
So doing that is something that should just be definitely what you're doing in your day-to-day.
Absolutely.
So what about project-related?
Switching that focus a little bit, what are some of the best tips for doing BD in your day-to-day work?
Yeah, a lot of what we talked about when we went over the roles is listening to what they need, addressing their concerns, being a good partner in responding quickly to meeting notices, doing quality work.
Yeah, I think we've hit this one pretty well, but it's important to say that doing a great job is actually a wonderful way to support business development.
And if your firm isn't really thinking about business development in that way, maybe you can share this podcast, and let them know that this is a really impactful way to position your firm in a good spot.
So then moving on and evolving into the relationship base, which is what we were talking about in all those different roles.
We do want you to develop relationships, that zipper approach, building strong relationships that will serve you well throughout your career.
Some of these are similar to the low effort, big impact, but they take it to another level.
Like, for example, engaging on social media.
If previously, you were kind of skimming through LinkedIn, liking a few things, but, you know, it was a very quick hit, maybe five minutes a day, now you could start really engaging, listening to the issues that folks are facing, sharing suggestions or making connections for them through social media.
It probably doesn't up the time commitment much, but you are feeling comfortable and practiced in providing recommendations.
Yeah, and then for professional associations, the next step after you are attending regularly is to get on a committee and volunteer your time with that organization.
It's a great way to really form some deep relationships.
If you are planning something like a conference or a community enhancement event, that could be a year's worth of planning where you are going to be meeting with people once a month and working towards a fun goal that you can all celebrate at the end.
So I think that's a great tip.
Yeah, being on a committee is great for your firm to be represented.
And it's also nice to have an extracurricular activity that is work related, but it gets you away from your computer for a minute.
It allows you to practice the things that you're really interested in.
So if you're a landscape architect and donating some of your time and service to advise on a community enhancement project, that's probably really enjoyable, I would imagine.
And I think the same thing goes for us in the marketing seat.
We want to help advise on social media posts for our industry associations or write a quick blog post or something like that because something that we like to do anyway, and it's great to shift gears a little bit.
Yeah.
And if you're looking to make a change in your career, that's a great way to give a good first impression and show your quality of work, and then you might have the next job opportunity.
It's fun to meet people outside of the office and not just in a happy hour environment, but what you're doing and working on things that show your expertise and just feels fun and almost like effortless.
But speaking of happy hours, that's also a really good thing to do.
So when you are building relationships, maybe earlier in your career doesn't feel quite as natural as later on.
It's really easy to ask someone, hey, do you want to go grab coffee?
Should we look at that in a little more detail?
Or it's been a while.
Maybe we could meet up for a glass of wine and talk through this or share some ideas.
Feel comfortable putting those invitations out there.
I actually think doing one or two a month would be a great goal for someone who's in that really relationship building stage of their career.
And that's also an opportunity where you could invite a teaming partner.
Maybe you met this wonderful woman owned firm that is looking to get into the particular market sector that you're active in and you could say, hey, do you mind if I bring my new colleague with us?
And that's a great way to do that.
Yeah, exactly.
It doesn't have to be one on one, but there can be something nice about having 30 or 45 minutes of dedicated time with a smaller group that doesn't feel like you can exactly get that when you're in a committee meeting or if you're at another bigger social event where people really want to kind of move around the room.
So then the coveted trusted advisor position.
That's a great place to be in if you find yourself, and it may be unexpected actually at some point in your career, you realize people are coming to you.
They appreciate your perspective on things, you have proven to be able to make connections and share helpful information over time.
And now you're really positioned well that you're going to be the first stop they go to when they're either looking to start a project, they want to do research and planning in advance of something.
So you may have some advanced knowledge on the project.
I mean, this is a gold place to be eventually.
Melissa, what are some of the tips you have for getting into that position?
Well, one way is that finding something to focus on, trying to find a niche so that you can have that thing that you're an expert on.
Maybe it's like green stormwater infrastructure.
And when you've got other people in the industry telling the client, oh, if you want to do green stormwater infrastructure, you need to check to this person at this firm.
That's when you know that you are in that trusted advisor status.
You can also practice that within your own company.
And I think this, again, is probably going to be a very natural progression for some folks who are driven in this way.
But looking at your firm, understanding where the needs are and where they might develop kind of innovative processes or do different levels of training for their team, you're helping grow your firm internally so that they can help beyond just where they are at today.
So you might be a trusted advisor even within your company and being the catalyst to make change happen so that that can go beyond the doors of your firm.
Yeah, and then for people to know that you're the expert in that area, you've got to be out there sharing that.
So finding opportunities to speak at conferences, writing about it in trade publications, offering to go do lunch and learns for clients to talk on that subject are all great ways to share that expertise.
Understanding what's happening in the industry, what challenges are coming up ahead because of changes in code or funding, I mean, all those types of things can help you be better positioned to share your own thoughts.
I mean, honestly, you probably have some really great recommendations when you're at that stage of your career.
So you should share.
You should focus on that thought leadership and you should do the research because, I mean, that's where you are in your phase.
So let's put that out there and we can all be better for it.
Yeah, I know sometimes the inclination is to think, well, I don't want to tell them because then my competition will find out what we do.
Like, you just have to share that expertise.
Like, you just do.
It's better to share.
We say share.
Share.
So those were our thoughts on, you know, business development at kind of every role and every level, whatever that comfort level is.
You know, take a look around at where you are right now.
What is comfortable and that you want to continue doing?
And what are a couple of things that you could add into your toolkit to just do a little bit more?
You know, we're not thinking of this in a self-serving way for you, but it will help you grow your career.
It'll help you grow with your firm.
That'll be really positive.
It'll help you grow your career.
So it's good to think about this and where you can add some value in really small ways that eventually it'll be second nature and you're just kind of doing it all the time.
Yeah, I think modeling that behavior is a good best practice.
What you want others in your firm to do, you should be doing it yourself.
Well, that was sort of a quick episode, but I like it.
It is very, you know, to the point right there.
I mean, Melissa and I will be happy to talk to anyone about business development anytime.
So put that invitation out there.
But I would say we can let this one be a shorter episode and just keep that in mind or maybe share it with other people who need to hear that it shouldn't be intimidating or overwhelming.
I mean, even the baby steps towards creating a business development plan, you have to get started and this is one place to get started for folks who need a little encouragement in the BD area.
Anything else before we wrap up?
I think just set some goals and do it.
All right.
So easy.
Just set some goals and do it.
I love it.
That's great.
All right.
Well, thank you, everyone.
Thank you, Melissa, for being here and we'll see you next time.
Bye, Wendy.
The Shortlist is presented by Middle of Six and hosted by me, Wendy Simmons, Principal Marketing Strategist.
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The Shortlist is a podcast that explores all things AEC marketing. Hosted by Middle of Six Principal, Wendy Simmons, each episode features members of the MOS team, where we take a deep dive on a wide range of topics related to AEC marketing including: proposal development, strategy, team building, business development, branding, digital marketing, and more. You can listen to our full archive of episodes here.