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Business Development Best Practices

Every month the Business Development Committee reaches out to small business owners, marketing directors, and public relations specialists to gather valuable insight into the rapidly growing construction industry.

If you're looking to create marketing proposals, build relationships with customers, and increase sales, our Best Practices article series can help.

2017

  • March 2017
    Christie DeLuca, AECOM

    Grow, increase, expand. These concepts form the foundation of a company鈥檚 strategic goals. Although not all strategies require entering new markets, at some point, firms must expand beyond existing clients or geographies to achieve significant growth. Whether you鈥檙e on the executive team or serve in the business development space, answering these questions honestly can help your team determine where your company should focus its resources to achieve realistic and meaningful growth. 

    Tags:
    Business Development, Marketing Research, Markets & Trends
  • February 2017
    Matthew Lee, Young Contracting

    Have you ever had to sit through a presentation where you spend the entire time checking your phone for emails and messages even though you know you haven鈥檛 received any new ones? At some point in your career, whether you are in business development, sales, marketing, management, or otherwise, most of us will have to get up in front of a group of people and make a presentation. Here are FIVE tips that may help you give a meaningful presentation.

    Tags:
    Client Interview & Presentation, Communication & Collaboration
  • January 2017
    Lindsay L. Young, nu marketing

    Networking is all about cultivating relationships to develop your business. Everyone in a firm, regardless of title, is involved in securing clients, nurturing that relationship, and-most important- retaining their customer status. Through effective networking, practice, and focus, you can realize this success. 

    Tags:
    Business Development, Client Relationship, Communication & Collaboration, Networking

2016

  • December 2016
    Marcia Kellogg

    There are just some clients that your business cannot afford to have - you know who they are: the ones who are highly commodity-based and have limited experience, whose projects result in little or no profit, and who are a drain on your firm and its resources. Instead of trying to find projects that suit the firm, client-based firms identify clients with whom they can develop and nurture a partnership over time. It鈥檚 a philosophy that is primarily interested in owning the client, not the project. Most importantly, the focus of a client-based business is maintaining the relationship at all costs. 

    Tags:
    Business Development, Client Relationship, Communication & Collaboration
  • November 2016
    Julie Huval, Beck Technology

    The acronym 鈥淏IM鈥 is showing up more and more in our industry. Owners are requiring it on projects, countries are setting standards for it, and firms are touting expertise in it. But what is Building Information Modeling (BIM) and, as marketers and business developers, why should we care? 

    Tags:
    Business Development, Marketing & Branding, Technology & Processes
  • October 2016
    Mike Clancy, Cynthia Paul, FMI Corporation

    Contractors鈥 get work departments can be like a car with a bad alignment. While everyone is working hard to get where they want to go, some of the effort is being pulled toward the 鈥渄itch鈥 of low hit rates, missed opportunities and undeveloped client relationships. All that is needed are a few key adjustments to win your fair share of work. 

    Tags:
    Procurement & Pricing, Technology & Processes

2015

  • December 2015
    Teri Jones, SUNDT

    As a professional working in the Business Development world, you are probably acutely aware that the reason for your existence is to Develop Business and that entails more than fine dining and golf! Pre-Winning plays a large role in your company鈥檚 ability to secure the type of work, and build the type of relationships, that will produce the desired results.

    Tags:
    Business Development, Client Relationship, Markets & Trends, Procurement & Pricing
  • November 2015
    Colleen Kelly, Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Services

    Has all of the romance drained out of your business proposals? You used to spend hours thinking about the client鈥檚 needs and wants. What would their ideal contractor look like? How could I show that we鈥檙e the perfect match? But lately, things have become stale. You鈥檙e less interested in them and would much rather talk about yourself. If your win rate is going down the tubes, now鈥檚 the time to rethink your proposal writing strategy. 

    Tags:
    Procurement & Pricing, Proposals, Writing & Graphic Design
  • September 2015
    Jon O'Brien, Master Builders Association

    LinkedIn has been called Facebook for professionals, the virtual rolodex, and the headhunter鈥檚 haven to name a few. Regardless of what you call this online network, LinkedIn can be important for business development. Before delving into LinkedIn business development advice, let鈥檚 look at why LinkedIn is beneficial for the construction industry.

    Tags:
    Business Development, Communication & Collaboration, Digital & Social Media
  • August 2015
    Cynthia Paul, FMI Corporation

    Have you ever noticed that some people and companies just seem to stand out, and everywhere you turn, they are being quoted or interviewed or are consistently receiving better scores on proposals? They are not much different than others; but, like the old E.F. Hutton advertisement asserts, when they speak, people listen. So, what is the difference?

    Tags:
    Business Development, Communication & Collaboration, Writing & Graphic Design