Business development professionals and marketers aren't the only rainmakers in A/E/C firms.

Today, everyone is in marketing.

Most project managers and technical leads didn't sign up for this BD role.⬅️

Still, when your teams have time with clients, they must be skillful communicators.

Precious time spent with stakeholders is a significant opportunity to build credibility, trust, and connections that will help land your next big project.

Pitches at the end of a project often fall flat.

📈A better strategy in business development is to create value gradually over the course of work.

Taking this approach rather than waiting until the end means you're not pitching anything.

Repeat clients and referrals will easily fall into your lap without you awkwardly asking for a sale.

You'll earn trust and work by:

🎯Communicating daily and being proactive

🎯Asking strategic questions and sharing insights from project managers

🎯Framing conversations around client results

When your PMs and te...

Communication tip: 

If your team is hesitating to say what everyone is privately thinking, you have a communication gap.

You may—or may not realize it.

👉Avoiding uncomfortable truths—with internal staff or prospects—doesn’t help your firm's credibility.

It erodes trust, performance, and your bottom line.

This isn’t about publicly calling someone out or embarrassing them.

It’s about creating a culture with psychological safety to calmly address real issues with professionalism and respect.

➡️Here’s a common example in A/E/C: 

You have a charismatic project leader or superintendent who dominates conversations and shortlisted interviews. 

They’re likable… outgoing… the “life of the party.”

But here’s what no one’s saying to their face:

📈Their long-winded stories and off-topic comments derail important discussions—especially with prospects.

What feels like small talk to them feels like wasted time to others. 😮

The challenge is that this individual doesn't know how to read the room and reel themselves i...