Most of us expect to hear about design-build in the field, but let's talk about design-build as it applies to business development.

How are you going to sustain revenue and year-over-year growth?

It’s about designing and building your business development team.

📈To increase profitability and develop younger staff, firms must invest in project managers, superintendents, and estimators to help capture more pursuits.

Designing and building higher-level teams requires critical thinking skills, the ability to ask open-ended questions, the willingness to pivot and respond, and the confidence to articulate technical data to stakeholders.🎯

The coaching model I’m describing is an integral, ongoing part of leadership development.

It involves not just formal or occasional mentoring but also daily interactions in which PMs and other senior leaders identify in-the-moment teaching opportunities.💯

Business coaching—combined with mentoring—uplevels communication, clarity, and confidence.

This applies to le...

A new LinkedIn survey reveals that more than 80% of A/E/C professionals want better, more efficient business systems.

➡️That’s a loud call for change.

But the real test isn’t in wanting improvement—it’s in leading it.🎯

Are you stepping up to make it happen, or waiting for someone else (or the wish fairy) to fix it?

Continuous improvement demands action.

Here are three ways to begin.

🧨Communication NewsFlash: 

The only tool your architects and engineers need is their voice.🎯

🏗️The Best News: They are readily equipped. 

🏗️Right here and right now. 

Most just need some guidance to fine-tune their words, messages, and confidence. 😎

Your A/E/C teams are capable of learning how to use their voices to grow careers and profits. 

Help them...then, stand back!!

Browse our training programs now (online and in-person) and let's do it! 

Consider this if you struggle to introduce yourself, believing you don't need to prepare a 30-second elevator pitch.

➡️Would YOU hire YOU?

😧Rambling.

😧Winging it.

😧Self-serving.

😧Confusing.

😧Missing the mark.

😧Clueless about prospects' needs and desires.

Here's the solution so that your networking generates new business.

🎯Harness the power of your words.🎯

Be intentional with how you articulate your value.

Every word wields power.🧨

When you write your introduction and OWN it, people pay attention.

On we go.

What does the "Easy" button look like for your clients? 

Keeping things simple in a complex, data-driven industry is essential.

It's about being a more effective communicator. I share insights in this 1-minute video.

Take a look. 

Communication Tip: In Business Development presentations, help prospects grasp data.

For example, use round numbers. 👌

If your engineering research shows 4.23 lumens, say "just over 4 lumens." 

Of course, you have the exact information. 

🎯Still, people appreciate simplicity so they can easily digest numbers.🎯

Round up or down as necessary so you don't confuse your prospects and audience.

Clarity is a beautiful thing. 🙌

Expending mental energy is a distraction. 

Keep their attention and break the specifics down when asked. 

Processes and procedures. 

A/E/C firms have long been hot on operations. 

What happens, though, when senior leaders teach new hires inefficient methods?

😵💫The cost of doing business like this is mind-boggling.😵💫

Productivity, morale, lost bids, and the labor shortage, to name a few. 

Senior management must know how to train and onboard new hires in new ways. 

👉Are you showing people how you scramble to prepare for a short-listed meeting the day before?

👉Do you confide that you don't know who will be in the room?

👉Does your team know when to speak and what to share?

👉Are they sharp and paying close attention to each other and the decision-makers?

I spoke recently at my local SMPS chapter on this topic.

The business development leaders unanimously agree:

They need (and want) to learn new communication and selling strategies, such as:  

• Storytelling

• Reading the room

• Body language

• Vocal pacing so that your words *land* with prospects

These tools ensure that...