Be a Better Business Developer: BD tips for the AEC industry

Everyone knows there are introverts and extroverts.  Particularly in your average AEC firm, this is clearly evident.  And everyone knows of the challenge that faces trying to get top level technical staff members to go out, develop relationships and bring work back to the firm.

Much like people, business development hasn't changed much over the last 10 years.  It's still all about relationships.  However, it would be foolish to neglect the changes to our environment that can help you be more successful in supplementing your efforts.

A number of resources exist to help your in the research phase.  For instance, reaching out to social networks is tops for our digital age.  Things like Facebook and LinkedIn can provide some great insight and suggestions in the early stages of research on a particular Client or project.

Government business assistance agencies like https://www.fbo.gov/ (federal) and http://www.dba.virginia.gov/ (state of Virginia) offer free or discounted resources and events available for businesses.

When you've finally done your homework it's time to establish a plan and begin implementing it.  It helps to do two things:  focus and set your goals.  Focus allows you to concentrate your efforts into the highest-payoff and the goals lets you take a step back at the end of the day and calculate ROI.

When you're actually developing those relationships understand that building trust and friendships takes time.  Your internal goals as a business developer should be focused on 2 core elements:  1) knowing everything about what you're selling and 2) knowing every problem your Client is facing.  This allows you to make an honest assessment and say "Yes we can help and here's how" or "No, but I can pass you along to someone who can help you."  

If you think you've lost business by passing along a Client to another firm then think again.  For one, if it works out that Client will thank you later when you continue to develop your relationship.  Secondly, the firm that you passed them along to now owes you a favor.  

BD is a lot like a garden in my opinion.  You're planting seeds with the ultimate goal in mind, however all of the in between like preparing the soil, watering, pulling weeds and getting your hands dirty--the most important parts--are often times the time people either dread or neglect to spend their efforts.  

But, much like a garden if you neglect all the work that goes into the development, your end result suffers.  If you work with this in mind and focus on how you can REALLY help people throughout the tedious parts...not only in their lives but their own garden development...it makes harvesting your crop at the end of the season all the more fruitful.  

A Few Ideas On How AEC Firms Could Use Twitter

Unless you have been living a magical life under the sea, you know what Twitter is.

If you don't, read this.

Once you do, read on.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about the functionality + usage of Twitter.  I like the concept but I don't particularly like how it's used by a lot of people.  

It's a lot like person-to-person networking: Ever walk into a room for a networking event and 80% of the people you meet are talking about themselves, how great they are or how great their company is?  That's Twitter in digital form.  But there are other uses too.

So, anyhow through some general pondering I've come up with a short list of ways AEC firms can use...and I mean really use--not just toot your own horn or talk about how the weather is today.

Project Management:  You can use Twitter updates to keep members of the team informed--this goes for any complex project.  Even have folks sign up for mobile updates without even having a Twitter account. (just get them to text "follow @(your username)" to 40404)  Send out resource links, deadline reminders and celebrate milestones.  Make sure you're sensitive to whether the updates should be private or public (change this in Twitter settings).  Plus, you keep people informed with simple communication even when they're out of the office.

Internal/External Marketing:  Let stakeholders both inside your firm and out know what's going on.  Communicate job postings and company events.  Share success stories and promote internal/external initiatives to stakeholders.  Did your firm just implement a new policy?  Have you purchased new software that will help streamline a process?  Are you hosting a Client BBQ?  Let the people who care know.

Process/Change Management:  Let's say IT recently installed some new software.  Keep users informed about training, software updates and best practices.

Ultimately it boils down to your company's needs.  Twitter is a nice tool to enhance communication.  All you need is an audience!