PM Tip: Business Development Is A Role, Not A Title

Posted on: 02/16/18

Written by: John Doehring

Topics: Project Management

Developing and winning new work is itself a project—and project managers at architecture and engineering firms are in a favorable position in the firm to contribute to this endeavor. PM leadership in business development not only helps bring in work, but also results in better projects—with higher quality and client satisfaction.

Business development is a role, not a title. It is not a task to be performed in addition to your role as a project manager, but is rather a critical component of the position. Though many firms employ dedicated marketing personnel with the term “business development” in the title, as a project manager, it is important to understand that business development is something you do, not someone that you are. This is an important principal of business development success.

The Changing Paradigm in Marketing
In the Computer Age, business marketing is changing a lot. But in the A/E/C Industry, it’s not changing fast enough. As widely known marketing expert Philip Kotler once said, the markets themselves are changing much faster than our marketing is.

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Why Business Development is Important to the Firm
The key is to integrate the business development function into your existing work by understanding it better, adapting your existing skills to its needs, and learning new methods and approaches to achieve goals.

Business development is vital to keeping the doors open; without it, there is no work. Probing more deeply, effective business development is the engine of growth, profit, organization development, sustainability, and long-term legacy in an A/E/C firm.

In the A/E/C space, growth is often closely tied with profit. Growing businesses are simply more profitable. This profit is then reinvested into the organization, which furthers the development of the company itself. Over a longer period, this leads to a sustainable business that has value. Effective business development is the engine of that growth.

Project managers can contribute in the marketing phase by writing, speaking, and networking to help find new opportunities. In the sales phase, important business development activities include building a rapport with client prospects, qualifying new opportunities, and developing winning proposals and presentations. Client management efforts include doing great technical work, but also staying in consistent touch and looking for new opportunities to provide additional value for the client.

PSMJ has developed our library of interactive, expert-led sessions in response to the specific needs of A/E/C industry firms. Together with on-site training such as PSMJ’s A/E/C Project Management Bootcamp, firms now have the ability to train PMs matching a professional’s need to a platform. PSMJ's newest online learning courses are delivered in an interactive and engaging format to ensure PM's get action-oriented strategies and tactics that they can really use.