A/E/C THRIVE 2020 Business Development Strategies Pack

Click here to access recording

David Burstein, P.E.
Director and Senior Consultant | PSMJ Resources, Inc. 

When Captain Sully Sullenberger landed his plane on the Hudson River, both he and his co-pilot uttered the exact same words at the exact same time: “Well, that wasn’t so bad.” This will likely be the reaction of most A/E firms when the Covid-19 Pandemic is finally over. But the “new normal” will be a lot different from the pre-Covid days. When you tune into this presentation, you’ll learn how the Pandemic will permanently affect the major A/E markets as well as the ways A/E firms get their work done. And you’ll know how to thrive while other firms continue to struggle. Here are just a few of the findings we’ll discuss why the Pandemic will negatively affect some markets for years to come (like transportation) while positively affecting other markets (like water/wastewater).

Click here to access recording

Heather Polinsky
Chief Operating Officer
Arcadis
Heather’s experience with global design, engineering and management consulting company Arcadis spans a range of Federal and State markets. Before becoming COO of Arcadis, she led eastern regional operations of the company’s North American environment business.

Tanya McCoy-Caretti
National Client Director
Arcadis
Tanya's experience is in municipal infrastructure needs, specifically water, wastewater and municipal waste management. Her diverse background as a former utility director gives a unique understanding of the political, administrative, personnel and quality of life issues the public sector faces.

Andrea Eales
Director of Government and Public Affairs
American Public Works Association
Andrea Eales leads the Association’s Washington, D.C. office and U.S. Government Affairs efforts. She has a master’s degree in International Affairs from Georgetown University. Her professional experience includes working on various levels of political campaigns, being a staff member in the U.S. Senate for former Senator, now Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio, the National Association of Counties, Georgetown University and just prior to joining APWA, handling Congressional Affairs for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)

Mike Millette, P.E.
Chairman, Government Affairs Committee
American Public Works Association
Mike also serves as Director of Public Works for South Elgin, IL He'll provide insights on what the A/E/C industry can do to be more successful in addressing public sector needs in 2021.

Moderator:
Greg Hart
Senior Principal | PSMJ Resources, Inc. 

Click here to access recording

James Carr
Founder
CC Homes
Mr. Carr has decades of experience as a prominent Florida homebuilder and has served on the Board of Directors of Newmark Homes Corp, LNR Properties and Great Florida Bank. He is the Chairman of the Board for Baptist Health South Florida, a 10-hospital, 16,000 employee network. He is also a past President of the Builders Association of South Florida.

Kyle Bernhardt
Director, Building Design Strategy
Autodesk
Mr. Bernhardt will share his thoughts on where growth opportunities and challenges will take A/E/C industry as we emerge from the first wave of COVID upheaval and move to what's next. A forward thinking visionary, he'll bring his own market data to bear on bold predictions you don't want to miss.

Stephen S. Fuller, PhD
Professor Fuller joined the faculty at George Mason University in 1994 as Professor of Public Policy and Regional Development. Prior to that, he served on the faculty at George Washington University as Chairman of the Department of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development. He is the author of the recent NAIOP Research Foundation report, "Midyear Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on the U.S. Commercial Real Estate Development Industry."

Moderator:
Greg Hart
Senior Principal | PSMJ Resources, Inc.

Click here to access recording

Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA
Founder and CEO | PSMJ Resources, Inc. 

Click here to access recording


Rens Hayes IV, P.E.
Principal | H+O Structural Engineering ▼ 

Click here to access recording

Wes Guckert, PTP. 
President & CEO, The Traffic Group

The Small Business Administration (SBA) states that 50% of new businesses fail during the first five years and 66% don’t make it to 10 years. These sobering statistics are a good reminder that any business needs a solid business development and marketing plan to be successful. But, business development and marketing cost money. No surprise, most CEOs want a clearly defined return on their investment (ROI) if they are going to undertake any business development, branding, or marketing activities. But here’s the kicker – it is nearly impossible to do so. And starting a program with this mindset – which I call “deficit thinking” - will get a business nowhere. The idea is recognizing there is more than one way to handle business development – it really is “a million little things” that go into a successful “secret sauce” of business development and marketing. It is also important to understand that business development and marketing are different! So often, they are used interchangeably in the A/E/C industry. This presentation will provide the keys to understand how business development and marketing each must be utilized in order to grow a business. Specifically, the presentation will explain the differences in the roles and responsibilities associated with these two vital – yet often misunderstood – functions. If a business wants to grow, marketing and business development must be focused on the same goal. Doing so will make your business stand out against its competition. In the words of Jeff Bezos: Be Terrified of your clients. You never know when they will look to another firm for better service.” 

• Is Business Development all A/E/C leaders need to be successful?
• The costs of a Business Development plan/program
• How Business Development connects to branding
• Better ways to integrate Business Development and marketing
• Case studies of firms that have found the secret sauce 

Click here to access recording

Judy Sparks, Founder and CEO 
Smartegies LLC

It’s 2020…are you still marketing like its 2002? If you are a Principal or Marketing Executive at an A/E/C firm, there have likely been times when you have questioned whether or not your firm's marketing and business development efforts are as effective as they could be. If you're still relying on word of mouth, relationships, and your website, you are behind. Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has been used by the world's leading B2B brands for nearly two decades, and A/E/C firms are rapidly adopting the methodology. ABM enables your firm to align your marketing and business development resources with the highest value clients, targets, and key pursuits. It's a strategic methodology that yields enormous benefits, including:
• The ability to actually measure marketing ROI 
• Increased efficiency and reduction of marketing waste 
• Alignment of strategic business goals with marketing and business development investments
• Faster speed to market with affordable scalability 
• More accountability for seller-doers, business development professionals and marketing teams
• Increased win rates with the clients you covet the most. 

Learn:

• Why A/E/C firms are flocking to ABM now 
• How adopting an Account-Based Marketing strategy streamlines your costs and achieves better results
• How to use ABM to elevate your brand visibility with specific customers 
• How A/E/C firms are actually generating qualified leads online
• How online campaigns can gain a competitive edge on specific project pursuits. 

Click here to access recording

Wally Hise, Senior Vice President
HDR

A/E/C firms, like many other professional services, are more than just the technical work we do for clients. Most often we measure project success by the quality of our work products, our ability to meet schedule milestones, and adherence to budgets. Many of us know that these attributes are “table stakes,” our ability to meet minimum customer expectations and be considered a viable player, whether we’re at the poker table or the boardroom table. With the onslaught of competition, the bar is significantly higher now. 

Exceptional client service can be a differentiator, and offer a competitive advantage for your company. In this session, we’ll explore the key aspects of your Client Service program: 

• Planning: main program elements, and questions to ask as you establish your framework 
• Implementing: what you can do, corporately and individually, to drive the Client Service mindset through your organization 
• Measuring: design a system to obtain feedback and help you set a course for improvement 

Use Client Service as a competitive weapon to create raving fans and build your business into a client- centric fortress. By the end of this session you'll be armed to: 

• Implement a framework and components of a formal Client Service program 
• Explain to staff how they can contribute to advancing Client Service 
• Think…differently…about Client Service 

Click here to access recording

• Building a Better World Award: The A/E/C firm that executed the most effective and creative project to improve the community in 2020.
• Premier Award for Client Satisfaction: The only award recognizing A/E/C firms that deliver a truly exceptional client experience. 
• Circle of Excellence: Representing the top 20% of participants (on 13 key metrics) in PSMJ’s annual A/E Financial Performance Benchmark Survey.
•  Platinum: Award: Platinum Award winners have been in the Circle of Excellence for four of the past five years!

Click here to access recording

Phil Bernstein
Autodesk Fellow
Associate Dean, Yale School of Architecture▼ 

Click here to access recording


Dr. Renee Cheng, FAIA
Project Manager, AIA Guides to Equitable Practice
Dean of the College of Built Environments, University of Washington ▼ 

Click here to access recordings

Hilari Weinstein, President, High Impact Communications
Barbara Shuck, FSMPS, President, Everest Marketing Services

Even pre-COVID, most architecture, engineering, and construction companies struggled to stand out from the competition. Today's marketing and BD  professionals, project executives, and seller-doers are facing intense pressure to win work during a global pandemic that's boosted business uncertainty and busted face-to-face communication. While virtual meetings are not new to the A/E/C industry, client meetings and project interviews now require attention to different details, so teams make a positive virtual impact that results in selection success. Veterans Hilari Weinstein and Barbara Shuck will share proven strategies to optimize verbal and visual effectiveness so attendees will walk away knowing how to manage the media, messages and messengers that build memorable and winning virtual connections.  

• Avoid the pitfalls that could diminish your image with clients and prospects. 
• Implement strategies that ensure effective virtual connections. 
• Design verbal and visual presence that separates you from the competition. 
• Demonstrate qualities that teams should employ for optimal

Click here to access recording

Dean Hyers, SagePresence

Facing the Shortlist Presentation was hard enough already, but the advent of the virtual interview has made it that much worse, distancing us from our prospect, separating us from our team, and essentially making us “on-camera talent.” Just as we’re adjusting to the two-second delay (and with it, the choice to either hold back or potentially step on another speaker), we’re now facing the hybrid, where live and remote participants combine, while wrangling the issues of social distancing, creating a whole new venue, and answering scores of questions. This session sets to answer your questions with a unique set of perspectives from a 20-year veteran of A/E/C interview coaching who happens to be a former filmmaker. Dean Hyers of SagePresence – a highly interactive Q&A-driven speaker – bridges the gap between live, virtual, and interactive media with presentation, conversation, and simple group activities to explore: 

• What does it take to make a warm connection in each format? 
• How does messaging, point-making, and elaboration change across the formats? 
• Why is “team synergy” a completely different game virtually than live? 
• When do the rules of “screen presence” differ from “stage presence”? 
• Where is the future of interview venues is likely to take us?.

Click here to access recording

Andy Yoemans, EVP

Having strong business development practices has always been an imperative in the A/E/C industry.  But as the industry emerges from the COVID crisis, bringing your “A-game” to your marketing and business development practices will be more critical than ever.   Join the aec360 team to learn 10 intelligent strategies for identifying and winning more work, optimizing your firm’s relationships, and generating more revenue.

You learn how to:

• Tap into artificial intelligence tools to identify potential leads
• Leverage internal and external relationships to create more opportunities
• Utilize predictive analytics to make informed pursuit decisions
• Highlight your experience to win a higher percentage of your bids
• Much more!

Click here to access recording

Barry Barber, Executive Vice-President / Kimley-Horn  ▼