Matthew Lee, Young Contracting Have you ever had to sit through a presentation where you spend the entire time checking you phone for emails and messages even though you know you haven’t received any new ones? At some point in your career, whether you are in business development, sales, marketing, management, or otherwise, most of us will have to get up in front of a group of people and make a presentation. Here are FIVE tips that may help you give a meaningful presentation.

Marcia Kellogg There are just some clients that your business cannot afford to have - you know who they are: the ones who are highly commodity-based and have limited experience, whose projects result in little or no profit, and who are a drain on your firm and its resources. Instead of trying to find projects that suit the firm, client-based firms identify clients with whom they can develop and nurture a partnership over time. It’s a philosophy that is primarily interested in owning the client, not the project. Most importantly, the focus of a client-based business is maintaining the relationship at all costs. Firms that align their cultures with the business goals and objectives of their clients realize a vast improvement in performance, because they have a true belief and purpose in the project and the client with whom they are working, and this spirit resonates throughout everything they do.

Julie Huval, Beck Technology The acronym “BIM” is showing up more and more in our industry. Owners are requiring it on projects, countries are setting standards for it, and firms are touting expertise in it. But what is Building Information Modeling (BIM) and, as marketers and business developers, why should we care?

If all stakeholders aren’t on board with Lean, can it work? How do you use Lean principles on construction projects where the GC is not an advocate of Lean? You can still improve your project outcomes even if all the stakeholders aren’t on board. In this webinar, learn how Ted Angelo, with Grunau has been effective using Lean by focusing his team on what they control.

Mike Clancy, Cynthia Paul, FMI Corporation Contractors’ get work departments can be like a car with a bad alignment. While everyone is working hard to get where they want to go, some of the effort is being pulled toward the “ditch” of low hit rates, missed opportunities and undeveloped client relationships. All that is needed are a few key adjustments to win your fair share of work.

Teri Jones, SUNDT As a professional working in the Business Development world, you are probably acutely aware that the reason for your existence is to Develop Business and that entails more than fine dining and golf! Pre-Winning plays a large role in your company’s ability to secure the type of work, and build the type of relationships, that will produce the desired results.

Colleen Kelly, Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Services Has all of the romance drained out of your business proposals? You used to spend hours thinking about the client’s needs and wants. What would their ideal contractor look like? How could I show that we’re the perfect match? But lately, things have become stale. You’re less interested in them and would much rather talk about yourself. If your win rate is going down the tubes, now’s the time to rethink your proposal writing strategy.

Jon O'Brien, Master Builders Association LinkedIn has been called Facebook for professionals, the virtual rolodex, and the headhunter’s haven to name a few. Regardless of what you call this online network, LinkedIn can be important for business development. Before delving into LinkedIn business development advice, let’s look at why LinkedIn is beneficial for the construction industry.

Cynthia Paul, FMI Corporation Have you ever noticed that some people and companies just seem to stand out, and everywhere you turn, they are being quoted or interviewed or are consistently receiving better scores on proposals? They are not much different than others; but, like the old E.F. Hutton advertisement asserts, when they speak, people listen. So what is the difference? In a world of specialized expertise, everyone, from owners of construction projects to your company looking for new talent, wants people with deep expertise and a proven track record of generating results. Being good at what you do, however, is not enough to make you or your company shine; people need to know that you are good at what you do. If you want to stop being that hidden jewel or are looking to make your company’s proposals stand out more, try these few quick tips for getting recognized in writing.

Chuck Fenske, Knoch Corporation In order to execute a successful business development program, it is important to define what business development truly means and what steps are required to make it so. At its core, business development is the strategic manufacturing of revenue growth opportunities. While some use the term as a synonym for sales and others include mergers and acquisitions, business development actually involves a broader scope including corporate strategy, marketing, sales, and human resources. Each of these are prevalent throughout the following steps, which outline a successful business development process.