Business Development activities are often lumped together, which can create confusion among your team when you ask them to take part in one or more of them. In his latest post, Pete works to reduce the confusion by distinguishing five of the most valuable activities that you can ask your team members to do.
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I recently wrapped up a webinar on business development, and one of the participants asked a great follow-up question: “What do you recommend professional service firms have their people actually do to build business?”
There are several categories of BD activity that work across almost every AEC or professional services firm. Here’s how we see them.
1. Get your subject matter experts speaking.
Your senior people and technical experts are often your best lead generators. Help them clarify the value your firm wants to be known for, then get them speaking—at conferences, panels, webinars, or client events. A recent successful project is often the best anchor.
2. Equip everyone to represent the firm.
Not everyone goes to conferences, but almost everyone leaves the house. Train your whole team—client-facing or not—to communicate your value proposition clearly in casual or professional contexts.
Once leads exist, follow-up is everything. This is where a lot of firms fall down.
1. Near-term follow-up: When a lead appears, assign the right person and make sure they connect quickly—usually via a 1:1 conversation.
2. Long-term follow-up: Create a personalized keep-in-touch strategy for each lead. Your goal is to stay top of mind so that when they’re ready, you’re the first call.
Pre-positioning is the relationship-building phase after qualification. It’s about:
This is where relationships deepen and where future wins are seeded.
Your team should be trained to listen for opportunity—everywhere. During pre-positioning, during project work, or even in casual conversations with clients.
Teach your team to recognize signals and connect potential needs with the right person in your firm who can move the relationship forward.
Assign intentional relationship-owners for current clients—people who will continue checking in, offering value, and strengthening the partnership.
So much new work comes from existing clients. Don’t let these relationships drift.
To recap, here are the major BD activities every professional services org should activate:
If there are other BD categories your team needs emphasized, I’d love to hear them—there’s always room to tailor these strategies to your firm’s culture and goals.
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