• The best ways to identify and develop leads
• The difference between marketing and selling, and how they work hand-in-hand
• The most powerful method and best time to close the deal
• The best ways to develop and maintain strong client relationships
• Whether and how technical people can be turned into great sellers
• Much more! (See the table of contents)

Every year, The Zweig Letter Hot Firm Conference celebrates the top 200 architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental services firms in the industry. These firms are named to the list for achieving phenomenal, sustained growth rates over a three year period. How do they do it?

Many A/E firms are achieving this kind of rapid, ongoing growth through the planned use of business development tactics. In today’s challenging business environment, firms profit from making business development an ongoing process requiring the commitment of the entire organization. How does your A/E firm approach business development, and how effective are your efforts?

Designed for A/E firm leaders and business development, sales, and marketing directors, ZweigWhite’s A/E Business Development Cookbook is your guide to identifying and making the most of critical business development opportunities. This guide sheds light on a complex subject, providing A/E professionals with a better understanding of how to manage and grow a sales organization. In this book, you'll:

• Learn why business development matters to your A/E firm
• Hear how to align your BD goals with your firm’s mission and strategic plan
• Learn how to create and manage a top-down sales organization and culture
• Get tips for identifying leads and capturing opportunities
• Learn how to take the long view in client relationship building
• Get strategies for collaboration in the development of client solutions
• Learn what it takes to negotiate and close the deal
• Get ten steps to successful account management
• Hear why customers defect and what you can do about it

Most A/E firm leaders and managers would agree that “business development” means “increasing sales.” But a discussion of how one accomplishes this task might lead to hot debate. Who in your A/E firm is assigned to business development? How can technical people be turned into sellers? What’s the best way to identify and develop leads? What’s the difference between marketing and selling, and how do they work hand-in-hand? How do firms know how and when to close the deal? How do they develop and maintain strong client relationships? These and other questions are answered in-depth in ZweigWhite’s A/E Business Development Cookbook.

The distinction between marketing and sales is crucial, and A/E Business Development Cookbook will show you exactly how these areas differ and where they overlap. You’ll learn why some businesses fail to achieve a balance between “doing” and “selling” and how your firm can bridge the gap and maximize its efforts. You’ll also get helpful tips and strategies for building and maintaining client relationships, keeping customers from defecting to your competitors, as well as ways to sharpen your negotiation skills and close more deals.

ZweigWhite’s A/E Business Development Cookbook also includes case studies of small, mid-size, and large firms of various disciplines to show how a customized business development strategy contributes to the health of an organization.

Foreword

Chapter 1: Getting Started: Why Business Development Matters

• The changing landscape
• Today’s new marketing paradigm
• The value of business development
• Defining marketing, sales, and business development
• Creating a dynamic system
• Why we avoid business development
• The first law of business development success

Chapter 2: Finding and Capturing New Opportunities

• Identifying opportunity
• The opportunity pipeline
• Widening the funnel
• Qualification: Turning leads into prospects
• Building connection and credibility
• Understanding who’s who
• Asking the right qualifying questions
• Identifying and articulating “fit”
• Overcoming client objections

Chapter 3: Proposals, Pitches, and Presentations

• The go/no-go decision
• Gathering information from the client
• The pre-proposal meeting
• Writing the proposal
• Winning presentations
• The right presentation team and the right preparation
• Coaching presenters and presentation teams
• Visuals
• Better presentations
• Debriefings

Chapter 4: Negotiating Agreements and Closing the Sale

• What really matters
• The art of the deal: Successful negotiation strategy
• Discussion: The heart of the negotiation
• Difficulties in negotiation
• Closing the deal

Chapter 5: Relationship Building: Taking the Long View

• Relationships, not transactions
• Superb account management
• Individual relationship building
• Developing a communication strategy
• Relationship marketing
• Client relationship management
• Why clients defect
• A final thought

Chapter 6: Developing a Personal Approach to Business Development

• Contact development: Widening the funnel
• A personal business development system
• What to say
• Networking; from cold calls to warm calls
• The value of networking
• Developing a personal brand

Chapter 7: Business Development Inside Your Firm

• Developing a strategy
• The building blocks of strategic business planning
• Getting a seat at the planning table
• Who are your sellers
• From doers to sellers
• Bringing in the big guns
• Getting the whole staff on board
• The BD cycle and process
• What are you selling?

Chapter 8: A/E Business Development Case Studies

Appendix: Resources