Client Development for Today's Challenging A/E/C Marketplace

Strengthen your firm’s client development program, hone your own business development skills, and gain strategies to maximize client satisfaction and manage valuable client relationships, ensuring your firm’s survival in a challenging economy. 

Bring "Client Development for Today's Challenging A/E/C Marketplace" to Your Office!

This program is currently available only as part of SMPS' In-House Training program, which offers training for larger teams for a fixed price. This means no time out of the office, no travel expenses, and consistent training for the entire staff. The program can be tailored to meet your organization's needs and schedule. Call 800.292.7677, x228, for details and pricing.

Request Information

In-House Training Information Form 

In-House Training Brochure 

Client Development Brochure 

Fax: 703.549.2498
Phone: 800.292.7677, x223

 SMPS
Attn: Education
44 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 444
Alexandria, VA 22314

Program Description
Clients, projects, and funding are in short supply during a recession, which makes client development essential to every company’s economic recovery plan. Successful business developers understand the importance of using this time to strengthen critical relationships with clients—improving communication, meeting in person, listening carefully to their challenges, and proposing solutions that meet their needs and exceed their expectations.

“Client Development for Today’s Challenging Marketplace” can help you and your team to ramp up client development with business-building strategies, tactics, best practices, and lessons learned from industry experts. Led by top-notch practitioners with stellar records of winning work for their firms, this interactive, one-day seminar will build on valuable business development skills you already have to help you take your firm—and your career—to the next level.

Developing long-term, productive client relationships is key to winning work. This workshop looks at best practices during all stages of business development and the proposal process to help you focus on putting the client first and foremost in your efforts. Do your or your firm:

• Develop your business development strategy based on your clients’ goals, history, and needs?
• Know who is in charge of managing your client relationships?
• Understand why you won or lost your last proposal bid?
• Have an effective customer relationship management (CRM) system in place?

If you cannot answer “yes” to each of the above questions, you cannot afford to miss this seminar! After a brief discussion of your firm’s goals, position in the marketplace, and financial and business data, the seminar will focus on understanding the client and show you how to turn your corporate knowledge into client benefits and your firm’s competitive advantage.

By the end of the day, you will learn to:

• Understand your clients’ personalities using the DISC profile system
• Ask the right questions to discover your clients’ unique goals and needs 
• Align your firm’s capabilities with the clients’ needs: sell value and differentiation
• Cultivate clients to act as champions for your firm 
• Effectively debrief after a win or lose to understand and/or improve the outcome
• Utilize your CRM system to manage client accounts

Join us for this powerful workshop designed to help you strengthen your firm’s client development program, hone your own business development skills, and gain strategies to maximize client satisfaction and manage valuable client relationships, ensuring your firm’s survival in a challenging economy.

You will also tap into SMPS’ powerful national and regional network that can connect you to other professionals and firms to form teams, secure business referrals and intelligence, and benchmark performance now and in the future.

The registration fee includes a seminar workbook and 6.5 hours of Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM) continuing education units from SMPS or 6.5 LUs from the American Institute of Architects.

What You Get

• 100-page seminar workbook
• Sample BD plan sheets and marketing plan
• DiSC personal assessment tool
• Debriefing checklist
• Recommended reading list

Teams of three or more employees registering for this program are eligible for a discounted registration. (Refer to registration form.) Register today!

Who Should Attend?

• Attendees of "The Basics of Business Development"
• Business Development Associates
• Business Development Managers
• Project Managers
• Principals

The Instructors
"Client Development for Today's Challenging A/E/C Marketplace" is taught by a rotating staff of faculty representing some of the most successful architectural, engineering, and construction firms in the United States. The instructors are senior executives within their firms—seasoned, active practitioners of business development with responsibility for client relationships. Combined, they offer decades of practical experience. Instructors will be selected from the group below and are subject to change.

Gilbert S. Brindley, P.E., CPSM
Executive Vice President, Professional Services Industries (PSI)

Michael T. Buell, CPSM
Business Development Director, URS Corporation

Freddie T. Bustillo
District Manager, Business Development, Gilbane Building Company

Karen O. Courtney, AIA, FSMPS
Chief Development Director, Barton Malow Company

Greg M. Goodwin, Sr., FSMPS
Senior Vice President
PBS&J Inc

Kristy B. Kevitt, LEED AP
Principal, Business Development
SmithGroup

Thomas J. Neary
Vice President, Director of Business Development, Morley Builders

Earn CEUs!


"Client Development for Today's Challenging A/E/C Marketplace" is approved for 6.5 hours of Certified Professional Services Marketer CEUs and AIA LU Hours.

Registration Fee - Register early and save $50!

*Team and early-bird discounts available. Early-bird discount of $50/person applies to prepaid registrations received 30 days in advance of program date. Teams of three or more employees from the same firm benefit from a $100/person discount on each applicable registration rate. Registrations must be submitted together and faxed or mailed to SMPS National.

Cancellation Policy
Cancellations must be received in writing by mail, fax, or e-mail and sent to SMPS, 44 Canal Center Plaza, #444, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703.549.2498 (fax), or continuouslearning@smps.org. Registration fees will be fully refunded if written cancellation is received two weeks prior to the event. No registration fees will be refunded with less than two weeks' notice. A substitute may attend for no extra charge or registration can be transferred to the same event in another city within 12 months or the original event, provided SMPS is notified of the substitution or transfer prior to the start of the event. A registration can be transferred only once and fees cannot be refunded after a transfer has been made. If SMPS cancels a workshop for any reason, SMPS' liability is limited to the workshop fee. SMPS policies are subject to change without notification.

Client Development Program Sponsor