Leadership Institute Class of 2025 Explores "What it Takes to Win Work"

Posted By: Kelly Veit ACEC WI News,

The Leadership Institute Class of 2025 dove into the essentials of business development and marketing in a robust two-day session titled "Business Development and Marketing: What it Takes to Win Work." Held October 29-30 in Beloit, this dynamic session covered the key skills and strategies engineers need to build their brand, win new work, and communicate value to potential clients.

Led by professional services marketing expert Barbara Shuck, the agenda guided attendees through a comprehensive business development road map, outlining essential steps to create and sustain a solid client pipeline. Barbara shared both high-level principles and actionable techniques, reinforcing the session’s focus on making every interaction count.

Highlights of the program included:

Business Development Road Map and Essentials: Participants learned how to structure a client engagement plan and navigate the fundamentals of relationship-building.

Mock Client Sales Call Exercise: Class members practiced real-world sales calls in a realistic and supportive setting, with volunteer "clients" providing valuable feedback. Many thanks to Kris Cotharn, Dylan Douglas, Rory Rhinesmith, Josh Straka, and Steve Wurster for playing the role of clients during the mock sales call exercise. Their insights and role-playing feedback brought the session to life, helping participants experience client interactions in a safe, constructive setting.

Proposal Fundamentals for Engineers: The session broke down the art of proposal writing, emphasizing the importance of clarity, conciseness, and client-centric language.

AI for Marketing: Barbara offered a forward-looking perspective on using AI tools to streamline and personalize marketing efforts, sparking discussions on innovation and competitive differentiation.

Presentation Skill Building: The class refined their presentation skills to ensure their message resonates in any client-facing scenario.

We’re excited to hear the Class of 2025 report back on how they have been able to integrate these techniques into their work.