Business Development Archives - Friedman & Partners

Asking the Right Questions: The Undeniable Value of Client Feedback

Client feedback is one of the most important, but underutilized tools that an AEC firm can employ as an improvement strategy. As I relayed in a March 2025 presentation to AIA’s Large Firm Round Table Marketing Forum, a good client feedback process benefits most practice management areas. When done sincerely and strategically, client feedback can reshape a firm’s internal practices, reinforce long-term relationships and drive smart growth. It can be a foundational element of an AEC firm’s business development and strategic planning efforts, and it is the subject of this edition of The Friedman File.

The Value of the Ask

A critical takeaway here is that simply asking for feedback is itself an act of value. It tells your client: “You matter. Your opinion counts. We want to get better.” This message alone can shift brand perception and deepen trust—even before a single question is […]

By Rich Friedman|2025-05-05T17:21:12-04:00May 2025|Business Development, Business Strategy, Case Studies, Market/Client Research|

The Digital Asset Challenge: Using Technology to Improve Organization & Efficiency

One of the most challenging aspects of marketing and business development in the AEC industry is the organization, management, and accessibility of digital assets, including project photographs, headshots, renderings, and other imagery. Increasingly, AEC firms are turning to technology to solve this challenge. In this edition of The Friedman File, we explore how digital asset management (DAM) technology can increase efficiency, enhance proposal preparation, and reduce frustration for your marketing and business development team.

What is DAM, and Why Don’t More Firms Use It?

For architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms, efficiently organizing and retrieving digital assets is essential to successful marketing and business development. Yet many firms still rely on outdated systems or manually curated folders that limit productivity, create redundancy, and strain resources during high-stakes proposal preparation.

Digital asset management (DAM) systems streamline this process by providing a centralized, searchable platform that accelerates workflows, […]

By Rich Friedman|2024-11-11T09:56:11-05:00November 2024|Business Development, Business Strategy, Case Studies, Marketing & Branding|

The Art of the Question: Asking Your Way to BD Success

If you know me or have ever interacted with me professionally, you’re probably aware of a certain reputation that I have: I like to ask questions. Lots of questions! I do this not to be annoying – though I’ve been told at times it can be – but to gain as clear a picture of the current situation as I possibly can. I’m also just naturally inquisitive. I want to know more about the people I’m speaking with – what they do, what interests them, where we may have some common ground or areas where we can help each other. Mostly, I want to know who they are.

Asking questions comes more naturally to some people than others, but in all cases, it’s important to know how to ask good, probing questions, especially in a business networking environment. While I’ve always liked to ask […]

By Rich Friedman|2023-03-03T14:46:06-05:00March 2023|Business Development|

Your Secret BD Weapon: The Introvert

Can an introvert become comfortable with, contribute to and find happiness in business development? That’s the question we’re going to answer in this edition of The Friedman File.

Let me kill the suspense: the answer is yes, introverts can play an effective, satisfying part in your firm’s business development culture. This is a topic I address often in my work, including a recent webinar – “Business Development for Introverts” – that I presented last month as part of a series for ERP and CRM solutions provider Unanet.

Why Bother?

While business development may not come as naturally to an introvert as it does to an extrovert, the reality is that introverts are often more effective in the role. This can largely be because of their introverted tendencies, rather than in spite of them. Introverts are often subject experts with deep knowledge of how the firm’s services […]

By Rich Friedman|2022-09-09T14:21:07-04:00September 2022|Business Development, Leadership, Recruiting & Retaining Talent|

What’s Your Special Sauce?

In this issue of “The Friedman File”, I’ve asked Brand Strategist Nancy Jenner of D&CO (Carlisle, Massachusetts) (www.designandco.net) to discuss the importance of understanding and communicating your firm’s value and differentiators. Each year, I conduct hundreds of third-party interviews with my clients’ clients. In these interviews, I’m often told that my client looks/sounds/feels a lot like other AEC firms. Knowing your firm’s “special sauce” is more important now than ever—not just in business development, but also recruitment and retention. I look forward to your comments and questions at rich@friedmanpartners.com or 508-276-1101.

Understanding and leveraging your company’s unique assets and value to build awareness and engagement

When asked, most people can name a company or brand that feels distinctive and strong, one that seems particularly clear about what they do or sell. Large global corporations with long histories or huge marketing budgets might come […]

By Rich Friedman|2024-06-21T13:10:39-04:00June 2022|Business Development, Marketing & Branding, Recruiting & Retaining Talent|

The Pandemic’s Impact on Marketing and Business Development: One Firm’s Story

Forward-thinking AEC firms are institutionalizing the best of the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic forced on the business world and our industry. In this issue of The Friedman File, we detail how one firm effectively adapted its marketing and business development strategy to align with the realities of the post-COVID market.

Adapting to a Pandemic

The larger lessons of the pandemic can’t be overstated. As devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic has been to the planet, it has also underscored the adaptability and resilience of the human race. While fatalities mounted and economies crumbled, individuals and communities found a way to move forward.

Within this profound setting, we find many examples of this determination to keep on keeping on. In the narrower context of The Friedman File, the strategic decisions and bold steps taken by AEC firms to counter the effects of the pandemic are instructional.

For example, […]

By Rich Friedman|2021-10-14T10:46:14-04:00October 2021|Business Development, Case Studies, Marketing & Branding|

2020: Lessons learned and where we go from here

If there’s one phrase that describes 2020, it is not “business as usual.” The ways in which A/E/C and environmental consulting firms have fared in this unprecedented year have been as varied as the businesses that they run. In this issue of The Friedman File, we’re sharing some lessons learned, how firms have coped (or thrived) and what we see as ways forward in a still uncertain landscape.

Leading during crisis

While I’ve long advocated for transparent management, 2020 has required that on a whole new level. At times of economic uncertainty, employees look to their leaders to chart a course, to have a plan and to enact, if necessary, transformational changes or survival measures. It hasn’t been easy to be a leader this year, but many have risen to the challenge: enlisting staff in the need to create new services, implementing firmwide business development […]

By Rich Friedman|2020-12-09T10:56:45-05:00December 2020|Business Development, Business Strategy, Case Studies, Leadership, Marketing & Branding|

Baking business development into your culture: how this firm did it

In my many years of advising AEC and environmental consulting firms on effective business development practices, I’ve seen that firms who are successful have several things in common:

They understand the need to position themselves within their key markets using a one-to-many marketing strategy (instead of relying solely on 1:1 relationship-building).
They put systems in place that allow that strategy to deliver valuable data that can drive and inform BD strategy and implementation.
They align both business development and marketing efforts to clear and client-focused business plans for each of their key markets.

This level of strategy and focus is what allows firms to successfully drive growth, brand and client relationships. But it’s not always easy to implement. Trying to drive the effort from the marketing department without enforcement and accountability from the top is rarely effective. Employing marketing and BD tactics without clear […]

By Rich Friedman|2020-10-01T11:18:53-04:00October 2020|Business Development, Business Strategy, Case Studies, Marketing & Branding|

Client selection is more important than ever

When the economy starts to look rocky and project opportunities may be diminishing, it can be tempting to start saying yes to work that’s not a great fit (but it’s work) or chasing RFPs.

I saw a lot of this happening during the Global Financial Crisis (2008–2009), and I’m seeing it again now. In times of uncertainty, of course, we may be more willing to take on a project that is not ideal. But too often, firms start to convince themselves that throwing best practices out the window is their best option.

In this issue of The Friedman File, we’re talking about why that’s not a good idea and offering some helpful guidelines for creating and implementing a thoughtful client selection process, one that strengthens your firm for the future.

What we’re doing that isn’t working

Many firms do have informal go/no-go processes in place. But the […]

By Rich Friedman|2020-07-30T10:33:31-04:00August 2020|Business Development, Business Strategy, Market/Client Research|

Client relations in the era of COVID-19

As COVID-19 turns business as we know it—and our global communities—upside down, there are no easy answers or sure projections. While some AEC and environmental consulting firms have not experienced a disruption to projects, others are seeing warning signs and are increasingly nervous about what’s next and some are already slashing costs to contain the bleeding.

Multiple industry surveys reveal that the business impacts, like the virus itself, could vary widely and may well get worse before they get better. I’m hearing from many firm leaders who are doing their best to balance the day-to-day pandemic response with planning for project delays and revenue declines.

None of us knows when our business life will return to any sense of normalcy, but we do know this: firms must prioritize their relationships with current and prospective clients now so that those relationships come out stronger on […]

By Rich Friedman|2024-06-21T13:02:55-04:00April 2020|Business Development, Business Strategy, Case Studies, Leadership|