The Relationship Business: Turning Connections into Clients

Many business leaders and owners (whether they offer a service or a product) understand that at the end of the day, they are in the relationship business, and their company's success is built on practical, strategic and personal connections.

What does being in the relationship business mean to AEC architecture and design firms, and construction companies, particularly when it comes to business development?

Hear from a cross-section of architecture, design and construction industry business development leaders on how they turn connections into clients, and leads into projects. The panel will share what works for them and lessons they have learned when it comes to getting work in the short-term and building a pipeline for the long-term.

Julie Satterwhite, Quezada Architecture

Jessica Rafferty, Atelier Ten

Mallory Wall, BCCI Construction

1. Identify the top factors in creating a healthy business development culture and utilize various ways to interact with clients to grow a relationship from social media to face to face meetings
   
2. Explore strategies to build your core business development team, define your ideal clients, and integrate regular business development activities into day-to-day operations.
   
3. Develop a “future-proof” business development plan with appropriate paths to expand services, markets or sectors.
   
4. Consider the key performance metrics (KPIs) to measure and how to build accountability into your business development culture.

Host or Publisher AIA San Francisco & The Center for Architecture + Design