Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at BDI Group’s semi-annual Leadership Roundtable about an issue I see ignored far too often in engineering, construction, and professional services organizations: proactive business development. These leaders addressed this important issue head-on.
Every executive team asserts they want growth, stronger client and partner relationships, better market positioning, and more employees contributing to business development, sales, and client engagement. But there’s a big problem with that: many of the very people being asked to step up were never taught how to do it. Unfortunately, that often includes the C-suite and owners as well.
Technically capable professionals, from emerging leaders to senior project staff and executives, are expected to build relationships, communicate value, ask better questions, create trust, and move opportunities toward commitment. Yet they have seldom been shown a practical, credible, and repeatable way forward.
Based on my morning with this group and several months since that have led to reflection, here are some thoughts for your consideration and application within your company.
What Happens When Business Development Is Missing
So, what happens when intentional business development and strategic selling are lacking, and backlog is diminishing?
Common incorrect responses occur, such as:
- Default to being reactive versus proactively leading BD efforts.
- Talking about features instead of the value of the firm’s solutions.
- Waiting too long to engage prospective clients for new projects.
- Dropping fees to “win” business.
- Avoiding critical sales conversations that lead to conversion and commitment due to fear of coming across as being pushy, inauthentic, or overly self-promotional.
When the above happens, growth opportunities and business targets get missed, client relationships stay underdeveloped, and future potential gets left on the table or falls off. Frankly, it’s less of a talent issue and more of a lack of leadership development, timely training, and coaching.
Business Development Is a Learnable Process
Contrary to the aforementioned, at the BDI Group roundtable, I was able to share several of the frameworks and principles I have developed over the years that equip technical leaders to approach business development in a structured manner, while being authentic and confident. The group was keen to explore value-based positioning, proactive and process-driven business development, strategic networking, and one of the biggest gaps of all: how leaders coach and develop these capabilities in others.
Because let’s be clear: business development cannot be solely attributed to extroversion or an A-type personality or the following “nots.”
- It is not something only a few “naturals” can do.
- It is not reserved for the smartest person in the room.
- It’s not what you do until you get a real job.
- It’s not something leaders can afford to leave to chance.
Business development is a learnable process. When employees understand the mindset, the steps, and the language behind effective business development and professional selling, they stop winging it. They become more intentional, more confident, and more effective! They engage prospective and existing clients with purpose, ask effective discovery questions, position value clearly, and lead clients to an informed buying decision. They stop being professional visitors!
That is where tools like the Sales Diamond™ and the RISCS™ Discovery Framework come in. These are not theoretical models built in a vacuum. They are practical tools I’ve designed and are “battle-tested” to help leaders and professionals move beyond generic, commodity-based conversations and toward trust-based, value-focused client engagement. They permit earning the right to recommend solutions instead of prematurely pitching options. They create clarity, structure, and frame more meaningful conversations.
Why Context and Relevance Matter
Another important point we discussed at BDI Group was this: context matters.
Generic sales advice usually falls flat in technical sectors. In fact, your firm’s sellers and seller/doers find it uninspiring, awkward, or irrelevant. Why? They don’t need hype and embellishment. Give them practical tools they can use in conversations and meetings, with prospects and clients, that reflect the core values, principles, and brand promise you communicate to the market.
Business development training must be tailored. It must reflect your world, your market, and your culture. It must speak about the real challenges your clients face and provide your people with clear, practical guidance on how to build trust-based client relationships.
Relevance has always been a priority for me. It’s been central to how I have built my business over the past 35 years, and it remains a foundational principle in what I teach and coach.
That means helping your people understand:
- Your client’s industry, including the trends, pressures, and challenges shaping their decisions
- Your prospects and clients’ organizations, including where they create value and what matters most to them
- The people in the room, including their roles, priorities, concerns, and influence
- The explicit and implicit strategic context, along with the nuances your team must recognize and respond to
Once your people understand these realities, they can begin to approach clients differently, not as sellers pushing services, but as sales leaders and trusted advisers who build relationships, create value, and deliver unique, high-value solutions.
Business Development Is a Leadership Issue
What I appreciated about the BDI Group engagement is that it reinforced something I have believed for years: Business development is not just a sales issue. It is a leadership issue.
Leadership mindset and behaviours affect how firms position themselves and build trust. It affects how they differentiate themselves and the way they develop future leaders. And it absolutely affects whether growth is intentional and sustainable or inconsistent and reactive.
Business owners and leaders must understand that they are setting the tone and that they are role models. I’ve heard it stated that leaders “bring the weather.” That’s a great way to understand the influence you can have on your team and company. Lastly, if you are unclear about your firm’s value proposition, your employees will be too. If you don’t model proactive relationship-building, employees won’t either. If you treat business development like someone else’s job, it will be.
Leaders don’t just talk about growth. They create the conditions for it and lead by example.
Let me leave you with this short video: “What Separates the Good from the Great?”
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