Getting to the Win – SMPS Austin Business Development + Marketing Conference
March 09, 2023
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Community Impact Center (Junior League of Austin)
5330 Bluffstone Ln
Austin, TX 78759
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Getting to the Win – SMPS Austin Business Development + Marketing Conference
Join SMPS Austin for a special in-person half day conference focused on developing and enhancing strategies that get your firm to WIN! This year, we will have 2 tracks to choose from – marketing and business development. All conference attendees will also receive 2 drink tickets for the happy hour at Juliet following the event.
In our jam-packed afternoon, Jen and Nicole with Elevate Marketing Advisors will lead us through the following sessions:
BD Track
Navigating Market Shifts with a Strategic Business Development Approach
This session guides participants through the development and implementation of a strategic business development roadmap driven by a priority-based client management system. When teams follow the same path, they can convert more leads into wins and avoid detours that lead to dead ends.
Client Capture Planning Workshop
Give your firm the competitive advantage to win more work by taking a strategic, focused approach to pre-positioning with your top-priority clients and prospects. Elevate works with you to adapt, brand, and implement the Client Capture Plan template to the needs and nuances of your firm. Using a real client, this interactive session walks participants through the capture-planning process incorporating research and examples of proven strategies to establish long-term client relationships. This session includes a brainstorming session to identify strategies to overcome client relationship obstacles.
BD Live: Rock the Client Meeting
BD Live is just that – a live demonstration with a real-life client to demonstrate the business development process in real time. Prior to the program, Elevate works with your firm to identify a client and lead them through a mock interview to present the nuances of business development through scenarios and role-playing. Afterwards, attendees form teams and conduct mock interviews putting into practice what they’ve learned. This is one of our most popular offerings!
Our guest client for this event will be:
Jim Shackelford, AIA
Senior Architect, Studio8
Former Director of Capital Planning & Construction for The University of Texas at Austin
Marketing Track
Developing Key Messages Based on Differentiation
Key messaging is the foundation of great communication. It cuts through the noise and grabs the attention of your target audience to help you connect, influence, and motivate action. Key messages – based on differentiation – meet the following five criteria. They are: 1) unique, 2) true, 3) relevant, 4) provable, and 5) important to the client. To be credible, supporting information or ‘proof points’ to validate what you are saying must also be included. This session covers the attributes of key messages with a proven process to develop key message concepts. Attendees work in teams to develop key messaging for a specific client type, targeted pursuit, or proposal strategy.
Killer Cover Letters
Proposals should start with a cover letter or executive summary. How many letters have you read (or written) that start with “thank you for the opportunity...”? Boring! Your cover letter is the first impression the selection committee has of your proposal. And some clients say a well-written cover letter – that explains how you’re going to solve the client’s issues and successfully deliver the project – can get your team to the shortlist. But, prior to crafting the cover letter, you must lay out your strategy, conduct research, identify differentiators, and define your win theme. In this session, attendees learn strategies to write a cover letter that balances efficient delivery of key information with a persuasive, well-substantiated pitch that demonstrates the client’s needs and your solutions for the project. Teams will use a real project in a cover letter competition.
Campaigns that Differentiate
In this session, Nicole will explain the benefits of strategic marketing campaigns. By having focused campaigns based around the goals set in your strategic and business development planning efforts, campaigns allow marketing departments to efficiently use both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels to promote targeted brand messages. These strategic efforts allow you to prioritize and focus your marketing time and budget on campaigns that will allow your department to be more proactive and less reactive. Participants will learn how can a targeted marketing campaign be an overall part of your marketing strategy, how is a marketing campaign different from other target marketing, and how do you measure the success of the marketing campaign.
SPEAKERs
Jen Newman, FSMPS, CPSM
Founding Principal | Elevate
[email protected]
It's no surprise to anyone who has met Jen that she was once a cheerleader. With an unbridled energy and enthusiasm, Jen is a passionate people cultivator providing constant inspiration and motivation to her clients and team members. This passion stems from an admiration of her dad, who also mentored, encouraged, and trained people throughout his career.
Jen has focused her energy over the last 20+ years innovating business development in the A/E/C. She guides firms throughout the US and Canada to chart their course through development and implementation of strategy, objectives, initiatives, and BD plans that align with their company’s vision to establish a foundation for long-term success. Jen’s personal mission is to raise a new generation of firm leaders who are confidently and enthusiastically helping their firms grow. Her coaching style gives technical professionals the client engagement skills they need to succeed while empowering contribution to firm growth enforcing her mantra “business development is everyone’s business.”
Jen’s unique approach to training is built on customized programs that draw from real examples, clients, and plans and is coupled with action items and accountability – ensures learning extends to implementation. And, important to Jen, the entire process is fun!
Throughout her career, Jen has served in leadership positions for industry, community, and client organizations. She currently serves in numerous roles for the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), as a national committee member for the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE), and is the originator of an A/E/C-focused cohort group designed for C-Suite leaders. Jen is proud of her family legacy in the A/E/C industry with her two sons, one a CAD Designer and the other a Commissioning Engineer.
Nicole Stephens
Campaign Director | Elevate
[email protected]
Having grown up in a family that included five engineers, Nicole was drawn to the architecture and engineering industry from a young age. With 16 years of experience as a marketing professional leading internal A/E marketing teams, Nicole has cultivated a broad skillset leading a multi-service, multi-office marketing team for a firm that grew from a 50-person company to over 175 professionals.
Throughout her career, she has been involved in every aspect of an A/E marketing department including proposals, social media, communications, website development, digital content creation, graphic design, budgeting, and strategic planning. This experience has allowed Nicole to develop marketing strategies that are both innovative and implementable. She has a passion for helping firms reach their full marketing potential through creative digital strategies, marketing audits, marketing plans, and implementation tactics. When not working, you can find Nicole enjoying the beach with her daughter and husband, working in her garden, or trying her hand at painting.
SCHEDULE:
1:45 – 2:30 PM | Marketing Track Session 1 & BD Track Session 1
BD: Navigating Market Shifts
Marketing: Developing Key Messages based on Differentiation
2:40 – 3:15 PM | Marketing Track Session 2 & BD Track Session 2
BD: Client Capture Planning
Marketing: Killer Cover Letters
3:20 – 4:00 PM | Marketing Track Session 3 & BD Track Session 3
BD: BD LIVE
Marketing: Campaigns that Differentiate
Join SMPS Austin at Juliet Italian Kitchen at the Arboretum. Head to the meeting webpage to sign up.
*REFUND POLICY: No refunds within 1 week of event - please email [email protected] to request a refund outside of that window. | If you cannot attend and it is within 1 week of the event, you are welcome to send someone in your place but no refunds will be processed during this period. Walk-ins accepted depending on availability of space at a $20 upcharge.
Tickets
$120.00 SMPS Austin Member
$120.00 SMPS Member (outside of Austin Chapter)
$135.00 Non-Member
