Smarter AEC business development starts with better filters

Want more effective business development for your AEC firm? Stop trying to chase everything.

We’ve all heard the saying, “You can’t be all things to all people.” This is a mantra I lean into, both personally and professionally, and it has become a cornerstone in my approach to AEC business development.

Professionals in our industry are tasked with developing relationships and creating opportunities across increasingly complex and competitive markets and geographies. Layer on top of that the reality that many of us wear numerous hats and have limited time, energy, and funds for business development.

So, whether you’re targeting healthcare in Texas (there are over 600 hospitals), K-12 in New England (over 1,000 school districts), or national data center development (not even going to try), how do you focus limited resources on the opportunities most likely to create meaningful returns?

For me, it's all about the filters.

Focus is one of the most important skills in business development. Every market, client, pursuit, and relationship carries a different level of opportunity, risk, and strategic value. The firms that grow intentionally are led by business developers who know how to evaluate those differences and direct their attention accordingly.

The following are the lenses I use to help clients narrow focus and shape a more intentional business development strategy.

Start with your firm’s fastballs

An objective analysis of your firm’s portfolio is the first step to determining what you truly have to offer. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room to pursue new things. There absolutely is. But you need a realistic understanding of what you can credibly speak to when it comes time to develop proposal content, position teams, and walk into interviews.

This kind of analysis also helps uncover patterns within your work that you can lean into:

• A sweet spot in project size

• A specific program typology

• A recurring client challenge your team consistently solves

• Markets where your experience is deeper than you realized

Equally important, it can expose weaknesses and gaps that deserve attention.

A lot of firms want to talk about where they want to go. Fewer are willing to objectively evaluate what currently makes them competitive. But that foundation matters.

Your pursuit data is telling a bigger story

Many firms track overall win rate. But there is so much more to learn if you’re tracking the right data points. Just like patterns emerge in your portfolio, pursuit data can surface themes around where your firm succeeds, where it struggles, and where your business development efforts should shift.

Repeat client work is a great example. Firms love to tout it, and rightly so. But if you dig deeper, are you becoming too reliant on a shrinking pool of existing relationships? Are new client opportunities slowing down? That changes how you should be spending your BD time. Breaking pursuits down by project type, size, geography, source, delivery method, or client type can reveal stories you would otherwise miss.

One example has always stuck with me. We worked with a national client specializing in academic facilities. At a high level, their win rate looked incredibly strong. But once we peeled back a few layers, we discovered they had an almost guaranteed loss rate when pursuing public institutions that required a local partner.

That insight provided direction. Either no-go those opportunities, or dedicate BD effort further in advance to build stronger teaming relationships and market familiarity. Both are strategic decisions. But without the data, you’re just guessing.

Market research provides direction

Market research is a core responsibility of any business development professional. You don’t need to be an economist, but you do need a working awareness of the forces shaping your markets.

That may include:

• Demographic trends: Is it an aging population that could drive more healthcare development, or is it comprised of growing families that influence investment in infrastructure and education?

• Legislative changes: Impacting funding, priorities, and players

• Emerging delivery models: Driving teaming, hiring, and professional development strategies

• Industry investments: Like interest in prefabrication or mass timber

• Competitive movement: Like strategic hires, layoffs, or new office locations

• Client mergers and acquisitions: That shifts decision-making structures, development priorities, and partner advantages

• Shifts in funding priorities: That impact project progress and pipeline

Just because your firm has a fastball in something does not mean there is a universal appetite for it. Market research helps answer a critical question: Where should we actually be investing our time and energy? It gives context to the opportunities in front of you and helps separate activity from real momentum.

Your competitors matter more than you think

As much as we love to believe our firm is the best around, the competition exists for a reason. I’m the first person to say you should believe deeply in your firm’s value. But there is a difference between being confident and delusional.

Many leaders turn a blind eye to their competitors, choosing to accept their perceptions as final reality:

• “They’re too expensive.”

• “They mess everything up.”

• “They’re terrible to work with.”

Maybe some of that is true. But it's rarely the full picture. If it were, those firms wouldn't be in business.

Periodic assessments of competitor positioning and market presence provide important context:

• What projects are they celebrating?

• How are they talking about their services?

• What expertise are they trying to own?

• Where are they building visibility?

• What relationships seem to be driving their work?

Part of business development is deciding who you want to meet with. The other part is knowing what you want to say when you get there. If you do not understand how competitors are positioning themselves, it becomes much harder to articulate why your firm is different.

Your BD strategy should support firm strategy

All of this becomes noise if it is disconnected from your firmwide strategic goals. That sounds obvious, but many business development professionals struggle to articulate their firm’s goals beyond revenue targets. Revenue matters, of course. But there are many ways to arrive at the same number.

Winning two $50 million projects creates a very different operational reality than winning twenty $5 million projects. Neither path is inherently better. They simply require different approaches, different teams, and different business development strategies.

One firm may prioritize long-term stability through larger projects. Another may prioritize diversification through smaller, strategic wins.

Understanding the bigger picture behind the numbers matters. Without that clarity, business development can easily become reactive—filling calendars, chasing RFPs, and staying busy without any real impact on strategic goals.

The most effective BD strategies connect daily efforts to long-term direction.

Strategy is really about focus

Focus is one of the most important skills in business development. Every market, client, pursuit, and relationship carries a different level of opportunity, risk, and strategic value. The firms that grow intentionally are led by business developers who know how to evaluate those differences and direct their attention accordingly.

If you're in a business development role, revisit these filters regularly to keep your focus—and that of your firm—sharp. Your win rate, calendar, and bottom line will thank you.