THE BD EDGE
If you knew a way to do BD better and grow your business, would you implement it?
bd101 guide
Tired of feeling frustrated and confused about business development? This guide will change your mind.
Is your business growing how you planned?
Australian construction and heavy industry contractors are up against it.
Rising supply and labour costs, burdensome red and green tape, low productivity, skilled labour shortages, inflation, AI disruption, pipelines of competing projects.
The growth pathway to next level performance, break into an identified growth geography, or bring a new service to market is confusing. Efforts are often haphazard, reactive, unproven.
Most contracting firm owners, uncertain of what BD system is required for growth, make reactive discrete investments that on their own don’t work. The BD challenge is real, but few contractors solve it.
The business growth you know is possible comes from implementing a robust, structured BD system, encompassing strategy to project close out and everything in between. It brings in the right leads, converts the opportunities you want to win, with the clients you want to work with.
The cycle keeping contractors stuck
We help construction and heavy industry contractors build a BD system that grows their business.
Operating without a BD system leads to chaos, not growth
Few activities can support sustainable business growth in the way strategic focused business development and marketing can, but business owners spend too much working in the business rather than on it.
BD is reactive, unplanned, and not budgeted because it’s not valued or understood
Cold calls, pricing anything, and a reliance on referrals are common tactics
There is no process for sourcing new clients beyond owner’s network or existing clients
BD is a tap on, tap off activity when delivery and business-as-usual take priority
Lack of BD know how and expecting a technical team to fulfil a BD function.
Despite being the engine room for driving opportunities, very few contractors adopt a structured approach to business development. When the pipeline looks empty and tenders drop off they default to predictable standard reactions.
The bottom line is, there are clients who have the exact problem you solve on the exact projects you specialise, and they are looking for reliable, trusted delivery partners. But how you build their trust requires a well designed business development ecosystem, not a handful of panic tactics.
About us
We’re on a mission to help construction and heavy industry contractors grow sustainably through great BD.
our ideal clients
Specialist consulting firms like project management firms and independent project advisors
Individual contractors and engineers who have specialist knowledge, skills, and experience
why clients call us
Construction and heavy industry contractors - both large and small - reach out to us because they appear successful on the outside - some have achieved multimillion dollar revenue - but they struggle to put in place a structured BD system that powers profitable growth sustainably.
When it comes to BD, they ‘wing it’.
Going by gut feel and instinct alone, they never invest the time or do the work required to design and implement a long term strategy. Instead, they remain stuck in the weeds of BD and marketing tactics implemented in panic and isolation.
Revenue is the only success metric and BD investment is ad hoc, leaving the business lurching from project to project rather than managing a pipeline. Client relationships are concentrated in one or two key people - usually the owners or directors - making it hard to scale.
In this environment, another BD rainmaker or expensive marketing platform won’t fix the problem. What will create the platform for long term change is the willingness to take a step back, review the BD landscape, and open up to a better way.
a smarter way forward
The opportunity to do BD your way, with a system that actually works.
That's where we come in.
Is your business stuck in a cycle where BD doesn’t work? Complete the Scorecard to find out.
This platform has completely transformed how we manage our marketing campaigns. The ease of use and powerful features have made a significant impact on our ROI.
The automation capabilities are incredible. We've saved countless hours and improved our customer engagement significantly.
The analytics and reporting features give us insights we never had before. Our conversion rates have improved by 40%.
Our BD improvement programs
BD Capability & Capacity Assessment
A structured four to six week assessment of a contractor’s BD capability and capacity to deliver BD. In the Think space, we analyse the suitability and effectiveness of the BD strategy, resources, and tools in place, as well as messaging, differentiators, quick wins, and long term service market opportunities.
Best for
Large specialist contractors ready to bed down an effective BD system to support the next stage of growth
Large trade subcontractors ready to professionalise their approach to market
BD Readiness Program
A 10 to 12 week intensive program designed to define, strengthen, and set up the contractor’s BD system. With a Build mindset, we work with you across the BD ecosystem from strategy and planning through to setting up the systems for sourcing leads, pursuit, and implementation.
Best for
Specialist contractors who have doing ad hoc BD and are ready to invest in BD as a core function
Trade contractors without a BD system who recognise this is needed for their next level of growth
Industry consultants who have relied on founders / directors for BD and want to build out the BD capability of the business and their team.
BD Starter Program
A comprehensive and cost effective one to one program that creates the foundation for new independent consultants operating in construction and heavy industry.
Best for
Independent consulting contractors going out on their own and have limited or no BD support
Contractors who have been in the market for some time but need additional support to refine their approach
Are you a good fit?
If you fit the ideal client profile and are ready to seek support for your BD, reach out directly.
The Latest Insights
Tough times, BD and business: Why your goals should be set in concrete
There's nothing like a fuel crisis and ubiquitous AI disruption to sharpen the focus on immediate threats to business continuity.
For those in construction and heavy industry, these more recent challenges simply add to an already significant list - skilled labour shortages, low productivity (you can't build a country working 2.8 days / week), escalating supply costs, excessive union interference, suffocating regulatory burdens (red and green), and competing major project pipelines, to name but a few.
Sleepless nights, waking at 3am, ruminating on next steps to take.
All too familiar for contractors wanting to keep machines moving, people employed, and the vision of business growth alive.
So, what's the answer?
Instinctively, we react. Try a silver bullet or two.
Cut costs where possible.
Let people go.
Become more productive.
Shine a microscope on everyone.
Implemented in isolation, or as part of an overall approach to handle choppy seas, these tactics can have merit.
Keeping a close eye on costs? Essential. Letting driftwood go? Also a positive. Your team will thank you. Upping the crew's stroke rate? A definite winner. There could even be a genuine need for more closely scrutinising what your team is actually doing.
Here's what's missing though.
The certainty of your goal.
Goals in concrete, plans in sand: Why it matters
Tough times in business, life, and war are inevitable.
That's why the Army maxim, goals in concrete, plans in sand helps.
I have a sibling, an ADF doctor, who went to the first war in Iraq. The goal? Stay alive, help other people stay alive. The goal was concrete. It didn't change once during deployment.
The plan? Well, the plan was in sand, because often the plan, it needed to change, not just daily, but moment to moment. Like when the truck you're travelling in blows a tyre and rolls throwing everyone onboard onto the road.
Goal didn't change that day, the plan did.
What's your goal?
Rather than react to the noise, chaos, and pressure, right now is the time to draw breath. Pause. Especially if you're walking the line.
Then, take a good, long hard look at the goal. Your goal. At your business strategy.
Is it forged in concrete? Is the concrete ultra high performance durable no matter the conditions, like skyrocketing fuel and AI everything? Does it carry your certainty?
This doesn't mean blindly doing things without adjusting course, or the plans. Perhaps the goal or the strategy does need to be recast.
Whatever that goal or strategy is, however, there's one thing guaranteed to sit right alongside it.
The business development to bring it to life. Because here's what it looks like otherwise:
No strategy. No BD.
No BD. No wins.
No wins. No projects.
No projects. No business.
The #1 BD solution to get started today
What's the one thing you can do right here, right now?
Document your business strategy (a single page will do), cast it in concrete and don't let it get hammered apart in the pressure cooker of global fuel movements, domestic political stupidity, and the AI tsunami.
Instead, let it guide every your BD effort.
The other BD solution you can do right now
Because you've read this far, I'm sharing a bonus BD solution.
Go rogue and keep it personal.
Revolutionary? Not at all. Costly to implement? No, it's practically free.
As we're urged to automate everything, keep in mind your clients - those people with the projects you want to price, design, and deliver - are humans. Real people.
As technology becomes more omnipresent and interactions more transactional, your clients, like you, will seek genuine connection. That means genuine connection is good business. It sounds so last century, but it works.
Here's what personal means:
Picking up your phone and making a call, rather sending a text.
Making a time to catch up in person, not online.
Asking questions and listening, and making it less about you.
Just regular BD that no algorithm or AI can out manouevre. Not just for tough times, but for all times.
Walking the line and want to talk strategy? Reach out. I'm keen to listen and help work out next steps. Message me and let's block out a time.
The BD Edge is a Brisbane based business development consultancy working with construction and heavy industry contractors and consultants to plan, develop, and implement a BD strategy that supports their growth.
The BD Edge provides BD consulting services for specialist and trade contractors in the Australian construction and heavy industry sectors.
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