Track 3: Business Development 

Help Business Development professionals learn new techniques and share best practices for making connections and growing work for their firms.

Beyond Mentoring: Networks That Fuel Leaderships and Business Growth 

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026 | Time: 8:00am - 9:15am

Discover how intentional developmental networks go beyond mentoring to drive stronger leadership, clearer communication, and authentic business development. Learn to connect the dots between connection, trust, and real results.

A/E/C firms know real growth starts with learning not just doing. Developmental networks help professionals learn together, share knowledge across silos, and grow the skills they need to lead in a changing industry. This session offers practical strategies to move beyond transactional connections toward intentional learning networks that fuel trust, collaboration, and authentic leadership. Stronger relationships naturally support business success. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

  • Define a developmental network and explain how it goes beyond traditional mentoring to support lifelong learning and leadership development.

  • Assess where they have gaps in their own network.

  • Apply practical strategies to intentionally grow and sustain developmental networks.

  • Develop an action plan for nurturing a learning culture in their firm. 

Lisa Fain

Lisa Z. Fain is CEO of the Center for Mentoring ExcellenceTM and a global expert on mentoring, connection, and inclusive leadership. A dynamic keynote speaker and TEDx presenter, Lisa blends sharp insight with humor and storytelling to inspire action. She helps organizations build thriving cultures through developmental networks, drawing from her background as an employment attorney, DEI leader, and executive coach.  

Brain Bending: Leveraging Neuromarketing to Win the Interview

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026 | Time: 9:45am - 11:00am

Join us on a magical journey where you will learn how to leverage neuromarketing strategies to win the interview. Neuromarketing offers insights into the subconscious aspects of decision making. Incorporating five neuromarketing concepts into your firms' interviews will result in more wins: Fear Appeal, Anchoring Principal, Reciprocity, Sensory Marketing, and Emotional Marketing. Psychology nerds and illusion lovers unite as we learn how to influence decision makers and win more work.

This interactive presentation provides attendees with practical ways to improve their interview hit rates by leveraging neuromarketing strategies. Being able to subliminally influence decision makers is a magical and powerful tool. Each neuromarketing strategy will be presented, along with practical AEC examples, so attendees leave empowered for interview success.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Understand why leveraging neuromarketing provides a competitive advantage.

  • Learn practical ways to incorporate 5 neuromarketing strategies into interviews.

  • Leverage neuromarketing to avoid pitfalls that can tank an interview.

  • Equip your team to start implementing neuromarketing.

Allie Horne, CPSM

Allie Horne, CPSM, is a Partner at Meeks Marketing. and has 17 years of experience writing both firm-published and third-party published articles and marketing pieces. Allie has written over 75 published articles, including being published in The Marketer magazine, and served as the technical editor for a Fortune 300 company. A proud University of Texas graduate, Allie resides in Austin and can often be found hiking, playing tennis, and convincing her children she has superpowers.

Melanie Meeks, CPSM

Melanie Meeks, CPSM is a Partner at Meeks Marketing and has 21 years of experience in the A/E/C industry, specializing in the development of marketing strategy, client development, project pursuits, and public relations. She graduated from Texas A&M University, is a Certified Professional Services Marketer, and served as President of SMPS Houston. A wife and mom of three, she can often be found running carpool to baseball practices, chasing her youngest around, or relaxing with a good book.

Empathetic Connections: Utilizing Emotional Intelligence to Forge Quality Relationships

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026 | Time: 2:00pm - 3:15pm

Explore how emotional intelligence fuels authentic professional relationships. Learn to connect before pitching, understand motivations, and use storytelling to build trust. Gain strategies for empathy, personalized communication, and lasting connections that drive personal growth and business success.

By the end of this session, you'll walk away with actionable insights on using emotional intelligence to not only enhance your professional relationships but to also enrich your personal growth and business development strategies, all positively impacting your firm's bottom line.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Understand emotional intelligence in building professional relationships.

  • Strengthen empathy and perspective-taking to meet others' needs. 

  • Learn strategies for authentic, lasting relationship-building.

  • Use storytelling to communicate with emotional impact and clarity. 

Duncan Robertson, CPSM

Duncan Robertson, CPSM, is a business development and marketing professional dedicated to the industry. He co-founded SMPS Idaho, presented at AmplifyAEC, SWRC, SERC, and led his firm to win 10+ national marketing and best firm awards. He served as President of SMPS Idaho, PR Chair/co-founder for ACE Idaho, and on subcommittees with AmplifyAEC and SMPS PRC. Recognized as the first Emerging Leader of the Year by SMPS and a Rising Star by Zweig Group in 2024, he's committed to making a positive impact.

From Contacts to Contracts: Mastering Business Development Strategy

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026 |  Time: 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Learn how to convert relationships into revenue using a proven system that simplifies business development. This hands-on workshop will walk you through the mindset, systems, and strategies needed to grow a pipeline, strengthen follow-up, and close with confidence, whether you're new to BD or ready to scale.

Business development can feel overwhelming, especially in A/E/C where relationship-building is essential but often unstructured. This workshop demystifies the process, helping marketers and firm leaders confidently build, track, and convert high-value contacts into signed contracts. Attendees will leave with a customizable BD playbook and tools to increase win rates, shorten sales cycles, and deepen client relationships.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Create a structured system for tracking and converting business relationships.

  • Understand how to use storytelling and credibility to build trust.

  • Identify common BD mistakes and how to course-correct in real time.

  • Walk away with a custom action plan and follow-up script library. 

Key McKay

Key McKay is a Business Development Consultant, TEDx Speaker, and Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach. With over a decade of experience, she helps teams turn conversations into contracts through strategic relationship building and client retention. Known for her dynamic workshops, Key equips professionals with practical tools to grow their pipeline and close deals with confidence. 

BD Championships: A Results-Driven Discipline

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026 | Time: 9:00am - 10:15am

Just like Olympians don't win by accident, top AEC firms don't win work by chance. This session unpacks the training, discipline, and teamwork it takes to transform business development from a reactive hustle into a strategic machine. Learn how to align pursuits with firmwide goals, implement structured capture planning, and coach your team for consistent podium finishes. Whether you're a BD sprinter or a seller-doer decathlete, this session gives you the tools to go for gold.

Business Development isn't just about chasing leads it's a mindset and method that can transform your firm's trajectory. Walk away with concrete tools to elevate BD from ad hoc to disciplined, creating measurable and sustainable impact across your firm. This includes actionable takeaways from leaders who have made strategic BD a shared responsibility, building firm-wide muscle for proactive client engagement.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • A repeatable BD schedule that balances pursuit work, client engagement, and internal alignment.

  • Strategic planning tools such as capture plans, client tiering, and calendar blocking to prioritize efforts and avoid reactive chasing.

  • A quarterly rhythm for BD goal setting, progress tracking, and win/loss reflection to reinforce long-term firm objectives. 

Tracy Jenkins

Tracy Jenkins, MBA, CPSM, is a marketing and business development leader with more than 25 years of experience in the AEC industry. As part of the leadership team at 3QC, she oversees the firm's BD and marketing efforts helping drive strategic growth across California. A past SMPS Sacramento President, PRC Co-Chair and recipient of the 2021 SMPS Marketer of the Year award Tracy is known for her relationship-driven approach and high-energy presence at industry events. 

Saundra Price

Saundra Price, Associate Director of Business Development at W.E. O’Neil Construction, is an accomplished leader with 26+ years in the AEC industry; she is recognized for driving innovation and forging impactful strategic partnerships across California. She's known for her visionary thinking and market acumen. Saundra holds leadership roles as the Immediate Past President of SMPS/LA, Secretary on the Los Angeles Council Board of Directors (co-chairing the Architectural Awards Design Jury and the Architectural awards Planning committee and Co Chair of the Programs and Membership committee), she also served as ULI's Mentor for ULI GROW2025 and mentored 17 professionals each month for the entire year.

Jesse Urquidi

Jesse joined Cordoba in 2024 as Project Development Director. Before Cordoba, he served in Business Development with an MEP subconsultant, where he expanded his network of colleagues and built trust in the industry. He is committed to mentoring young professionals, guiding his colleagues to success, and satisfying his clients. Jesse has held several board positions, demonstrating his commitment to building coalitions, solving problems, and positively impacting organizations. Jesse holds a BS in Civil Engineering and is an accredited Professional Business Developer.

Did ChatGPT Just Become Your MOST Important Salesperson? 

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026 |  Time: 10:45am to 12:00pm

More prospects are skipping search results and asking AI tools like ChatGPT and Google SGE for answers. If your f irm isn't the one they cite, you're invisible. This session walks through a 5-step Answer Engine Optimization framework built for A/E/C marketers to help your firm get recommended by AI. You'll leave with a clear strategy to adapt your content and brand for how today's buyers research before they ever reach out.

Most A/E/C marketers are still optimizing for Google rankings, while buyers are getting answers directly from AI. This talk shows you how to make sure your firm is the one AI recommends. You'll leave with a clear, practical framework to boost visibility, earn trust, and stay ahead of the firms who haven't caught up.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Identify how AI tools cite or miss their firm; create pillar + FAQ content optimized for large language models.

  • Implement structured data and off-site tactics to boost credibility.

  • Adapt brand messaging and web experience to meet the needs of AI-informed visitors who are validating, not browsing. 

Joshua Hanosh

I help A/E/C companies with long sales cycles turn complex digital challenges into clear, strategic growth. As VP of Strategy at Three29, I blend AI-powered SEO/AEO with sharp brand positioning and campaign strategy to drive real results. I specialize in translating C-suite goals into focused execution plans. Whether advising on messaging or market fit, I stay focused on what moves business forward. 

 

 

 

 

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