"Next Gen"
Business Development
Training & Implementation
The Fusion BD Difference
Generic BD training programs exist in abundance. Most of them teach sales principles borrowed from "academic" sales consultants. Are one-off workshops with no follow-through. Rely on static curriculum disconnected from your firm’s actual strategy. This produces participants who leave inspired but uncertain how to apply what they learned.
What works — and what we have designed the Fusion BD Next Generation Training program around — is a fundamentally different approach: using your firm’s own BD plan as the foundation. Participants don’t learn BD in the abstract. They learn it in the context of your markets, your clients, your growth vision, and your competitive positioning.
Under the guidance of your principals and Fusion BD mentorship, next-generation participants develop and execute measurable engagement plans for current and prospective clients.
Theory and practice are inseparable.
Timeline At A Glance
Phase 1: Discovery & Setup
Before any training begins, we make sure the program is built around your firm — not the other way around. Phase 1 is short, intensive, and consultative.
(Durantion: 1 - 10 days)
What I do as your trainer:
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90-minute working session with a principal sponsor: strategic plan, BD plan, target markets, growth vision.
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Review of the firm’s BD plan and 12 months of recent pursuit history (wins and losses).
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30-minute intake call with each participant — current BD comfort, client relationships, growth goals.
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Build the customized curriculum map and shared resource library for the engagement.
Phase 2: BD Foundations Workshop
This is where most generic BD training programs start and end. For us, it is the launch pad — and the entire curriculum is taught through the lens of your firm’s plan. before any training begins, we make sure the program is built around your firm — not the other way around.
(Durantion: 2 Days)
What I do as your trainer:
Day 1 covers:
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Introduction to your firms BD plan, market focus, differentiators, and vision for growth.
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Elements of AEC business development, focused introduction to Sales Cycle.
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Marketing’s role across the sales cycle — how your team should be working with marketing, and when.
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Project-pursuit action steps and tracking, including CRM discipline (a known industry weak point — 47% of firms cite poor BD tool adoption)
Day 2 covers:
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Historical review of one of your firms recent win, and one recent loss. Discuss what worked, what didn’t, and what is repeatable.
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Cold Calling vs. Warm Calling and best practices for securing client meetings
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Lead generation strategies. Networking, trade organizations, and market visibility in YOUR firm’s target markets.
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Create target client list and capture plans and discuss participant deliverables for the first of 2 follow-up session. (Held virtually)
Two follow-up sessions (90 minutes each, virtual):
Reinforce concepts, work through real participant questions, problem solve any client/project pursuits.
Phase 3: Two Follow-up Sessions (90 minutes each - virtual)
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Reinforce concepts, work through real participant questions, problem solve any client/project pursuits.
Phase 3: Sustain (Optional Ongoing Engagement)
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For firms that want to institutionalize what was built, an ongoing advisory relationship keeps momentum and brings the "Next Gen" along. Typical structure: quarterly half-day sessions, monthly principal check-ins, and inclusion of the next wave of rising leaders into the program.
Six Compelling Reasons To Implement the
Next Gen Training Module
89%
of AEC firms now rely on seller-doers for business development
Up from 74% in 2015. SMPS Foundation AEC.BD research, 2024–2025.
37%
of firms provide NO formal BD training to seller-doers at all
And SMPS notes that only about one-third of firms provide any structured BD training.
72%
of firms are concerned about the need to better train staff
Stambaugh Ness 2025 AEC Industry Outlook — ranks among the top industry-wide concerns.
60%
of firms acknowledge they need stronger development & training
2025 Unanet AEC Inspire Report — the gap is recognized; the structured response is not yet built.
53%
of firms rate themselves “fair” or “poor” at defining career paths
2025 Inspire Report. The retention problem and the BD pipeline problem are the same problem.
33%
of firms navigating leadership transition without a formal plan
PSMJ and Unanet research, 2025. Combined with retiring rainmakers, this is the structural risk window.
The industry has reached near-universal adoption of the seller-doer model, but the training infrastructure to support it has not kept pace. Firms are promoting rising professionals into roles that demand client-facing BD competence — and then asking them to figure it out on their own. That is the gap your engagement with Fusion BD is designed to close.
Why Fusion BD?
With 30 years as a "field tested" business developer, leading AEC business development at firms including Haskell, CRB, IMEG, and BSA, I've navigated multiple market shifts and changes in buyer preferences. I have researched and gathered together the very latest industry data. I know what works — and what doesn't.
Next Steps
To learn more, let's connect. I'd welcome a brief 30 minute call with you and/or your team to answer any questions and determine if the Next Gen Training Module is right for your firm.
Jump on my calender:
https://calendly.com/steven-fusionbdllc/30min
Email me directly:
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