There are a few moments in life that quietly remind you that the world is changing whether you’re ready or not.
One of those moments happened to me recently when I got a LinkedIn connection request from my son.
Let that sink in.
He’s 18. Headed to Georgia Tech this fall. And apparently… we’re now networking.
So I asked him what he thought about LinkedIn. I expected something along the lines of “it’s fine” or “it’s for old people.”
Instead, he said, “I like it. The games are good.”
Games. On LinkedIn.
I consider myself a LinkedIn expert. LinkedIn has recognized me as a LinkedIn expert. Yet, I didn’t even know LinkedIn had games.
Within minutes of signing up, he had found them, started playing, and was already competing against other Georgia Tech students. It was even showing him how his solve time stacked up against theirs.
And just like that… he was hooked.
Not because he wanted to network. Because he wanted to play games.
That’s not a feature. That’s behavior.
And LinkedIn didn’t do that by accident.
They introduced daily games. Quick, low commitment, just challenging enough to keep you coming back. They layered in comparison. Subtle competition. Identity.
Now people aren’t just logging in when they “need” LinkedIn.
Brilliant. Well played, LinkedIn.
Gen Z is logging in because they want to.
And while they’re there… they’re seeing you. That’s the part most people are missing. Right now, he’s 18. In eight years, he’s 26. That’s not some distant “next generation” conversation. That’s one promotion cycle. Maybe two.
He’ll be sitting in meetings. He’ll be influencing decisions. He’ll be part of the buying committee.
And here’s the truth most firms are still avoiding…
If you try to “sell” to him the way we’ve always sold in AEC, he’s not listening.
He doesn’t need you to tell him who you are. He’s already looked you up.
He doesn’t need your brochure. He’s already formed an opinion.
He doesn’t need your pitch. He’s already decided if you’re relevant.
That shift didn’t happen overnight. It’s been building for years.
But here’s the part that should make you pause…
Most AEC firms are still operating like digital is just a distribution channel.
It’s not. It’s the marketplace.
It’s where research happens, where perception is formed, where trust is built, and where decisions start taking shape long before you’re ever invited to the table.
That means your website, your content, your presence… they’re not supporting the sale. They are the sale.
Think about it. AEC sales cycles are long. From the moment a buyer first hears a project might happen to the point where firms are shortlisted and interviewed can take years.
Firms who are doing this well are already building relationships with the people who will be buying from them 18, 24, even 36 months from now.
If you’re not, it’s worth asking… do you really think your competition isn’t?
Go look. Pull up their LinkedIn ad library. You’ll get your answer pretty quickly.
If they are doing it, you’re behind. If they aren’t, you still have an advantage.
Either way, standing still isn’t the strategy.
What business development used to do at the top of the funnel, digital now handles. Seller doers and BD are showing up later, when it’s time to close. In our world, that means proposals, interviews, and contract negotiations.
And yet, I still see firms treating digital like a side effort.
Posting when they have time.
Boosting a post and calling it strategy.
Arguing about platforms instead of focusing on the buyer.
Meanwhile, the buyer is over here… playing games on LinkedIn, building habits on the platform, and forming opinions about you before you even know they exist.
You can’t outwork that with proposals.
You can’t relationship your way around it.
And you definitely can’t ignore it.
Here’s the good news…
This is fixable.
But it requires a shift in how you think.
Digital isn’t about doing more things online.
It’s about doing the right things, in the right places, for the right people… consistently.
It’s about understanding your audience well enough to speak to them before you are even aware they have a project opportunity. It’s about showing up when they are searching for you or for the expertise you claim to have.
It’s about aligning your brand, your content, your BD efforts, and your digital presence so they work as one system instead of four disconnected ones.
That’s the work AEC marketers now must do, because sales enablement alone is no longer enough.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to get into in the next SmartSKILLS session.
No theory. Just a clear look at what’s working for our clients, where firms are getting it wrong, and what it really takes to show up in a way that moves the needle.
Because if an 18-year-old can figure out LinkedIn in five minutes…
We don’t have an awareness problem. We have a strategy problem.
If you know there’s a gap between what you’re doing and what’s possible, this is worth your time.
More soon,
Judy
The AEC Truth Teller