SmartWIN23
Speed to Market with
Account-Based Marketing
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Porsche Driving Experience
Atlanta, GA
ABOUT SMARTWIN
SmartWIN is an annual event presented by Smartegies, the AEC growth consulting firm that has been developing smart business strategies for design and construction firms since 2008, crafted specifically for the busy AEC firm Owners and Marketing Principals who want to grow and scale their businesses.
We know you can't afford to be out of the office for days at a time in a market like this. SmartWIN packs in inspiring keynotes, educational sessions, and panel discussions from the industry’s high-performance firms all around the topic of scalable growth into one fast-paced day.
Hosted conveniently at the Porsche Experience Center, which sits next to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, SmartWIN23: Speed to Market with Account-Based Marketing allows even the busiest AEC executives to fly in and out on the same day and still walk away with tools and contacts to fuel their business and marketing strategy in 2023.
We are beyond excited to bring you some of the biggest brands in the industry to share how their businesses have already made the pivot to a new competitive landscape. Explore what SmartWIN has in store for 2023.
HIGH-OCTANE AGENDA
8:00 - 9:00 AM
Registration & Networking Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 AM
Welcome Remarks & Opening Keynote
9:30 – 9:35 AM
Break
9:35 – 10:35 AM
Shifting Gears for a New Competitive Landscape | High Growth Leaders Panel moderated by Donya Edler, featuring:
- Jake Stefan, President | ARCO Design/Build BTS
- Lamar Wakefield, AIA, Principal | NELSON Worldwide
- Vince DiPofi, PE, CEO | SSOE Group
- Stewart Haney, Former CEO | Wendel
What do all these High Growth Firms have in common?
They are all brands with leaders who constantly make the necessary decisions to adapt to market conditions and grow their brands. Each panelist has sat in your shoes, facing challenges common to AEC firm owners and principals.
Donya Edler, Executive Vice President at Smartegies, will facilitate this lively panel discussion where these accomplished industry veterans discuss growth and exit strategies (organic, M&A), planning for recession, DEI initiatives that help your bottom line, training Gen-X leaders, and recruiting Gen Z's top talent.
10:35 – 10:50 AM
Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Design, School of Building Construction Program
Ece Erdogmus, Professor and Chair, Undergraduate Director | GA Tech
10:50 – 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 – 12:00 PM
Driving Growth with Account-Based Marketing with Judy Sparks
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has been used by the world's leading B2B brands for nearly two decades, and A/E/C firms are rapidly adopting the methodology. ABM enables firms to align their marketing and business development resources with their highest-value clients, targets, and specific key pursuits. It's a strategic methodology that yields enormous benefits, including:
- The ability to measure marketing ROI;
- Increased efficiency and reduction of marketing waste;
- Alignment of strategic business goals with marketing and business development investments;
- Faster speed to market with affordable scalability;
- More accountability for seller-doers, business development professionals, and marketing teams;
- Increased win rates with the clients you covet the most.
The AEC Truthteller, and founder of Smartegies, Judy Sparks, breaks down the ABM philosophy and shares a framework you can use to bring back to your organization. Through this presentation, you will learn the following:
- Why are AEC firms flocking to ABM now?
- How adopting an Account Based Marketing strategy will streamline your costs and help you achieve better results;
- How ABM is the most effective way to elevate your brand visibility with specific customers;
- How AEC firms are generating marketing qualified leads online;
- How online campaigns can gain a competitive edge on specific project pursuits.
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Ready. Set. Go! Porsche Driving Experience Demonstration laps, lunch and networking
Want to bond with other firm owners and marketing leaders? What better way than to share a unique experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else?
If you haven't visited the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, GA, designed by HOK, you are in for the ride of your life! So, buckle up, bring those business cards, grow your network and go back to work ready to make 2023 your banner year!
1:45 – 2:15 PM
Accelerate the Buyers' Journey to Drive Revenue with Katie Cash
All buyers go through a process before making a purchase decision. This is especially true when buying design, engineering, and construction services. Why? Because beyond your resumes and project portfolios, AEC firms must sell the same thing to win new clients: Trust. To sell trust to a selection committee is more complicated today than it was just a few years ago. With new technologies and a younger Gen-X at the helm of 68% of Fortune 500 and Inc. 500 companies, AEC firm owners and marketers are learning that accelerating the buyer's journey requires reaching buyers much earlier in the sales pipeline.
In this session, Katie Cash, Senior Vice President of Smartegies, will walk you through how to reach buyers well before an RFQ/P process begins. She will show real case studies of how aligning your business development, and marketing resources will yield a lower cost of client acquisition, increase brand trust and ultimately drive revenue.
2:15 – 2:30 PM
Break
2:30 – 3:25 PM
Life in the Fast Lane | Most Innovative Marketer's Panel moderated by Katie Cash featuring:
- Ashley Campbell, SVP | HITT Contracting
- Betsy Hurner, VP, Corporate Development | SSOE Group
- Tracey Sibley, CPSM, VP Marketing | Brasfield & Gorrie
- Scott Steiding, VP Marketing and Sales | Morrison Hershfield
Have you ever wondered what it takes to demand credibility and bring value as a non-technical professional in a technical field? Do you feel your marketing team is ready to evolve beyond just proposals? Then, don't miss this opportunity to hear from the Best of the Best marketing leaders who have all started in entry-level positions and are now leading some of the most innovative marketing operations in the built environment.
In this honest and open dialogue, Katie Cash will dive deep into how these leaders have remained on the cutting edge of growing their share of voice and market share. Get a glimpse into how firms have piloted ABM/S programs, what their technology stack looks like in today's connected world, how they are integrating brands through M&A playbooks, and how they are using digital marketing to build brand awareness around key pursuits, key accounts, and strategic hires, and more.
3:25 – 3:30 PM
Break
3:30 – 4:00 PM
Closing Keynote
Gregory C. Hart, President | PSMJ | Resources, Inc
A/E/C Market Outlook and Update
As we continue to navigate changing market conditions, how can you position your firm for long-term sustainable growth? How do you see beyond near-term fluctuations and noise? What are the critical trends that will drive your largest growth investments and strategies? You need high-quality data to make high-quality strategic decisions. In this fast-paced data-driven closing keynote, we walk through the latest insight from PSMJ Resources, Inc's "A/E/C Quarterly Market Forecast," which reveals how key market segments’ behaviors are changing, why they are doing so, and how you can take advantage of the opportunities they create.
Judy Sparks
Smartegies, Founder & CEO
Judy brings more than 25 years of experience in helping AEC firms develop and communicate their brand promise and unique offerings to their target audiences. Since forming Smartegies in 2008, she has provided strategic marketing solutions to more than 200 organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Judy has established herself as a renowned thought leader and marketing expert for AEC. For M&A Communication assignments, Judy functions as a lead strategist, offering high-level expertise to ensure that SSOE and any branding and positioning strategy will tell the story of the newly integrated team to maximize the synergies of an acquisition or merger.
Donya Edler
EVP
Donya brings more than 25 years of professional marketing, communications, and human resources experience. Her experience in mergers and acquisitions, brand management, internal communications, public relations, crisis communications, and media relations has been on a local, national, and global scale. Prior to joining Smartegies, Donya served as an executive at Amec Foster Wheeler, and Wood, where she helped navigate the integration of global marketing and employee engagement initiatives following multi-billion-dollar merger and acquisition activity. At Smartegies, Donya serves as the M&A Branding Specialist. Her firsthand knowledge of guiding AEC companies through rebranding and marketing initiatives in periods of dynamic growth and acquisitions constantly serves as an asset to clients. Donya is well-versed in collaborating with corporate leadership to implement upgraded brands that accurately express the company's identity and reach the intended audience, internally and externally.
Katie Cash
SVP
Katie has more than 15 years of AEC marketing experience. She is skilled in devising creative strategies to help companies develop, refresh, and integrate their M&A brand messaging. Katie is known for her ability to implement effective campaigns, combining traditional and digital platforms, and has led more than 30 branding initiatives since joining Smartegies.
Ashley Campbell
HITT Contracting, SVP
Ashley is a Senior Vice President at HITT Contracting, where she has the exciting responsibility of leading the strategic vision for the client and employee experience. In her role, Ashley leads the marketing, communications, creative, corporate business development, and human resources teams. She's also a HITT's Enterprise Governance Committee member, responsible for establishing goals and initiatives to drive value for the company. Through Ashley's vision and passion for bridging the gap between the employee and client experience, HITT has successfully built a brand reputation for a premium construction experience and a great place to work.
Betsy Hurner
SSOE Group, VP
Betsy has more than 20 years of AEC marketing experience. She has served in various positions, rising through the ranks of the Marketing Department, including acting as SSOE’s Director of Marketing, where she led branding and communication strategies for the acquisition of Evergreen EDC, a transaction that launched SSOE to become ENR’s #2 ranked designer for the booming semiconductor industry. Currently, Besty is SSOE Group’s Vice President of Corporate Development, where she oversees and integrates organic and inorganic growth functions, including Mergers & Acquisitions, Marketing, and Business Development.
Tracey Sibley
Brasfield & Gorrie, VP Marketing
Tracey is the Vice President of Marketing for Brasfield & Gorrie, one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms. With 28 years of construction marketing experience, she was the first female vice president at Brasfield & Gorrie and is a member of their corporate strategy team. In 2014, she led Brasfield & Gorrie’s Diversity & Inclusion inaugural steering team and helped create their current Operational Women’s Network group. She is a Past President of the Central Florida Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM), a Leadership Orlando Class 49 Alumni, and a past committee member for the City of Orlando Educational Task Force. Today, Tracey oversees a $5 million budget and a staff of 36 marketing and communication professionals spread throughout their offices.
Scott Steiding
Morrison Hershfield, VP Marketing and Sales
Scott is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Morrison Hershfield, an Ontario-based, leading engineering and management firm serving communities and some of the largest brands globally. As the leader of Corporate Marketing and Sales, Scott manages market and client feedback mechanisms in Canada and the U.S. to ensure the smart growth goals of the organization are met. A truly modern marketer, Scott leads his team and organization by balancing data-driven and relationship-based approaches that encompass online and offline tactics.
Greg Hart
PSMJ Resources, President
Greg Hart, President and Consultant for PSMJ is passionate about helping A/E/C firm leaders strengthen their businesses. In his career, Greg has completed hundreds of business valuations (the ultimate indicator of business performance and value creation) and advised on various mergers and acquisitions and succession plans. He is a valuable AEC consultant not only because he came out of the industry himself but because he can draw from the financial and analytical side of his background as well as the creative and "just go for it" side.
WHY ATTEND SMARTWIN?
If you are a Principal or Marketing Executive at an A/E/C firm, there have likely been times lately when you have questioned whether or not you should continue to “go to market” in the same way.
Let’s face it, our industry has relied on a relationship-based sales model since the beginning of time, so is there really a need to change? In short, NO, you still need to have great relationships with potential buyers. What’s changed is HOW you build those relationships and how much you’re willing to spend.
The biggest thing that has changed is your buying audience. AEC buyers are getting younger across every major sector. They are in their prime earning years, raising children, and some have already become the primary caretaker for aging parents. They simply do not have time to spend a whole day on the golf course or running around town looking for their next project lead, one industry lunch at a time. But they still need to grow their firms.
WHAT IS ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING?
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has been used by the world’s leading B2B brands for nearly two decades, and A/E/C firms are rapidly adopting the methodology. ABM enables firms to align their marketing and business development resources with their highest-value clients, targets, and specific key pursuits. It’s a strategic methodology that yields enormous benefits, including:
- The ability to measure marketing ROI
- Increased efficiency and reduction of marketing waste
- Alignment of strategic business goals with marketing and business development investments
- Faster speed to market with affordable scalability
- More accountability for seller-doers, business development professionals, and marketing teams
- Increased win rates with the clients you covet the most
SPONSOR SMARTWIN
Looking to raise the visibility of your organization with AEC leaders? SmartWIN is the place to do it.
We'd like to thank our sponsors:
Still not convinced SmartWIN is your ticket to growth in 2023? Let’s talk. Attending this event could be the single best decision you make to help you:
- Scale your revenues with the clients you prefer to work with;
- Increase your share of wallet with existing clients;
- Diversify into new growth markets;
- Attract top talent that is culturally aligned with your firm’s values;
- Position your brand to stand out in the AEC sea of sameness;
- Meet industry peers and expand your network with like-minded leaders;
- Reduce waste in your sales pipeline.
Let’s get 2023 off in the right direction!
