In this episode, Christian sits down with Denise Young, a 22-year veteran in strategic partnerships and business development. As Business Development Manager at Turner Construction–an international construction services company that completes $17 billion in construction across 1,500 projects annually–Denise plays a key role in mentoring staff on best practices for business and professional development. Denise is also the President and Owner of Young BD Group (YBDG), which she founded in 2014. YBDG works to energize their clients’ business development activity to ensure a robust pipeline for new projects. Her expertise in relationship-building, networking, and long-term growth strategies makes this a must-listen for anyone in architecture, construction, or business development.
https://www.turnerconstrucTurner Construction Companytion.com
0:09 – Introduction to The Anti-Architect Podcast and guest Denise Young.
1:03 – Overview of Denise Young’s career in business development and her role at Turner Construction.
2:42 – Christian discusses the importance of business development in architecture firms.
3:52 – Denise explains why business development professionals sometimes get a bad reputation.
5:20 – The impact of Mancini Duffy and Turner Construction’s collaboration.
6:46 – Business development as a long-term relationship-building process.
7:19 – The difference between sales and business development.
8:57 – Strategies for developing strong business relationships over time.
10:04 – The importance of community outreach in business development.
12:07 – Key principles for success in business development.
15:47 – Denise shares her three key pillars: pipeline, professional development, and community.
18:39 – How Denise balanced multiple clients as a consultant.
20:43 – The impact of COVID-19 on business development.
23:29 – What Denise finds unique about working with architects.
26:03 – How architects and contractors can work better together.
30:34 – Denise’s career journey from film production to business development.
37:19 – Turner Construction’s rapid growth in the Tampa market.
40:21 – Turner’s strong commitment to charitable giving and community engagement.
42:00 – The irreplaceable value of relationships in business development.
42:50 – Conclusion and closing remarks.