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BUSINESS NEWS VDOT SELECTS DEWBERRY FOR $200-MILLION I-81 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Dewberry , a privately held professional services firm, has announced that it has been selected by the Virginia Department of Transportation to provide transportation engineering services for the widening of I-81 in Roanoke County and the city of Salem, Virginia. For this project, Dewberry was selected as part of the Archer Wester- Dewberry design-build team. The intent of the project is to improve safety and increase capacity by widening I-81 from four to six lanes. An additional lane will be designed and constructed in both the northbound and southbound directions between mile markers 136.6 and 141.8.

The firm’s services will include design and construction support, including environmental permitting and civil, transportation, and structural engineering. Construction of the approximately $200-million project is expected to begin in 2022 and be complete in early 2026. Dewberry is a leading, market-facing firm with a proven history of providing professional services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Recognized for combining unsurpassed commitment to client service with deep subject matter expertise, Dewberry is dedicated to solving clients’ most complex challenges and transforming their communities. Established in 1956, Dewberry is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with more than 50 locations and more than 2,000 professionals nationwide.

This four week program helps design and technical professionals in architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental firms become more comfortable managing clients and promoting the firm and its services. Elevating Doer- Sellers: Business Development for AEC Professionals Virtual Seminar 6 PDH/LU

STEPHANIE WARINO, from page 1 for help. Ask for content, ask for project pictures, create space and time for content development, project descriptions, anecdotes, success stories, and lessons learned. You can use this content in proposals, marketing materials, on social media, and on your website. 4) Policy check. Are your policies or norms preventing you from tapping into your greatest marketing resource, employees? Are employees allowed paid time to develop whitepapers and presentations? Is your social media policy too vague, or too strict? 5) Reinforcement. I can’t stress positive reinforcement enough. Spot bonuses, widely spotlighting behavior you want to encourage, or a shout-out in company newsletters can work well. 6) Embrace the technical. Technical content is always good – it demonstrates your expertise. Is staff doubtful or resisting engagement? You may need to ask them in a different way. Can they provide a short explanation of a particularly well-executed aspect of a project? Provide an opinion on some new regulations? This pulls double duty – not only as marketing material, but also as staff training or even continuing education. 7) Blogs. Find out what people are passionate about and give them some space to run. Use the technical expertise you have! Most clients want to hear from and talk to the project manager or technical expert – they’ll come to your website to read their work, too. 8) Empower. Empower people to engage, interact with potential clients, and follow up on leads or ideas as a team effort, with coaching and supervision along the way. 9) Track, measure, and discuss. Make sure everyone understands the difference between marketing and business development, and knows how to charge time appropriately so you can track your return on investment. Then discuss the numbers and trends and make decisions along the way to improve performance. 10) Consistent and persistent. It takes real focus, commitment, time, and effort to create, maintain, and expand market awareness. Set a schedule and curate content, media, and activities thoughtfully – always with your market and timeline in mind. These actions, if done properly and consistently, with leadership guidance and training, can create a truly effective doer-seller culture and create a positive feedback loop, thereby increasing engagement, and ultimately, elevate the firm’s value. STEPHANIE WARINO is a strategic planning advisor with Zweig Group. Contact her at swarino@ zweiggroup.com. 2021 MARKETING SURVEY Zweig Group’s 2021 Marketing Survey is open for participation now! Participate and save 50 percent on the final or pre-publication price of any Zweig Group research publication.

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Published continuously since 1992 by Zweig Group, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. ISSN 1068-1310. Issued weekly (48 issues/year) $250 for one-year print subscription; free electronic subscription at thezweigletter.com/subscribe © Copyright 2021, Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

© Copyright 2021. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JUNE 14, 2021, ISSUE 1396

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