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Conference call: Dan Swift President and CEO of BSB Design (#87 Hot Firm for 2017), a 180-person architectural design and development firm based in Des Moines, Iowa.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
“M y advice is to get on it!” says Swift, refer- ring to ownership transition. “Most firms run out of time and don’t spend enough of it on transition. It cannot be rushed because when that gets rushed, it can get ugly fast.” A CONVERSATION WITH DAN SWIFT. The Zweig Letter: Zweig Group research shows there has been a shift in business development strategies. More and more, technical staff, not marketing staff, are responsible for BD. What’s the BD formula in your firm? Dan Swift: In our firm we believe that business de- velopment is about relationship building and pro- tecting those relationships. All staff has a role to play when you are trying to create a firm that is a
sales machine. As stated above we have a BD opera- tions team that leads the charge and trains all staff including technical, design, and marketing staff in the soft skills needed for becoming a future BD tal- ent. You cannot have too many salespeople. “In our firm we believe that business development is about relationship building and protecting those relationships.” TZL: The list of responsibilities for project man- agers is seemingly endless. How do you keep your PMs from burning out? And if they crash, how do you get them back out on the road, so to speak?
Dan Swift, President & CEO, BSB Design
THE ZWEIG LETTER Janu
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