While “business development” is a common term in our industry, some may view it as jargon taken from an executive MBA program; it may seem overwhelming and incomprehensible to folks who don’t do it every day. But business development specialist Alicia Zimmerman doesn’t see it that way. Her take on business development? It’s a method of forging sincere, long-term relationships, with business success as the positive outcome.

When I first started in this industry I worked for a large, very well-established civil engineering firm in the Intermountain Region. I was the first marketing person they had ever hired so I was fortunate to be able to set up the department and get their marketing programs put into place. One day I approached my boss, the president of the company, about establishing a Client Relations program to monitor client satisfaction.