Why AEC Firms Struggle with BizDev (and How to Fix It)

The AEC world is full of brilliant engineers, architects, and builders—yet many firms still struggle to grow the way they should. In this episode, John and Mark break down what’s actually broken in AEC business development by bringing in three guest voices who see the problems up close every day.

First up is Aaron Moncur, founder of Pipeline Design & Engineering and host of Being an Engineer. Aaron shares why so many engineers hesitate to market themselves, why “humble brags” feel impossible, and how he built a media ecosystem—podcasts, community, events—to escape the expensive black hole of traditional trade shows.
Connect with Aaron:   / pipelinedesign  

Then, Leslie Blaize makes the case that AEC firms dramatically underuse one of the most powerful tools in business development: storytelling. She explains why technical expertise alone can’t win a project, how emotion drives buying decisions, and why firms should be capturing, curating, and reusing their best project stories instead of letting them disappear after a single proposal.
Connect with Leslie:   / freelance-writer-architecture-engineering-...  

Finally, Perryn Olson brings a construction-focused lens to what’s broken—namely, over-reliance on founder-led sales and a lack of clear ideal client profiles. He unpacks why these habits choke growth, destroy succession value, and leave firms trapped in a cycle of “sell only what the founder can sell.”
Connect with Perryn:   / perryn  

John and Mark tie all three conversations together, highlighting themes across engineering, architecture, and construction—from cultural reluctance around marketing to the chaos of co-opetition to the structural challenges of building a scalable BD function.

If you’ve ever wondered why AEC firms struggle to tell their story, stand out, or build a real sales engine… this episode brings the receipts.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome
01:01 Three Guests from AEC
04:59 Aaron Moncur
12:10 Leslie Blaize
21:45 Perryn Olson
26:10 Conclusion