To Whom it May Concern:
In my capacity as Director of Business Development at Fousheé, to maximize my abilities, it became apparent that I needed help setting strategic direction and preparing for client interactions. I got to know Eric through LinkedIn and his Construction Genius podcast, and he seemed like someone who could help.
Eric’s services are not cheap, because of that and some timing issues, it took some time to get our ownership’s approval. Ultimately, they agreed to strengthen their investment in me by hiring Eric, and I am so glad they did.
Taking a strategic approach to business development, and preparing the right questions to ask to obtain information to position my company for success is challenging. Working with Eric has provided a framework for approaching sales opportunities and laid the groundwork for preparing for meetings and conversations, by assembling the right questions to ask to give Foushée’s operations staff the information they need to win business.
The business development strategies and approaches we discussed were often abstract. Eric makes abstract topics and goals into something concrete. For me, that proved to be beneficial.
It’s great to have someone like Eric, who focuses solely on working with construction executives. He understands our struggles, but he’s not entrenched in the operational side of the business which provides experiences outside of construction that are helpful.
Eric’s approach is genuine. He prepares for meetings and quickly identifies what we need to work on. He personalizes his coaching, and is laser-focused in each session what I need to work on to maximize my talents and work on my weaknesses. He is continually presents new perspectives, not necessarily to change my mind, but to show me different ways to approach situations that can then trigger a fresh approach to business development activities.
It is obvious why Eric is effective, he’s a good listener and asks excellent questions. He is a terrific sounding board that I can bounce ideas off, and he takes those ideas and flips them in a slightly different direction to make them even better.
Another beneficial aspect of working with Eric is that he identified early on that I have plenty of energy and charisma. Still, he honed in on some of my weaknesses that needed improving to let my positives shine through even more. I appreciate that he was frank about what needed fixing, and didn’t just pat me on the back for my strengths.
An example of this is a recent project we proposed on with an internationally known, high-profile client. Eric challenged me to engage my internal team and not just rely on myself to maximize our opportunity of landing the work. He helped me to understand that it was ok for me to take a back-seat in the process and focus more on putting the right team members in the right places so they could make to make the necessary presentations to be successful. You can imagine how excited I was when we landed the multi-million-dollar project.
I’m sure there are guys out there who don’t charge as much, but what matters is results, and Eric is very focused on providing those results.
I appreciate the opportunity to work with Eric, and the combination of his experience in construction and his candid approach makes recommending his services a pleasure.
Matt Buchanan
Director of Business Development
