Resources
Find and download free templates and guides for your marketing, business development, and communications needs.
Templates + Guides
Download our presentation from AIA 25 for free with email opt-in!
This session provides access and equity, leveling the playing field with tools and tactics small firms can utilize to better define their competitive advantage, tell their story with more confidence, and claim their stake in hyper-competitive markets.
Whether you’re new to marketing and business development, need some inspiration, or you’re a principal who also moonlights as the CMO, this session will remove the mystery and needless complexity of how to set and obtain your firm's goals – from optimizing what’s working well and adjusting your trajectory, to proving your firm’s value and enhancing your reputation to win the work you want.
You need this if:
You’re looking for a crash course in business development.
You want all the basic tools in one place.
You need resources to help you reach out to potential clients with confidence.
What’s included:
Get a Meeting Guide
If you don't ask, you don't get. This detailed guide gets you started on how to effectively ask for a meeting and get it scheduled.
BizDev Tracker
Not quite ready for a full-fledged Contact Management System (CMS), but know you need to keep track of your outreach and pursuits? Enter the BD Tracker. Built in Google Sheets, this easy-to-use tool will keep you organized and keep your eye on the prize — converting leads to clients.
Pursuit Go/No Go Checklist
Not every opportunity that comes your way is right for you. And taking on work that's not a fit ends up being a barrier to getting the work you actually want. This Go/No Go Checklist is a great gut check to make sure the opportunity really does check all the boxes.
Debrief Questions
You can't win them all. But it's always a good idea to find out why you lost. These debrief questions will help guide the conversation on where you fell short, and help you set yourself up for success next time.
You need this if:
Your brand could use a refresh, but you’re not sure where to start.
Your firm needs to differentiate to stand out from competitors.
You’re looking for a resource that will help you pinpoint your brand identity.
What you can expect:
This downloadable guide explains the details of brand identity and strategy, and how you can use both to help your firm stand out from the competition.
The attached toolkit will walk you through a variety of audits to define your brand identity, size up your competition, and learn how to make your firm shine.
You need this if:
You’re getting asked the same questions over and over again in every RFQ/P.
Writing proposals from scratch feels daunting.
Your process would be streamlined by having baseline, customizable text on hand.
What you can expect:
You’ll receive a bundle of polished, professional text, ready for personalization and tweaks to make it your own.
The bundle includes baseline text for the following:
Design + Management Approach
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Workload/Availability
Budget + Schedule Control
We’ll also include our Style + Grammar Guide to ensure you and your team are writing from the same playbook.
You need this if:
You want guidelines that will help you track, pursue, and win the work you want to design.
You’re looking for an easy, all-in-one package that will help you effectively manage your marketing pursuits and your team.
What’s included:
Pursuit Go/No Go Checklist
Not every opportunity that comes your way is right for you. And taking on work that's not a fit ends up being a barrier to getting the work you actually want. This Go/No Go Checklist is a great gut check to make sure the opportunity really does check all the boxes.
Plan to Win
Preparing for a complex pursuit or a must-win opportunity? Use this PTW to get your whole team on the same page re: the client's goals, your team roles and responsibilities, and your key differentiators that need to come through front and center.
How to Hire Key AEC Marketing Roles with Job Descriptions
We know finding the right talent for your team can be daunting. Take some of the guess work out by using this how-to guide with job descriptions ready to post.
Budget Template (Google sheets)
Setting up (and sticking to) a marketing budget is critically important, especially as you embark on expanding your firm's marketing efforts. This easy-to-use template will help you set up and track your marketing spend.
Debrief Questions
You can't win them all. But it's always a good idea to find out why you lost. These debrief questions will help guide the conversation on where you fell short, and help you set yourself up for success next time.
Photoshoot Checklist
Capturing your recently completed projects is a critical step in winning your next commission. This helpful checklist ensures you get all the views you'll need for a myriad of marketing uses — from awards to your website, social, and beyond. It also includes a guide on how to pick the right photographer, share expenses with your consultant team, and more.
You need this if:
You need to make an impressive presentation to win new work, but just keep finding yourself staring at a blank slide.
You’re looking to build a clear and compelling presentation to let your work shine.
What you can expect:
The Bold + Modern theme uses large, bold copy along with black and white base slides and bold pops of color.
Template includes:
Cover
Table of Contents
Dividers
Multiple text and image layouts
Schedule
Infographics
You need this if:
You’ve been tasked with handling your firm’s social presence.
You need a crash course (or a refresher) on the basics of creating engaging and impactful content on LinkedIn and Instagram.
You want to use social media strategically to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.
What you can expect:
A comprehensive guide for making the most of social media — including current recommendations for optimizing the algorithm.
Examples of effective social media content and a link to ready-to-use templates on Canva.
You need this if:
Your proposals are feeling a little dusty and dated
You want a ready-to-use template that already has all the pieces built out.
What you can expect:
Our template uses bold font, black and white base pages, and pops of bright color.
Currently available in Google Docs, check back soon for more template options and INDD formats.
This template file includes:
Cover
Table of Contents
Dividers
Text Pages
Image + Text Pages
Resumes
Project Pages
Schedule + Fee Templates
Org Chart (3 options)
You need this if:
You’re ready to submit your project for awards, but aren’t sure which are the right fit.
You need help crafting the most compelling story for the awards jury.
You want to see all the year’s awards in one easy-to-read place.
What you can expect:
You’ll receive a calendar template displaying all major industry awards.
This fully-updated resource will guide you with our Awards Strategy as you choose which awards are right for your projects.