by Rebecca Walker — May 9, 2011—FMI, a leading provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, announces the release of the FMI Special Report: Survey of Construction Industry Business Development Practices.
Despite encouraging signs that the economy is improving, new projects remain hard to find for contractors, according to the report. In better times, the majority of contractors did not focus a great deal on business development, but that is changing as backlogs dwindle to historical lows and competition is tougher than ever.
In response to this heightened interest in business development, FMI launched an intensive study of business development practices in the U.S. engineering and construction industry. The aim was to assess the extent of which the role of business development within the industry has increased; to gain a deep understanding of the most difficult problems associated with building a strong business development culture; and to examine how successful contractors are overcoming these challenges.
Among the findings, 73 percent of contractors surveyed were spending more resources (either in the form of time or money) on business development now than they were prior to the economic downturn. However, just 62% of construction executives think their investments in business development are achieving the desired result.
For a copy of the report, visit FMINet.
