With the formation of a dedicated Client Experience team, my role changed to lead this group and the development, execution, and management of Henderson's Client Experience program. This includes the Voice of the Client (VoC), Training & Recognition, Research & Strategy, and Client Capture Planning, all in an aim to be a global leader in Client Experience.

As the director of client relationships, I manage our relationships with some of our top clients to keep growing and maintaining our positions with them. With client experience being one of two pillars of our strategic plan, I also work with an internal team to define, implement, and manage our client experience program to ensure that every client receives a consistent, extraordinary experience that is uncommon in the A/E/C industry.

In early 2013 I was promoted to this position and asked to move from St. Louis to start a new Kansas City office for the 18th largest commercial construction firm in the US. With few contacts in Kansas City, I crafted a plan, started networking, joined associations, targeted opportunities, and began building partnerships that would establish our presence for years to come. Over the course of five and a half years, my team and I’s efforts translated to nearly $450 million in sales and a growth in staff from two to more than 50. In addition to business development responsibilities, as one of the office leaders, I oversaw all marketing efforts for the office, including strategy, proposals, tradeshows, social media, public relations, etc.

In this role, I was responsible for all marketing efforts for the Central Division’s Science & Technology business unit, which averaged more than $100 million during those years. Collaborating with a business development director, multiple departments, project teams, and other offices, my efforts were focused on all aspects of proposal creation, project interviews, marketing collateral creation, tradeshow marketing, strategic planning, advertising, and CRM database management. In addition, I assisted in business development efforts, such as meeting with architects, engineers, and clients and tradeshow booth staffing. Our team’s efforts led to the business unit exceeding the sales goal, receiving multiple project awards, improving the marketing content, being published in industry journals and magazines, and maintaining relevancy with all current and past clients.

My duties at HOK (a global architecure firm) closely resembled those as marketing/business development coordinator at McCarthy. Besides being on the design side of the industry, the primary differences included serving a variety of market sectors and working directly with multiple principals of the firm. While in this position, I helped various teams in the firm win a number of large projects for notable clients ConocoPhillips, General Services Administration, University of Wisconsin, University of Wyoming and many more. I also served as a blogger for the firm’s Life at HOK blog and social media team, helping to expand the firm’s marketing reach.

A membership organization for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing companies, I began as Video Production/Website Coordinator, where I taught myself video production skills, including scriptwriting, videography, and editing. I also assisted in the development and maintenance of new websites for each organization. I also regularly staffed conferences and tradeshows hosted by the company. After two and a half years, I was promoted to marketing strategist, where I was responsible for all external, business-to-business marketing to recruit new members to the organization. By refining our direct mail campaigns and processes, I reduced costs by 25% and increased our lead rate by more than 50% over previous campaigns.