From fees to client care, lessons learned from a season of conferences highlight growth, adaptability, and connection.
This past summer, I found myself in ballrooms, breakout rooms, and bustling receptions across several different industry conferences. After hours of sitting through presentations (and more than a few awkward “networking” moments), I walked away with something I couldn’t have picked up from a webinar or a white paper: the power of showing up.
Being in the room with others who are in the same shoes – asking questions that resonated, wrestling with the same challenges – hits differently than logging into a virtual session. I didn’t just hear ideas, I felt the collective curiosity in the air. And more often than not, the most valuable takeaways were the ones I didn’t even know I needed.
Here are a few highlights that stuck with me:
- Instead of just highlighting private equity and consolidation (which everyone’s already buzzing about), Will Swearingen of Zweig Group reminded us that profitability is not just a metric – it’s what enables you to invest in people, systems, and growth. Young professionals in Florida saw almost a 7% salary increase in the past year – far above the national average of 2.2%. There are so many parts to the story of fees and profitability – fee setting, recruiting, retention, succession – and all of it ties back to understanding your cost structure and ensuring profitability. It’s not just about chasing bigger projects or higher billings; it’s about making sure your firm is healthy enough to reinvest in its future.
- Rosa Sheng and her co-presenters gave a solemn reminder that inequity has health, environmental, and generational consequences. Their framing powerfully tied redlining, sacrificial zones, and environmental injustice directly to the disparities we see today. It shifted DEI from being about HR policies to something much broader: who bears the cost of our built environment decisions, generation after generation.
- Kermit Baker of the AIA didn’t sugarcoat it: the economy is vulnerable. From tariffs to immigration policy to funding cutbacks, firms are operating in an environment defined by uncertainty. The stop-and-go effect on projects was a wake-up call that adaptability and forward planning are nonnegotiables.
- Heather Currier Hunt and Laura Weiss challenged the old idea that professional development is about formal training programs. They emphasized creating cultures where learning is continuous – through coaching, feedback, and stretch assignments. One phrase stuck with me: “Retention is the new recruitment.” If we don’t keep developing our people, someone else will.
- I always knew marketing/comms is essential in a merger/acquisition, but during a panel moderated by Jamie Claire Kiser, I got the firsthand recount of the messy realities. The panelists, including Ana Maria Collins, didn’t sugarcoat – they talked about fears from founders, missteps in messaging, even the risk of saying “nothing will change” when, of course, everything will. But the real eye-opener was hearing how two CMOs from the merging firms could co-exist and collaborate through the integration process – using their combined perspective to protect culture, craft the right narrative, and build trust inside and outside the firm. The clear takeaway: get marketing leaders to the table early.
- I was blown away by how systematic Gina Renee Autrey is about her firm’s association and professional organization involvement. She broke down the difference between scanning 122 business cards at a booth versus actually tracking who those people are, the follow-up that happens, and whether it led to meaningful outcomes. She built a system for evaluating opportunities, aligning people with the right roles, and making sure their involvement in professional organizations ladders up to strategic goals. More impressive yet, she sticks to her guns, demands that everyone sticks to the processes, and holds everyone accountable – no ROI, no future participation.
- I sat on my legs almost outside of the room at this standing room only session led by Sarah Kinard, and it was worth it. The session highlighted three shifts shaping the industry right now: collaboration as the new currency, where true partnerships reduce risk for owners and unlock trust; the growing momentum around client experience, reminding us that how clients feel during a project is just as important as the final deliverable; and the maturation of marketing and business development, as data, AI, and integrated strategies elevate these functions from support roles to strategic drivers, the makeup of a marketing team is shifting fast.
- Alyson Fieldman, Rebecca Lavezzary, and Sarah Hoff, through two different sessions, provided a well-rounded client care strategy. Both sessions emphasized that growth comes from treating client relationships as more than just projects. Rebecca and Sarah reminded us how tools like personas, journey maps, and consistent feedback can turn satisfied clients into long-term advocates. Alyson emphasized the need to separate the relationship from the work – segmenting clients, mapping connections, and creating account plans that deepen loyalty and drive revenue. Together, the message was clear: firms that invest in client care and account strategy don’t just win projects – they build partnerships that last.
- Last but not least, I only managed to write this article “Because I Said I Would.” Thank you, Alex Sheen.
Of course, the bullet points above don’t capture the whole value of attending. The real magic happened in the in-between moments: running into a peer at the coffee line, overhearing a conversation that resonated, or stumbling into a session you didn’t think you needed.
And yes, I’ll admit it: even as someone who creates networking opportunities, the word “networking” makes me cringe. But it is also true that more often than not, those unplanned conversations have been more beneficial than the business cards I carefully collected.
This fall, as conference season kicks into high gear, I’d encourage you to show up – not just log in. Starting with Zweig Group’s ElevateAEC Conference, there’s a full calendar of opportunities to learn and connect. Sometimes the biggest ROI isn’t a metric; it’s the simple act of being in the room.
Shirley Che is a field marketing and PR strategist at Zweig Group. Contact her at sche@zweiggroup.com.
