Tracks
Tactical, Hands-On Sessions for Unified, High-Performing Teams
This track features multiple 2-hour, interactive workshops designed for professionals across marketing, BD, and technical roles. “Interactive” means you’ll be actively participating—bring your pen, paper, or laptop to engage in real-time exercises, discussions, and problem-
Unified Voices Win Work: Coaching Your Team to Speak with Purpose
Workshop
THURSDAY, JANUARY 29 | 9:45 AM - 11:45 AM | Live Oak
You know your technical team is brilliant, but helping them communicate that brilliance takes strategy, empathy, and a coach’s mindset. In this high-energy, interactive session, SMPS Fellow Lindsay Young will show marketers and BD professionals how to step into the role of communication coach to help technical teammates speak with purpose and clarity. You will learn how to translate complex ideas into client-focused language, guide your team toward consistent messaging, and break down internal silos that get in the way of winning work. Through hands-on tools, role-play, and real-world examples, you will gain confidence to coach in any setting, such as proposals, presentations, meetings, or interviews. Whether you are mentoring engineers, prepping project managers, or building firmwide messaging alignment, you will leave with actionable strategies to unify your team’s voice and sharpen your firm’s client impact. Get ready to help your firm speak with one voice! And here’s the kicker: you will win more work because of it!
Key Takeaways
- Build trust with technical pros so they’re open to coaching—and ready to grow
- Guide your team to craft unified, client-focused messages that truly resonate
- Break down silos by coaching better everyday communication across roles
- Equip colleagues to connect with clients, boost confidence, and help your firm win more work
About Lindsay
Lindsay loves all things PINK, spending time at the lake, is a red dirt country music junkie and enjoys spending time with family and friends. She’s been married to her best friend and husband, Aaron, for nineteen years. Chief Difference Maker of nu marketing, Lindsay consults with small to medium sized design, development and construction firms with their marketing and business development plans. Through effective strategies, she helps businesses increase their profits and build their businesses. With over 20 years of experience, she helps companies with marketing strategies, brand perception surveys, trade show implementation, customer and employee events, presentations, social media presence, employee training, and project management of branding and website redevelopment.
Lindsay has been an active member of SMPS Wichita and served as President twice and currently serves as SMPS Wichita treasurer. She’s also an advisor to SMPS Ozarks and is the sponsorship chair for the upcoming Missouri Valley Regional Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas in April 2026. As a Pittsburg State University (Kansas) Gorilla, undergraduate and graduate, Lindsay is the Chair of the Wichita Construction Alumni Association Golf Tournament where they raise money for construction scholarships. She was also named Pittsburg State University Distinguished Service Award Recipient in 2023, because of her countless volunteer hours. Lindsay was named Wichita Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2011 and Northwest Arkansas Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2022. She is also a member of the Associated Builders and Contractors Northwest Arkansas Council and an active member of National Association of Women in Construction Northwest Arkansas Chapter.
Beyond Proposals: Building a Unified Marketing Toolkit
Workshop
THURSDAY, JANUARY 29 | 1:45 PM - 3:45 PM | Live Oak
You already use it for pursuits. You already know its power as an efficient layout tool. Now, unlock Adobe InDesign as a unified marketing and collaboration engine—built for teams across marketing, BD, and technical roles. In this interactive, hands-on workshop, you'll go beyond proposals to explore how InDesign can power your marketing toolkit. Learn to create storyboards and concept layouts to present ideas with clarity and impact, build digital assets and export your InDesign files directly into Adobe Express, craft brand playbooks that align your team and clients, and design clickable flipbooks and microsites (using a plugin) for interactive presentations and collateral. Through real-time exercises, you'll discover how Adobe and AI-powered design tools streamline workflows and empower team unity. You'll leave with practical, scalable strategies to boost consistency, efficiency, and creative output—ready to implement across your team.
Key Takeaways
- Unlock InDesign as a central marketing and collaboration engine beyond proposals.
- Create storyboards, social kits, brand playbooks, and interactive flipbooks/microsites.
- Engage in hands-on, real-time exercises for practical skill-building.
- Leverage Adobe and AI tools to streamline workflows and collaboration.
- Implement scalable strategies to boost consistency, efficiency, and creative output.
This session is designed to be interactive - if attending this workshop, please bring a laptop.
About Julie
Julie Shaffer, FSMPS, CPSM, is a marketing consultant, trainer, and creative designer dedicated to helping marketers and professional services firms win work and thrive. With nearly 30 years of experience—and as owner of Shaffer Creative since 2012—she blends creative vision with strategic messaging to sharpen positioning and drive results.
An Adobe Community Expert, certified instructor, and award-winning designer, Julie is recognized for making complex tools and strategies approachable. She has led more than 600 training sessions for in-house teams and organizations nationwide and abroad, covering Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop; proposal development; creative workflows; template systems; and design strategies tailored to professional services.
Known for her engaging, hands-on style, Julie equips teams to apply new skills immediately. Her dual focus on real-time consulting and immersive education keeps her training rooted in current practice, making her a trusted partner in building confidence, efficiency, and impact.
UNIFY AND ACTIVATE: Marketing Leadership in the Heat of the Pursuit
Workshop
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | Live Oak
In a perfect world, every pursuit begins with a strategy and ample time to position your team for success. In reality? That RFP drops into your inbox with zero warning—and it’s a “hot go” from a cold start. When the clock is ticking and the RFP is already in motion, marketing leaders are uniquely positioned to bring focus, strategy, and momentum to the pursuit. Unify and Activate is a dynamic, hands-on workshop designed for those who thrive—or want to thrive—under pressure. Together, we’ll explore how to quickly align teams, clarify messaging, and activate client-centered strategies that resonate, even when time is short. Participants are encouraged to bring a recent or upcoming “emergency” pursuit to use as a real-time case study. Through collaborative exercises and guided discussion, you’ll uncover practical ways to lead with confidence, unify your team around a shared vision, and deliver messaging that wins. Whether you're navigating a cold start or a hot pursuit, this session will equip you with the tools to lead with purpose and power—right when it matters most.
Key Takeaways
- Unify cross-functional teams quickly and effectively around a shared pursuit strategy, even with limited preparation time.
- Activate client-centered messaging that differentiates your team and speaks directly to the client’s needs and priorities.
- Apply a rapid-response framework to real-world “emergency” pursuits using collaborative exercises and peer feedback.
- Build confidence and agility in leading proposal efforts when time is short and stakes are high.
About Donna
Strategist. Facilitator. Connector. Coach. A native Tennessean, Donna’s roots run deep in Southern hospitality, a culture of giving, and an abiding love of SEC football and cows—ask her about the bovine that paid her way through college!
Don’t let that Southern twang fool you – under the surface lies the heart and soul of a Steel Magnolia driven by a passion for coaching and helping architects, engineers, and builders identify and maximize their unique talents and expertise. She works with AEC firms across the country to focus strategic vision rooted in research, grow connections and chemistry with clients and partners, and help teams engaged in project delivery, marketing, and business development to thrive and win profitable work.
With over 700 technical professionals trained as effective doer-sellers, Donna brings an understanding of the A/E/C market and a proven track record of performance and results.
A CPSM and SMPS Fellow, Donna is an active SMPS member, serving as Society President and SMPS Foundation trustee. Donna received SMPS’ highest honor, the Weld Coxe Marketing Achievement Award, in 2019, recognizing career achievements, leadership roles, and lasting contributions to AEC.
An engaging and enthusiastic speaker, she presents a diverse range of leadership, business strategy, marketing, and business development topics for AIA, AGC, ABC, ACEC, and SMPS on chapter, regional, and national levels.
