Speaker Series

Crafting Your Unique Ideal Client Profile – NIA Speaker Forum

This NIA networking talk, “Crafting Your Unique Ideal Client Profile,” led by Dave Peppelman, empowers contractors and business professionals to define and attract their most valuable clients. By understanding client-specific problems, struggles, and needs, attendees learn to serve more of their perfect clients through actionable strategies:

  • Defining the Ideal Client: Nail down specifics like industry, company size, and main pain points to attract more of the clients you want to serve.
  • Predicting Client Problems: Use smart, targeted questioning to uncover the root causes of client struggles—beyond surface-level symptoms.
  • Focusing Solutions: Communicate how your unique expertise directly solves those problems, especially in areas where you deliver the most impact.
  • Applying the 3 C’s: Be Consistent, Confident, and help clients Close on action—not just the sale.
  • Practical Exercises: Engage in hands-on group work to bring ideal client profiling into real-time practice.

Participants will leave with tools to pinpoint ideal clients and initiate meaningful conversations—opening doors for referrals, tangible results, and the type of business they truly want to grow.

Summary

This session empowers professionals to clarify, target, and communicate their Unique Ideal Client Profile—focusing on the specific struggles they solve, the key attributes of their best clients, and the transformative outcomes they deliver.

The tactics shared are centered around:

  • Client self-discovery
  • Specificity in targeting
  • Actionable exercises for immediate implementation within the NIA network

A comprehensive project budget includes both hard costs and soft costs, such as design fees, permits, insurance, and administrative expenses, which often represent a substantial portion of total expenditures.

Accurately accounting for these soft costs is essential to avoid overruns and ensure the project’s long-term success.

About Steven Kuhn

After a 40-year career in commercial construction—planning and building K–12 schools, university campuses, and hospitals—and co-founding Sevan Multi-Site Solutions (serving brands like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and IKEA), Steve Kuhn shifted his focus to the nonprofit sector. In 2022, he launched ShareBuilt, a nonprofit that helps mission-driven organizations effectively plan and execute their building projects—filling a gap he discovered after a nationwide search.

Since then, ShareBuilt has engaged with over 25 nonprofits and connected with more than 60, nearly all through referrals and word of mouth. With strong validation of the need, Steve’s current focus is building a broad-based financial support model to scale the impact. He brings deep preconstruction expertise, a passion for service, and a strong belief in the power of community to every project.

What you'll get from The Anatomy of the Sales Conversation

  • A clear, confident elevator pitch that instantly sparks interest
  • A simple strategy to ask for (and get) high-quality referrals
  • One powerful question to overcome almost any sales objection
  • A quick trust-building tactic to use before you start selling
  • A sales process checklist to uncover what you're missing
  • Real-world conversation examples you can use immediately

I’m an ACC-accredited, ICF-certified coach with 15+ years of experience helping small business owners break through stagnant sales and invisible ceilings.

But before the certifications and frameworks, I was right where you might be—building, running, and eventually selling multiple businesses of my own. I know the late nights, the self-doubt, the rollercoaster of trying to grow something real in a noisy world.

Today, I help entrepreneurs decode the habits, blind spots, and broken sales patterns that quietly kill momentum. My approach is grounded in my signature framework—The Anatomy of the Sales Conversation—giving business owners the clarity and confidence to turn awkward pitches into consistent wins.

I don’t teach “sales tricks.” I teach business owners how to:

  • Build genuine connections
  • Handle objections with ease
  • Stop leaking leads at every stage of the conversation

Whether it’s nailing your value proposition, getting high-quality referrals, or mastering rapport that converts—my goal is simple:

Help you sell like yourself, but better.

Jason Sain – Seasoned Construction Executive

Jason Sain is a seasoned construction executive whose passion for building began at his father’s civil engineering firm. A proud graduate of Auburn University, Jason has served as EVP, VP, and COO, leading teams and managing operations on major projects ranging from $1M to $250M across the healthcare, senior living, multi-family, commercial, and telecom sectors.

His leadership experience includes project management, technology adoption, HR, and cultural transformation. Jason leads with character and a people-first mindset, believing the best outcomes come from empowered, well-supported teams.

Outside of work, Jason has been recognized in Gulf Shore Business’s 40 Under 40 and named one of Southwest Florida’s Fittest Executives. He channels his competitive spirit into Ironman races and CrossFit—but his greatest joy is time spent with his wife, three daughters, and foster daughter.

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  4. Robert Duran - The Money Objection Playbook: Convert Hesitations into Cash! - April 23rd, 2025
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