About this Event
Session summary
Most marketing advice is built for quick, transactional sales: run an ad, capture a lead, close in a few days. Many small businesses don't win work that way. Their customers buy on trust, decisions take weeks or months, and when competing options are close, the relationship decides.
This session gives owners a practical way to market for that reality. Instead of asking "how do we get more leads?", attendees learn to ask "how do we build trust with the people who matter most to our business?", and how to turn that into a repeatable system rather than something that happens by chance.
Who it's for
Small business owners whose work depends on relationships: trades and contractors, professional services, B2B suppliers, and any business where customers choose who they know and trust.
What attendees will learn
- Why lead-focused marketing underperforms for relationship-driven businesses, and what to measure instead.
- How to identify the people who know about opportunities first, such as suppliers, referral partners, and gatekeepers, and build trust with them deliberately.
- Simple, low-cost ways to create real connection, plus a basic system for staying in front of key relationships over time.
Format
The session is interactive, with live audience questions and real examples from commercial construction. Attendees leave with a short worksheet to map their 20 most valuable relationships and plan the next touch with each. The content is educational, with no sales pitch.
About the speaker
Steven Burkhart is CMO of On Target Contracting, a Phoenix-area commercial general contractor, where he leads marketing and business development. He has built relationship-based outreach systems inside a working construction company, previously ran Burkhart Creative Agency, and has worked with national brands. He also works with the City of Mesa's Office of Economic Development as a trainer for its podcast course. Steven also runs Fractional Pathfinder, a fractional CMO practice for relationship-driven businesses.
Important Details:
- If unable to attend after registration, please notify the MBB @ The Studios staff at least 48 hours in advance, by email at [email protected]. Failure to do so will negatively impact the ability to register for future trainings.
Please review the guidelines before registering.
Event venue & nearby stays
Mesa Business Builder @ The Studios, 59 East 1st Street, Mesa, United States
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