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Matt Verderamo is a consultant with Well Built Construction Consulting, a Baltimore-based firm that provides strategic consulting, facilitation services and peer-to-peer panel discussions for construction executives. The opinions are the author’s own.
Most contractors say they want to be treated as a partner by their clients. This is rarely the case, however, because they are chasing approval rather than building authority.
Here’s the inconvenient truth: The only reliable way a client sees you as a partner is if they see you as an authority, someone who consistently gets results. He is not a salesman. Not an assistant. An authority
Matt Verderamo
Authorization granted by Construction Consultants
Subscribers and GCs often confuse “keep the customer happy” with “do whatever they say.” I will never tell you to make the experience of one of your projects miserable, part of your job is absolutely to give the client a positive experience, but it is not your job to say “yes” to every request. It’s getting results, getting the job done on time and on budget.
A quick example: a GC tells you to work out of sequence with another sub and you already know it will create a rework. You have two options:
- Approval: “You got it.” You do it your way, hope it works, and fight the cost if/when it doesn’t.
- Authority: “No. Here’s why, that’s the risk and that’s what we’re going to do to meet your schedule and specifications.” You put your name in a better way and then you hand it over.
That moment is the fork in the road. Authority requires being direct, credible and correct. Direct enough to say the hard thing. Believable enough for them to listen. Just that when they follow you, the result proves the point.
How is this kind of authority built?
- Speak in facts, not opinions. Tolerances, delivery times, equipment, safety issues. Back up your statements with data and past performance. Opinions matter very little. What are the facts?
- State your recommendation clearly. “We will do X for Y because of Z.” Not “this should work”. You have to commit.
- Own the result. If you make the play, you are the result, whether you win or lose. Make sure you win a lot more than you lose, but when you lose, don’t hide. And when you win, remind the customer.
And yes, balance matters. Authority without empathy becomes arrogance. But empathy without authority only pleases people. The goal is simple: two-way respect. You tell the truth about the work; work hard to make the truth better for the project and the customer experience.
What happens when you operate this way? Customers stop directing and start asking. Management changes from orders to asking for recommendations. And negotiated work appears because it adds value to projects, not just by bidding them out.
If you spend your days running around, you’ll be treated like a service provider. If you spend your days telling clients what needs to be done, and then delivering it, they’ll treat you like a partner.
