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Matt Verderamo is a consultant of Construction Consulting Well Build, a company based in Baltimore that offers strategic consulting, facilitation services and round tables for construction executives. Opinions are typical of the author.
It is no secret: large -amount hiring methods have been a problem in construction for decades.
In fact, you have probably seen frustrated construction professionals talk about Linkedin, and how they want the construction industry to change, but it will never. These people are perfectly exhausted from the hassle of tender jobs and rarely get the job unless they are low.
I totally understand its frustration, but I must admit that I see the situation from a significantly more positive perspective. As a sub or general contractor, there is an opportunity to escape the lower drop contracting.
Matte Verderamo
Permit granted by well -built construction consulting
Just look at the country’s main contractors. Do you think companies like Turner, Bechtel, Kiewit, DPR, Hensel Phelps and more their work because they are low? Also, do you think they only grant subcontractors to a large amount?
Good news: This is not the case.
Of course, there are times when customers have to grant the bidder low and, frankly, it can make a lot of sense to do it, but this is not the only way to win the projects. There are ways to escape the low trap.
Why most contractors cannot escape
The fall of large quantity trap can occur for several reasons. First, many contractors are stuck because they simply do not think it is possible to escape. As I mentioned with the contractors frustrated in Linkedin, some companies believe that there is no better way to win the work and therefore they give up trying it.
They are tendered despite the best, but they do not go to escape. This is the most common cause and also the easiest to overcome. You have to believe that your company can change the status quo and start negotiating work, otherwise you will never.
Secondly, contractors are stuck because they are actually not better than their competition. For example, I hear all the time we, “we are better than our competition because we have experienced people and build high quality.”
Yes, quality experience and subject, but they are not enough to negotiate the job. Why? Because each contractor says that they have experienced staff who builds high quality. Therefore, although it may seem a differentiating one for you, your competition is saying the same. And if the buyer considers you the same as your competition, they base their selection on the price.
So you have to do more things to differentiate -you just say you are better. You have to be better and achieve it to sell it.
Third, some contractors are stuck because they have to keep workers busy. If you have a lot of superintendents to the without work to send them in a month, what will you do? If you are smart, you will make the projects cheap so that you can cover the overload associated with their salaries. Although this may be a sensitive business decision, it can also act as Quicksand for your business.
If you are always busy trying to keep the jobs in operation, so you have a place to put your team, it is difficult to find time to develop relationships, do great job and gain work based on value instead of price. This is one of the most difficult traps to escape, but it is possible.
Mainly, you do this continuing to scraping and winning projects to large quantities, while holding high quality sales meetings with potential negotiated clients. In other words, continue to pursue a large amount of work as you get to gain negotiated work on top margin.
Finally, create enough negotiated clients to say “no” to the opportunities for reducing your channeling.
Lastly, I see some incredibly talented contractors who are really better and different from their competition, because they are too often offered. They pursue all the jobs that go through the door, whether they are a good way or not.
If you always offer, you are probably burning your team and focus on tender you do not spend enough time selling and winning. At the end of the day your goal should never be bid; Should be to win! Don’t lose sight of it.
Escape from large quantity trap
Here are some questions you must ask to start:
- Do we offer you too often?
- What do we make to be better and different from our competition?
- We have a Solid Go/Non-Go that makes it clear what projects are in our sweet place?
- What efforts of relationship development do we have? Do we have someone (or several people) the responsibility of developing relationships?
- Do we have a sales system? Or just a tender system?
If a general contracting or contracting business was starting today, here are some key actions that I would do:
Clarify an ideal customer profile: Who do we like to work? And why? How do they act? How do our team treat? On the contrary, what types of customers do we want to avoid? Without absolute clarity about who you want to pursue and why, it is difficult to find ideal customers who think you can add value to their projects. Don’t just offer anyone.
Clarify an ideal project profile: What is our bread and butter? Where is the intersection between projects that are excellent in construction and those that we usually make money? Stop chasing everything under the sun and start to be clear about what your team is great. Bad projects are a distraction from the great work for you.
Develop a Go/Non-Go: If you have your ideal customer and your ideal project, you must use this information to develop a GO/NO-go criterion. You will be surprised to clarify how it is more than to start saying “yes” to the appropriate projects and “not” to the wrong ones.
Create a business development culture: Relations are important for negotiating work, and most contractors do not do enough business development. The most successful contractors create a culture where BD is everyone’s job. You will be surprised by the advantage of having everyone from your team consciously building relationships with your customers and potential customers. Even your supers and PMs can contribute. Have everyone get involved.
Estimation of estimation staff in basic sales principles: The “sales” seem to be a bad word in the construction and I do not succeed. I’m not saying that you need to turn your estimation staff into sellers, but you need to teach them how to use the leverage, negotiate, run high -quality sales meetings and use influence power for more projects granted to your target number. You will be surprised how your success rate changes just because the team begins to see the big image and focuses on winning, not bidding.
