Do you often stress about increasing sales while the available opportunities are shrinking and the competition is increasing? Most companies try to work harder in tough times. But the best they can do is hope to stay even doing the same things they always have done. The truly successful construction, design-build, and subcontracting companies and suppliers do things different than their competition to get ahead. They go the extra mile. They do more than their competition. They provide more than the minimum per plans and specifications they are contracted to perform. They do more to get more!\
50 Extra Things I Want
When I present my program entitled: “Sell More Than Price” I get asked what more do I want from my subcontractors and suppliers. My long list includes the following:
- Be a friendly team player
- Provide competitive, fair, and consistent pricing
- On-time, accurate, and complete bids and proposals
- Educate my estimator about the options available
- On-time delivery of supplies and materials
- On-time submittals and shop drawings
- Know the business of contracting
- Be professional, look sharp, and first class
- Return your phone calls within 30 minutes
- Have a regular time you can be reached every day
- Use e-mail for every day correspondence
- Use digital cameras to send photos of job issues
- Do your own project clean-up every day
- Know construction contracts and do what they say
- Be well funded and have adequate working capital
- Charge the right price on change orders
- Always include proper backup on invoices
- Visit jobsites before you are called
- Stay ahead of job schedules
- Never create down time for our crews
- Don’t bid jobs you can’t handle
- Never delay jobs with lack of manpower
- Help my project managers and superintendents do their jobs
- Do your own punch-list before we do it for you
- Provide responsible English speaking foreman who can make decisions
- Have a professional ongoing safety program
- Be easy to do business with
- Have easy credit applications
- Don’t over-bill and front end load your invoices
- Have the same salesperson / estimator who is friendly, positive, in our office every week, quick, knowledgeable, not a pest, and anticipates our needs
- Be someone who helps us sell
- Bring us lots of leads
- Provide education for my staff
- Pick up plans and return them
- Suggest other subcontractors and suppliers
- Recommend architects, engineers, bankers, real estate agents, insurance and bonding agents
- Keep us stocked with product literature and samples
- Offer advice how we can do business better
- Take us golfing or lunch with potential customers
- Provide subscriptions to industry trade publications
- Send us code and product updates
- Invite us to industry association meetings
- Have a great website with product information, technical materials, engineering data, and up to date industry standards
- Invest in our development projects
- Bring us joint venture and equity partners
- Act as our “P & L” consultant by giving us advice and suggestions
- Tell us what we can do to improve
- Help us make a profit
- Take your best customers on retreats
- Give me great front row Laker tickets!
Providing the minimum at the lowest cost will continue to get you marginal work. But to get the results you really want, you’ve got to do more. Consider implementing a few of these pro-active ideas and get more than the minimum.
George Hedley owns a $75 million construction and development company and Hardhat Presentations. He speaks to companies on building profitable businesses, leadership, and loyal customers. He holds 3-day in-depth “Profit-Builder Circles” open to construction company owners in an interactive roundtable format every 3 months. His “Profit-Builder System” includes proven tools to always make a profit, build equity, create wealth, win profitable jobs, motivate your people, and enjoy the benefits of owning a profitable company.
