Several years ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to take charge of my construction business, put my top priorities first, and focus on building loyal customer relationships. I committed to working smarter, getting organized and in control, focusing on the top 20 percent of our customers who provide 80 percent of our results, delegating as much as possible to my employees, and spending a third of my time developing and building customers. When Monday morning rolled around, I was excited and got to work early. I made a list of everything I had to do and prioritized them into three categories: must do, should do, and don’t have to do. Then guess what happened at 8:30 a.m.? I started to get calls and emails putting demands on my time. People were requesting I attend meetings, customers had immediate needs, superintendents were having problems with subcontractors, the concrete crew was sitting around waiting for concrete, and one of our trucks had broken down. So, I did what I always did—I went out and attempted to fix everyone else’s problems for them.
When I finally got back to the office at 4 p.m., I realized I had missed lunch, and my desk was piled with at least 25 new requests, notes, invoices, emails, and files requiring my immediate attention. So much for getting to my priorities! Then my best customer called and asked me to play golf with him at his private country club the next morning. He wanted to introduce me to his banker and discuss his next project. How could I play golf? I didn’t have enough time in the day. I had to fix everyone’s problems and put out all the fires.
The must-do business priorities
Decide to be bold. Do what you know you must do and should do to grow your business. When I ask my construction company clients what they should do more of, they always say spend more time with customers. What are your top priorities? Are they blocked out in your calendar? Are you going to do something about them? To stay focused on what will make the most significant difference in your business, step back and take a hard look.
In my opinion, business is simple. The two most critical must-do priorities are to find customers and keep customers. Finding customers involves everything to keep profitable revenue coming in the door. Finding customers includes sales, marketing, estimating, presenting proposals, customer appreciation, schmoozing, networking, and building loyal customer relationships. This area is often overlooked in construction businesses. Most construction company owners focus on bidding for work and then building it. As a top priority, finding customers cannot be delegated easily. Customers want to know who they are doing business with. Keeping customers is about doing a good job and meeting customers’ expectations and contractual requirements. This top priority is the outcome of a well-organized and systemized operation led by a professional management team and well-trained employees. An experienced management team implementing your business vision, organizational systems, standards, and procedures can manage this company area. However, without great people and systems in place, delegating operational tasks is impossible.
Hire pros to grow
I received an email from a plumbing and heating contractor in Santa Fe, N.M., who saw me present to a large group of local contractors. He wanted to share some things that work for him: “Fire the idiots and move on! But more importantly, I found two top-notch working supervisors and convinced them to come to work for me. I had to offer them a 50 percent wage premium over market wages. I had to raise my open hourly rates significantly, and I charge them even higher prices on bid work. Guess what? Virtually no customers were lost, my percentage of excited customers soared, and I was free to do what I do best—sell jobs! They run their jobs, ask me an occasional question (perhaps to flatter me), and I give them free rein. After this experience, I realized, ‘If I must go to a job site for a reason other than fun, curiosity, or PR, I don’t have the right man on the job. Find the right people, give them the right resources, set them free, and never look back!’”
The fastest way to get your company organized and focused on keeping customers is to hire the best and give them the task of getting the work done. Great people cost more money but take less time to manage than weaker ones. Plus, you’ll never be able to get your business to grow beyond the capacity of your top people. Why haven’t you hired management professionals to help grow your business? Where do you need the most professional, experienced, and talented help? Is it accounting, operations, estimator, superintendent, project manager, or office manager? I know you can’t afford it, but when will you? Professionals will make you money. You can’t continue to do it all yourself. Sell your truck or backhoe, lease a used one, take the money, and hire a professional to help you.
Put your must-do priorities to work
Don’t just talk about it, get started and do it! Continually ask yourself if what you’re doing is a good use of your time and money. When you spend time doing things you shouldn’t or don’t like doing, your business becomes a drag. Activities that are not rewarding drain your energy. Exciting tasks and activities on your top priority list are rewarding, invigorating, and give you more energy. When you are moving towards your goals, improving your business, and seeing progress, you will get excited about your future. What are your top two business priorities? Will you stay focused on them? Change how you do your business, get what you want, and adjust your calendar. Always remember that your number one priority is to keep your number one priority your number one priority! To get your copy of George’s Winning Ways To Win More Work, email GH@Hardhatbizcoach.com.
George Hedley, CPBC, is a certified professional construction business coach, consultant, and speaker. He shows contractors how to double their profits, accelerate growth, get organized, and get their company to work like a machine! He is the author of “Get Your Construction Business To Always Make A Profit!” available on Amazon.com. To talk, start a personalized BIZ-BUILDER program, or get his free e-newsletter email GH@HardhatBizcoach.com. Visit his YouTube channel to watch his videos. To download online courses or get his contractor templates, visit: constructionbusinesscoaching.com.
