Right and Wrong, Can’t We All Get Along?

No need to worry – I won’t be a contractor anytime soon. So, you can take me off the list of wanna-be competitors.

I got the opportunity to work alongside a real contractor and subs for a day and half helping build a home for a family who lost their’s during Katrina.

Yes, two and one-half years later, they’ve suffered the ravages of homelessness not of their doing, the sufferings of living inside a cramped trailer not of their choosing, and the sufferings of getting formaldehyde poisoning as a result. Life hasn’t dealt them an easy hand, and yet this describes many. The story of this project (taken on by our Novus Sunday School Class) is told here. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with marketing. But this does…

The General Contractor is busy. Most of his competitors are not. He’s got 2 commercial renovations underway, another one scheduled (mine), a handful of residential projects going, and is “completely leaned out” in his overhead. He got lean about a year ago, sensing both a construction decline and a general disdain for supporting “dependents” that don’t share his last name.

The GC’s I know who are not busy have had bid after bid fall away, a few reliable employees have left (in search of a paycheck) and overhead continues to munch away at non-existent cashflow. One contractor I called to do a residential renovation last September told me, “I’m not taking on any more work; call me later if you can’t get anyone else. I’m just too busy.” He never got my name, but remembered our mutual contact. A week ago he called, almost begging for work, any work. Although I told him my job was being handled, I neglected to tell him the person that got it is also getting two other referred jobs for acting like he cared. A lesson in relationships.

My question for them and for you: What are you doing today that’ll impact your pipeline in 6 months? If the answer is nothing, generally so is the outcome.

The subcontractors were busy… for now. Most of their competitors are not. One of them follows the lead of the GC, shadowing his work, making himself regularly available for bids. His quality is quite high and though his competitors have dropped prices to “get the job”, he hasn’t had to resort to such shenanigans. Why? “Because I don’t need to” came the simple answer, which lead to this...

“Most of the time I remind them of how picky their clients are, and that ‘cheap’ and ‘quality’ are rarely the same… just like these contractors.” A pretty good line, that just happens to be true AND resonate with those who consider themselves quality.

The reason I put “for now” with the sub is that he’s got too many eggs in one basket; way too much dependence on a singular contractor’s current fortune.

Reliance on many potential income streams would be advised. That is, multiply the efforts of one with many.

The subs I know who are not busy tend to “think” its price but since they have no relationship to fall back upon, they’re partly right. They don’t “shadow”, they wait. They don’t stay in touch, they assume. Thus their “reason” to not get a job MUST be price.

My question for him and for you: In what areas are you overly dependent on business? (What happens if that dries up?) How can you maintain the current level of sales with the “one” yet leverage that for several others? (There are many methods, discussed in these pages often.)