February 2019

by Larry Silver, Contractor Marketing Inc.

In construction, the business development function is a key to ongoing success and growth. I want to impart 10 key strategies that you can consider and apply moving forward in 2019.

There are two aspects to BD that are preeminent. The first is to build relationships and the second is to chase opportunities that fit your firm. We will count down the strategies David Letterman-style.

Strategies to Build Relationships

10. Build relationships that are intentional. Our industry tends not to be very strategic or to plan out our moves on the chessboard. We fly by the seats of our pants, often using pure business instinct. But this forethought and planning will separate you from other players in the marketplace. Since you have limited time and money to invest, think through who your firm wants to associate with and why. Work this plan consistently with goals and timeframes.

9. Build relationships with ideal clients. Many in our industry take a shotgun approach to relationships—the more the merrier and the broader the better. However, I advocate a focused rifle approach to develop relationships with those you have identified as ideal clients. Ideal clients are those that fit a predetermined profile you are seeking with attributes that include culture and relational fit between firms, financial strength, repeat business potential, sensible risk, resources allocation, etc. Build a simple matrix on what your firm values and score each client accordingly. This will assist you to discern who and what your ideal client looks like. Before you chase any opportunity, score it on a matrix to determine whether the client behind the opportunity is ideal. If it’s not, don’t pursue it.

8. Build relationships that encourage strong referrals. Do you desire to hard-sell yourself, proving your company every step of the way? Most of us don’t. The more excellent way is to have others speak well of you and make an introduction for you to a potential client. If a business associate has a positive experience with you and can get you in front of a prospect that needs your services, this is a better and more probable way to close business. Years ago, I read a business book titled “Red Hot Introductions.” The book was all about securing and gaining access to potential clients through your existing relationships in such a way that the referral is not cold or even warm, but hot. Hot because the prospect is considering a current need for your services, and your client is doing the heavy lifting as far as selling your services and reputation for you. This saves so much time and money to be positioned like this in your current business relationships.

7. Build relationships in a consistent, ongoing manner over time. It is human nature to rely on what we have established in the past. In construction, we call this the “Good Ole Boy Club.” Yep. We’ve known each other since 1942, since before the war ended. You get the picture. My question is, “haven’t you met anyone since the war?” Even very good business developers and firms tend to settle for where they’ve been and there is a resistance to trying new things and meeting new people. Encourage a company-wide culture to invest in new initiatives, try new groups, and experiment in new avenues that are untested. Take a risk. After all, we are in construction, the second riskiest business on the planet. Set a goal that each manager, each executive will reach out to certain key targets both inside and outside our industry. Track these new relationships and communicate periodically with them at various levels.

6. Build Relationships that are stronger through marketing—by using technology and available media. A recent example in my own business is partnering with a technology/software firm that focuses on construction regionally. The firm decided to begin a new podcast to get out its message and to bring experts into this vehicle to add to its existing credibility. The firm asked me to be its first interviewee (see https://builtcast.com/). So apply this to your construction business. You can use a Web site, a podcast, a blog, or Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., to strengthen your current position of expertise in your target markets. This raises the bar in your current relationships’ perception of your value in the marketplace. I know that most construction firms only dabble with marketing, but I challenge you to learn this business function more fully in 2019. Much of the investment is the time and energy to further your image and brand as an individual and as a firm.

Strategies to Chase Opportunities

5. Chase opportunities in your strong suit. There are no two firms that are exactly alike in construction. Like a fingerprint, each company has its own history, founders, management, human resources, and approach to performing projects. Each firm uses its own delivery methods, will cover a certain geography, and will bring its expertise and resources to bear in a unique way. The size, shape, make-up and type of construction firms vary as the stars in the sky. The key is to employ the best strategy today to grow your firm according to your ongoing vision for tomorrow. Know your business and know your resources so you can move forward using your strong suit as you pursue new work. If your strong suit is self-performance of $1 million to $2 million concrete projects, or general contracting government work, focus on that. Every contractor has limited time and money with which to invest in projects. Therefore, invest according to your strong suit as your chase new work.

4. Chase opportunities in your sweet spot as a company. It’s wise to not only chase projects that fit your strong suit, but also where your competitors are weak. We call this the Sweet Spot. For example, say that you are bonded with an aggregate of $50 million for the year and you know you are competing against a smaller firm who does not have equal bonding capacity. They may have trouble selling their ability to meet the qualifications while you are strong in comparison. A few areas like this, and you may find yourself with limited or no competition on certain jobs. You are simply strong where another firm is weak. This is a primary way to distinguish your firm in your space as a leader and as a pace setter. Think through the areas where you are strong, and your primary competitors are weak, and highlight those areas in your proposals and presentations. You can also use a ghosting strategy where you need not mention any competitor by name, but simply put fear in your prospect to use anyone who has less standing then your firm does in an area of accomplishment.

3. Chase opportunities with the best team in place. As an owner surveys your proposal and considers the project award, he or she is not only looking at your credentials, but that of your whole project team. Therefore, for each project you consider, discern who the best team you can put forth for that work. Who can raise the bar regarding the architecture, the engineering, the subcontracting, and the material suppliers? Can you put forth a team that includes consultants, problem-solvers, allies, and friends of the proposed owner? This may make all the difference. If the owner is comfortable with an incumbent team, it is your task to unseat that incumbent by raising the bar of the value-added, value-engineered, price-reduced, schedule-accelerated, quality-boosted project. Do not get in the habit of cranking out estimates and proposals just to keep with demand. Shift toward fewer, more suited proposals that you believe have your team’s name on the award.

2. Chase opportunities that lead to more opportunities. Another consideration is whether the work you will perform may lead to more work from this same owner or a related owner with similar needs? It is not wrong to do a one-time project, but if you have the luxury of choosing which projects to chase, seek the ones with repeat potential over the one-time service. You have a hungry overhead machine to feed and choosing to work with a repeat client can keep the cash flowing during otherwise lean times. Similarly, by focusing on a certain type of project, you are showcasing this type of work as your firm’s preferred choice. It may seem subliminal, but the market takes notice and decides the type of contractor you are by observation and experience. Consider that before you take on a project just to keep your forces busy and the payroll met.

1. Chase opportunities that fit your strategic plan. This annual document may be the best set of guard rails you have to make wise decisions concerning the work you pursue. Does the potential project meet the requirements of your strategic plan? If you say you are focusing on school work and hospitality in 2019, and some stray opportunity arises, look at your current plan. If you want to dabble at design-build but are primarily a hard-bid contractor, why seek a Construction Management project? It does not make sense according to your predetermined plan. In many instances in business as in life, less is better, and the more a business focuses, the more they grow and have impact.

Please consider and apply these 10 strategies to build relationships in your business and to chase profitable opportunities for growth. You will be glad you did.

Larry Silver is president of Contractor Marketing Inc., a consulting/recruiting firm in the AEC Industry. Silver performs strategic planning, marketing/business development audits and training. Silver can be reached at (937) 776-7170 or larry@contractormarketing.com.

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