How many times have you invested weeks or even months working closely on construction sales with potential clients, preparing proposals to meet their every requirement, only to be left empty-handed?
The bitter truth is that sometimes, they choose another builder with a lower price, leaving you in the dust.
In a desperate move to secure projects, you might consider reducing your margins, just to ensure you win the job. And, before you realize it, you're caught in a relentless race to the bottom. You end up quoting more jobs, dedicating less time to each, and gambling on ever-smaller profit margins.
The truth is that this path rarely leads to construction sales success for residential home builders.
The Power of a Formal Sales Process
A documented and repeatable construction sales process is a game changer.
According to research by Process Street, building companies with a structured sales process experience a staggering 28% improvement in revenue compared to those that operate without one. This statistic highlights the critical role of having a standardized sales process that guides every interaction with new prospects.
While professional builders are taking advantage of the power of a repeatable sales process, other builders often find themselves barely following the prospect's buying journey, losing control of the sales process.
How do you stop this? Focus on cultivating relationships with your ideal clients instead of pursuing prospects who may never become clients.
The Quote vs. Estimate Dilemma
One of the biggest misconceptions in our industry is the belief that custom home builders should provide free quotes to potential clients. However, this notion comes from mistaking an estimate for a quote. An estimate offers a rough idea of the project cost, while a quote is a detailed proposal that requires substantial time, effort, and expertise.
Simply put, giving away thousands of dollars worth of knowledge and experience without compensation is unsustainable for any business. So, it's essential not to cave into the price-checkers who insist on free quotes.
Instead, focus on educating your prospects about the construction process and how to avoid builders who may not deliver on their promises. By demonstrating your expertise and commitment, you'll set yourself apart from the competition.
3 Construction Sales Strategies to Boost Your Business
- Establish a Sales Process: Start by creating a documented sales strategy for your building company. Define key milestones in your customer journey and develop a step-by-step approach to move prospects to the next stage. APB Tip: Utilize tools like Google Docs or Lucidchart to make this process easily accessible to your team.
- Set Measurable Goals: What gets measured improves, so be sure you're measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) at each stage of your sales process. We recommend using quarterly figures instead of monthly, as they work best due to the industry's long sales cycle. APB Tip: Set targets for current and future quarters, giving you clear benchmarks to work to.
- Data-Driven Decision Making (DD-DM): Analyzing your actual sales numbers against your targets to practice DD-DM is a game-changer for professional builders. Doing this lets you identify your main weakness and focus your efforts on improving this instead of fixing aspects already performing well.
Building Trust With Prospects
Clients want to work with builders they trust to deliver quality results on time and within budget. So, building up trust is essential.
To build trust with your clients, consider these strategies:
- Transparency: Be open and honest about project costs, timelines, and potential challenges. Transparency builds credibility and trust.
- Communication: Maintain clear and regular contact with your clients. Keep them informed about project progress and address any concerns promptly.
- Quality Assurance: Clients will trust you more if they see your commitment to delivering high-quality work.
- References and Testimonials: Showcase past successes through references and testimonials from satisfied clients. Positive reviews are a powerful trust-building tool.
Construction Sales Tips: Creating Opportunities
Imagine you could attract clients who value more than just price? This shift can help you secure contracts at higher margins and avoid challenging clients. That's precisely why we developed the Sales Blueprint for Builders, a comprehensive guide to the new sales process for residential building companies.
With the Sales Blueprint for Builders, you'll learn how to:
- Sign more contracts at higher margins.
- Attract clients who appreciate your expertise.
- Avoid problem clients and stressful projects.
Ready to unlock the potential of your building company? Download the Sales Blueprint for Builders for FREE.
