How Builders Win Jobs Without Being the Cheapest! (Ep 281)

What does it take to build trust with clients and make sure you’re not just competing on price? 🤝💰

Today, Max chats with you about how to ensure clients fully trust you—and how to avoid competing solely on price without affecting your profit. 🎙️📈

Sometimes, the best way to win a job isn’t through your price, but by earning the client’s trust in you as the builder. 🏡🔨

Roll with us on the road and check out Shepherds Home Hardware's design centre for this podcast --> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL76rc3DrCOMb7VM9icAOQmLodNCSZTfKf

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💡 Important: Before signing up for the 30-day trial, email Paris Woolever to request her as your support manager. She’ll help you get set up and maximize your trial!
📧 Email: paris@jobtread.com
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📧 Email: max@elitebusinessadvisory.com
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build trust with clients and to ensure that you're not just competing on price? On today's episode, I'm going to share with you what I do to encourage clients to do business with me. Enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

How old are you going to be before you start to experience life like you want it? I want to tell you right now, whether you like it or not, there is a better way to do business.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Hi everyone, welcome to the Business for Builders uh podcast. My name is Max, I'm your host, and uh today I've got something different for you. A couple of things. Um, one, I sound like dog shit, so I apologise in advance, but um the show must go on, literally. So um what I'm doing today is uh we've uh got our stuff together, and I what I thought, you know, there's a lot of times where we're us builders, we know how to build stuff and we want to get on with it, but um where we struggle is this pre-construction phase. And um working with a client sort of in the last sort of uh week or so, and I wanted to just share with you the story and how I've put this together, and you know, hopefully, um, you know, just keep in mind what I'm doing right now doesn't guarantee me the job, but the fact that we've already transacted at a low level and I've built some rapport and the client was a referral, um, it really does give us a good chance of of winning the job. So, um, what I want to do is give you some backstory and then uh just explain to you what I intend to do today um and what and and why I'm doing it because I guess who I'm talking to is maybe builders that don't have access to um or have clients that can afford to spend ten to fifteen thousand dollars on a designer. Okay, so um, alright, so the backstory is this in this lead came in and it came in over the weekend, and I reached out to them pretty much straight away, and uh I got an appointment with them pretty quickly. Uh they come in over the weekend. I got with them on the Monday, and uh I did a walkthrough, and because it was a referral, I spent more time with the lady, and I actually sat down and based on my experience was able to um talk about her internal renovation. So it's a two-story home, we're going to do three bathrooms, one of them's a powder room, a kitchen, all the floor coverings, we're going to update the feature wall with the fire with the existing fireplace. Uh, we're also going to replace all of the trim around the windows, uh, and possibly the baseboard as well, since we're doing floor with a full repaint. So that's basically the scope. I don't think there's a few closets and things that we're doing as well. Um, and so I sat down with her and based on my experience, was able to just run her with some numbers, and I would have um used generic numbers based on you know work that we've done before, and um and I got to a number and I said, Look, it's gonna be about the 170 mark, and she says, Well, that's that's not as much as what I thought. So that's never a good thing because I like to take their breath away a little bit with a bigger price, but I I didn't do that this time. So, anyway, um, fast forward a week later, I I was explaining to her on email that um what we what we need to do is this pre-construction where we've got to nail down all of the selections, anything with aesthetic value, and we've also got to get all of our sub trades in uh to get quotes, obviously. Now, you and I both know that we spend way too much time quoting for free. So, side note what I said to this lady was I'm happy to oversee the design plan and price process, okay, and I will use my network of trades. Now, this lady made it clear that she did not want to spend 10 to 15,000 on an interior designer. She made it clear that she had a mid-tier uh budget, right? So it wasn't mid-tier premium, it was certainly wasn't premium luxury. And so, what I was able to do was say, look, here's the option, okay, and uh and look, feel free to throw your own numbers at this. This is just what I did. So this is no there's no speculation here. You might think I'm too cheap. Um, you might think that how do you get paid that much to do that? So that's why everybody's very different. And so what the deal was is that uh that this client would pay me$85 an hour to oversee the whole process of design plan and price to be able to get her the fixed price number. Now, we've done jobs both cost plus and fixed price, and uh, we've done done jobs for as small as$7,000 up to um you know over the million dollar mark. So we've got a fairly good understanding and feel, uh, especially me as the sales and estimating guy who handles all the contract administration and the business side of it. And so what I said to her was that I would for$85 an hour, I would access my network of trades who would provide uh quotes for said scope of work for no cost, obviously, and I would also utilize, which is where we're going today, that's why we're doing this in the truck. Um, we're going to a place called uh Shepherd's Hardware, and they have a two-story design centre, and so there's gonna be, you know, you're gonna get to see the inside of that, and so what they've got at this, and I would say that I am utilising this because if I didn't have this option close to me, I would then have to um do the design myself in-house, and I'm not a designer, I I don't mind having a play, but I don't know that I could charge clients for my service. Now, what we're doing today is we are shooting out there to what I call what I propose to the client uh is to do a dress rehearsal, okay, on the um on the design meeting that we're going to have with about three or four of the design center's team. Okay, so there's the first meeting we're gonna have is with Emily, and she does all of the kitchens, and and Gordon does a lot of the plumbing fixtures and fittings and things like that. So, um, and then there's flooring, of course, and and so everything that we need to talk about is in this uh two-story design center. So if you've got somewhere near to you that will provide these design services free of charge, it is an upsell, it is a feature and a benefit, and it is something that clients would prefer to do. Now, I said to the client, I said, it's a little bit inconvenient uh for you to have to get in your vehicle and drive 20 minutes to this design center. And you know what she said to me immediately? She said, Max, that's not an inconvenience at all. Now, because you know, I'd anchored that situation with a$10,000 to$15,000 price tag for an interior designer that would come out and see her, that would do all the legwork. So, what I'm doing is I'm facilitating and orchestrating, and I am getting uh$85 an hour to do that. Now, like I said, in some cases you might think that's too cheap, um, in other cases you might think that that's uh, you know, uh, you know, it's it's how do you get that? How do you convince a client to pay for you for your services? So, you know, um what I don't what you're gonna see is okay, so in preparation for this meeting, what I've done, I asked the client to provide um certain characteristics of her palette and their taste. In other words, what do they want the finished product to look like? And they talked about we want something timeless and classic, but something with neutral colours, something that we can decorate around without too much trouble, and then she sent me some pictures of what she had in mind. What I've done is I've got printouts uh of those pictures. I've got uh what I've done inside of Job Tread, which is a software that we use, is that I have uh created a selection sheet in there, and I've actually printed out a hard copy of that as well. And uh I've also got a full-size set of plans from the city, and we're gonna use that to be able to roughly calculate uh quantities, you know, things like kitchen spaces and bathroom spaces, etc., and obviously overall floor area. Now, the reason I'm going out here today without the client is to do what I call a dress rehearsal of the selection process. So I'm gonna do the I'm gonna do almost like a reconnaissance. So I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna talk to the designers, give them a heads up on what's happening. Now, the other thing that I did, and I would encourage you to consider doing the same thing, is that I when I was with the client, I it's two levels, and I did two videos, and I just walked around and real slowly recorded all of the spaces that we are going to renovate, right? And the reason I did that is because of when I go and see the designers today, they can get a first-hand understanding of what it is that's there, um, in conjunction with the plans that I have, in conjunction with the uh the palette that the client has, in conjunction with some of the pictures of examples as to what she is thinking. So as you're sitting there listening to me talk like a bit of a horse, um, you may start to be understanding all of the different facets that create a value proposition in the mind of the client that says, I want Max spearheading the design plan and price aspect of my project. Okay, and if you're out there and you're not doing something like this, you will lose jobs to guys like me consistently. And the reason is because A, I'm prepared to be creative about how I propose this to a client, and and B, I'm very happy to go and do the legwork. Now, the other thing that helps us do this is that I've got a business partner right now that's out on site doing constructions, uh, doing construction for existing clients. So that gives me the ability. Now, me and him are splitting checks, obviously, um, but you might be the builder and you might employ somebody to do what I'm going to do or what I do, and that really revolves around sales, okay, which encompasses the design, the plan, and the price. So if that's um an option for you, then then that will work. You've just got to make sure that you find the right person, okay? So when when I go in there today, we're gonna have a better understanding of what um we are building, what we're providing. Um, I'm gonna talk to the designers about budgets because I've already got budget allocations for the kitchens, bathrooms, etc. Um, now after today's meeting, what'll happen is two things will happen. One, a week from now, or maybe 10 days from now, the client will go out and meet with the team, and I will shadow that meeting just to be there to answer questions, which I will be paid to do. Right? I need, as the builder, I need to liaise further with the designer and the client simultaneously to make sure that we minimize the length of time that this takes. Okay, where we fall down as builders sometimes is we don't have a system and we don't have a process, and therefore it compromises our ability to execute. Now, um, if the client, if you're confused, I guarantee you that your client will be confused. And so when there's confusion and there's lack of clarity, decision making uh will will not happen because they're confused. You've got to be you've got to clarify. Now, the next phase of play also um within the next seven to ten days will be I will reach out either today or tomorrow uh with bid requests for all of the trades now that I know that I need. So um this company liaises with a cabinet maker, so I don't need to go and approach maybe my normal cabinet maker. Um we're doing everything in our in-house here, and I will issue uh bid requests with documentation, a bit of an outline if it's electrical, if it's plumbing, if it's uh whatever else we need for trades, drywall, insulation, things like that. And um, and then I'll start scheduling meetings where they can come out and view the property and start to work on quotes. So then what I do is I'll we'll confirm all of the selections, we'll confirm the quotes for the scope of work from the trades, I will put my line item in for management for that project for the duration of the project, I will add my uh markup that I feel is appropriate for that job, and um and then we will present that to the client. And so that gives you a little bit of an overview of you know what it is that I do to help me win projects, to help me build a business that ultimately help me be profitable. So what we didn't have to do is compete on price. This wasn't about oh Max has just got to go and come up with numbers and rough ideas and then uh go ahead and put together a quote together that is so vague and grey, it's unreliable at best. Okay, so what we really want to make sure is that um we have a well-defined system. So, you know, part of you being a good leader in your building company is that you you uh you know the way and you go in that direction, and then you show the clients what they have to do, what the next steps are, and what they have to um take care of if this project is to be done expeditiously. Now, this client has made it very clear to me that she wants to start it in April and she only wants it to take four months. So this is why on very um I've presented a very organized, categoric, uh, you know, systemized way of doing this. And I think it's not just about price now, it's actually about um how well that we're going to execute, which is probably more important to her than uh the ultimate price for the project. So um, you know, guys, if you've got any questions about this, feel free to email me, max at elitebusinessadvisory.com. Um, don't forget, as I've shared on the last few podcasts, it's all about education. And so get across to uh elitebusinessadvisory.com forward slash academy. I need you to start educating yourself, self-development. That academy is 65 bucks a month US and it will tell you whether or not you are going to be able to go the distance in this this industry at the highest level. Because what I've just presented you with as a system in the pre-construction design plan and price is something that is unique but something that needs patience and you need to be calculated. It's very technical, but it's very effective, and it will help you win jobs at a high level for the right uh profit margins, the margins that you need to not just run the business but to expand the business. So, look, I I hope that helps. If you've got any questions, be sure to reach out. Um, but definitely uh, you know, go and build that kick ass business. I'll see you in the next episode.