Business for Builders Podcast
WHATSAPP MAX: +1.604.227.2115
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Welcome to the Business for Builders podcast! Thanks for dropping by - I appreciate it!
My name is Max and I am a carpenter and joiner by trade and a qualified residential home builder. I'm a thoroughbred entrepreneur and am the Founder of Elite Business Advisory (Business Coaching) and the the Co-Owner and Managing Partner of Smith & Sons Coldstream, General Contractors.
This show focuses on best business planning, strategic and operational practices to help you maximize your business profits and improve your lifestyle. It is built for those that own, or are involved in the construction sector running a general contracting or trade services business or even if you're an apprentice!
Unfortunately, the availability of the very necessary business development, strategic planning and financial education isn't delivered well enough to trades to significantly reduce the failure rates world wide; which is 50% of new companies by year 5.
The priority as we learned our trade was the technical aspect of the trade, not necessarily the business and financial management and development of our business which markets and sells your skills.
The Business for Builders podcast has been set up to provide business building information and insight for residential home builders, general contractors and trade operators who are looking to fill the gaps, remove the deficiencies and vulnerabilities in their business and build a high performance construction business.
Our goal is to help you increase your business and financial intelligence whilst you continue to run your business. Subjects relating to Mindset and Self Improvement, Financial Management, Marketing (Digital & Local), Strategic Planning and Business Development are the focus because as construction practitioners, this is our blind spot!
We know this business podcast will bring awareness and basic education and will help you improve all aspects of your business. Here's to your success...now let's go build a kick-ass business!! Cheers!!
Business for Builders Podcast
How to Talk Price Without Losing Trust as a General Contractor (287)
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Before you get to building—the part we love—you have to endure the pre-construction process! 🔨
Today, Max talks about the design, planning, and pricing process: the pre-construction dance.💃
It’s where the vision takes shape and the foundation for a smooth build is set.🏡
Catch today's episode on the whiteboard --> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL76rc3DrCOMb7VM9icAOQmLodNCSZTfKf
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I know you enjoy construction, but do you enjoy the pre-construction? On today's episode, I'm going to talk to you about my design plan and price process, which I call the pre-construction dance. Hope you get something out of it. Enjoy. 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. Hi everyone, welcome to the Business for Builders podcast. My name is Max. I am your host. Welcome to you if you're in the podcast. Welcome to you if you're on YouTube land. It's great to have you in the house. Today I'm going to talk to you about the pre-construction dance. You know where to get me, max at elitebusinessadvisory.com. You can get to my website there, book a consultation with me, no strings attached, fully, fully complimentary, and we can have a chat with you about what you're doing well in your business, maybe what you're doing not doing so well, and how we can maybe set some platform in to uh help you build a better business. Today I think you know it's most important that and this came off the back of a meeting that I had with a a new inquiry um this week, and it was interesting because this is a kind of small town, and I uh the the the client was nice enough to let me know who I was competing against, and it was uh yeah, pretty interesting because I know the guy, and uh the feedback that I got from her, it's funny when I go into a meeting, um, you know, if you're like me and you I don't know how many kilos I am, six foot two and 130, uh excuse me, 115 kilos maybe, which is about 255 pounds, you know, like and this this was a a more senior lady, I don't think she was super old, but she certainly was maybe you know early 60s, I suppose. And I'm in this lady's house by herself, and so there's a couple of things I do, guys. Just really, this is kind of I guess this is a pre-construction, pre-meeting thought processes. When I go into a home, I ensure that I keep my distance, you know, because I don't want to be intimidating. And the other thing I don't do is I really don't spend, I don't, you know, get confrontational as far as my body language is concerned. I always want to make sure I stand side on. So that's just if you're not thinking about that, that might be a bit of an aha moment for you. Um, but I make sure because if I distract the homeowner from what they want to talk about, then I'm not helping anybody. Okay. So that's kind of where the dance starts, depending on who I meet. Now, if I've got husband and wife, it's a little bit of a different story. They're more comfortable, I'm more comfortable. It's all it's good for everyone. But um the reason that this, I think I thought I'd share this with you is because there were two ways that you know, apparently the way that that other contractor made this homeowner feel, and obviously what my goal was. Now, this all happened after the you know a 30-minute conversation about what she wanted to do, etc. etc. But it got me thinking about what is the pre-construction dance because the way this other guy was doing it, in her words, was pushy. Right? For me, I go in, of course, I want to do the deal, and I've done my fair share of selling and I've sold seven-figured contracts, so I know I know a little bit about what's going on, but I'm very sensitive to not just the needs of the homeowner, which is super important, but I'm also wanting to maximize my return on investment. So I'm not going to go there and disrespect, but I can sum up pretty quickly whether I think this opportunity is going to get traction or has the possibility or not. And so, you know, this whole design plan and price, this dance that we do, it differs from builder to builder because we're all out there giving something a shot, aren't we? So if I was to sit down with you and just say, hey, and a lot of the time when I when I get into a complimentary coaching call with builders, I ask them about what's their sales routine. What do they do on their first visit? What do they do on their first phone call? Because that tells me whether they've got a systematic approach to sales or whether it's kind of just make it up on the fly. So, you know, this gentleman, this other, let's call him a competitor, he has a very hard and fast way, like get the deal, get money up front, like all this kind of bull. And, you know, the client was saying things to me that she wouldn't necessarily say to him, but things like, I don't even know you, like, I don't think so. All of these kinds of, all this kind of behavior around um what they were really feeling that they didn't actually tell that individual. And so that's the mistake that we wait we make, and we don't understand why we're not closing deals. So, you know, and of course what's happened is we got in, you know, got in, got started, me and Jed, you know, about 15, 16, whatever it is, months ago, well, let's say, yeah, whatever it is. And I at that time thought, well, I've been a builder for so long, I've been in the franchising circles for a long time. I'm gonna dominate. At the same time, we're off the back of COVID, inflation was up, interest rates are up, there was no confidence, there was a bunch of uncertainty in the marketplace, and nobody was buying, but I was doing a lot of quoting. People were still kicking tires, but I was still giving them fixed price. So I had to make adjustments in my delivery mechanism and create options or alternatives to give clients the feeling that they're in control. So, what I'm the you know, what I'm really trying to say, and this is why it is a dance, because depending on the client's risk appetite, depending on the client's attitude, depending on their timing, if there's a level of urgency, all of these things should be speaking to you as a sales operator. And I don't care whether you're the builder, mate, when you're going out there to do the first call, you're a sales guy. That's what you do. You're not the builder, you have be you have building skills, but you had better have some good sales skills because right now the building skills aren't as important as your ability to communicate, connect, build rapport, trust, all that sort of thing, make sure you've got a brand that backs you up. Um, and so, you know, I'm just trying to make the point that you have to be flexible. So you have a plan, got it. When you get out there, you've got to be prepared to pivot. And so when any when when I when I walk into that job, and let's just talk about that, because that's you know, I've got a bunch of points here as you can see, but you know, when I walked in there, and I just want a price to remove these two walls, okay. And and so what I then did is I said, tell me about what you're doing. And we talked about why she wanted to do it, she wanted to open things up, and et cetera, et cetera. I said, Is this your forever home? And you know what she said to me? And this was the pivotal moment because I started to feel like, why are you doing this? Like, this seems like a big spend. And uh, and she said, actually, I just want to, I want to, I want to do this and then I want to sell it. And so that to me meant the minute someone's got that kind of consideration, investing 70 to 100 grand in a new kitchen, make some open, you know, pull down some walls in the kitchen and make it open plan. To me, if it and I said this, so I said, if you were my mum, I would say, Mum, don't spend another dime on this place, box up all your stuff, get ready to move, get it on the market and sell it as it is. Now, I ended up at that, that's kind of let's say that's the you know, that's the the the quick version of that story. But that's when she sort of, I said, Have you had any other contractors? She said, Yes. I said, Do you recall the name of the company? And that's when she told me, and I'm like, I know that guy. And then she started, I said, How what was your experience like? See, now if I'm gonna go out there and not get a deal, because it's not it's never gonna happen, what am I gonna do? Well, I'm gonna do some some competitor analysis, and so and I didn't say to her that I knew that guy. I just said, Oh, that's interesting. What was your experience like? Oh, he was pushy and he wanted to do drawings and he wanted to get this deposit off me straight away, and da da da. Like, see, there's somebody that's just that doesn't actually give a shit about the human because if you don't, what you'll find is you'll do your big spiel and it never connects. Why? Because it's irrelevant. So, okay, so which is all that's all cute, right? And I kind of love this show now because it's just like it's just you and me having chat, right? Um, and and so I got to the back end of that, and I did ask her, I said, how did you make that feel? How did how did that how did that experience with that guy make you feel? And she's just like it was icky. Now that guy, that same contractor is gonna go out and do another meeting exactly the same way, and then he's gonna wonder why he can't get a business off the ground. It it freaking blows my mind. And I was just driving back to the office going, that's that's just why that friggin' company is the way it is. One man band wearing all the hats, never getting over half a million, whatever. So, guys and gals, you know, if there was ever a reason why you need to be teachable, it's that reason because I'm telling you, that guy's been doing this business for over a decade, and he hasn't cracked it. So it's awareness. And if you if you ask me what's the main thing a coach does, two things mainly, well, three things awareness, education, and accountability. Like, you know, and yet some guys will say to me, Oh Max, that's the way I do it. You don't understand. I'm like, right, I mate, no problem. Because I ain't gonna argue with you. I just know what I do, I know what I see from my own business and my own interactions with homeowners, and when I hear stories of other builders that have the same struggles as I do. Okay, and so this does this pre-construction part is is very important because sometimes, like I've done, I got text messages late yesterday afternoon as well, and it's a client where the budget or the sorry my my estimated price range come in a lot higher than what she wanted to spend as a retiree. And now overnight she's flipped the script and she's like, I'm not doing that. I I don't want to do that size, I want to harve it, and I want to do it on the other side of the house. Like, at least I've still got communication lines open. So let's get into this crikey. All right, so if you've got any questions on that, you know, and I'll I'll be honest with you, dudes. This is I want you to go and find, I don't even know what the number is on the website now, but there's a number on the elite businessadvisory.com website, which is uh which goes which goes straight to my WhatsApp. And I there's guys that'll be listening to this for sure that have all kinds of questions. And like, you know what I'll do sometimes? I'll read an email that you send me and I'll go digging around and I'll add your contact details to my cell phone and I'll add you to my WhatsApp and I will call you. Because sometimes I'm in the middle of meetings, sometimes it's just easy for you and me to have a chat. By the time I try and put that together on an email, mate, we might as well have just had a quick conversation. Now, can I promise you that'll happen every time? No, I can't. However, what I will do is make sure that there is some communication level. So, guys, if you're listening to this and you're not on WhatsApp, for the love of God, download the app, okay? I don't know whether it's good, bad, or ugly, but I do know this. Clients all over the world that I deal with, anytime they want to conversate with me, WhatsApp is the best way. Just check time zones because I might be asleep, right? So, you know, I think, guys, you know, my I'm escalating this because I think that you're all grown-ups, and I think we just sometimes need a bit of a smack in the mouth to wake us up and go, you know what? There's things that I'm doing that I don't even know that I'm doing that are wrong and bad for my business, just like old mate. He will go out and do another meeting with a client, and he will just assert his dominance and offend the client in the first meeting. Okay, so pre-construction dance. It is made up of the following design, plan, price. Now, hopefully, this video is going to be a good resource for you that you can come back to. Because I, you know, for me, I'm always polishing, making sure that is there something that I'm missing? What happened in that experience? Why did it go bad? What didn't I do better? What didn't I do right? What could I do better? Okay. And so the this pre-construction dance is all about the design plan and price. So pre-construction, it's a structured process. It must be, okay? It's not a one-step quote. Now, I just put out communication with a client who's got a chimney that's like this, okay? It needs to be brought down. I said, tell you what, two guys, two days, 85 bucks an hour, any third-party products or services, trades, cost plus 20. I said, it's gonna cost you between two and a half and three and a half grand. What do you want to do? And they just said, book us in. So between May 4th and 11th or something like that, I said we're gonna do the job. So sometimes it we don't muck about. We just go, look, let's just get in there. It's a filler job, it's small, they want to do it as cheap as they can. I'm not gonna give them a fixed price, I'm gonna give them some parameters or a range. Let's go. Okay, so that is the only case whereby it was one step. Now they had met us at the home show. So we had credibility, we had rapport, we had a conversation down at the home show, we circled back, we got up there. So it was actually more than one step. But it, you know, this what we're doing in the pre-construction dance as it relates to design, design plan, and price is not a one-step quote. Each stage builds clarity. Design, okay, listen to me. Design defines the vision, planning defines the scope, the pricing defines reality. I'll say that again. Design defines vision, planning defines scope, pricing defines reality. I can talk to people about the design and planning process till the cows come home. But I tell you what puts a dampener on is when I say that's gonna be 400 grand or 700 grand or 1.5 million, all of a sudden they're passing out on me. Could but that's the reality, you know. Um skipping steps creates confusion, errors, and lost trust. Guys, we've got we've got to figure out what do what's our objective in this whole process or whole step number one that's made up of design, plan, and price. What are we trying to achieve? Now you've got to be prepared to. I guess I appreciate if you think you sound a bit cringy or you think this is weird, or doing all of this, Max, is just I am it's outside my comfort zone, I'm not used to it, blah, blah, blah. You've got to be prepared to be a bit cringy and and just make a mess of it occasionally and say the wrong thing or whatever. And but over time, what you're trying to do is use those micro failures to make you a better operator. Okay. Now, so when we're so they're the three stages that I focus on, and I say to clients, you know, like we've got to figure out what it is that you are trying to achieve. What is the design? And a lot of that design depends on um three things. What I try and do as part of this design process is we've got to work out functionality, we've got to work out um what it how it feels or looks, and we're talking about aesthetics, right? Oh, here we go. Aesthetics, can't see that on the board, and then the the the really the most important one is financial. Now, if I can tick all of those boxes, if I can have it working well, looking good, and it suits their budget, we will do a deal. Because remember, people are 80% committed to doing business with you by the time they make the first phone call because they've already trolled you out online. Now, if they can't find you online, you're probably not even gonna get a phone call. Okay, if they can't find anything else to support, you know, the three words you've got on your website, they'll probably just move on to someone like us that's got a whole bunch more information that we're easy to find on all of the social platforms. Um, and they're gonna say, okay, we've got some trust there, there's some rapport there, we like the video testimonials, all that kind of stuff. Function, how it feels and how it looks, what's the aesthetic value and the financials? That's part of the design. The planning price. Now, I'm not sure whether I was gonna cover this today or not, but you know, it's up to you, it's your business, okay? I'm just one guy feeding his family, right? So it's up to you what you do. But what I'm finding right now, because prices for construction, right? Now, what we're what we haven't talked about, because obviously, if we get all this right, we go to the build phase, right? Build or construction. What I find now is I'm saying to people, look, I'll tell you what, and I've got anytime you do a bit of a video call with me, I might show you this. But I've got a list of items in a template where it's all about the shit that city or council or shire wants from you to be able to submit what I call a building permit application package. And there is a list of costs and fees and charges that go with that that clients don't understand. Now, it's funny because the job that I've recently looked at, it was it came in about 200k and the the prelim costs, okay, just for the city, I think were about 18,000, right? So it was almost 10% of the bill price. And so all of those, what so what happens is if you go in that first meeting and say to do the design now in there and in that 18 now on top of that, I had 1200 bucks. That was to cover my time, and I needed 900 of that up front, so that before we go and present a package to the city or the council or the shire, I need to get my trades to do a walkthrough to give me something more hard and fast than me just shooting from the hip trying to figure out the numbers. Okay, so here's the dance, guys and gals. So I said, I think it's going to cost you about 200 grand based on my historical data and my experience. I know that you're going to need to spend 18,000 in prelims with the city and drafting and engineering and all the other stuff that goes with it, so we can get that package ready to go and submit to the city for a building permit. What I want is out of that$1,200, I want$900, and I will get my trades and I'll talk to my engineers and my drafties and all the people that I've got access to inside my network that helps me get the not only the prelims done, but also the construction part, and I will get that for you for 900 bucks. Now, two things. A, I don't want to work for nothing, neither do you, but B, the other thing was I wanted to see does the conversation that we had at her dining table marry up with reality? Is she fed income? We'd say in Australia, all the Aussies, right? Is she fed income? So what I'm saying to her is I need that up front. Now, what's happened is Max, 200 grand's a no-go. I need to reduce and change the plan. And so that's what's happening right now. Okay, this will still stay the same. This stays the same. This probably won't change much, but what has changed is the fact that the budget that we we basically put forward is no good. Now, what I like about this is she's prepared to reconfigure the whole project, move it to a different location of the house, complete change of plans, but she still wants me to be the builder. So, what I don't have a problem with is rapport, respect, trust. She wants to do business with me. The hinge point or the trigger point, what is the bottleneck is the investment that's required. Now remember, they're a retired couple, they're very careful about how much money they invest. Do they really need it? And she's literally cut the area size in half and moved it to a different like so she's had a change of thought process, which is great. Okay, and so that's the that's the dance that we do in the design part, and then of course, all of the planning that goes around it. Well, we haven't triggered that until such time as we know with some sort of um surety or certainty that we are going to be able to give her that product for this much money, right? So we're talking about the pre-construction dance. So the next thing here is timing, don't rush the ask. Now, you'll know. Well, if you've been listening to me a little bit, you'll know that I've talked about the sales process. You've got to know when to go from sales into the ask for the business. Okay, so I'm not trying to dodge that by I'm just saying don't rush it. Okay, don't rush the ask. Because if you do, you're like me, old mate, in the first meeting, he's like, you know, give us 1500 bucks and I'll get architects and I'll get you know concepts done up and rah-rah rah. What you've just done is you've rushed the client, they are now uncomfortable. So I say, don't rush the ask, right? I'm not saying at some point you need to ask for the business, that is the facts. But you've got to be able to meet that client wherever that. If they're very hesitant, you've got to be very conscious of that, okay? And know now, or do I subscribe to pushing that envelope a little bit and getting people out, you know, out of their comfort zone? Yeah, I do. Like this lady over here, you've got to get there. I gotta, I I've got to. We've I've done enough rapport building. Now we're just in negotiation. We're trying to finalize the scope from 200 grand to a little bit less. Maybe I've got to get 70 grand out of that. Well, I can only build a certain amount for 130 grand, whatever. Okay, so we we don't want to rush it, but we don't want to postpone it indefinitely because sometimes then you'll get clients going, so when are we going to get this thing started? Like I lost that job for 30 odd grand because they couldn't wait till June, had to be done now. Is what it is. Timing's everything, don't rush the ask. Asking, oh, here we go. Asking for large deposits too early breaks trust and creates resistance. Dudes, it's over. I mean, you've only got to watch HGTV or freaking anything else. Go and look at Google Reviews. I don't know. People take money and then they don't deliver. So they talk a big game. And then when it comes to reality, they just don't deliver. You know, and I, you know, you we all can do that. We make these, you know, promises, and then when it comes to time to deliver in accordance with it, it just doesn't happen. I mean, I I know of instances where a homeowner has paid a builder over 40 grand, and then they come to me and I go down and talk to the city, and the building permit application has got shortfalls, that's why it's not being processed. And there's engineers not paid, right? And there's there's geotechs and soil testers not paid, and I'm doing the ring around, and I'm saying to the client, I don't know where your money's gone, bro, but it hasn't gone to your project. That's for sure. So that's why people, when you ask up front for the money, immediately there's resistance, immediately there's distrust, and all of a sudden you've got resistance or you've got friction, and that creates heat and drag, both are bad for your business. Clients need to understand the process before committing financially. So let's do this. And I'm big, I've got uh I've got a client in uh in Sydney, Australia at the moment, and I've got uh I've got young Bailey doing what we call role plays with his missus because this is the most challenging part about what you and I do. So if you were a client and you said, hey Max, I want to do an addition to the back of my home, I would say, Hey Fred, no problem, let me lay it out for you. Okay, so they've told me all about, they've done all this. Oh, Max, I want to do this, I want to do this, I want to do this, right? And I'd say, okay, let me show you a little bit about what goes on in here, right? What I've got to do is this is what I've got to do. I'm gonna need an architect, uh a drafty, I'm gonna need engineers. Uh, I might need a soil test. Um, there's there's definitely gonna be submission cost as it relates to the city, the shire, the council, wherever you are. Um, there's also going to be, keep in mind as a percentage, about 2% of the forecast build of your project is going to need to be paid to the city before we get the package. And that covers all of what they do in the way of a service to us as builders, as well as inspections and all those sorts of things, right? And so they're sort of, would do we need to do that, Max? Do we need to get a permit? And I'm like, why are you asking me that question? Yes, we do. We need to do everything in a very professional, organized, uh, and uh very compliant manner. Um, and so, and then there's like along that way, I'm like, is that making sense? Uh we you you sort of under you're keeping up, and I'm saying that's where I might say things like, so on a$200,000 project, we could spend as much as$18,000 on all the prelim costs as it relates to any of the design services and what the city wants. Now that's on a small project. I mean, I've seen that the building permit package just to get it off the city was something like 12 grand, including insurances and things like that. And so, you know, this is where clients, what your role is, is to educate. My role is to educate homeowners because they just kind of have this, you know, uh, understanding, which is most of the time is so far from the truth, it's it's hilarious, right? So, you know, getting back to not rushing the ask, you want to make sure that um your client understands where you're going to take them before they give you give money, right? Okay, the right ask at the wrong time feels wrong, even if it's justified. So asking that old mate asking for you know, I want$1,500 so I can get a designer onto it, and then it was going to be$10,000, and the client's going, What? I'm only spending$70,000 on a kitchen. What's the deal with that? Okay, build trust before you build price. So build trust and then build price. Now I've just got some quotes in for another job that I'm quoting at the moment, which in principle we've got the job, but I suspect it's going to be probably about$70,000 more expensive, which is about a 30% jump, 40% jump on what I told her initially. Where I have a problem is if I did not build rapport and trust, when I present the final price, I could find myself having a lot of challenges. There'd be a lot of resentment. Now, I know for a fact that the team that's worked for us in the design phase has been great, prompt, communicated well, delivered on time. Um, the clients overseas at the moment. I've got to then gather up all of my data, all the quotes and everything, and I've got to put it together in a proposal. And I, there's definitely a part that I'm concerned because the overall, the actual price, the proposal price, is going to be more than the um the initial indication. Now, did she increase there's a whole bunch of things where we can talk about? I'm not going to lean hard on that. I'm just going to make it clear that what you know, we've done quartz tops, um, you know, the flooring was upgraded, we've done a whole bunch of reviews as far as the layout's concerned, so that has increased the price. Okay. So this is where your ability to not make excuses for the price increase, it's just your ability to, with with a lot of security, no arrogance, but with confidence and authority to go, look, I can explain why we've gone from this to this, or I can explain why the price was here, but now it's up here. This is why. Okay, and even my some of my vendors who are quoting of saying, hey, this is an option A, this is what you really like. But if we need to, you know, scale down the overall price, this is what it's going to be. Right, we better get cracking. Uh rapport. So under build trust before you build the price. Report and professionalism must come before financial commitment. Remember that. Rap and professionalism, the way you communicate, the value that you demonstrate, okay, needs to be done before any financial commitment from the homeowners. You know, and it's important, right? To this is what I now remember, this is something that I've only just done. You talk to my EBA clients, I'm saying, hey guys, this is what I've just done. Okay, and I'd show them my breakdown. But I would say to clients, I'm giving these costs to you at cost. There is, I'm not making money out of that. Where I make money is in my 1200 bucks. See, there's value, they they go, okay, so this is not something where you're just raping and pillaging. No, it's not. I make 1200 bucks and everybody else picks up 18 grand. I'm not the homeowner, it's not my house, you've got to pay for that. I don't make the rules, don't shoot the messenger. Okay. Clients need to see value in your thinking, not just in your number. And confidence in your process creates confidence in your price. So I've just told you the final price is going to be up, but we've had confidence. I've been back to that home at least half a dozen times. I've been there now with Jed, my business partner. We've walked through it. I get tired of this is what we're doing in this room, and this is what we're doing here, and we're creating a walk-in closet here, and we're gonna block up that and we're gonna pull out that and be open floor, and this is what we're doing with the feature wall. Like it's just blah, blah, blah. Right? But the fact that I visited that home half a dozen times while the client's there, the fact that she's been out to see the design consultants twice, right? We are very organized in our approach. Now, what I've got to do when by the time she gets back from overseas, I've got to have that proposal built. So, am I working overtime right now? Yes, I am, because there's a there's a deal on the line. If I do and I do it right, we'll get a deal. I'll talk to you about that later. So, confidence in your process creates confidence in your price. If she's enjoyed the process, the price won't be a determining factor. Now, of course, if she hasn't got the money, we've got a major issue. It is what it is, but I don't think that's the case. Right, the final one, remove, I've talked about this one already, I think. Remove the confusion, create direction. Okay, so you know what I use a lot in my coaching is um at the back end of a document that if you've either been with me as an EBA client, EBA client, or you've even sat down with me, you know, for a complimentary coaching call, um, you'll there'll be notes there, and at the bottom of the notes, more often than not, there's next steps and then there's action items. And so, you know, when I'm talking about removing the confusion and creating that creates direction, so because this is what it does is if you remove the confusion because you are orderly, okay, it automatically will create direction as a byproduct. Most clients don't understand the build process, they just assume they know, which they don't. Okay, there's not one that understands it better than I do. Now, am I I'm not I'm not trying to be arrogant, I'm just saying, hey, I'm I'm a bit of a pro, so this is what this is what I do what I do because it's all I do. Your role is uh to simplify, to guide, and lead from the first reaction. So I make it clear up front, and that just sets the ground rules that I'm an I'm a professional operator, I know what I do, I know what I'm doing. Clarity reduces friction and positions you as the expert, and that's what it comes up to. See, if you can demonstrate yourself, right, as the professional and somebody that is is has the expertise to guide that homeowner through the pre-construction, one would assume that you you know what you're doing in the construction aspect, and most of us do, okay. Here's where I'll close. Pre-construction isn't a transaction, it's a process of building clarity, trust, and confidence before the contract is ever signed. And that's the dance, guys. I'm not gonna get into any courting or dating advice, but you're gonna, you know, if you're a dude and you're gonna you're gonna sort of get to know a gal, odds on is you might have met her, you know, out at the club and you're dancing and whatever else, like you you've got to then do the dance, which is not just the the dancing, it's like you've gotta try to be the best you can be and see whether or not that other person wants to involve themselves with you for the rest of your life. Okay, and so for homeowners, they want to know that you're gonna be the guy or gal that's gonna be able to lead them through not just the pre-construction but the construction process. But it's funny how that we we diss the pre-construction and yet it's the window into your soul as an operator, and that clients will judge your company on and your ability to do the job based on pre-construction. So, guys, we've got to learn how to dance the pre-construction. Got any questions? Hit me up, maxelite businessadvisory.com. Like I said at the start, get on WhatsApp, go to my website, it's gonna have a number there that's my WhatsApp number. I think it's a 604 number. Um, you know, hit me with some messages. My phone's always more accessible. I don't really check emails on the phone too much. I wait till I'm in the office to do that. And um, and then basically, uh, you know, if you want to spend some time with me, I'll give you 30 minutes of my time, free of charge, no strings attached, okay? Um, I've probably only got room for another two or three full-time clients. I've probably only got, you know, I might have two or three spaces for some of the coaching on demand. If you don't know the difference between full-time coaching and coaching on demand, then all the more reason we should have a chat. But if you don't want to have a chat yet and you just want to see whether you got the chops to um, you know, to really educate yourself in such a way that you can grow your, you know, understanding. More you learn, more you earn. Um, get across to the academy, elitebusinessadvisory.com forward slash academy. Um, drop the 65 bucks a month of subscription, dig into all of that resource and those videos and the information, and just see if you're good enough to be able to sort of put you through some growth mechanism that's going to help you know more and make more dough. Give me all the kick ass business. See you on the next episode. Cheers