3 Steps to Construction Sales Success

Following is a summary of the webinar

Click the link to get a free eBook:  The Secret of Construction Sales Success:

3 Steps to Construction Sales Success

Three Things We Cover:

1. The Psychology of High Performing Construction Sales Pros
2. How to Craft a Strategic Approach, to Each Project You Pursue, So You Know Exactly Where You Stand
3. A Powerful Questioning Framework to Thrive in a Negotiated Project Environment

Key Insights:

You may not even consider yourself to be a sales person, you may just consider yourself to be a builder, someone who just likes to get a project and build a project and get paid for it. And that’s all good, but one thing that you’ve got to understand whether you’re a builder or an engineer, if you’re in construction, you’re in sales.

High pressure tactics don’t work in construction sales. Construction is so unique it’s so complex there’s so much money and risk involved that the high-pressure techniques that we might find at the used car lot or in the jewelry store, they just don’t work.

Construction sales are unique.

• Concept
• Service
• Finished Product

They begin with an idea in somebody’s mind. Everything that you see in our built environment begins in somebody’s head and that it comes out in terms of their plans, in terms of their dreams, in terms of their vision. And so, when you’re in construction sales you got to be able to tap into that conceptual way of thinking and really help people to begin the process of going from conception to completion.

And so, as you go through that conceptual process, there’s a service aspect involved and there’s a deep service aspect involved all the way from the beginning parts when you’re engaging with someone and you’re beginning to look at their plans and giving them advice on how they might be able to build the project in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. But then, the service continues once you get the project and you’re going all the way through it.

And that’s why selling is very important not just for your estimators or your business development people, but selling strategies are very important for your project managers as well.

Once you’ve made one sale in construction as far as getting a job, you’re making sales all along the way in terms of collecting on your change orders, in terms of proving to them that you’re delivering the service that you promised and the delivering of the service will enable you to get more work with that client, so it’s a concept it’s a service and then it’s a finished product as well. And so, you’re judged not only on how you handle the conceptual sale, but you’re also – you’re also judged on how you service and how you produce that finished product. So, construction selling is extremely unique, it’s extremely complex, and therefore, it requires a specific strategic and tactical approach. Okay?

7 Challenges with Construction Sales

1. Conceptual
2. Long Time Frame
3. Heavy Competition
4. Risky
5. Mistakes are costly
6. Narrow margins
7. High pressure

Write down the top five clients or potential clients that you would like to pursue.

Key Point: They must be the right client, right job, right location

How do you feel about them in terms of doing their next project?

So, first let’s dive into the psychology of high performing construction sales pros.

• There is no secret to success: Solve a problem, add value, outwork everyone.
• You cannot control productivity, but you can control activity. Focus on quality, and productivity will follow.
• People purchase from people that they: Know, Trust, and Like

To learn more about Know, Trust, Like, click this link and download the free eBook:

The Secret of Construction Sales Success

High performers in construction may choose:

• They choose to get something out of all situations rather than complain about them.
• They choose to hustle rather than to dog-it
• They choose to be prepared rather than just show up.
• They choose to be consistent rather than occasional.
• They choose to be early rather than just on time or late.
• They choose to want to learn rather than want to explain or excuse.
• They choose to do more rather than just enough or less.
• They choose to be early rather than just on time or late.
• They want learn rather than want to explain or excuse.
• They choose to do more rather than just enough or less.
• They are mentally tough instead of being mentally lazy or intimidated.
• They concentrate on what to do rather than on what may occur.
• They choose to be aggressive rather than passive or submissive.
• They choose to know their limitations rather than trying to do more than they’re capable of.
• They always think about solutions rather than worry about problems.
• They accept adversity as part of the game and as a part of life rather than magnify the adverse conditions and seeks sympathy and
• They choose to share with and help others rather than be selfish.

5 Step Strategic Approach to Each Client

Pick your #1 Client

Ask yourself:

• How do you feel about your standing with them?
• What’s changed? What’s slightly off? What are you unsure about?
• Types of changes: Sudden Change, Gradual Erosion, Growth Mode
• Changes: Opportunities or Threats?
• What’s your next step? What are you selling, to whom, by when, how much?

A Powerful Questioning Framework to Thrive in a Negotiated Project Environment

Key Insight: People buy to gain pleasure, but most of all to avoid PAIN

This framework is found in SPIN Selling by Neil Rackman.

SPIN is an acronym for four questions types:

• Situation
• Problem
• Implication
• Need Pay-Off

If you’re going to be successful in sales, you must become an expert at asking questions.

So, a situation question is a question about background and facts.  The size of the project, the location of the project, if you’re the subcontractor, perhaps who’s the owner that’s working with the GC.

Next are problem questions that uncover problems that that person has or problems that they may anticipate around things like schedule or quality or cost or missed scope. Ask questions to uncover problems and difficulties and dissatisfactions.

Then you want to go on to the next step which is the implication

Now, this is very, very important. You may know all about the problems, but you need to ask about the implications the consequences the effects of the problem.

• what was the impact of that missed scope?
• what is the impact on you of the poor quality?
• how have the cost overruns affected your profitability on the project?
• And, implication questions are sad questions.
• Explore the logical and emotional implications of the problems

Logical: Time, money, productivity

Emotional: Frustration, hassle, failure, fear

So now, the next step is to go to the need payoff questions. These are the happy questions. And they’re about value and importance and usefulness. So, it’s a question like this:

• what would it mean to you if we could deliver a project that has zero rework?
• What would it mean to you if we could guarantee a particular cost
• What if we could improve the quality so that you have a much more happier end users?

Key Insight: You not only want to find out the problems, you not only want to explore the pain,

but then you want to provide them with the solutions and specifically, the solutions that you

provide.

More Questions:

• How important is it to improve productivity?
• How helpful would a good design build partner be?
• What would be the impact of improved communication?

In construction, you don’t need to learn “1001 ways to close a deal”. Instead, you need to be able to empathize, have a desire to win, welcome rejection, be optimistic, balance relationships, results and ego.

To take a deeper dive into these characteristics and take a FREE assessment to see how you measure up, go to my web site www.constructiongenius.com/constructionsales

The assessment takes only about 5 minutes, and you’ll find it extremely helpful.