Tips on Getting Contracts

[earthmover]

Other than advertisement in the local papers etc what are some ways that you guys land contracts whether it be construction, snow removal, or even sub contracts? We're just looking for new ideas with our buisiness, it's always interesting to see what approach others take.

I'm not trying to cut into any of you gentlemen's buisiness, especially since most of you are in the U.S and we're way up here in Canada. :beerchug

[Copenhagen]

Other than advertisement in the local papers etc what are some ways that you guys land contracts whether it be construction, snow removal, or even sub contracts? We're just looking for new ideas with our buisiness, it's always interesting to see what approach others take.

I'm not trying to cut into any of you gentlemen's buisiness, especially since most of you are in the U.S and we're way up here in Canada. :beerchug

I opened my business here last summer with only one contact in the landscape business.

I spent the first couple of weeks driving around from one jobsite to another and handing out business cards. I took 50 cards per day and wouldnt come home until they were all gone.

I also advertised on the web and in the local papers but those 2 didnt offer much in return.

Meeting someone face to face is the best way of doing business. Call other contractors in your area and go meet them. You are their competitor but if they get busy and want to sub out work, they will remember you.

My business is booming right now. I am consistently booked 2-3 weeks out, my dump truck is running everyday and I have started getting phone calls about snow removal this winter.

The more people you meet, the easier it will be to get introduced to other contractors.

It is like a family tree. You start by meeting one or two contractors and they each give you the names of one or two more and it just keeps multiplying.

Be honest, dont try to be sneaky with what you are doing. If you are an excavator tell the other excavating companies that you are.

Just the other day I was beat on a bid by a guy that I had met only once before. He called me today and asked if I could truck all of his material in for him. I like to develop more a "friendly" relationship rather than a "business" relationship.

Keep you frinds close and your competitors closer. Good luck!

[earthmover]

that's some great advice Copenhagen, it's much appreciated!!

I totally agree with you 100% about being honest and not sneaky,that's the best way to be and that's the way me and my buisiness partner (fullmetalbucket) on this site are with everybody, it doesn't pay to be sneaky because all it takes is one time for another contractor to find out you're lying or trying to cut in on him and that's that for your rep with them.

The thing we haven't done much yet is meeting face to face with other contractors, that's a good idea and I think we'll have to start doing that.

Thanks again:drinkup

[Copenhagen]

My stepdad is an estimator with Kiewit. He taught me that meeting face to face was the only way to do things.

You probably dont remember who called you last Thursday at 3:00 pm but you definately would remember if you had a meeting with them.

I dont consider myself to be a salesman by any means. I was kinda forced into the role. It was very difficult for me to get my point across on the phone.

Once I visited some job sites, I looked up GC's in the phone book and mapped their addresses with mapquest and took off.

Start on one side of town and work your way across.

Worked for me, hope it works for you.

[earthmover]

that is very true! We'll see how it goes lol. i'm not much of a salesman type of guy, i leave all the Public Relations stuff to my buisiness partner FullMetalBucket, he's great at it. The hardest part i have sometimes is the initial approach and what to say to get started. I never really had to sell anything before so it's new to me :eek: I have always been the muscle and brains behind the operations, not that my partner doesn't have brains hahaha because he does.

[DPete]

Quality work, get in and get it done in a timely fashion. The world is full of contractors who will try and short cut a job to increase profit. Nothing wrong with being smart at running a job but give the customer what they are paying for. DP

[zhkent]

I second DPete.
And would add always complete your jobs. Do a nice job and leave them nice.
If leaving the job nice costs you a little, think of it as advertising, because thats the best advertisement you can do.

[CM1995]

Very good advice DPete and zhkent. Doing just a little extra to leave a clean, professional looking site goes a long way. And what does the extra effort really cost at the end of the day? You are already there and your fixed costs are the same for the equipment regardless if you are working it or not. It may cost a little more in fuel, wear items and wages but the return on that little investment means a happy customer and repeat business.

[Squizzy246B]

The quality of your work, will speak volumes for referral and word of mouth. Advertising has been discussed here:

http://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=1635

I went out to see a lady yesterday who got my number off the side of my truck. She has a frontyard for full makeover, trees out, levelling, walls, swimming pool (if I can talk her into concrete), paving and so forth. Whatever way it goes I could land between $10K to $50K job on that site. That should pay for the signage on my truck:cool2 .

Demographics do come into play. A consistent return for me is my local newspapers however; here is what I have learned about advertising in them for the last 3 years;

I live on the west coast just south of the river on which Perth is built. Immediatley south of the river are some affluent suburbs with varying demographics, there are a lot of turn of the century houses (hang on ..the previous century that is). The people here tend to read my ads in the local rag and I get good leads. I get more calls from further south and East (the burbs) but these convert to more tyre kickers and the jobs are budget driven - follows with the demographic. On the north side of the river are Perth's most affluent riverside suburbs with many multi-million dollar houses. The people here either don't read the local rag or don't call. I need a different medium to get into these areas??? ..ideas??.

At the moment commercial work forms the lions share of my income and all that comes from word of mouth between builders. A number of jobs are coming to me from what we call "drive by shootings". If you are doing quality work that is visible to the public a site sign is one of the best investments you can make.

I have never done a cold drop (flyers) as I despise this form of advertising....(see my mate Bob's letterbox:D )
http://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3465
...but I'm actually thinking of trying a few streets to see if I get a return.

[FullMetalBucket]

Thanks for the advice/thoughts guys. Good thread earthmover...... Eventhough we've managed to stay busy - like everyone else, we're always looking to grow so it's great to have a place to share ideas....
I've got mixed feelings on spending $$ for newspaper ads.... in this area it seems the majority of good jobs go to larger established contractors so networking, word of mouth and great referrals seem the way to go. We're fortunate that one of our services is asphalt sealing and through that we get alot of positive feedback which lead to small/mid sized jobs doing light excavating. I find people are surprised to see that although we are small we carry full insurance, add to that the fact that like others have mentioned, we take alot of extra time doing small things that our customers appreciate like sweeping their walks or driveways when we're done and making sure the worksite is both neat and safe while we're on the job and it seems to be taking care of the "word of mouth" part. We've got good signage on our truck but don't seem to get many calls from that. Flyers seem to give a good return - the grass roots method of canvassing neighbourhoods and sticking them in rural mailboxes is good but I took the time to draft a pretty sharp brochure so I'm sure that helps. It gets sticky approaching a guy cutting his grass but if you're comfortable talking to people and are genuine in your cause they seem to warm up pretty quickly. I've dealt with people for years in business so I almost enjoy the "thrill of the chase" when it comes to making a good first impression. One thing we're anxious to try is what the sign guys call lawn talkers.... you know the signs politicians stick all over the place when they run for local office? We just haven't taken the time to have them made up..... PLUS, they're a little pricey so I'm shopping around in my spare time. (does anyone really have spare time??? NOT!)
Anyway, I'm rambling.... great topic!

[digger242j]

On the north side of the river are Perth's most affluent riverside suburbs with many multi-million dollar houses. The people here either don't read the local rag or don't call. I need a different medium to get into these areas??? ..ideas??.

I don't have an answer for you, but a perhaps thought provoking question--who is working for those people now, and what methods are they using to reach them?

[Countryboy]

I need a different medium to get into these areas??? ..ideas??.

What about having a cook out in a commons area located inside that neighborhood. You feed them and in return you get to advertise. Some hamburgers and hotdogs go along ways to getting people to listen to ya.

Investment: Several packs of hamburgers and hotdogs, buns, and a grill.
Return: Unlimited up front and personal advertising.

Our company has a grill trailer that we send out to ALL local events. A little effort out on the grill has worked great at bringing in new customers. Many of the upscale neighborhoods around here have commons areas with pools, volleyball etc. This would be the perfect place to locate on a weekend. It would probably only take one to get the people talking.

Just an idea that works for us.

[digger242j]

Investment: Several packs of hamburgers and hotdogs, buns, and a grill.

On the north side of the river are Perth's most affluent riverside suburbs with many multi-million dollar houses.

Or maybe some caviar and champagne... :)

[Countryboy]

Or maybe some caviar and champagne... :)

Aww, everybody likes a good ol' fashioned cook out....multi-million dollar house or not. Besides, you hand some champagne to somebody down here and your likely gonna get asked "whats with the spoiled beer?". :D

[Squizzy246B]

I don't have an answer for you, but a perhaps thought provoking question--who is working for those people now, and what methods are they using to reach them?

That little thought provoked my little brain too. The guys I have worked for in that area are well established and trade by referral/word of mouth.

What about having a cook out in a commons area located inside that neighborhood.

Or maybe some caviar and champagne...

Ya breaking my balls... But on a brighter note, the city council from one of those burbs rang me today for a quote on some restoration works on the old civic centre....all I need is a leg in on one prominant job:woohoo :woohoo

[Torsten]

Other than advertisement in the local papers etc what are some ways that you guys land contracts whether it be construction, snow removal, or even sub contracts? We're just looking for new ideas with our buisiness, it's always interesting to see what approach others take. ...Where about are you looking for contracts. I would only be able to help with contracts in Southern Africa, since I've a website targeting that region and I'm getting responses from there.

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums Torsten! :drinkup