General contracting business growth requires careful planning, whether you are just a startup or one of the leaders in the industry. If you are either of startup or an industry leader looking to expand your general contracting operations this post is for you.
You have to plan and scale up your business operations strategically. Furthermore, you have also to ensure that there is enough equipment, labor, and other resources available for your business to handle the additional workload.
We have gathered and compiled some of the best general contracting business growth strategies to help you get started.
12 Strategies for General Contracting Business Growth
To grow your general contracting business, simply follow these 12 strategies.
1. Adaptability Can Help
Change is always good. The more flexible and adaptable you are, the better it is in the construction industry. For example, using 3D modeling to view drones for sight monitoring and inspection and other technological innovations are helping the construction business. The idea is to find ways to adapt to the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Be a Leader, Not Just a Manager.
Remember, your workforce needs a leader, not a manager. So lead your employees with confidence, and your labor will follow you anywhere you want. If you try to micro-manage your labor's work, they will lose confidence, thinking that you have no faith in the abilities of your team to perform the job duties.
So do not try to be a manager who is always critical of how the workers perform. Instead, lead by example and show your workers how to do things so that they can follow in your footsteps.
3. Be Pro-active
Do not sit back and wait for everything to fall in your lap. You have to go out there and fish for opportunities. Meet new people, use social media marketing, collaborate with other players and experts to find and retain growth opportunities.
4. Building an Efficient Team
You need a great team that can work like well-organized cogs in a machine. Therefore, you must hire the best talent in the market. Your team must be knowledgeable, skilled, and highly dependable. Another great trick is to ensure that you do everything in your power to retain your best workers. For this, you can reward and/or promote your workers for reliability and hard work.
5. Capitalizing on Your Strengths
Try your very best to find out the strengths of your business. Factors that help you stand above all other competitors in the market. Surely you rather be known as one of the best general contracting companies than just another firm out there.
Know and use your strengths as an anchor when marketing your services. You can even specialize in a certain niche or industry. For example, you can be a general contracting company specializing in car parks, high-rise or multi-family commercial properties, etc.
6. Focus on Profitability
Be selective in the projects you choose to work on. It is not about bagging as many projects as you can. What good is a project if you do not earn enough to cover your expenses? Therefore, you must only take on a construction project that pays you good. Take one project but make sure it is a profitable one.
There is definitely no point in taking on multiple jobs if the projects are not making any contribution to your profits. Pick quantifiable construction jobs that pay good profits, not just breakeven.
7. Great Customer Service
Always keep your clients as your top priority. They are the reason you are able to make profits and gain a good reputation in the market. This does not mean you have to fulfill every demand a client makes, but yes communicating with the client to resolve queries and concerns are the minimum basics.
Another great general contracting business growth strategy is to treat your clients as your equals in the decision-making process. A satisfied client means more repeat business and more referrals.
8. It's All in the Quality
Always remember this slogan, "Quality is the King." Therefore, you must tread carefully in the general contracting industry regarding the quality of work. You may believe that cutting corners can reduce your costs and increase efficiency. However, in reality, all it does is irreversibly damage your reputation and credibility in the market.
9. Investing in your General Contracting Business
Want others to believe in your general contracting business growth? You must be the first one to invest in your own business. This will show other lenders and investors that you believe in this project so much that you are willing to stake your own money on it.
You can invest in buying your technology and equipment, training employees, and using several digital and offline marketing channels.
10. Marketing Your General Contracting Services
Getting the word out is vital for general contracting business growth. Believe it or not but the word of mouth referrals stay one of the most effective methods to boast about your business. Ask your business partners, vendors, and customers to share your information with others.
Leaving great feedback on your online website, social media pages, and other rating websites can help your business gain credibility and trust in the market.
11. Networking, Networking, and More Networking
Networking is one of the best general contracting business growth strategies. From offline networking in your local trade association events to online communities such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, you must broaden your network.
The more people know about your business, the more chances to generate potential leads with every referral. It is safe to say that networking is one the most powerful tool for building brand awareness.
According to Forbes, giving back increases your brand’s loyalty. Therefore, staying active while giving back to your local community is a great way to shine and gain the respect of the locals.
12. Smart Automation
You make a multitude of decisions during a day, and several have no consequences. However, earning a business requires you to make tough decisions. Therefore, you have to think smart to make smart decisions.
Therefore, apart from the above-mentioned general contracting business growth strategies, you must also automate your administrative tasks. Using smart solutions will allow you to streamline and automate your invoicing, cash flow analytics and generate reports in a hassle-free manner.
Conclusion
If you are an entrepreneur or business thinking about general contracting business growth, Vergo can help. From automation of invoicing to using virtual cards for payment, analytics to generating reports, it can help you automate several aspects of your business so you can focus on more productive tasks.
