Commercial Construction Buyers want to Quickly Verify your Construction Company's Insurance Coverage
Mar 26, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
When facility managers and general contractors are prequalifying resources for a construction project, they usually take insurance coverage into consideration. By completing the fields in your company’s Qual-Port related to your insurance coverage, you’re providing your clients and prospects with quick and easy access to this information. And if your competitors have not made their insurance information as readily accessible as you have in your Qual-Port, your construction bid may appear more attractive on bid day.
The Insurance Coverage Template in your Qual-Port answers the 3 basic questions that facility managers and general contractors have about your company’s insurance coverage:
1) Do you have the insurance policy types and coverage amounts to work on our construction projects?
2) Can you prove your stated insurance coverage with a copy of your current insurance certificate?
3) What’s your insurance agent’s contact information – just in case I have questions?
My next post will explain the purpose of showcasing your company’s Bonding Capacity in your Qual-Port.
Click here for my previous post about utilizing your Industry Connections to generate leads for your construction business.
Good Construction Project Leads Come From Your Industry Connections
Mar 23, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
In an earlier post, I talked about the importance of showcasing your company’s Key Contacts in your Qual-Port to create an advantage among your competitors. Similarly, you can leverage your business relationships by showcasing them online to create construction project leads. In the real world, your business contacts keep you informed of construction bids and other opportunities. You also recommend each other when you become aware of construction projects…the Industry Connections template in your Qual-Port allows you to do the same online. Think about it – let’s say you are a painting contractor and one of your clients needs you to recommend a good drywall contractor. Instead of spending time on the phone, your client could just look in your Qual-Port to see the companies that you recommend and enjoy working alongside.
The idea behind this template is simple: worthwhile construction project leads come from the recommendations you get from your established industry relationships.
Stay tuned…my next post will explain the reasons you should provide your Insurance Coverage in your Qual-Port.
Commercial Contractors are Using the CSI Code to Market their Businesses
Mar 19, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
Upcoming CSI Code Events In Your Area
JobSite123.com uses the CSI Code to provide a highly-detailed index of all of the companies in the commercial construction industry. So whether you are a contractor, material supplier or manufacturer - there are two important reasons that you should know all of the CSI Codes that your construction business services:
1. You want your Qual-Port to appear when Users are searching in your geographic location for companies that match the CSI Codes that your company services. For example, let’s say a User is searching JobSite123.com in CSI Division 26 for an Electrician to provide and install a Wind Energy Generator, and that’s one of your electric company’s specialties. Unless you attach your company to 26.32.23 Wind Energy Equipment, that prospect will not know of your availability and relevant qualifications.
2. You want your clients and prospects that are looking thru your Qual-Port to see the CSI Codes that your company services – including all of them they weren’t aware you handled. For example, let’s say your company is well-known as a quality interior framing and finishes contractor, but not as well-known for your exterior framing and finishing expertise. Unless you also attach your company to 05.10.00 Structural Metal Framing and 09.24.23 Portland Cement Stucco, that prospect will not know to consider your company for additional scopes of work on his project.
And remember to back-up your list of CSI Codes by entering specific experience information in your Projects Template and Performance Ratings Template – that’s what they are going to look at next.
My next post will address the online marketing power you have to leverage and cross-promote your business relationships using your Qual-Port’s Industry Connections Template.
Click here to read about the purpose of displaying your construction company’s Project Specializations in your Qual-Port.
General Contractors + Facilities Managers Value your Project Specialization Template
Mar 16, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
This template provides a very quick and easy way for you to tell Buyers which types of construction projects your company has experience building – all you have to do in ‘Edit Mode’ is click in the boxes next to the project types, click ‘Save Changes’ and they will appear to Buyers when they open this tab. This area of your Qual-Port is also the first place Buyers look to see if your construction expertise matches their project type, so remember to back-up your specialization claims with related information in your Qual-Port’s Projects template, Performance Ratings template and Awards template.
For example, when a Facilities Manager is looking for resources to build their new Emergency Room Expansion, he will scan your Project Specialization template for “Healthcare”, then look in your Projects template and sort them to see your related experience and client performance ratings. If your Qual-Port’s Project Specialization matches a prospective Buyer’s requirements, get ready to answer your phone.
This template is simple but it packs a punch, so use it wisely.
My next post will address the importance of diplaying your company’s CSI Codes in your Qual-Port.
To read my last post about your company’s Geographic Service Area, click here.
Your Profile’s Geographic Service Area
Mar 12, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
YES, you can make your company profile appear in as many of jobsite123.com’s U.S. County search results as you want. HOWEVER, keep in mind – unless your construction company really is competitive in all of the Counties that you’ve programmed your profile to appear in, you might be at risk of damaging your business’s reputation. For example, although you may desire to submit construction bids throughout the entire Georgia construction market, you would never advertise your company throughout Georgia without also somehow displaying in your ad that you have worked outside of your local market area.
When Buyers are looking to qualify construction resources for a project, they usually begin their search by identifying companies that are physically located in that project’s market area – jobsite123.com allows them to search the same way. And when they encounter out-of-town contractors and material suppliers, their first reaction is they’re likely to be more expensive and lack the experience relative to the locals - Buyers generally think not local means not qualified. BUT, a Buyer will consider an out-of-town company for their project if that construction business has done work in that area in the past – and your profile allows you to prove it.
SO FEEL FREE to attach your profile to as many U.S. Counties as you want, but remember to back-up your claim by loading all of your non-local projects into your profile and using your Company Narrative to speak to the work you’ve done outside of your local construction market.
Stay tuned…my next post will describe the purpose of your selections in your Qual-Port’s Project Specialization tab.
Read my previous post about the importance of your Commercial Construction Company Narrative.
Your jobsite123 Company Narrative
Mar 9, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
Your Company Narrative is the place in your Qual-Port that tells your clients and prospects who your company is and what your company stands for. It’s important to not just write about how many years you’ve been in business, that you specialize in whatever projects and that you’re proud of the quality you provide. This is the way most companies describe themselves, so you’ll have to include more information if you want your construction business to stand out from the crowd. Besides, all of those points are already covered elsewhere in your Qual-Port.
It’s also important to keep in mind that sometimes Buyers break the tie in a bid comparison by looking at the intangibles of each company (company values, employee culture, community involvement, charities supported). For example, the V.P. of Facilities at Baptist Health South Florida pays close attention to his resources’ Company Narrative to see if they provide healthcare coverage to their employees.
The content of your Company Narrative is another means to showcase your qualifications, so be thoughtful about what you display here, because it may mean the difference between you getting the job or your competitor getting the job.
My next post in this series will explain the importance of your Qual-Port’s Geographic Service Area.
Click HERE to read my previous post about your Qual-Port’s Key Contacts.
Your Company’s Key Contacts
Mar 5, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
The purpose of your Qual-Port’s Key Contacts is not just to help your clients and prospects quickly find who they need to talk with at your company, this information also has significant value in your marketing efforts. Displaying all of your Key Contacts allows Buyers to get an overall feel for your company – which can provide a competitive advantage among your commercial construction competitors.
Buyers want to know 3 things about your Key Contacts before they contact them:
1- Who they’re talking to (Job Title)
2- What their background is (Bio)
3- Alternative ways to contact them (Phone, Fax and Email)
Buyers are looking for the above info about your Key Contacts for 3 reasons:
1- They’re simply looking for the appropriate person in your company to help them with their need
2- They want to see if your company has the number of key people with the appropriate backgrounds that matches their project’s scope and type
3- They want to gauge the depth and stability of your construction business
When a Buyer sees the number and quality of people that you display in your Qual-Port, they understand the bond that you have with your Key Contacts – that there is no risk of them being lured to work elsewhere in the middle of their construction project.
It’s the people that work for your company that make it successful. Showcasing your Key Contacts provides more information for Buyers to use when considering your company for their construction project.
My next post will explain the benefits of displaying your Qual-Port’s Company Narrative.
Click here to read my previous post about the benefits of your Qual-Port Homepage.
Company Profile Homepage
Mar 2, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port
Craig Noble
Think of your profile homepage like a retailer thinks of his storefront – the purpose is to get buyers to come inside and take a further look around. Just like an eye-catching storefront is the first impression for retail shoppers, your profile homepage should entice prospects to quickly decide that they want to look for more qualifying information about your company. Therefore, you should be mindful of the content that you display, because it may mean the difference between a prospective client contacting you about a project – or clicking away to view another profile.
Your homepage has 3 information areas for you to use to draw visitors further into your profile:
Homepage Image
This is the first place your visitor’s eye will go. Why? Because it’s the biggest image on their screen – and, because everyone likes pictures. Some companies simply display their logo here, while other companies display a rotating slideshow of their completed projects. What works best is an image that introduces your company to someone that may not be aware of your capabilities – one that grabs their attention and encourages them to want to learn more. Also - you should include a sentence or 2 from your company narrative where indicated…the purpose of this text is to help your company rank higher in the major search engines.
General Company Info
This is the snapshot of information about your company that appears at the top of your profile. It’s allows your prospects to quickly see that your company is a local player, how many years you’ve been in business, how many performance ratings you have, and other basic info that buyers consider when identifying resources for a project.
Left Navigation Tabs
This one is simple…the Owners, Facilities Managers and GCs using jobsite123 know how many of these tabs are supposed to be displayed. (Tabs without info do not appear.) So when any of these industry buyers arrive on a profile that doesn’t have all of the tabs displayed, they leave and go on to another profile. Why? Because they know there are plenty of other companies in jobsite123 that are trying to get their attention with a completely filled-out profile.
Stay tuned…I will tell you the importance of your profile’s Key Contacts Template within the next couple days.
