Your Company’s Insurance Coverage is Your First Step Toward Prequalification on New Construction Projects

Jun 11, 2010 marketing tips

Craig Noble

Did you know?

• Verifying insurance coverage is the MOST COMMON prequalification requirement in the commercial construction industry.
• Nearly ALL project owners, facilities managers and GC’s have minimum insurance coverage requirements to work on their construction projects.
• JobSite123 will send you an auto-reminder when you need to update your proof of insurance on your profile.

Your clients and prospects can now use JobSite123 to verify your insurance coverage in seconds.  Complete your insurance coverage template today, and keep the information current at all times.  When you have a change to your insurance coverage, simply edit the information in your profile and send a direct link to all of your clients – updating all of them instantly.

Showcasing your company’s insurance coverage online to attract more clients is as easy as 1-2-3!

How To Display Your Licenses & Certifications in Jobsite123

Jun 10, 2010 Qual-Port How-To's, marketing tips

Displaying your licenses and certifications is another important way that you can show your qualifications.  By putting your license and certification information online, you demonstrate that your company and its employees have taken the steps to satisfy all legal requirements and undergone extra training in order to perform work to the highest standard possible.

To display your Licenses & Certifications in JobSite123:

1.) Login at jobsite123.com with your username and password.

2.) Find the name of your company under the heading “My Qual-Ports”, on the lower left-hand side of the screen. Click on it.

3.) In the left-hand navigation menu, click on “Licenses & Certifications”.

4.) In the top right corner, click on the link marked “Add Licenses & Certifications”.

5.) Fill out all the available fields. To upload a copy of your license in .pdf, .jpg or .doc format, click the button marked “Browse” in the Upload License/Certificate section. Locate the file on your hard drive, click on the file, then click “Open”.

6.) Click “Create”.

Here’s an example of a company showcasing their licenses and certifications online.

Industry Org Memberships Represent Your Construction Business's Qualifications Too

May 13, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port, marketing tips

Craig Noble

You already know that your membership in local construction industry organizations allows you to network with peers and maybe hear about upcoming construction projects and opportunities. However, you can also get additional mileage from your memberships by mentioning the organizations that you belong to in your marketing efforts. Think about it…including the logos of national construction industry organizations like Associated Builders and Contractors, Urban Land Institute, United States Green Building Council and the other prominent local organizations alongside your construction company’s logo bolsters your business’s reputation because of their excellent reputation in your local market area. So, when we were researching and designing the jobsite123 qualification profiles, it became clear to us that providing a tab for you to showcase the affiliations and memberships that you belong to was a must. You can click here for an example of a commercial construction company using their industry organization memberships to further represent their qualifications.

We have many of the prominent industry organizations available for you to click and display in your Qual-Port – but we don’t have all of them yet.  If you would like for us to add an industry organization that you belong to but is not in our system, just send an email to us at solutions@jobsite123.com.

Use Your Awards to Sell Your Construction Company to New Clients

May 10, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port, marketing tips

Craig Noble

Another one of the best ways to attract more construction buyers to your company is to make them aware of the awards and recognition that you have already earned for your work.  Although it may be difficult to get your clients and prospects to your office to see your bulging trophy case, you can easily display your construction awards in your jobsite123.com profile.  Remember – the number of construction buyers using jobsite123.com to find and prequalify construction companies is increasing every month, so it’s well worth the small amount of time and effort it will take you to display your awards here.  FYI - buyers are using jobsite123.com to find resources for all construction specialty areas.  The following are examples of projects that jobsite123.com users are showcasing in their profiles:  retail projects, healthcare projects, office projects, multi-family residential projects, school projects, university projects, etc. 

Once you log-in and go to the awards and recognition tab in your profile, just select your company’s awards from the menus provided.  If you don’t see an award in the menu, just click on the ‘FeedBack’ tab (on the left side of every screen) and let us know the awards we need to add for you.

Stay tuned…my next post will describe how broadcasting your industry organization memberships separates your company from many of your competitors.

Use Your Construction Business's Financial Health to Attract More Construction Projects

May 7, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port, marketing tips

Craig Noble

Providing references of your construction company’s financial health is just another meaningful way to show construction buyers how you run your business.  This template within your qualifications profile is where buyers look to see the lenders, material suppliers, equipment dealers, etc. that you do business with.  And by filling-in your contact’s name, phone number and email address in the fields provided, you are also giving buyers a quick and easy way to verify your company’s general financial stability – which is a common part of the prequalification process before buyers ask for specific financial documents to back up your references.

My next post in this series will explain how to attract more construction projects by showcasing your construction awards online.

General Contractors are Embracing Technology to Create a Competitive Advantage

May 3, 2010 marketing tips

Craig Noble

As a General Contractor, you want to streamline your operations expenses AND stand apart from your competition AND impress your clients with your forward thinking – right?  Well…FYI, contractors across the U.S. are quickly recognizing the value of incorporating jobsite123.com into their construction business’s overall game plan. 

After building-out a complete and current Qual-Port™ profile for your company, the next steps are as easy as… 1-2-3:

1. Send your entire bid list a request to maintain a complete Qual-Port™ profile for their company as well, so you have access to their most current construction qualifications (click here for some sample language used by other GC’s)    

2. Make your clients and prospective clients aware of your company’s Qual-Port™ profile (and when you submit a GMP proposal with a list of your proposed subcontractors, include a direct link to each of their Qual-Port™ profiles also – so they can view your subcontractor’s qualifications too)

3. Create more construction bid opportunities by driving online traffic to your company’s unique qualifications with direct links from your website and each of your employee email signatures directly to your Qual-Port™ profile (both badges can be grabbed through this helpful link on our site).

Simple, right?  OK, then get going…because your competitors read this too.

Commercial Contractors Can Use Their Bonding Capacity as a Marketing Tool

Apr 19, 2010 marketing tips

Craig Noble

Bondable construction companies are those that a surety company has evaluated their financial strength and track record for the successful completion of construction contracts in their past – and are therefore willing to “bond” that company’s performance on future projects. Meaning, a GC or subcontractor will pursue a surety company to commit to being their “bonding” company. So if construction project owners demand a “bond” from their GC, and all of the individual subs on their project – they are essentially requiring an “insurance policy” that the company will perform the work that they were contracted to do. And if that company fails to perform the work as promised (for whatever reason), then the bonding company steps in and give the project owner the money to go out and hire a replacement. So in that sense, a bond works like an insurance policy on the payment and performance of the contractor’s work.

Project owners require contractors to be “bondable” on their projects MUCH more often in the public sector than in the private sector.

Each company will try to secure a surety/bonding agent to give them a bonding capacity. The more successful and financially strong the company has been, with an excellent track record throughout the years, the more likely that company will be to receive the bonding they desire. Construction bonding capacity generally come in 2 levels – they get bonded to a $ amount for any given single project (say a limit of $10,000,000 per project) and then they are usually capped for a total bonding capacity for ALL of the projects that they may have under bond. For example, Moss and Associates has a single project bond limit of $250,000,000 and a total not to exceed limit of $750,000,000.

Again, depending upon the company’s financial strength and track record, the cost of purchasing the bond will vary. If they are a really strong construction company with a great track record, the cost of the bond will go down (say 1-2% of the total project cost). If the surety company deems them to be a higher risk of performance, they will charge the company a higher bond rate of 3-4%, etc. Or, if a surety company deems you to be too risky at all, they will simply decline to bond you at all – which means that company is deemed to be NOT BONDABLE. Just like in the world of insurance – the worse risk you pose the higher the cost, or less likely you are to get coverage.

Construction companies can use their bonding capacity and bond rate as a selling tool. It is a credential that could help them get work that requires a bond, especially in the current economy, because many companies are losing their bonding capacities or paying higher bond rates. The companies that remain in good standing with their bonding surety and a have low bond rate are often looked upon as healthier and more trust-worthy. Even when a project owner does not require their GC and subs to purchase performance bonds for their project, they often ask the GC and the subs for their bonding capacities and rates – as an indicator of their past performance and track record for sound financials, cash position, and trustworthiness.

Your bonding agent will usually request to review your audited financial 1x/year – and they will evaluate the bonding limits and rates to you based upon their evaluation. If they deem your situation to have changed dramatically (for the worse), they could reduce your capacities or raise your rates – or drop you entirely. Conversely, if they like what they see, they could increase your capacities or lower your rates (because they deem you to be less risky). So, unlike insurance policies that expire, bonding is more like a long term relationship that is monitored over time (a minimum of 1x/year), and adjusted by the surety company based on what they find.

When a construction company has EXCELLENT track records and financials, they will shop around for the best possible surety company and seek the lowest possible bond rates – in order to use it as a selling tool for how financially strong they are.

Click here to learn why you should showcase you construction company’s bonding capacity online.

Broadcast your Company's Project History to Generate Construction Leads

Apr 16, 2010 Anatomy of a Qual-Port, marketing tips

Craig Noble

One of the best ways to be awarded more construction projects is to draw attention the ones you have already completed. Simply put – the pictures, descriptions and client references from all of your previously completed projects make up your company’s resume. And when your clients and prospects can see the history of successful projects your company has built, you create a better chance of getting them comfortable that your construction company is a good choice for their project as well.

Prior to jobsite123.com, your options for marketing your outstanding track record of projects and clients were limited to:
1) Printing and framing the pictures and letters for your office walls for whenever your clients and prospects visited your office
2) Making copies of all the similar completed project info and including it with each of your construction bid packages
3) Programming your project pics to appear on your website, and then trying to get your clients and prospects to look there

With jobsite123.com, you can use the Projects template in your Qual-Port to market your project history to your clients and prospects. This template provides a standardized layout of the qualifying information that industry buyers need when looking through your company’s project history. Simply fill-in the fields with the appropriate data for each of your projects, and it will be displayed for your clients and prospects to easily navigate and see all of your company’s accomplishments. Follow this link to see a good example of a company using jobsite123.com to market its project history of aviation projects, office projects, retail projects, restaurant projects, LEED projects, government projects, healthcare projects and others.

Stay tuned…my next post will explain how to obtain and utilize client performance ratings to attract more construction projects.

Creative Commercial Construction Companies Thrive in Any Economy

Apr 12, 2010 commercial construction industry, marketing tips

Craig Noble

Considering the precarious economy that the commercial construction industry is experiencing these days, it can be difficult to see the opportunities.  However, just like successful Wall Street traders make money when the market is moving (up or down), the same can be said for creative construction and real estate-related business owners and executives.  Skeptical?  Read on.  

The real estate market is not dead.  It’s not growing, but there is movement.  The activity surrounds banks that are taking properties back from owners that can no longer pay the commercial property debt.  And until banks loosen up their purse strings and make business lines of credit and construction loans accessible again, rising vacancy rates will perpetuate this change in ownership.  Sounds like more bad news, right?  Not necessarily.

Banks are not experienced commercial real estate owners – their business is evaluating financial risk and lending money to commercial real estate owners.  Generally speaking:  banks know good credit risk concerning locations and tenants, but they know little about how to manage buildings/properties, design/build enhancements, or how to attract good tenants.  Therefore, the opportunity for your construction or real estate-related business lies in your ability to get their attention with the help you can provide them in any of these areas.  Once you do, give them some free advice to validate your experience, then perform as promised for a fair fee.  Sounds simple, right?  It can be.

For example, a prominent full-service real estate developer here in South Florida had bank representatives lined-up to lend them money – until recently.  And with the economy stalling, they are now getting creative with their business development efforts by calling on those former lenders as their prospective clients.  Their pitch is simple: we can help you with design, renovations and property management expertise that will get your newly acquired buildings occupied.  This is a smart move for both sides, and strengthens their relationship going forward.

The above example is only one idea.  First, change your mind about the gloom and doom market we are in.  Then, let your creativity and execution pull your company through this difficult time.

What Is Your Commercial Construction Company Obsessed With?

Mar 30, 2010 marketing tips

Coty Fournier

I hope every design and construction professional finds this post and shares it with everyone they know whose out there trying to survive or thrive in this market.  I just read a fantastic book called Rework.  It was written by the founders of a highly successful software company called 37 Signals, and it will inspire you to rethink the way you run your design or construction company.   It’s a quick read with no B.S. and it punches you right in the face with unconventional advice on everything from the way you should handle your hardest-working employees to the way you should treat your biggest customers. 

Although I see many applications to the architectural design, engineering, and construction communities throughout this book, there are a few sections that really spoke to me as I look back to the various positions that I have held in my career on both sides of our industry’s buy-sell equation – as well as my current role helping companies to market themselves on the web with JobSite123.com.

One of these is a section on the out-dated, ineffective, waste-of-everyone’s time called the company Mission Statement – and all of the related narratives that are strewn together to supposedly represent who you are as a company.   If every company’s mission statement and descriptive narratives are meant to help the customer understand who you are and what you stand for (relative to all of your competitors) – then why do they all look identical?   (Gasp!  It’s true!)  Read yours.  And then read what your competitors write about themselves.  Swap out your company names and see if there is any real difference.  We just don’t like to admit the similarity because we are all sincerely passionate about our own firms and our desire to do right by our customers.  But in the end, we literally describe our services in a “commodity-like” fashion and then sit around frustrated when we are treated like commodities.

The problem isn’t in the intention.  It’s in the cliché.   Virtually every construction company on the planet has a mission statement that references the following 4 things:  (1) high-quality work, (2) delivered on schedule, (3) on budget (4) by experienced people.   Sound familiar?   Of course it does.  It’s so familiar – it’s expected – and therefore provides no differentiation whatsoever.  Those 4 things are now the assumed end product, not the service you are pledging to provide during the process.  So what does that mean for commercial construction companies out there?  It means you are now forced to define the service you provide in an entirely different way.   

Can you do it?  Can you tell a compelling short story about who you are and what you do without referencing anything about quality, schedule, budget or the experience of your people?   If you can – scrap your mission statement and descriptive narrations and write a 30-second commercial about that and be done with it.   Frame that 30-second commercial around every RFQ submittal, sales presentation and marketing pitch you make.  If you can’t get away from using those 4 words – you may be in trouble.    

Need help?  Another section of Rework could point you in the right direction.  It talks about defining what the people in your company are obsessed with doing – as opposed to what they are committed to doing.  Obsession is a much more emotional word and therefore evokes an entirely different experience.    When someone is obsessed with doing something, there is a compulsive and relentless automation to their behavior that drives a pretty predictable outcome.  You don’t want to bet against an obsessed person.  They’re freakishly successful.  Shakespeare was obsessed with the elegance of the written word.  Einstein was obsessed with the nature of light.  Larry Bird was obsessed with mastering the outside jump shot.  Steven Spielberg is obsessed with mesmerizing story-telling.   Zappos.com is obsessed with phenomenal customer service.  Apple is obsessed with producing killer technology that people want. 

At JobSite123.com, we have obsessions.  Here are some of ours to help inspire you to identify yours: 

1. We are obsessed with free.    With every new feature or functionality, we bust-ass to figure out how we can deploy it to our customers for free.  While most companies are trying to figure out how to charge their customers for something – we find a way to make things free.  
2. We are obsessed with answers.   We want every user to find instant answers to their most common qualification questions.   This requires an obsession with knowing the most common questions and creating an opportunity for users to provide their answers.   
3. We are obsessed with cool.  When someone is looking at JobSite123 for the first time – we want one of their emotions to be “Wow!  This is cool.”  Cool makes people want to tell others. 

The idea is to identify what your people are obsessed with doing better than any possible competitor.  Whatever they are obsessed with doing, they will do naturally with ease, and attract other like-minded people to join your team.  You don’t have to be a movie-maker or a technology company to incorporate this philosophy into your marketing plan – the same rules can apply to your architecture, engineering or contracting firm.   Most companies get it backwards.  They identify the customers they want and then try to “window dress” their people and their credentials to appear highly qualified in the eyes of those prospective customers.  Do the opposite.  Identify, celebrate and empower your people’s natural obsessions.  And then look for those customers who value those obsessions.  When a customer values something and you can prove that you are obsessed with delivering it better than anyone else – they will bet on you.