6 Things Profitable Contractors Do That Clients Never See

WEBVTT
00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:12.560
Welcome to Contractor Cuts, where we cover the good, the bad, and the ugly of growing a successful contracting company.
00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:19.040
Welcome to Contractor Cuts.
00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:20.240
My name is Clark Turner.
00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:21.680
And I'm James McConnell.
00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.200
Thank you for joining the two of us again today.
00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:34.000
Today we're covering the six things profitable contractors do that no client ever sees.
00:01:34.240 --> 00:01:34.719
Ooh.
00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:35.200
Yes.
00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:39.280
Don't let your left hand know what the right is doing, or vice versa.
00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:40.879
Vice versa for sure.
00:01:41.039 --> 00:01:45.280
The what we're covering is six different things that you should be doing.
00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:49.280
But a lot of guys skip all of these things because they just don't have time.
00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:51.599
They they try to run at high capacity.
00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:54.719
They're they got 110% of their plate filled.
00:01:54.800 --> 00:02:00.719
And so it's just falling, like there's no take a bre breath and make sure you're you're doing this stuff.
00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:11.120
And this is the difference of really being profitable and uh having a really good reputation and losing money and the client being pissed at you.
00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:13.120
I mean, think about it like the gym.
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:28.639
You know, most guys are going in there, they're doing bench, they're doing arms, and they're leafing a lot of these ancillary muscles, but really important muscles like your quads and your calves and the fascia and the strengthening things around those muscles.
00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.600
And those are the hidden things that clients don't see.
00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.800
James is hard-launching his new fitness podcasts.
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.120
Yeah.
00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:36.879
Jimmy and me at the gym.
00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:37.519
Yeah.
00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:39.840
So come along for the journey.
00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:44.159
Uh 13 years old, I weighed 3,000 pounds.
00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:45.600
All right.
00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:51.519
The uh the key of what we're talking about today is the invisible work that we do is our product.
00:02:51.600 --> 00:02:56.000
Uh, everything that we're trying to do is we've said this a hundred times before.
00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:57.120
We're selling two products.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:02.639
We've got the new kitchen, the addition, the new home, the doctor's office build-out.
00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:05.759
We've got all of those as the product of what they're going to receive.
00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:09.920
But the secondary product is their experience of receiving it.
00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:20.000
And what we're going to talk about today is the stuff you should be doing behind the scenes to take that experience to where you're profitable and your reputation is 10 out of 10.
00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:21.759
And guys, write this down.
00:03:22.079 --> 00:03:26.000
You can't control their experience.
00:03:26.160 --> 00:03:28.879
You know, they're going to experience it however they're going to experience it.
00:03:30.079 --> 00:03:34.879
You can set yourself up to have the best chance at a good experience.
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:36.079
That's right, James.
00:03:36.399 --> 00:03:36.720
Lightning.
00:03:37.040 --> 00:03:38.480
Just my brain.
00:03:38.959 --> 00:03:40.240
All right, I'm going to jump into the list.
00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.600
Uh, number one, the pre-con coffee.
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.040
This isn't anything official.
00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.120
This is, I'm going to sit down before job starts.
00:03:49.199 --> 00:04:02.480
Uh, honestly, before pre-pre-con, but when we, I'm not going to waste time on an estimate, but once we've got it really refined, I want to pause and take a step back and look at it and say, what's going to go wrong here?
00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:04.560
If I have something that's going to go wrong, what is it?
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:09.040
And it could be down to, I'm using a new crew for paint and I don't know if they're good or not.
00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:09.680
I think they're good.
00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:10.560
I vetted them.
00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:11.199
We met.
00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:16.319
I'm going to go ahead and and check in with my other paint crew to see what their availability looks like.
00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:25.199
I'm going to start looking at X, Y, and start trying to find if you've done this job for more than six months, you already have experience in something going wrong.
00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:27.439
And so, what goes wrong on job sites?
00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:28.480
What can you avoid?
00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:30.879
And every single job is different and every client's different.
00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:38.000
This person is really, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot and they're second guessing everything that I'm saying.
00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.800
And we are on, we haven't even started the job yet.
00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:42.959
And so, how do I solve that?
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:43.360
Right.
00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:50.000
And so I'm going to try sit down, have a coffee, and literally say, hey, I'm just going to think about this job.
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.040
For me, it's not a coffee, it's in the shower.
00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:55.759
If I'm sitting in the shower, hey, hey, hey, it's a kid's show.
00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:58.240
Uh cut to the we've got we've got video.
00:04:58.399 --> 00:04:59.199
We have video.
00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:06.079
No, uh, it's I need to just take a second where I'm doing nothing and think through the job.
00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.000
What is going to go wrong here?
00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:09.280
What can I do differently?
00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:10.480
How can I set this up?
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:12.800
Let's think about the jobs that have gone wrong.
00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:13.920
How can I avoid that?
00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:21.439
And it's literally almost self-coaching, self-consulting on the job specific, because every client's different and every job's different.
00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:23.759
And so some clients, hey, you know what?
00:05:23.840 --> 00:05:28.800
There is, I've had both the husband and the wife each independently call me about the same stuff.
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.199
I'm going to, before we start, double down on my CEA.
00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:35.759
We're going to talk about single point of contact and why it's so important and ask and get their buy-in on that.
00:05:35.840 --> 00:05:36.960
I need to make sure I circle that.
00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:45.360
And so starting to eliminate the things that are the paper cuts now that become gashes later that are that are really hurt us and harm us as we go.
00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.400
Paper cut, gash.
00:05:48.640 --> 00:05:52.960
Paper cut abrasion, gash, avulsion.
00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:55.360
Those are all the cuts.
00:05:55.520 --> 00:05:58.240
That's the uh I didn't know evulsion was even on there.
00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:00.080
That's evulsion is pretty gross.
00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:00.640
Pretty bad.
00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:01.439
Google it.
00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:02.960
Cut to the images.
00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:04.879
We've got a video.
00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:06.640
It's my uncle Terry.
00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:07.600
And there it is.
00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:10.000
There's the live on YouTube.
00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:10.560
All right.
00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:12.960
Um, so number one, the pre-con coffee.
00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:18.080
And again, that's just taking a breath to think about the job.
00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:22.000
Uh, number two, the Tuesday job card pass.
00:06:22.640 --> 00:06:25.840
We do with our with our clients every single Tuesday.
00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:28.879
I want you to have a day that's all office.
00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:30.720
Now, everyone's got their different calendars.
00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:34.080
We've got a set project manager calendar that we want you to abide by.
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:35.680
If you don't want to do that, great.
00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:37.439
I just need to know what days are you in the office?
00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:38.800
When are you going to be available?
00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:39.840
When are you doing your estimates?
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:41.120
When are you doing your job walks?
00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:41.920
Build it how you want.
00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:44.319
I've got some guys that do it on Wednesday, some on Monday.
00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:45.199
What?
00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.960
We've got we've got a whole, we've got a whole calendar we want you to abide by.
00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.280
But if you don't want to do it, that's fine.
00:06:53.840 --> 00:06:55.199
You just got to have a process.
00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:56.800
You just came off it so fast.
00:06:57.280 --> 00:06:58.319
You have to do this.
00:06:58.400 --> 00:07:00.400
Unless you don't want to, then whatever.
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:01.439
I don't care.
00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:10.480
If you you need to have some sort of a rhythm to your week that you have built in day and a half to two days in the office behind the computer.
00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:11.920
Get out of the weeds.
00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:13.280
Stop playing in the weeds.
00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:14.400
You're gonna get ticks.
00:07:14.640 --> 00:07:19.520
I like it to be Tuesday because Monday I like you to visit all the job sites because things go crazy on the weekends.
00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:23.840
Homeowners finally sit around and look at what you're doing and start having conversations.
00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:29.199
And so they all want to talk on Monday about, well, we were thinking those type of conversations happen Monday morning.
00:07:29.280 --> 00:07:33.520
Or, hey, I really don't like what, you know, I I've been slammed this week and I walked the house.
00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:34.879
I don't like this pink color.
00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:36.800
I hate to talk about it.
00:07:37.280 --> 00:07:38.319
And so that's my Mondays.
00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:39.439
I'm gonna walk every job site.
00:07:39.520 --> 00:07:40.960
Tuesday is my in-the-office day.
00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:42.160
I walked all the job sites.
00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:46.560
I can now send invoices and create payments for my crews on Tuesday because I was just there yesterday.
00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.360
And so you need a day that you're in the office.
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.240
What we have, and if you're in coaching, you get this.
00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:56.480
We have a what we call our three questions that we want you to do on every job card.
00:07:56.640 --> 00:08:00.960
And we're asking these same three questions on any job that's in progress.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:03.280
One, how accurate is my software?
00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:04.080
Is everything accurate?
00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:11.360
My estimate completion date, my Gantt chart, um, my uh selections, my pricing.
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:11.920
Get it.
00:08:12.080 --> 00:08:14.720
We had a change order that we talked about on Friday.
00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:17.040
I need to put in here and get them to sign off on.
00:08:17.280 --> 00:08:18.160
I need everything accurate.
00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:18.960
You're cooking.
00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:19.520
That was good.
00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:23.199
Number two, how quickly can I push this?
00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:26.080
What can I do to push this job closer to the finish line?
00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:27.040
What can I do?
00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:28.000
Okay, oh, you know what?
00:08:28.080 --> 00:08:28.960
Let's turn that dumpster.
00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:33.039
That dumpster is 100% full yesterday when I'm gonna order a second one and get it and get it turned.
00:08:33.199 --> 00:08:33.840
Uh, you know what?
00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:36.639
I'm gonna go ahead and uh we're not starting paint for two weeks.
00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:38.559
I'm gonna call that crew right now and see if they're good.
00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:44.559
I want to get on their calendar and maybe I can start them next Thursday instead of the following Monday if I can get these other things lined up.
00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:54.879
So thinking through getting to the finish line faster, if I can pick up 10% speed on the job, that's gonna get me onto the next job quicker and we're gonna make more money and get out of there faster.
00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:55.439
Yeah.
00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:00.639
Uh, and then the third question is what can I push to the client that they don't currently know?
00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.279
What here, is there anything that I can thought?
00:09:03.439 --> 00:09:07.279
I walked the job literally 24 hours ago with them on Monday.
00:09:07.439 --> 00:09:10.240
We talked through the job, but I'm sitting at my desk.
00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:14.960
I asked the accuracy and the finish line question, and then all of a sudden I'm like, oh, you know what?
00:09:15.199 --> 00:09:20.960
I need to let them know that a delivery is coming on Thursday and it's gonna block their driveway.
00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:23.039
We're dropping off all the shingles.
00:09:23.199 --> 00:09:24.799
Um, let me push that to them.
00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.559
They what they don't know is that the paint pushed from Friday to Monday.
00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.840
Let me just let them know that because this happened and that happened.
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:36.079
I'm not gonna lose any days on my Gantt chart because I'm doubling up cruise next week.
00:09:36.319 --> 00:09:38.559
What can I push to the client that they don't currently know?
00:09:38.719 --> 00:09:40.079
So those are my three questions.
00:09:40.319 --> 00:09:42.319
You do that every single week on your job.
00:09:42.479 --> 00:09:43.519
The client doesn't see that.
00:09:43.599 --> 00:09:46.000
They just get an email from you giving you an update.
00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:51.039
They don't realize that you are organizing the job in the background, you're trying to get it uh through to the end.
00:09:51.199 --> 00:09:53.519
And here's the other problem of not doing this.
00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:58.399
Clients are sitting at home thinking, well, they could do this and that pick us up a day.
00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.199
Why, why they're at they've finished the sheetrock.
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:02.959
They're now doing siding on the outside of the house.
00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:04.479
Why don't they have a painter inside here?
00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:05.439
They should get a painter.
00:10:06.079 --> 00:10:08.559
They're doing the project management in their head.
00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:11.519
And so if they're bringing you that idea and you're like, oh, that's a good idea.
00:10:11.599 --> 00:10:16.479
I guess I could bring my paint crew in here, they're like, okay, I gotta get in the driver's seat.
00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:17.839
I gotta do it.
00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:19.039
I gotta micromanage Clark now.
00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:32.079
And so if I'm thinking through that stuff and bringing it to them or saying, hey, I know I could get my painters in there right now, but because we're doing the exterior, X, Y, and Z is happening, I've got them doubled up to but do whatever.
00:10:32.319 --> 00:10:41.519
If I get a good explanation because I'm trying to communicate everything that's happening that I can push to them, then we're we're we're staying in control of the job ourselves.
00:10:42.959 --> 00:10:46.479
Number three PAL meetings.
00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:50.399
Weekly 30,000 foot view of each job.
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.799
Now we're on to the next one, not three questions.
00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:55.439
Three questions.
00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:57.360
Yes, number one with the three questions.
00:10:57.599 --> 00:11:00.240
Three questions are accuracy, finish line, what can I push?
00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:03.199
Number three, number the six six.
00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:04.959
Okay, let's pull back.
00:11:05.199 --> 00:11:11.360
Uh so we had the three questions, and we did one, two, three of those, and now we're on to number three of the six.
00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:12.799
I think we're all on the same page now.
00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:13.519
Very easy.
00:11:14.079 --> 00:11:14.479
Easy to find.
00:11:14.719 --> 00:11:14.879
Simple.
00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:17.120
Don't so super simple.
00:11:17.439 --> 00:11:20.159
So number three, I put on here is a pound meeting.
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:26.000
Now, when you get an employee, James, what explain to the audience what a PAL meaning is an employee.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:33.199
An employee is somebody that you pay money to execute certain tasks that you agree upon ahead of time.
00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:33.599
Great.
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:35.120
And you pay them an annual.
00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:37.360
Sometimes it's monthly, sometimes it's weekly.
00:11:37.439 --> 00:11:38.319
It could be 1099.
00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:40.319
And when you say annual, what do you mean by that?
00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:42.879
Um, oh God, there's so much to teach you.
00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.599
So there's 365 days in a lunar calendar.
00:11:45.839 --> 00:11:46.159
Okay.
00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:47.679
Right?
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:48.319
Yes.
00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:50.159
How long are we going to do this bit?
00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:51.199
However long you want.
00:11:51.439 --> 00:11:52.399
I'm going to stay in the pocket.
00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:53.120
10 minutes.
00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:53.519
Oh.
00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:54.399
No, I can't do that.
00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:55.679
What is a PAL meeting?
00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:01.360
A PAL meeting is a project manager action list meeting, which is so dumb.
00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:02.000
So dumb.
00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:02.799
So dumb.
00:12:02.959 --> 00:12:06.000
Um, and it's had some staying power, so it is what it is.
00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:07.759
But essentially it's a check-in.
00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:13.759
You're checking in with your project manager on a project to basically see how they're doing.
00:12:13.839 --> 00:12:17.199
You're looking over their communication, the emails that they've sent out.
00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:21.039
There should be that cadence that we like to see the Tuesday, Friday emails.
00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.120
Are is the job accurate?
00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:28.959
Is the uh is the invoicing how you're expecting to see it when you're looking at the Gantt chart?
00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:29.360
Yeah.
00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.599
Uh is the Gantt chart accurate?
00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:36.159
Are we doing the right things at the right time or are we already off on our calendar?
00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:37.120
Are we ahead of schedule?
00:12:37.199 --> 00:12:37.360
Yeah.
00:12:37.599 --> 00:12:41.279
Are we ahead of schedule because we have forsaken something that should have already happened?
00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:41.759
Yes.
00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:43.759
Are we doing things out of order?
00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.839
Because that is only going to show its teeth as you get closer to the end of the project.
00:12:48.079 --> 00:12:49.439
Did we get the cabinet schedule?
00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:53.120
Because we're weeks out on that, and you got to think about it now, not in three weeks.
00:12:53.599 --> 00:12:56.000
We don't need cabinets being ordered in three weeks.
00:12:56.079 --> 00:12:59.839
We need them installed in three weeks, which means we need to talk about it yesterday.
00:13:00.079 --> 00:13:01.120
It's that type of thing.
00:13:01.199 --> 00:13:13.839
It's looking through the project, being a second set of eyes for your project manager so that the things that get lost in the weeds get discovered when you not living inside the weeds, enter into the weeds and help people see through it.
00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:18.479
And it's it's a view from 30,000 foot when your PM's in the weeds constantly.
00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:19.839
And so it's you're seeing stuff.
00:13:20.319 --> 00:13:21.199
Same thing I said.
00:13:24.319 --> 00:13:26.000
It's the thing about weeds more.
00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:26.479
All right.
00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:28.879
So there's three different types of weeds.
00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:38.479
You've got your uh I I from the other side of it, if you're a one-man show, you can still do the pound meeting for with yourself.
00:13:38.719 --> 00:13:40.879
You don't have a boss that it's super helpful.
00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:49.519
And before I move on, having a boss, being a GM, being a manager where I've got a project manager working for me, the pound meeting is everything James said.
00:13:49.599 --> 00:13:53.199
And the the beauty of it is that's where I coach my project manager.
00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:56.479
That's where I sit down and be like, hey, let's talk about how you're viewing this.
00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:58.000
Let's talk about how you did this.
00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:06.479
Let's I feel like you're not like, let me give them education on how the HVAC system works and why we've got to do it a certain way.
00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:12.079
Uh, and it's a spot where they know I've got Clark's brain for one hour on Friday.
00:14:12.319 --> 00:14:16.319
I'm gonna ask them these things, as opposed to five days a week.
00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:17.519
Hey, what do you think about this?
00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:17.919
Cool.
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.000
And they hang up and they call you back three hours later.
00:14:20.079 --> 00:14:21.679
Hey, I was thinking about sending this guy over to this job.
00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:22.240
What do you think?
00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:31.039
Like those type of calls that constantly break up my week from my project manager really are minimized because they know we're gonna talk about it Friday.
00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:31.439
Oh, cool.
00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.120
I'm gonna put that on my list to talk Friday.
00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:40.959
So it helps with giving them an allocated time to pick my brain and to have access to someone outside of the job that can consult with them.
00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:47.919
Um, but also it's an extra set of eyes that isn't in the weeds that can see stuff that you normally can't see.
00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.079
Um one man show.
00:14:50.240 --> 00:15:00.159
If you are a single operator or you and have a business partner, but you're the one running the jobs or they're the one running the jobs, you can do this on your own.
00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:02.879
Every Friday, do your own pound meeting.
00:15:02.959 --> 00:15:04.879
It's like the Tuesday job card.
00:15:04.959 --> 00:15:08.399
We're going through it, combined with the pre-con coffee number one.
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:12.479
Uh, every Friday I'm gonna sit back and say, okay, what on this job do I need help with?
00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:15.360
And it might be, I'm gonna go to Chat GPT about this.
00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:17.120
I'm gonna go call a buddy of mine.
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:21.679
I'm gonna call my HVAC guy because he has some like, hey, I'm thinking through this.
00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:23.199
I was gonna do X, Y, and Z.
00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.039
I wanted you to do Rough in next week.
00:15:25.199 --> 00:15:27.679
Would it help if I did framing first before that?
00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.319
If because we're only changing the framing in this one area.
00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:36.959
Whatever those questions are, sit there on Friday and do your pre-con coffee and your Tuesday combined.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.319
And we're gonna sit and do a pound meeting on ourselves on ourselves.
00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:47.039
If you're a business partner, uh, you know, we have plenty of guys that run their company and their wife runs the office.
00:15:47.439 --> 00:15:50.959
Let's set your wife up to ask these questions and help you think through stuff.
00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:53.279
Let's let's involve that second partner.
00:15:53.439 --> 00:15:56.959
Maybe it's you and your best friend from childhood are now running a company together.
00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:01.519
Let's set it up to where there's some accountability and the POW meeting is support and help.
00:16:01.599 --> 00:16:02.879
And oh, I didn't even think about that.
00:16:02.959 --> 00:16:03.279
Thank you.
00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:04.159
Maybe a conversation.
00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.039
Maybe you get a silly hat and you role play it yourself.
00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:07.679
Sure.
00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:10.000
Taking the hat on and off, asking yourself questions.
00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.479
You look in the mirror with the hat on and you take it off.
00:16:12.719 --> 00:16:12.959
Yes.
00:16:13.199 --> 00:16:14.079
That's perfect.
00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.719
I think you solved a lot of problems.
00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:22.000
Uh, number four on the list of six, the benchmark walk.
00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:26.159
Now, both the pound meeting and the benchmark walks, we discuss with the client.
00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:27.919
They know we do pound meetings on Fridays.
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.559
We let the we talk about that in the in the CEA.
00:16:30.719 --> 00:16:34.240
And we put the benchmark walks on our estimates, right?
00:16:34.319 --> 00:16:38.000
Like it's part of the scope often of doing these benchmark walks.
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.839
Both of those, the client knows, but they never see it happening.
00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:43.839
They know they aren't sitting there on Friday.
00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:52.159
They just they don't realize it, but I just spent 30 minutes with James and me and him putting our heads together on problem solving their job, and they have no clue that happened.
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.679
Now they get an email from James with stuff that they didn't think about, like, oh, cool, thank you.
00:16:55.839 --> 00:16:58.559
That's the result that they're getting from it, but they don't see that happening.
00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:02.719
They don't see all the benchmark walks because I'm doing those with my crews.
00:17:02.959 --> 00:17:05.599
I'm doing them with them when I need them to do it.
00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:13.599
Um, but be being able to have these benchmark walks is going to help me stay profitable.
00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.880
Um explain a benchmark walk.
00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:34.000
Um a benchmark walk takes place when you are about to enter into the next phase of a project, and in doing so, we'll make every change order moving forward uh exponentially more expensive.
00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:34.720
Yeah.
00:17:35.120 --> 00:17:54.400
So an example being we're done with uh framing and before we start running MEPs, we want to do a benchmark walk for framing to make sure that uh everything is the way that the client is envisioning it, or if we have a set of drawings, we walk the client through.
00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.079
Oh yeah, this all looks great.
00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:05.200
But now that I'm standing in this bathroom, uh is there any way we could gain another six inches to the left so that doesn't feel so cavern?
00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:07.200
Like I'm stuck in a little box.
00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:07.599
Yeah.
00:18:08.080 --> 00:18:08.400
Great.
00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:12.400
Yeah, this is gonna be probably 400, 500 bucks change order.
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.960
We have to take this wall out, but it's good that we've done this before we ran electrical.
00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:24.640
It's good that we've done this before we ran plumbing, because then they would have to come back in and likely adjust some of their work as well, yeah, making it more expensive.
00:18:24.800 --> 00:18:26.720
Then you add sheetrock, much more expensive.
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:29.120
Then you add the tile and the trim and the flooring.
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.960
Everything becomes more expensive after you go past a benchmark.
00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:34.560
And you're also looking at quality.
00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.680
So I can have go back of fixing.
00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:43.279
Hey, we need to change the X, Y, and Z before we put the sheetrock up.
00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:49.120
I, you know, I I need to move that outlet, you know, six feet to the left or six inches up, even.
00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.440
You know, it's a not to code is too low.
00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.640
That's a very quick fix before sheetrock.
00:18:54.960 --> 00:19:01.600
After the sheetrock goes in, it's an expensive fix in terms of cutting up sheetrock, repatching, moving the box behind the wall, all that stuff.
00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.360
So it's the quality combined with the final result that James's talking about of, hey, let's move that wall.
00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:08.240
Hey, let's change this.
00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:09.519
I'd like it better this way.
00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:14.320
I'm also inspecting a benchmark after the sheetrock goes in before the painter start.
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:22.400
I'm signing off on one crew to give the green light to the next crew to start because we've all had the sheet rock guys that do a B minus job.
00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.800
Painters come in and paint and they're both pointing their fingers at each other as to who's going to fix it.
00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:29.920
Um, and so that's what the benchmark walks are for.
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:35.440
Now we we put them on the estimate a lot of the time, but a lot of the time, those are for me and the client signing off on stuff.
00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:39.680
There is a spectrum of project management that I see guys on.
00:19:39.840 --> 00:19:51.039
On the far one side, it is I'm on the job every day and I'm telling every person that's showing up on the job site what their job is and what to do and how to do it.
00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.519
It's almost like I'm a superintendent.
00:19:53.600 --> 00:19:55.519
Um, and that's how I'm gonna manage this project.
00:19:55.600 --> 00:20:00.960
And then on the far other side of the spectrum is I send everybody their work orders.
00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:02.320
They all have their marching orders.
00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:04.400
I'll check in next Friday when it's done.
00:20:04.560 --> 00:20:05.680
And it's this hands-off.
00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:10.080
I'm just sending them what to do and I'm trusting without inspecting what they're doing.
00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.720
And the benchmark walks are right in the middle.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:17.519
I'm dispatching people out, I'm making sure they know what they're doing, I'm getting their orders.
00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:31.600
I'm also my benchmark walks are hey, I'm walking this when we're starting the paint, and I'm gonna walk it when we're about 75% done with the paint, and I'm gonna do a final walk on it, and we're gonna walk it together, me and my paint crew, to make sure we're on the same page on all three of those.
00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:41.759
And so those types of quality inspection benchmarks with my crews that the client might not be involved in is helping me keep things on schedule, communicate to the client.
00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:51.759
But that's the that's the happening medium between being a superintendent on your own projects and being totally hands-off and just trusting your crews and to just get their jobs done.
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:56.800
So those type of walks, the the benchmark walks with your crews that the clients don't see.
00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:07.600
Um, obviously the ones that they do see that I'm doing a benchmark with the client on it, um, but making sure that I am in control of the job without managing every person on the job side.
00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.000
I got my paint crew, I'm talking to my crew leader.
00:21:10.080 --> 00:21:11.519
He's got his four guys with him.
00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:16.800
It's a marching orders that get passed down the down the line, and he's in charge of getting his guys going.
00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:19.360
Um, all right, so that's number four.
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.800
Number five, we've talked about this a few times.
00:21:24.080 --> 00:21:25.920
The documentation email.
00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:30.160
Absorbing a cost on purpose, putting it in writing.
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:31.279
On purpose.
00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:32.320
On purpose.
00:21:32.560 --> 00:21:36.480
Again, the client sees that, but they don't realize what you're doing.
00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:39.440
They don't know the truth of why we're doing it.
00:21:39.600 --> 00:22:02.560
Um, uh the if you haven't listened to the podcast, it was probably a month ago, two months ago, we were talking about um a uh the most important way to save yourself from ruining your reputation and losing a ton of money on change or or on fixing things is documentation emails, where let's say I'm gonna do something uh I'm replacing.
00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:08.320
There's a little rot around a uh windowsill, but we're all they hired us to do is paint the windowsills.
00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:09.039
You know what?
00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:16.480
I got I got some putty, I can get this, you know, some bond and put it on there, get it patched up right before I paint.
00:22:16.560 --> 00:22:16.880
That's fine.
00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:19.120
It's not gonna take it, take me 30 extra minutes.
00:22:19.360 --> 00:22:29.759
I could go and do the whole change order process and ask for an extra$100 to patch that, or I could just do it and send a documentation email to the client, say, hey, FYI, you had some rod around this one window.
00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:30.880
I went ahead and patched it.
00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:32.720
It's normally$300 to do that.
00:22:32.800 --> 00:22:33.519
I just ate it.
00:22:33.600 --> 00:22:40.400
I'm I'm covering that for you right now because I just wanted to get it done and keep moving on the project, but just want to let you know I took care of that for you.
00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:44.160
Um, and that way we have two or three of those throughout the job.
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:48.720
At the end of the job, when they're trying to negotiate pricing down, or hey, I need you to go fix this.
00:22:48.800 --> 00:22:50.960
I know that wasn't you, but it needs to get fixed.
00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:54.480
I can bring up all the documentation emails of all the free stuff I've done.
00:22:54.560 --> 00:22:56.480
I've done four grand of free work for you.
00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:58.000
I can't eat anything else.
00:22:58.160 --> 00:22:58.320
Right.
00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:01.279
And so those documentation emails keep us profitable.
00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.519
The client doesn't really see why and what's happening.
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:09.600
The background, but we're really building our ammunition for if we need to go to war with them later.
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:12.880
I've got all of my ammo of I did do this for free and I did that.
00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:15.759
If you want to pay for that stuff, great, I'll cover this other thing.
00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:19.519
But it's it's my negotiating um dollars.
00:23:19.600 --> 00:23:25.680
It's I've got all of this that I can use as leverage on the client understanding, oh, that's true, you did eat that.
00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:26.720
You did do that for free.
00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.320
Oh, that's true, you did do that.
00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:35.360
Where I'm separating in their mind the difference of oh, that's Clark did it because uh obviously that was part of the quote.
00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:36.000
That's why he did it.
00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:40.000
I owe him nothing versus, oh, I didn't he didn't owe me that, but he did it for free.
00:23:40.080 --> 00:23:41.039
Thank you so much.
00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:42.560
Um so yeah.
00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:44.800
Absolutely.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:45.840
Thank you.
00:23:46.080 --> 00:23:46.640
Absolutely.
00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:56.480
Um, number six, I think this is one of probably the most important on this list um in terms of impact.
00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:00.000
Um maybe number two, the job cards.
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:04.800
Anyways, walking every crew through the job before day one.
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:09.120
We've got a 50-point checklist that we want you to do.
00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:13.279
It's a job site, the pre-construction job site checklist, I think it's called.
00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:20.240
Um, and it's everything you need to think about and have answers to and discuss with your crew before the job starts.
00:24:20.560 --> 00:24:25.120
Stuff like cut stations, where are we washing our brushes out?
00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:26.880
Where are we storing the materials?
00:24:27.120 --> 00:24:28.320
Where is the PRV?
00:24:28.560 --> 00:24:29.680
Where is the PRV?
00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.360
Where is the uh electrical panel?
00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:32.000
Do we have access?
00:24:33.360 --> 00:24:38.720
Do they have all of do they have a ton of storage stuff in front of it to where I can't access that stuff?
00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:40.080
Do they have a dog?
00:24:40.560 --> 00:24:41.200
Yes.
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:42.960
Are there young children?
00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:43.600
Yes.
00:24:43.840 --> 00:24:45.360
Do they have nap times?
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:47.920
When when can we can we not show up to start?
00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:49.600
When do we need to be out of here by?
00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:51.039
Um, where can we park?
00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:52.880
Um Is it on septic?
00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:53.440
Yes.
00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:55.519
There there's all of these questions on this list.
00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:58.720
This is good, uh, that we need answered before starting.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:04.240
And so walking the job, uh understanding all of the answers on that checklist.
00:25:04.320 --> 00:25:05.680
We don't give the checklist to the client.
00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:08.960
This is an internal document to make sure that I'm asking all the right questions.
00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:12.880
If I give it to my client, then all of a sudden becomes a promise that we're gonna do these things.
00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:19.680
And when one of my guys park in their driveway and on my list, it says, I bet you don't even know where my PRV is.
00:25:20.560 --> 00:25:21.200
Do you?
00:25:22.080 --> 00:25:24.240
That's a construction 101, pal.
00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:25.840
Pop quiz.
00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:27.440
Let's find it right now.
00:25:27.840 --> 00:25:34.000
Um, doing the pre-con walks with the crews is unnecessary.
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:39.200
Uh uh, you can not have those and still have a successful job.
00:25:39.360 --> 00:25:44.560
But what this does is A, it keeps you profitable, keeps your client happy, and saves you time throughout.
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:50.800
Because those 50 questions that we've put together are questions that every crew and every client's gonna ask you.
00:25:50.880 --> 00:26:04.320
That's stuff that we pick up on normally as contractors, but it's the things that my crew's gonna either ask me about where to cut stuff or they're gonna start cutting tile in the master bedroom because they're doing the tiles install in the master bathroom.
00:26:04.560 --> 00:26:08.880
Well, I'm just gonna set myself up right outside this room and now there's dust all over the master bedroom.
00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:11.920
Oh, I thought we were, I thought we were gonna replace the carpet in here.
00:26:12.080 --> 00:26:12.400
Yeah.
00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:13.600
No, we're not.
00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:14.320
Oh crap.
00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:15.680
That's a problem.
00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:16.400
Yeah.
00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:23.200
So having those conversations where we walk through and make sure that there's clarity on the scope for my crews.
00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:26.320
Uh, we're also doing the walk with uh with our work orders.
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:27.120
What about this?
00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:31.680
And this is also where I might have change orders because I walked the job with the crew.
00:26:31.840 --> 00:26:33.920
My electrician's like, Clark, you know what?
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.200
I we just looked at the panel.
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:36.000
You need a sub panel.
00:26:36.080 --> 00:26:36.960
This panel is full.
00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:38.320
We got to add a sub panel in there.
00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:39.600
Oh crap, I didn't even notice that.
00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.759
I couldn't get to the panel when we did the estimate.
00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:46.480
Well, now we got to do a change order before the job starts because my electrician pointed something out to me.
00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:51.440
So that's gonna A help me mitigate any issues with the client ahead of time.
00:26:51.600 --> 00:27:08.960
And B, the the my electrician's not gonna be three days in and then go to do the breakers and all of a sudden say, Oh, we got to pause, we got to figure out a subpanel, and then my entire Gantt chart goes out the window, and I got to pretty much restart the job over once we get the change order approved for the subpanel, right?
00:27:09.120 --> 00:27:13.840
So doing these walks are are eliminating a lot of issues from the front end.
00:27:15.840 --> 00:27:30.880
Ooh, all right, that's the six pre-con coffee, Tuesday job card pass through, pal meetings, benchmark walks, documentation email, and then uh walkthroughs with crews before starting the end of the day expectations and those conversations.
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:36.400
James, which of these do you think was overkill until until it saved a job?
00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:41.680
Which of these sound dumb or not necessary that you think is actually way more important than it sounds?
00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:59.440
Um based on uh what people are willing to do, I think benchmark walks is the thing that people are like, yeah, that would be nice.
00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:04.400
Um, but it's like another thing to manage, it's another thing on the calendar.
00:28:04.800 --> 00:28:25.279
But in terms of amount that you stand to save in the stuff that you're gonna eat, which it always inevitably goes back to, it's like you're gonna if you miss stuff, I don't care what the situation is, you're gonna end up eating at least a portion of this kind of stuff.
00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:25.600
Yes.
00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:29.200
Even if you don't think it's your problem because you're trying to keep the peace.
00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:29.680
Yeah.
00:28:30.080 --> 00:28:33.039
So or well, why didn't you tell me that earlier?
00:28:33.120 --> 00:28:35.759
And then we could it wouldn't have caught cost so much to tear it apart.
00:28:36.080 --> 00:28:38.880
You're the you're you're my contractor, you're supposed to tell me this stuff.
00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:41.039
So you're gonna feel like you need to eat some of it.
00:28:41.360 --> 00:28:59.200
But with that, and then the their experience of the project, you're doing benchmark walks uh cuts off issues before they start because you're giving them a space to give you uh uh uh issues that you can take action on.
00:28:59.279 --> 00:28:59.440
Yeah.
00:28:59.600 --> 00:29:03.680
That is going to number one, they're not gonna, it's not gonna cost them near as much.
00:29:03.840 --> 00:29:09.680
It might not cost them anything, depending on what it is, but it would once you uh keep going further.
00:29:10.080 --> 00:29:17.759
So it's just it's one of the easiest ways to ensure that you have a good product and the client experience is on the top of it.
00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:23.279
You're like, oh, this guy's look like I can take a breath because this guy's got me.
00:29:23.600 --> 00:29:33.840
I I think if you did if you did benchmark walks and um nothing else on this list, it would have the biggest impact.
00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:38.560
Uh and I also Fridays we do PAL meetings.
00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:44.160
We look at every job, game plan for next week or the next few weeks.
00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:54.960
Um what you can add into that is when I'm either on myself or with my project manager, what do you I know you're going to every job on Monday.
00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:56.960
What are the benchmarks you need to be looking at?
00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:58.800
Like you're already visiting the job sites.
00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:00.000
Do it with a purpose.
00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:03.519
Don't just go show up at a job site and walk around like, cool, things look good.
00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:05.360
Looks good, uh, pain looks great.
00:30:05.600 --> 00:30:12.800
Like what when I walk in on Monday, what are the three, four, five, eight things I'm need to be looking for to make sure that we're good to go?
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:22.000
And I'm again, my pal meeting when I'm 30,000 foot view, I'm thinking about that stuff on Friday and I can make some notes for what my walks should look like on Monday.
00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:25.840
Instead, I'm most guys just all right, Monday, I'm gonna go hit my job sites.
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:31.519
They show up to drive around and they they look at three or four of the things and they forgot five other things that they should have looked at.
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:33.519
Oh crap, the plumbing was roughed in.
00:30:33.600 --> 00:30:34.400
I didn't even look at that.
00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:38.480
Oh, I didn't, and and it's those types of things, you're already doing the effort.
00:30:38.560 --> 00:30:42.560
You're already showing up there, you're already driving out there, you're already spending an hour walking the job site.
00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:50.960
Do it with purpose and have the four things that you need to look at on Monday and make those part of the benchmarks of it, might just be a weekly thing.
00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:55.600
Every Monday I'm gonna check for these five things, or I'm gonna need to look at this, or my paints done, or my sheet rec's done.
00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:57.360
I'm about to start my paint, whatever those are.
00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:00.640
But also in our in our estimates, we put the line items on there.
00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:01.920
Hey, benchmark walk here.
00:31:02.080 --> 00:31:03.920
This is we're about to install flooring.
00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:05.440
Let's look at everything before the floor is going.
00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.120
Let's look at everything before the cabinet's going.
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:09.120
Let's look at everything before the sheet rec goes up.
00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:17.600
We have those type of benchmarks pre-built on the calendar, but set your benchmarks weekly on a Friday POW meeting for what you need to see on Monday.
00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:21.360
That's going to get you in and out faster and more efficient on your job sites.
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.160
That's really how you start these because you're already visiting the job.
00:31:24.320 --> 00:31:25.360
Do it with intention.
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:30.160
I think that's that's where I'd push you getting started with benchmark walks.
00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.920
Uh, I think, you know, clients don't see these things.
00:31:34.080 --> 00:31:36.160
They feel the effect of these things.
00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:38.560
And that's the icing on the cake.
00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:41.039
That is where you go from good to great as a contractor.
00:31:41.120 --> 00:31:46.560
That's the, you know, you did a really good job to you did a really good job.
00:31:46.800 --> 00:31:49.039
And I really loved working with you.
00:31:49.200 --> 00:32:01.200
That second sentence is where these things show up, um, to where you get the referrals and the organic growth because you're doing all of this stuff in the background to where the client feels it uh as you go.
00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.000
Um, and also we need to be charging for this.
00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:07.840
This is why we're worth more than the next guy, because we're we're giving them this.
00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:23.680
And so the CEA, the client engagement agreement meeting that we have, setting the table of what they're gonna feel and how they're gonna get it, all of the work I'm doing before they get the estimate that I'm spending my time on is all building towards how I do my jobs.
00:32:23.840 --> 00:32:42.880
And so it's hard to charge more for these things, but you should A, be more profitable because you're doing these things, and B, if you're doing the right sales process going into the estimate, they're willing to pay a little more for you because they feel that you're thinking this way and that you act this way, and this is how your company delivers uh the project that you're doing.
00:32:43.200 --> 00:33:02.960
Yeah, I mean, you oh, I think a lot of people get a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the thought of asking clients for money for something like due diligence or pre-construction, where the deliverables aren't as concrete as they're used to because they're in construction and their deliverables are the product that they're building.
00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:12.640
But we work with engineers and we work with architects that charge really good money for similar types of deliverables, like your Gantt chart.
00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:12.880
Yeah.
00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:25.440
Vetting out the entire scope and spending uh multiple hours on site with your vendors to make sure that the likelihood of change orders is decreased significantly is valuable.
00:33:25.600 --> 00:33:27.039
It's it's insurance.
00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:35.039
Mapping out the project to so they can see what what's happening when and when we can expect certain things to take place.
00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:40.000
The Gantt chart's not a promise, it's a tool, but it is something that's valuable.
00:33:40.080 --> 00:33:44.800
And a lot of most contractors in the residential space don't don't deal with Gantt charts.
00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:48.080
They don't deal with calendars because of um, I don't know why.
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:49.920
It's it's a lot of extra work.
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:53.200
Um and it's back burner, it's uh it's not on fire.
00:33:53.360 --> 00:33:57.360
And so I'll do that if I have time, but I got too much stuff going on.
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:00.080
Or if things fall off the rails and the client's like, we need a calendar.
00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:04.160
I need I need a full Gantt chart of exactly when and how you're gonna execute this.
00:34:04.320 --> 00:34:04.800
Yeah.
00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:06.160
Um, I think that's good.
00:34:06.320 --> 00:34:14.239
It if you are looking to hone in your processes uh that we're talking about, go to contractorcuts.com, set up a meeting with me.
00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:19.679
I'd love to talk with you about your processes and what we offer and kind of how we partner with guys at different levels depending on their needs.
00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:22.159
Also, come to the retreat this coming January.
00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:23.920
I can't say that enough.
00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:26.559
It's going to be an amazing, amazing retreat.
00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:29.920
If you go to contractorcuts.com, we've got some deals going on right now for the retreat.
00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:32.480
So go to contractorcuts.com.
00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:35.519
You can inquire and we can talk about it, or there's also a sign up button.
00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:36.719
You can go ahead and get signed up for it.
00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:37.679
We'd love to see you there.
00:34:37.759 --> 00:34:43.599
If you're already in coaching, uh our executive levels and our growth levels come for free to the retreat.
00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:46.800
Um, we've got the workshop day also that we're tacking on now.
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:48.400
Um, really cool to get signed up.
00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:50.239
Go to contractorcuts.com, get signed up.
00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:51.599
Also, set up a meeting.
00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:52.639
I'd love to talk with you.
00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:55.199
If you want to come to the retreat, you're just not ready for coaching.
00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:55.759
Perfect.
00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:56.719
Come to the retreat.
00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:58.719
Let's plan out your year next year.
00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:04.320
Let's get some processes in place and meet you where you're at right now to where we can help you grow to the next level.
00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:07.519
Yeah, let's meet you where you're at right now in Austin.
00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:09.039
Perfect.
00:35:09.279 --> 00:35:10.480
That's the tagline, dude.
00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:11.119
That's the tagline.
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:12.079
That's a t-shirt.
00:35:12.240 --> 00:35:15.360
All right, next week we're talking good boss versus great boss.
00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:28.000
And we're talking more in the in the level of running labor and how you treat them and how you do things, less about like employees as PMs, but it's gonna be a really good one of what's what's a good boss versus a great boss.
00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.000
Um, I think it's gonna be killer.
00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:32.000
So tune in next week and we'll see you then.
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:33.119
Bye.
00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:34.079
Bye.