May 27, 2025 • 20 mins
If you’re serious about winning more work, building trust with clients, and leading your sales team with confidence, let’s talk.
I’m offering a free 10-minute call to help you pinpoint exactly where your sales process is breaking down—and what to do about it.
👉 Book your 10-minute call here: https://10minuteswitheric.youcanbook.me/
Don’t wait for the phone to ring. Let’s get proactive, strategic, and focused on what actually works in construction sales.
Winning negotiated projects in construction isn’t about cutting into your profit; it’s about cultivating trust, clear communication, and placing yourself as the partner of choice. The shift from estimation to strategic selling is essential in contexts where relationships, consistency, and confidence are important. Success comes with recognizing the right moments to connect with decision-makers, tapping into your team’s capabilities, and advocating for what you need with confidence, proving that you possess qualities beyond just being a contractor but a trusted partner who brings solutions and lasting value to the table.
In this week’s solo episode, Eric explains how to win negotiated projects without competing on price. From overcoming the reluctance to call to prospecting expertly, leveraging team selling, and conquering reciprocal exchange, Eric breaks down the behaviors and mindset shifts that make high-performing builders stand out. Join Eric if you are ready to start winning work by leading with value, confidence, and connection.
HIGHLIGHTS
[01:53] Prospecting and closing in construction.
[03:18] Overcoming the reluctance to call.
[05:11] Alignment, commitment, and consistent effort.
[08:05] Dealing with ghosting in sales.
[12:22] Proactive vs. reactive approach in sales.
[15:05] The psychology of reciprocity.
[17:00] Actionable steps to improve the sales experience.
What You’ll Learn:
-
Why price isn’t the reason you’re losing negotiated bids
-
The 5 critical sales behaviors every construction professional must master
-
How to overcome call reluctance and become a proactive prospector
-
The power of quid pro quo and the psychology of reciprocation
-
Why “Kings talk to Kings” is a sales mindset game-changer
-
How to align your internal team for effective, team-based selling
RESOURCES
Construction Genius Book (Chapters 11 & 12 on Sales & Marketing): https://a.co/d/hNZ3sxV
Schedule a quick call with Eric and discover how he can help you sell successfully: https://10minuteswitheric.youcanbook.me/
Resourc
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
If you're in a negotiated bid environment, you know that being the lowest bidder isn'tcritical when it comes to winning work.
So that means you have to hone and refine your sales skills if you're going to besuccessful.
And most construction professionals have a background that comes from building projectsand yet they find themselves in sales positions.
(00:27):
And so whether you're an estimator, a PM or even an executive,
selling can at times feel uncomfortable and frustrating.
And it can lead, because of a lack of experience, to lot of winging it.
I spoke to a client recently doing millions in revenue, but their sales process wascompletely unstructured.
(00:49):
No one owned it.
And another guy I know admitted, didn't even know there was a method of selling.
It's kind of like throw a number out there, you know, and hope for the best.
So if that sounds familiar, this podcast episode today is for you.
In negotiated work, you rarely lose because of price.
(01:09):
You lose because you don't know how to sell and your sales process lacks structure orclarity and you lack confidence.
And I want you to be convinced that you can actually structure your sales process toincrease the likelihood
of you winning the right projects with the right clients in the right locations.
(01:36):
Here are five key behaviors that define people who win when it comes to constructionsales.
Number one, prospecting.
What does that mean?
Think about the old prospectors back in the day, right?
They would go out into the hills with a pick in their hand and dig for gold, right?
(01:56):
They wouldn't find the gold by sitting in their tent.
They had to get out of the tent and go and find it.
And so you have to...
be engaging with your target audience.
You have to know where your target audience is or who your target audience is, and thenyou have to get out there.
You get out there via social media marketing, you get out there via phone calls, byresponding to requests for a proposal, but most effectively, in my opinion, you get out
(02:24):
there by good old fashioned cold calling.
What does that mean?
It means you get off your seat, you get into your car or your truck,
You drive out to where your clients are, you walk in the door and you say, hey, who's incharge of who's going to get assigned to winning and building this project?
(02:46):
You know what I'm saying, right?
You've got to identify who those people are and you must be willing to get out there andtalk to them.
The next one is closing.
It's really interesting.
What does closing mean?
It means asking for the job or asking
be able to take the next step in the sales process.
(03:06):
Closing can be something that people are uncomfortable with because you can get rejectedwhen you close.
You may want a yes and someone may give a no.
You just may feel uncomfortable asking people to do something.
But in sales you have to become comfortable with closing.
Okay you've got to ask for the job don't just assume or hope that they're going to pickyou.
(03:29):
The next behavior that you have to really look at is
call reluctance and it goes hand in hand with prospecting that which I mentioned earlierdo you lack a desire to call people I'll tell you what don't be surprised if you do many
sales type people they spend all their time organizing their calendar organizing theirdesk doing anything except what they're paid to do and that is selling and that may be
(03:59):
particularly true for you
when you don't think of yourself as a salesperson.
You're a construction professional, you're a builder.
You're not one of those sleazy guys who pushes used cars.
You're a builder.
But really you must have that mindset shift that whether you're building projects, whetheryou're in the office in an executive role, whether you're estimating, you are in sales.
(04:23):
And in sales, one of your prime responsibilities is to be willing to make calls.
Then you have to be a self-starter.
Great salespeople don't have to be told what to do.
They get out there and do it.
And so one of the things you have to think about is when is your energy levels the best tobe able to handle all of the rejection that you might face when you're going through a
(04:46):
sales process?
Well, you've got to figure that out because it does require a lot of energy and a lot ofeffort.
And another thing you have to think about as you are going through the selling process, asit's related to self-starting is
When are your potential clients most likely to be in the office so that you can interactwith them?
Okay, so you don't wanna be showing up to someone's office on a Friday afternoon at fiveo'clock if they're never going to be there.
(05:10):
You have to be able to structure your week to maximize the opportunity for you to be ableto have great conversations.
And again, you may be thinking, what's this self-starting stuff that you're talking about?
I can self-start on a project, but sales, that's a little bit different.
I'm uncomfortable with that.
So let me give you a little tip.
Next time you're doing a job site visit, let's say you're a project manager, but you'realso responsible for selling to one degree or another.
(05:35):
As you're driving out to that project, think about where you can stop along the way andvisit potential clients in order to have quick conversations with them about any work that
might be coming up.
And then the fifth behavior, and this is critical in construction, and I know this willresonate with you, is team selling.
Construction is a team sport from bidding the work to planning the work to building thework.
(05:58):
and often to getting paid, it's a team sport all along the way.
And so if you're involved in the sales process and you wanna maximize the impact and thepossibility of you landing the work, it's going to mean that you're gonna have to talk to
folks internally in your organization and get them all on the same page, all drivingtowards that one end, that one goal of landing the right job with the right clients in the
(06:20):
right location.
So make sure that in a sales situation, you're tapping into the genius in yourorganization.
in order to maximize the opportunities to win work.
And really, how can you overcome that call reluctance?
And how can you make sure that you maximize your opportunity?
(06:41):
Well, set simple goals in order for you to be able to focus on sales.
So perhaps you're not selling every day, but perhaps you say on Tuesday and Thursday from10 o'clock in the morning to 12 o'clock, I'm going to spend some time either on the phone
or in my car or my truck going to different places and making calls.
(07:01):
Make a commitment.
And don't over commit.
Don't say I'm going to make 25 calls every day when you're not going to do that.
Just make five to 10 calls every week, twice a week for a year.
Develop your sales skills and see how the funnel of your opportunities begins to fill up.
Another thing that a lot of people are frustrated with in construction sales is they get anumber, they give a number to a client and
(07:29):
or they respond to a client with a piece of information and then the client ghosts them orthe potential client ghosts them.
And what do you do in that situation?
What you do is you assert yourself and send a very straightforward email.
And this is how I word that email.
I'm assuming that since I haven't heard from you, you are not interested in us buildingyour project.
(07:54):
Notice the psychology of that email.
You're not
sending an email, oh, just following up, hope you got my information, please contact meanytime you need any help.
No, you're taking an assertive stand, you've given them a piece of information, you'vegiven them something, now you are requesting and requiring a response in return.
(08:16):
And if there is no response, again, you send out that email.
I'm assuming that since I haven't heard from you, you are not interested in working withus.
And you say, Eric, I can't say that to my clients.
they might get pissed off.
Well, let me tell you, I use this kind of line all the time when I'm selling my servicesto folks just like you in construction.
(08:39):
And I promise you that it works.
And it works in two ways.
Number one, if I send out an email like that and someone doesn't respond, I know thatthey're not serious about working with me and they're not interested in my services.
And that's fine because I'm not desperate for clients.
I know how to sell and I know how to fill my pipeline.
and I know how to take care of my clients that I already have and as a result of that, ifyou don't want to work with me, that's okay, I'll find someone else who does.
(09:08):
But the other response that I get when I send out that email is really interesting.
People will reply to me and they'll say, Eric, I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you.
I'm very interested in working with you.
I've just been busy and tied up with something.
Can we talk next week?
You see my point here?
By sending out an email like that, you're positioning yourself in a place of authority
(09:28):
in a place of peer to peer selling where you're not begging for work and as a result ofthat it enhances your stature in the mind of the person that you're selling to.
So that's part of a mindset shift that you have to be able to lay hold of if you're goingto be successful in sales.
(09:50):
And I call that mindset shift, kings talk to kings.
You have to think of yourself as a king, as someone noble.
You're not a pauper, you're not a beggar, you're not a sleazy salesperson.
You have a tremendous uh service to provide someone, tremendous value.
You're an expert in problem solving.
(10:11):
You're an expert in adding value.
And as a result of that, you can go into any sales environment with your head held high,there to solve problems, there to benefit the client, and you are an expert at what you
do.
Now as you're listening to this, if any of what I've just said is not true, then you knowwhere you need to go to work in order to improve yourself so that you can truly go into
(10:35):
any sales environment as a king and talk to kings.
You're not lucky to be at the table.
You belong there.
You are an expert.
You've solved problems before and the problems that they have on their projects, you'regoing to help to solve those with clarity and competence.
(11:01):
So think about this little old way versus the new way when it comes to selling.
The old way is that you submit a number and you hope for the best.
The new way is that you engage with the clients before you submit anything and make surethat you understand what they're looking for and that you make sure there's a fit.
(11:22):
The old way is you chase with the low number.
That's what you're doing.
You're submitting low numbers and hoping for the best.
In this case, in the new way, you're leading with value.
And again, you must understand how you solve problems and how you add value.
This brings a tremendous amount of benefit to your clients and it puts you in their eyesas someone who can be helpful to them.
(11:51):
The old way is you submit a bid and you get ghosted.
The new way is you submit a bid and then you book in a debrief meeting.
with the client.
You agree with them ahead of time.
Hey, listen, I'm gonna submit this bid, but I'm expecting that we're going to have a callthe day after so that we can discuss the bid.
(12:13):
The old way is you're reactive.
Someone sends out a request for proposal and then you react to that.
The new way is you're proactive.
You understand right client, right job, right location.
You have a list of your top 10 to 20 clients.
that you're going to go after.
You understand who are the decision makers in each one of those clients and you'redeveloping your relationships with those folks on a consistent basis.
(12:40):
You're proactive, not reactive.
The old way, it's lone wolf selling.
You banging your head up against the wall by yourself, working overtime, tossing outnumbers, and again, hoping for the best.
The new way is an aligned team approach.
An opportunity comes your way, you bring in the estimating power, you bring in someoneperhaps who knows how to build this project, who has done it before and is able to give
(13:10):
you some insights.
You make sure that the executive team buys into this particular project.
You use that team approach.
Think about this.
As you're listening to this podcast, you might be saying, Eric, construction sales isconstruction sales, right?
I mean, we do our best at the end of the day.
We submit our number and if we submit enough numbers, we'll get enough work to keep ourguys busy.
(13:33):
Now think about CarMax here for a moment.
CarMax completely redefined the way that car sales works.
And they were told for years that what they do is not going to work.
You know how CarMax works, right?
You go in there, there's one price, there's no negotiation, you buy the car, if you don'tlike it, you can return it and they give you your money back, no questions asked.
(13:56):
I know because I've bought cars at CarMax and I've returned a car and they gave me themoney back and they didn't give me any hassle.
That's completely different from your typical car buying experience.
And I know that because I recently bought a car and it wasn't from CarMax.
The whole experience sucked.
The car is great, the experience sucked.
I'm never doing that again.
(14:17):
I'm always gonna go back to CarMax.
Now what's interesting as we follow this CarMax analogy, is CarMax a little more expensivethan your typical car dealer?
They probably are by maybe $1,000 or something like that.
But I don't know about you.
But for me, it's worth the hassle, or excuse me, it's worth the extra money to go toCarMax and have no hassle and have all the friction removed.
(14:40):
in order to do business with them.
Now think about your sales processes when it comes to your construction company.
Again, you have to sit down and really go through the process of thinking through how canwe improve our sales process so it is more proactive, so it does set us up for success, so
that we are selling to the right clients and the right projects and the right locations.
(15:04):
So we are increasing the likelihood of us winning the work.
So we're not wasting our time.
You must think through that in detail.
And I've worked with construction professionals helping them with their sales development.
Again, one client, he used to wing it with no structure, just hoping.
(15:25):
And after going through some training with me, it was tremendously helpful to get somestructure, mindset, and new perspectives.
They landed a multi-phase healthcare job, not by dropping their price, but by showingresponsiveness, by answering questions with clarity, and really showing up and taking
leadership.
I had another client who gained confidence to lead.
(15:45):
sales conversations, not just participate in them.
Another who saw that he was guessing when it came to his sales activities instead ofguiding the process and what I taught him helped him to get more clarity.
And then I had another one he said, I didn't even know there was a method to sales when infact there is and I taught him a number of those methods.
(16:07):
And I'm saying all of this because there's a number of resources that you can use in orderto learn how to sell more effectively.
I'll just put a quick plug in here for my book, Construction Genius.
And this book is tremendously helpful in terms of sales.
In fact, there's a couple of chapters in this book about sales, and I want you to buy thebook on Amazon and check out those chapters.
(16:30):
Chapter 11, sales is all about know, trust, like, and buy.
And then chapter 12, it'll give you some insights into marketing, and that's a key part ofsales as well.
It's more higher up in the sales funnel.
So check out that book on Amazon, Construction Genius.
And as we're talking about this, you have to be able to define your game when it comes toselling.
(16:53):
Okay, don't just follow the GC's process, shape it.
So if you're a subcontractor and the GC has a process, think about it.
Does their process fit in with the way I want to do business?
How can I influence it?
How can I say, wait a minute, GC, I'm a sub, you need me as much as I need you.
(17:13):
Let's make sure that we're on the same page as far as the game that we're playing so thatI can increase the likelihood of not only solving your problems and adding value, but
actually winning the game and landing work with you.
So how do you do that?
Well, one of the ways that you do it is by asking for quid pro quos throughout the salesprocess.
(17:34):
And what does quid pro quo mean?
It simply means this for that.
In sales, it's all about
mutual exchange.
So in a negotiated environment, one of the most powerful tools that you can use as you'regoing through the sales process is reciprocation.
The idea that if you give them something, you should get something in return.
(17:59):
And I want to make that point tremendously clearly.
You should never give anyone in the sales process anything without expecting somethingfrom them in return.
If they ask for information and you respond with information, you should expect to have aresponse from them via email or via phone call.
(18:22):
If you're going to give, make sure that you're getting.
Before sending a number, ask for something back, a debrief meeting, a schedule with thedecision makers, a follow-up commitment.
Whenever you give, always remember to get something back.
Robert Caldini, in his research on influence, proves that this idea of reciprocationcreates psychological pressure to return the favor.
(18:51):
So let me say this, make sure
that your clients or your potential clients understand that you're a king and you're gonnatreat them like a king, but if you give them something, you want something in return.
And make sure that happens all throughout the sales process.
You're not being pushy, you're acting like a peer.
(19:13):
You're acting like a peer, like a king talking to a king.
So, when you ask, can we schedule a follow-up meeting, before I send over our number,you're elevating your sales activity from being passive to being active.
(19:33):
And that signals confidence, clarity, and that signals confidence and clarity andstrength.
It makes the buyer see you as not just another number, not just another sub.
but as a project partner, someone that they want to work with.
(19:54):
Selling is not a dirty word.
It's how work gets built.
You solve real problems and you guide people.
You solve real problems and you guide people through your sales process to smartdecisions.
Selling done right is leadership.
(20:16):
Selling done right
is leadership.
So, you need to transform the way that you approach sales from winging it to owning it.
From reactive to strategic.
From hoping to closing.
(20:36):
If you focus on improving your sales skills, you will...
Let me give you some action items to improve the whole sales experience in yourorganization.
Number one, build a repeatable sales process.
Number two, make sure you're in alignment with your team on every sales opportunity, yourinternal team.
(21:02):
Third, focus on the right clients with the right projects in the right locations.
Number four, quid pro quo.
Make sure that whenever you give them something, you get something in return.
And then number five, build the projects on time with high quality, taking care of theneeds of your clients.
(21:27):
Because as you're doing that, that's actually a sales activity.
When you build work right, you're selling the next project that you're going to build.
You're selling the GC on it, you're selling the client on it.
You're building your reputation.
Everything you do every single day, whether you're planning work, building work, orgetting paid is actually, to one extent or another, a sales activity.
(22:00):
If your team needs some help with getting in front of the right people and making surethat they're presenting themselves as those kings, getting those quid pro quos,
showing up in such a way that it increases the likelihood of you winning the rightprojects with the right clients in the right locations.
(22:22):
Reach out to me in the show notes is a link to my calendar.
You can just click on the link and book in a 10 minute call.
We can have a very brief call and I can have a quick chat with you and figure out if orhow I can help you with the sales training of the folks in your organization.
And remember everyone in your organization to one extent or another is in sales.
(22:42):
And so estimators,
PMs executives they can all be involved in sales training and of course even your businessdevelopment people So click the link in the show notes reach out to me on my website and
book in that 10-minute call and we can have a discussion about if or how I can help youHope you found this Hope you found this helpful and useful in your sales activity and I
(23:05):
wish you all the best as you go out and land work with the right clients and the rightprojects
And I wish you all the best as you're going out, winning the right projects with the rightclients in the right locations.
If you're in a negotiated bid environment, you know that being the lowest bidder isn'tcritical when it comes to winning work.
So that means you have to hone and refine your sales skills if you're going to besuccessful.
And most construction professionals have a background that comes from building projectsand yet they find themselves in sales positions.
(00:27):
And so whether you're an estimator, a PM or even an executive,
selling can at times feel uncomfortable and frustrating.
And it can lead, because of a lack of experience, to lot of winging it.
I spoke to a client recently doing millions in revenue, but their sales process wascompletely unstructured.
(00:49):
No one owned it.
And another guy I know admitted, didn't even know there was a method of selling.
It's kind of like throw a number out there, you know, and hope for the best.
So if that sounds familiar, this podcast episode today is for you.
In negotiated work, you rarely lose because of price.
(01:09):
You lose because you don't know how to sell and your sales process lacks structure orclarity and you lack confidence.
And I want you to be convinced that you can actually structure your sales process toincrease the likelihood
of you winning the right projects with the right clients in the right locations.
(01:36):
Here are five key behaviors that define people who win when it comes to constructionsales.
Number one, prospecting.
What does that mean?
Think about the old prospectors back in the day, right?
They would go out into the hills with a pick in their hand and dig for gold, right?
(01:56):
They wouldn't find the gold by sitting in their tent.
They had to get out of the tent and go and find it.
And so you have to...
be engaging with your target audience.
You have to know where your target audience is or who your target audience is, and thenyou have to get out there.
You get out there via social media marketing, you get out there via phone calls, byresponding to requests for a proposal, but most effectively, in my opinion, you get out
(02:24):
there by good old fashioned cold calling.
What does that mean?
It means you get off your seat, you get into your car or your truck,
You drive out to where your clients are, you walk in the door and you say, hey, who's incharge of who's going to get assigned to winning and building this project?
(02:46):
You know what I'm saying, right?
You've got to identify who those people are and you must be willing to get out there andtalk to them.
The next one is closing.
It's really interesting.
What does closing mean?
It means asking for the job or asking
be able to take the next step in the sales process.
(03:06):
Closing can be something that people are uncomfortable with because you can get rejectedwhen you close.
You may want a yes and someone may give a no.
You just may feel uncomfortable asking people to do something.
But in sales you have to become comfortable with closing.
Okay you've got to ask for the job don't just assume or hope that they're going to pickyou.
(03:29):
The next behavior that you have to really look at is
call reluctance and it goes hand in hand with prospecting that which I mentioned earlierdo you lack a desire to call people I'll tell you what don't be surprised if you do many
sales type people they spend all their time organizing their calendar organizing theirdesk doing anything except what they're paid to do and that is selling and that may be
(03:59):
particularly true for you
when you don't think of yourself as a salesperson.
You're a construction professional, you're a builder.
You're not one of those sleazy guys who pushes used cars.
You're a builder.
But really you must have that mindset shift that whether you're building projects, whetheryou're in the office in an executive role, whether you're estimating, you are in sales.
(04:23):
And in sales, one of your prime responsibilities is to be willing to make calls.
Then you have to be a self-starter.
Great salespeople don't have to be told what to do.
They get out there and do it.
And so one of the things you have to think about is when is your energy levels the best tobe able to handle all of the rejection that you might face when you're going through a
(04:46):
sales process?
Well, you've got to figure that out because it does require a lot of energy and a lot ofeffort.
And another thing you have to think about as you are going through the selling process, asit's related to self-starting is
When are your potential clients most likely to be in the office so that you can interactwith them?
Okay, so you don't wanna be showing up to someone's office on a Friday afternoon at fiveo'clock if they're never going to be there.
(05:10):
You have to be able to structure your week to maximize the opportunity for you to be ableto have great conversations.
And again, you may be thinking, what's this self-starting stuff that you're talking about?
I can self-start on a project, but sales, that's a little bit different.
I'm uncomfortable with that.
So let me give you a little tip.
Next time you're doing a job site visit, let's say you're a project manager, but you'realso responsible for selling to one degree or another.
(05:35):
As you're driving out to that project, think about where you can stop along the way andvisit potential clients in order to have quick conversations with them about any work that
might be coming up.
And then the fifth behavior, and this is critical in construction, and I know this willresonate with you, is team selling.
Construction is a team sport from bidding the work to planning the work to building thework.
(05:58):
and often to getting paid, it's a team sport all along the way.
And so if you're involved in the sales process and you wanna maximize the impact and thepossibility of you landing the work, it's going to mean that you're gonna have to talk to
folks internally in your organization and get them all on the same page, all drivingtowards that one end, that one goal of landing the right job with the right clients in the
(06:20):
right location.
So make sure that in a sales situation, you're tapping into the genius in yourorganization.
in order to maximize the opportunities to win work.
And really, how can you overcome that call reluctance?
And how can you make sure that you maximize your opportunity?
(06:41):
Well, set simple goals in order for you to be able to focus on sales.
So perhaps you're not selling every day, but perhaps you say on Tuesday and Thursday from10 o'clock in the morning to 12 o'clock, I'm going to spend some time either on the phone
or in my car or my truck going to different places and making calls.
(07:01):
Make a commitment.
And don't over commit.
Don't say I'm going to make 25 calls every day when you're not going to do that.
Just make five to 10 calls every week, twice a week for a year.
Develop your sales skills and see how the funnel of your opportunities begins to fill up.
Another thing that a lot of people are frustrated with in construction sales is they get anumber, they give a number to a client and
(07:29):
or they respond to a client with a piece of information and then the client ghosts them orthe potential client ghosts them.
And what do you do in that situation?
What you do is you assert yourself and send a very straightforward email.
And this is how I word that email.
I'm assuming that since I haven't heard from you, you are not interested in us buildingyour project.
(07:54):
Notice the psychology of that email.
You're not
sending an email, oh, just following up, hope you got my information, please contact meanytime you need any help.
No, you're taking an assertive stand, you've given them a piece of information, you'vegiven them something, now you are requesting and requiring a response in return.
(08:16):
And if there is no response, again, you send out that email.
I'm assuming that since I haven't heard from you, you are not interested in working withus.
And you say, Eric, I can't say that to my clients.
they might get pissed off.
Well, let me tell you, I use this kind of line all the time when I'm selling my servicesto folks just like you in construction.
(08:39):
And I promise you that it works.
And it works in two ways.
Number one, if I send out an email like that and someone doesn't respond, I know thatthey're not serious about working with me and they're not interested in my services.
And that's fine because I'm not desperate for clients.
I know how to sell and I know how to fill my pipeline.
and I know how to take care of my clients that I already have and as a result of that, ifyou don't want to work with me, that's okay, I'll find someone else who does.
(09:08):
But the other response that I get when I send out that email is really interesting.
People will reply to me and they'll say, Eric, I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you.
I'm very interested in working with you.
I've just been busy and tied up with something.
Can we talk next week?
You see my point here?
By sending out an email like that, you're positioning yourself in a place of authority
(09:28):
in a place of peer to peer selling where you're not begging for work and as a result ofthat it enhances your stature in the mind of the person that you're selling to.
So that's part of a mindset shift that you have to be able to lay hold of if you're goingto be successful in sales.
(09:50):
And I call that mindset shift, kings talk to kings.
You have to think of yourself as a king, as someone noble.
You're not a pauper, you're not a beggar, you're not a sleazy salesperson.
You have a tremendous uh service to provide someone, tremendous value.
You're an expert in problem solving.
(10:11):
You're an expert in adding value.
And as a result of that, you can go into any sales environment with your head held high,there to solve problems, there to benefit the client, and you are an expert at what you
do.
Now as you're listening to this, if any of what I've just said is not true, then you knowwhere you need to go to work in order to improve yourself so that you can truly go into
(10:35):
any sales environment as a king and talk to kings.
You're not lucky to be at the table.
You belong there.
You are an expert.
You've solved problems before and the problems that they have on their projects, you'regoing to help to solve those with clarity and competence.
(11:01):
So think about this little old way versus the new way when it comes to selling.
The old way is that you submit a number and you hope for the best.
The new way is that you engage with the clients before you submit anything and make surethat you understand what they're looking for and that you make sure there's a fit.
(11:22):
The old way is you chase with the low number.
That's what you're doing.
You're submitting low numbers and hoping for the best.
In this case, in the new way, you're leading with value.
And again, you must understand how you solve problems and how you add value.
This brings a tremendous amount of benefit to your clients and it puts you in their eyesas someone who can be helpful to them.
(11:51):
The old way is you submit a bid and you get ghosted.
The new way is you submit a bid and then you book in a debrief meeting.
with the client.
You agree with them ahead of time.
Hey, listen, I'm gonna submit this bid, but I'm expecting that we're going to have a callthe day after so that we can discuss the bid.
(12:13):
The old way is you're reactive.
Someone sends out a request for proposal and then you react to that.
The new way is you're proactive.
You understand right client, right job, right location.
You have a list of your top 10 to 20 clients.
that you're going to go after.
You understand who are the decision makers in each one of those clients and you'redeveloping your relationships with those folks on a consistent basis.
(12:40):
You're proactive, not reactive.
The old way, it's lone wolf selling.
You banging your head up against the wall by yourself, working overtime, tossing outnumbers, and again, hoping for the best.
The new way is an aligned team approach.
An opportunity comes your way, you bring in the estimating power, you bring in someoneperhaps who knows how to build this project, who has done it before and is able to give
(13:10):
you some insights.
You make sure that the executive team buys into this particular project.
You use that team approach.
Think about this.
As you're listening to this podcast, you might be saying, Eric, construction sales isconstruction sales, right?
I mean, we do our best at the end of the day.
We submit our number and if we submit enough numbers, we'll get enough work to keep ourguys busy.
(13:33):
Now think about CarMax here for a moment.
CarMax completely redefined the way that car sales works.
And they were told for years that what they do is not going to work.
You know how CarMax works, right?
You go in there, there's one price, there's no negotiation, you buy the car, if you don'tlike it, you can return it and they give you your money back, no questions asked.
(13:56):
I know because I've bought cars at CarMax and I've returned a car and they gave me themoney back and they didn't give me any hassle.
That's completely different from your typical car buying experience.
And I know that because I recently bought a car and it wasn't from CarMax.
The whole experience sucked.
The car is great, the experience sucked.
I'm never doing that again.
(14:17):
I'm always gonna go back to CarMax.
Now what's interesting as we follow this CarMax analogy, is CarMax a little more expensivethan your typical car dealer?
They probably are by maybe $1,000 or something like that.
But I don't know about you.
But for me, it's worth the hassle, or excuse me, it's worth the extra money to go toCarMax and have no hassle and have all the friction removed.
(14:40):
in order to do business with them.
Now think about your sales processes when it comes to your construction company.
Again, you have to sit down and really go through the process of thinking through how canwe improve our sales process so it is more proactive, so it does set us up for success, so
that we are selling to the right clients and the right projects and the right locations.
(15:04):
So we are increasing the likelihood of us winning the work.
So we're not wasting our time.
You must think through that in detail.
And I've worked with construction professionals helping them with their sales development.
Again, one client, he used to wing it with no structure, just hoping.
(15:25):
And after going through some training with me, it was tremendously helpful to get somestructure, mindset, and new perspectives.
They landed a multi-phase healthcare job, not by dropping their price, but by showingresponsiveness, by answering questions with clarity, and really showing up and taking
leadership.
I had another client who gained confidence to lead.
(15:45):
sales conversations, not just participate in them.
Another who saw that he was guessing when it came to his sales activities instead ofguiding the process and what I taught him helped him to get more clarity.
And then I had another one he said, I didn't even know there was a method to sales when infact there is and I taught him a number of those methods.
(16:07):
And I'm saying all of this because there's a number of resources that you can use in orderto learn how to sell more effectively.
I'll just put a quick plug in here for my book, Construction Genius.
And this book is tremendously helpful in terms of sales.
In fact, there's a couple of chapters in this book about sales, and I want you to buy thebook on Amazon and check out those chapters.
(16:30):
Chapter 11, sales is all about know, trust, like, and buy.
And then chapter 12, it'll give you some insights into marketing, and that's a key part ofsales as well.
It's more higher up in the sales funnel.
So check out that book on Amazon, Construction Genius.
And as we're talking about this, you have to be able to define your game when it comes toselling.
(16:53):
Okay, don't just follow the GC's process, shape it.
So if you're a subcontractor and the GC has a process, think about it.
Does their process fit in with the way I want to do business?
How can I influence it?
How can I say, wait a minute, GC, I'm a sub, you need me as much as I need you.
(17:13):
Let's make sure that we're on the same page as far as the game that we're playing so thatI can increase the likelihood of not only solving your problems and adding value, but
actually winning the game and landing work with you.
So how do you do that?
Well, one of the ways that you do it is by asking for quid pro quos throughout the salesprocess.
(17:34):
And what does quid pro quo mean?
It simply means this for that.
In sales, it's all about
mutual exchange.
So in a negotiated environment, one of the most powerful tools that you can use as you'regoing through the sales process is reciprocation.
The idea that if you give them something, you should get something in return.
(17:59):
And I want to make that point tremendously clearly.
You should never give anyone in the sales process anything without expecting somethingfrom them in return.
If they ask for information and you respond with information, you should expect to have aresponse from them via email or via phone call.
(18:22):
If you're going to give, make sure that you're getting.
Before sending a number, ask for something back, a debrief meeting, a schedule with thedecision makers, a follow-up commitment.
Whenever you give, always remember to get something back.
Robert Caldini, in his research on influence, proves that this idea of reciprocationcreates psychological pressure to return the favor.
(18:51):
So let me say this, make sure
that your clients or your potential clients understand that you're a king and you're gonnatreat them like a king, but if you give them something, you want something in return.
And make sure that happens all throughout the sales process.
You're not being pushy, you're acting like a peer.
(19:13):
You're acting like a peer, like a king talking to a king.
So, when you ask, can we schedule a follow-up meeting, before I send over our number,you're elevating your sales activity from being passive to being active.
(19:33):
And that signals confidence, clarity, and that signals confidence and clarity andstrength.
It makes the buyer see you as not just another number, not just another sub.
but as a project partner, someone that they want to work with.
(19:54):
Selling is not a dirty word.
It's how work gets built.
You solve real problems and you guide people.
You solve real problems and you guide people through your sales process to smartdecisions.
Selling done right is leadership.
(20:16):
Selling done right
is leadership.
So, you need to transform the way that you approach sales from winging it to owning it.
From reactive to strategic.
From hoping to closing.
(20:36):
If you focus on improving your sales skills, you will...
Let me give you some action items to improve the whole sales experience in yourorganization.
Number one, build a repeatable sales process.
Number two, make sure you're in alignment with your team on every sales opportunity, yourinternal team.
(21:02):
Third, focus on the right clients with the right projects in the right locations.
Number four, quid pro quo.
Make sure that whenever you give them something, you get something in return.
And then number five, build the projects on time with high quality, taking care of theneeds of your clients.
(21:27):
Because as you're doing that, that's actually a sales activity.
When you build work right, you're selling the next project that you're going to build.
You're selling the GC on it, you're selling the client on it.
You're building your reputation.
Everything you do every single day, whether you're planning work, building work, orgetting paid is actually, to one extent or another, a sales activity.
(22:00):
If your team needs some help with getting in front of the right people and making surethat they're presenting themselves as those kings, getting those quid pro quos,
showing up in such a way that it increases the likelihood of you winning the rightprojects with the right clients in the right locations.
(22:22):
Reach out to me in the show notes is a link to my calendar.
You can just click on the link and book in a 10 minute call.
We can have a very brief call and I can have a quick chat with you and figure out if orhow I can help you with the sales training of the folks in your organization.
And remember everyone in your organization to one extent or another is in sales.
(22:42):
And so estimators,
PMs executives they can all be involved in sales training and of course even your businessdevelopment people So click the link in the show notes reach out to me on my website and
book in that 10-minute call and we can have a discussion about if or how I can help youHope you found this Hope you found this helpful and useful in your sales activity and I
(23:05):
wish you all the best as you go out and land work with the right clients and the rightprojects
And I wish you all the best as you're going out, winning the right projects with the rightclients in the right locations.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.