As of this year we have gotten more involved in excavation work with new equipment and a more aggresive marketing strategy. But so far the work has not materialized for us on this front. We hear positive things from the people we are currently serving but all the jobs we have bid we are told that they, the builder, lost the job. Do you think we might be missing something?
One additional note, in order to make ourselves more appealing to builders we have expanded our services from just the excavation to: final grading, city water and sewer hookups, footer installation, demolition. What do I need to do to get us in with more builders?
Justin Tischer
Vertigo Construction
Replies
Be patient. When you get a job, respond quickly and do a good job. The more phases of the dirt work that you can do, the better. We like to hire one guy to do it all. We are always interested in finding a new guy who is interested in doing a smaller job. If our usual excavators are too busy to do the work, we like to have someone on hand to quickly step in. If they do a good job, we will use them more frequently as time goes on.
The other source for work would be contractors from the next town or two away. We often get work that is slightly out of our usual area and like to be able to hire a local sub.
This advice is true for excavators but could be applied to any sub starting out.
I'm not in the business, so take this with a grain of salt.
Have you found out which builders have been winning the jobs and tried to market yourself to them?
SchellingM has it right. Patience grasshopper. We try to be #2 on everyone's list. Try to soft sell it as "not trying to cut your guy out but...if your guy needs some help catchiong up, is overloaded, can't do your project" we would love to help. Then .... wait. There will be a problem.. and your opportunity. Pounce. Whatever it takes. Deal w/his problem. Right now.
I think you are on the right track adding services. But it takes a while. Our strategy is first get some steady, year round work. Then fill in your holes (at a higher price). Then start bumping your steady work.
I've always done all the site work as a package, clearing, excavation, utilities, footings and foundations, final grade, driveway, loam. We don't use sod very much yet. The excavation contractors sub the concrete work. I've been working with the same contractors for many years, they are extremely competent and efficient. On an open lot, the hole is ready by late afternoon, the footings are generally in the first day. By the end of the week the foundation is in and the final grade and rough drive is done and we're ready to build. There isn't a rock to trip over, the stone is in the floor. All is clean and neat. I wouldn't even consider using someone that is new. There's too much that can go wrong with site work and it's a pain to fix. If you are up to this level, you won't be able to keep up with the work load. My excavation contractors are the richest guys I know. I've built many of their houses and done other jobs for them, they don't even ask for a price. They all own pits.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match