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How Can I Boost My Construction Sales? Five Ways to Sell More Jobs in Less Time

The construction industry is fiercely competitive, with companies constantly vying for clients and contracts. So, how can you get ahead? How can you increase your sales and stand out in this crowded market? The answer lies in a combination of effective strategies and the right tools like field service software, construction scheduling, and home inspection software. Let's explore five crucial steps to increase your construction sales and improve your efficiency.

Improve Your Proposal Presentations

The first step to boosting your sales involves enhancing your proposal presentations. This is your chance to make a strong first impression and show clients why they should choose your company over others. But how do you make your proposals stand out?

By offering detailed sitemaps to your clients, showing them the exact locations that need repair or renovation. This kind of transparency not only instills trust but also helps you stand out from the competition. You can use home inspection tools and apps to create and present these detailed sitemaps. Furthermore, when you present a clear and organized proposal, it helps your client grasp the extent and complexity of the project, increasing your chances of securing the contract.

Build Strong, Long-Term Relationships

In the construction industry, relationships are everything. Establishing strong and stable relationships with your customers should be your main goal. One way to accomplish this is by creating a plan or budget for your clients that spans five years. This will help them understand how and where their money will be allocated over that time period.

By taking this approach, you show your clients that you care about more than just one transaction and are dedicated to building a long-term partnership with them. And for this, field service management software can be a powerful tool, helping you create, manage, and track these long-term plans efficiently, thereby boosting your sales year over year.

Create Detailed Scopes of Work

Providing a detailed scope of work for every job you estimate or scope out is another powerful strategy to improve your sales. This approach sets you apart from your competitors and assists your customers, especially property managers, in their bidding process.

Using property inspection software or construction site inspection software can help streamline this process, ensuring that all aspects of the project are accounted for and that everyone is bidding on the same scope of work. This way, you are helping your clients while also increasing your chances of winning the bid.

Streamline Your Scoping Process

It's a numbers game: the more jobs you can scope, the more chances you have of winning contracts. Therefore, streamlining your scoping process is crucial. Consider hiring additional team members or assistants to help put together estimates. This can free up your time to focus on other crucial aspects of your business.

Utilizing field service scheduling and field services software can significantly enhance your efficiency, enabling you to scope out more jobs and boost sales. With the help of these tools, you can automate various tasks, allowing you to dedicate more time to expanding your business.

Build an Online Brand

Finally, it's crucial to build an online brand. Online presence is not just an option but a necessity in today’s digital age. LinkedIn is a great platform for this purpose. Regular activity and posts on this platform can help you become a trusted resource in your industry.

While it may not yield immediate dividends, consistent activity on LinkedIn can help attract more prospects when they require your services. Share your expertise, showcase your projects, and engage with your audience to build trust and credibility.

Conclusion

Boosting your construction sales involves a combination of effective strategies and the right tools. Field service management, home inspection tools, and construction schedules can significantly enhance your efficiency and help you sell more jobs in less time.

Although these strategies may take some work and money upfront, they can bring you big rewards in the future. They'll give you an advantage over others in the construction industry, which is always filled with tough competition.

By focusing on improving your proposal presentations, building strong relationships with your clients, creating detailed scopes of work, streamlining your scoping process, and building a strong online brand, you can significantly boost your construction sales and stand out in your market.

SpotOnSite

4985 Ironton Street, Ste 100
Denver, CO
80239
[email protected]
https://spotonsiteapp.com/

Best Construction Management Software Programs for Small Businesses

Google Drive, Dropbox, Google Earth, Outlook, Google Calendar, Hubspot, Excel, Word, Quickbooks…The list goes on and on. This rather large list of software programs is what it takes to run a small construction business. Most construction businesses that are trying to be tech savvy are falling in to the trap of using a separate program for everything they do. Our asphalt and concrete maintenance company fell in to this trap as well and are working to dig ourselves out to simplify. I am going to dive in to why the software overload makes it damn near impossible to effectively build processes, communicate, and maintain a grip around your small construction businesses.

In 2020, our construction business experienced unprecedented growth. In a year we more than doubled our revenue from $8 million - $18 million. Our payroll literally TRIPLED weekly. With this chaos, we were scrambling through software programs so we could still communicate and handle all documentation effectively just to keep up with the growth. At the end of the year when we were able to sort-of take a breather we decided it was time to start actually building processes. So we began setting meetings to create job descriptions, and began writing full front to end processes through every single department. Our process flow was something like this:

1. A lead calls in, emails, or submits request on website.

2. Sales manager enters in lead in to Hubspot and assigns the job to an estimator.

3. Estimator makes contact with customer within 48 hours of receiving lead.

4. Estimator uses Google Earth on ipad to create scope of work.

a. Estimator uses camera app on ipad to document all repair photos

b. Estimator uses Notes app in iPad to document repair need and measurements

5. Estimator creates estimate using Estimating template inside of Excel.

6. Estimator saves estimate as an Excel file in Dropbox and creates a new folder in the following format:

a. Project Name – Company Name

7. Estimator uploads all photos in to Dropbox folder

8. Estimator screenshots Google Earth sitemap and puts in side of Dropbox folder “Sitemaps”

9. Estimator creates proposal using Word and saves as a PDF

10. Estimator saves proposal into folder titled “Proposal”

11. Estimator sends proposal via email through Hubspot and moves deal to “Bid Sent”

I could keep going, but you get the point. Just to scope and send out one proposal took SEVEN programs. And that is just through sending a proposal! That doesn’t include the other half or even two/thirds of the remaining job flow. Bottom line, this makes process building extremely complicated and is hard to use to train a new employee.

This is a huge reason why we threw money in to developing and creating SpotOnSite. Currently, SpotOnSite does not eliminate ALL of these programs and processes, however it eliminates a huge chunk of them. We don’t necessarily save time on the front of job scoping. We save time on the back end. With SpotOnSite, you no longer need to:

-Duplicate marked up paper sitemaps in to Google Earth

-Transfer photos and videos from text message, your camera library or cloud storage program

-Use Word to create a professional looking inspection report (we called it a Pavement Assessment in the asphalt world)

-Have to calculate and organize all of your jobsite measurements.

These steps are completed for you. Our whole goal is to streamline the backend processes that take up so much time, resources, and complex brain power just to provide a clean, but powerful sales presentation. Our efforts moving forward are geared solely to making the small to mid-sized maintenance contractor’s lives and businesses much simpler. By doing this, we allow contractors to double their revenue, double their profits and minimize the inefficiencies that hold so many contractors back.

Unleashing Construction Sales: Beyond Closing Rates & Time Efficiency

In sales, closing percentage is a key tracked metric. Do I believe that the closing percentage fully represents the salesman’s skills? No. Not in construction at least. There are so many factors that go into a project being awarded like customer budget, timeline, the decision maker, etc. Especially if you do work for property management companies who represent the owners. Sometimes the owners live ten states away and they are only selecting the lowest bid. No matter how much cologne you spray, hair gel you use, and nice your proposal is, you cannot always sway the decision maker who is purely cost-based.

In my opinion, construction sales and estimating are purely a numbers game. It is very simple, the more bids you send out, the more jobs you will sell. This is why I think it is imperative as an estimator to perform a time audit on yourself to assess where you are wasting time. For me, there were a few things I noticed that were time wasters. Some of those were driving to the office frequently, marking out jobs, and the constant bid adjustments.

If you live in a large city like Denver, you understand how much time you have to factor in by sitting in traffic. As much as I hate to admit it, sitting in standstill traffic allowed me to stay on top of my email, calls, and text messages. For me, my goal was to scope and send out as many proposals as possible. Everything I scoped, I would attempt to send the same day. What allowed me to do this was using my mobile hotspot. My truck was my mobile office. I would scope the project, would jump back into my truck, pull out my laptop and fire up my hotspot. From there, I would complete the estimate there right on-site. This worked effectively because I wasn’t wasting time driving around the city to and from the office just to complete the bids. My motto was, the more my truck tires are rotating, the more jobs I could sell.

Part of the many hats of an estimator is the handoff from sales to production. This handoff is when you provide all of the necessary documentation, scope of work, maps, pictures, etc. of a project so that you can set your production team up for a successful project. The goal is to have such a great handoff that anyone on the production side could easily pick up right where you left off with understanding the project needs based on how you estimated it. Part of our handoff was to mark out (literally spray paint) all the repair areas. We made it a company standard to have our jobs marked out 72 hours before the project started. For me, I already made a trip to the job site when I created the scope. Sometimes, I would have to make another one to the job site during the bidding process to meet with the customer. The LAST thing I wanted to do was to go back again to mark out the repair areas. So, I would mark out the repair areas WHILE I was on site. Indirectly, I noticed that this gave me the advantage to control the scope of work everyone would bid off. By doing this and notifying the customer, I essentially did the upfront leg work for them. This prevented the property manager from having to wait a month for all of the bids, review them, and realize they all are completely different scopes of work.

I would be on a roll scoping jobs, cranking out estimates, and sending proposals. Then right in the middle of everything a customer would call asking me to remove a line item on a bid, or our crews would send pictures and would call stating they need a change order because the concrete is 6” thick, not 4” like I originally estimated. This isn’t necessarily a time waster, but it is for sure a momentum stopper. If enough of these change requests add up over a few days and are not documented or taken care of immediately, they will fall through the cracks. This obviously will make your customers unhappy having to remind them of something you owe them. So I would stop what I was doing, where I was at, would pull out my hotspot, and would make the adjustments or send the change order right away. We put our heads together and decided to try a different strategy. We decided to create micro teams. One estimator would be in his/her truck all day scoping jobs, meeting customers, and marking out jobs while the other estimator would be in the office in front of the computer all day cracking out estimates and proposals, making adjustments to proposals, sending change orders, and gathering all documentation for project handoffs. This simple adjustment allowed our sales team of four to send out over $115,000,000 in maintenance bids alone. Now, I know some of you are already thinking about how to structure commissions, customer communication, staffing problems, etc…It is up to you to figure out what will work best for you and your company.

As an estimator, you and your processes can be your limiting factor to how much work you can sell in a year. Deciding what is most important for what you were hired to do (sell jobs) is crucial for your success. Estimating is a game of speed and efficiency while being able to juggle many different things at once. Cutting out unnecessary driving time to the office, to the job sites, and working in micro teams can allow you to nearly double your sales production.

Overcoming Roadblocks: Streamlining Construction Estimator's Job Scoping and Estimating

Construction estimators wear so many hats, have so many responsibilities, and juggle so many tasks at once. It’s no wonder these professionals feel stressed all the time. I know this from experience. When I first got into estimating, I was shocked at how many parts of the job process require the estimator’s time and effort. A huge bottleneck that takes up a ton of estimator’s time is the scoping, estimating, and proposal process.

I have done HUNDREDS of demos with contractors & estimators since launching SpotOnSite. This is an accurate example of what happens when they get a new lead:

You get an email from your sales manager stating, “New lead. Please see the info below.” You immediately scroll down and look at the details. You gather those details and create a new customer and a new deal inside of your CRM. You check your schedule and the location of this property and notice that you will be relatively close to the area on Thursday, so you plan to scope the new property then. Thursday morning arrives and you are about to leave the office to begin scoping your projects. You pull up Google Earth and search for the property address. The map takes you to the properties that you need and one by one, you print the aerial maps of the projects. You grab the maps, your wheel, a pen, a clipboard, your phone, and keys and head out to scope the jobs. When you arrive at your location, you jump out of the truck, grabbing your wheel, the map, clipboard, pen, and your phone before you shut the door. It’s time to officially start scoping.

The lead that was given to you stated that the customer was looking for your “recommendations.” Ah, don’t you love those? You don’t know what’s important to them, you don’t know if they have $5,000 to spend or $50,000 to spend, you don’t know where to start. So you start by looking at all the liabilities. You start with the potholes. When you walk up to your first pothole, you first mark the location using your best guess on the printed Google Earth map and write a “1” right next to it. You tuck your pen in your ear then grab your wheel and measure the length and the width. The length and the width are 10’ by 6’. You turn your map over and write “1. 10 x 6 patch.” Finally, you pull your phone out of your pocket and snap two pictures of this pothole. You repeat this process with a mix of potholes, concrete sidewalk sections, and many other repairs that need to happen until your job scope is complete. Congratulations, you finished your first scope of the day. After your third job, you check your watch and it states 1:37 PM. You now need to head back to the office to begin putting all your documents together.

On the way back to your office, you get a call from the concrete foreman stating that the project they are working on has sprinklers that randomly turned on and they just got done pouring fresh concrete. He needs the sprinklers turned off immediately. You pull out your phone and look for your customer’s phone number by digging through your email. You find it and call the number. After getting ahold of your customer, they contact their maintenance guy who is able to shut off the sprinklers. Whew, you just put out another fire.

You finally arrive back to your office at 2:07 and pull out your laptop, your phone, and the maps. You first need to transfer all of your photos from your phone to your computer, so you create three separate Google Drive folders and label them by their job name. In each folder, you upload your photos. This takes about an hour. Once completed you flip your map page over calculate the square footage and linear footage totals of each scope and categorize them by repair type. You are now ready to start your estimate.

You open up your estimating program, take the measurements and the repair types, and create an estimate based on time, labor, production & material. The estimate is complete, time to turn this into a professional-looking proposal. You fire up a Word document and create a table so you can enter your proposal line items, their unit costs, and their total costs. Once that is completed, you copy your standard terms and conditions below the table. You are an estimator who wants to provide your customer with a next-level presentation so you want to build a professional-looking map now on Google Earth. So you grab your marked-up map fire up Google Earth and try to replicate this in a much fancier way. Once your map is complete you take a screenshot of the map and copy and paste it into your proposal. Finally, you want to upload some photos. One by one, you add all 27 photos into your Word document displaying two per page. Once you’re done sizing all of them, your proposal is complete! Now time to turn this into a simple PDF and wah-lah you can send your proposal via email to your customer. Your first proposal is done and it is 3:43. Two more to go…

That story was my life two years ago. Just to complete one, professional-looking proposal took an unbelievable amount of time, steps, and programs just to accomplish what I was after. The great news was that my clients LOVED IT. The not-so-great news is that my sales production was held back SIGNIFICANTLY due to all of these steps. I didn’t even divulge into the other 50 things that were diverting my attention and focus like other jobsite fires, customer calls asking to adjust proposals, gathering documents for awarded projects, etc. As an estimator, “busy season” is more than just busy.

This is EXACTLY why we developed SpotOnSite. To give maintenance estimators TIME back in their day without having to sacrifice presentation, accuracy, and communication. That simple hour of putting together the Word document adds up over the course of a season. Here was the math I calculated.

During my estimating, I would send out an average of 3 proposals per day. Let’s say the estimate itself took between 10 – 30 minutes to complete depending on the scope. There is at least an hour there. But putting together the proposals took an additional hour each. Let’s do the math:

3 hours x 250 bidding days = 750 hours / 10 working hours per day = 75 Days were spent making our proposals nicer. HOW NUTS IS THAT!

How to Find the Right Contractor to Renovate Your Rental Property

Do you not want to increase the value of your rental property? A rental property is only worth going on if the renovation is done correctly. And in order to do that, it’s important to pick the right contractor for your renovations so that you can make sure the job is done correctly. The tenants are always looking to pay extra when the property is updated and improved.

The only way you can make it happen is when you can find a reliable contractor or a professional to perform the necessary repairs. They can identify construction opportunities and can perform construction upgrades for you.

When considering these types of projects, Vincent Abell Contracting can be part of the broader conversation around residential construction and renovation, particularly where practical upgrades need to work alongside the existing structure. Well-planned construction improvements can give tenants a more comfortable living environment while helping property owners maintain a competitive, functional rental that remains appealing over time.

Completing renovation work is only part of preparing a property for new occupants, since the final presentation often influences how the improvements are perceived during inspections and viewings. Construction projects frequently leave behind paint residue, adhesive marks, and debris that require careful cleaning before the space is ready for everyday use.

Finishing touches carried out to standards comparable with Chloe's Cleaning Company help restore a polished appearance by ensuring floors, fixtures, windows, and high-touch surfaces are thoroughly cleaned following renovation work. Presenting a property in excellent condition allows upgraded features to stand out while creating a cleaner, more welcoming environment that supports the long-term value of the investment.

Are you searching for a reliable contractor? Here are some tips to make sure you find the right contractor for your rental property renovations:

1. Always Ask for Recommendations From Friends Before Hiring One

We have all been there.

Word of mouth is a powerful way to find a reliable contractor for your rental property renovations and nothing serves the purpose most effectively than your friends. Ask your friends and family if they have ever hired one or if they know anyone who holds enough experience for contracting.

You just might be surprised who knows who and what.

Another great source for gaining information is the Internet.

There are several sites from where one can collect online reviews, and ratings and find the right contractor for their rental property renovations. Look for the type of general contractor whom you’re looking for and see what other tenants are saying about them.

2. Make Sure to Interview Multiple Contractors

The best way to find the right contractor for your rental property renovations is to interview them and ask as many questions as you can. It will give you a better overview of which contractor is the best for your particular requirement.

Don’t ever forget, you must check their license before onboarding them for the renovation job. After you’ve confirmed that they are carrying a license, make sure to test them if they have the necessary knowledge & expertise for the rental property improvements.

Check if they are available to work as per your schedule and if they’re using quality materials – this is essential.

3. Check Their Insurance Especially What is Covered in It

It’s not just about their license, you also need to check if the contractor has an insurance policy which protects your property. If something goes wrong during the renovation job, the insurance policy should be able to cover it.

Accidents happen, and it’s better to be prepared.

Talk to the contractor and inquire if they have an insurance policy which will cover any damages caused to your rental property. Gauge what’s covered in the policy and if there are any additional costs associated with the purchase.

Some of the few important things that many general contractors cover include:

Liability for property damage or injury to others
Workers’ compensation for employees
Tools and equipment
Job site pollution
Business interruption
Employee dishonesty.

4. Ask for References

Do not hesitate to ask the contractor for references for other projects they have worked on. It will give you a good idea of their previous experience and the quality of their work. Furthermore, if you have any more queries you can always talk to them about them. It is best to have the references in advance before you make a decision. If possible, try to visit their previous job sites and check the quality of their work.

It will give you enough insight into how these contractors do their job. If it’s good for you or something that suits you well, you can always go ahead and hire them.

5. Choosing Renovations That Add Long-Term Value

Finding the right contractor is only part of a successful renovation project. Deciding which improvements will provide lasting benefits can have an equally important impact on the property's appeal and value. Many landlords planning exterior upgrades consider Struxure when creating covered outdoor living areas that provide adjustable shade and protection from changing weather conditions.

Well-designed outdoor spaces can increase the property's functionality while making it more attractive to current and prospective tenants.

6. Get Everything in Writing

Before you finalize the contractor, it is important to make sure that everything is in writing. Get a written contract from the contractor with all the details of the job. It should include information such as who will handle what, the timeline, the cost and payment schedule, and anything else that is discussed.

This way you’ll have all the information in one place and writing. Make sure to read the contract thoroughly and understand it before signing it. If there’s something that you don’t agree with, communicate it with your general contractor and explain to him why you’re not comfortable with it. Always negotiate on the price before signing off any contracts.

For renovation projects involving extensions, structural alterations, or work close to a neighbouring property, it is also worth considering whether the project falls under the Party Wall Act. Seeking professional party wall services Kensington before work begins can help property owners understand their legal obligations, issue the required notices where necessary, and reduce the risk of disputes that could delay the renovation.

Concluding Thoughts

Sometimes, even with the right contractor, a rental property may require more maintenance and repairs than it's worth. When renovation costs continue to add up, some landlords decide it's more practical to sell the property and invest in one that better fits their long-term goals. In those situations, Dignity Properties offers a simple way to sell a property as-is, helping owners move on without taking on another major renovation project.

Choosing to sell instead of renovate can also save landlords significant time, unexpected expenses, and the uncertainty that often comes with large-scale improvement projects. Rather than coordinating multiple contractors or waiting for renovations to be completed before listing, homeowners can explore a faster selling process that allows them to focus on their next investment or financial goals with greater confidence.

However, If you follow these tips, you will be able to find the right contractor for your rental property renovations. It is important to take the time and effort to find a contractor who will do a good job for your property. Doing thorough research and getting everything in writing will ensure that the job is done to your satisfaction.

By doing this, you can rest assured that the renovation project for your rental property will be undertaken efficiently and effectively while staying within your budget. Good luck!

Why Property Managers Should Use Technology to Complete Property Inspections?

There are several property management inspection software that are now making it easier for real estate agents to perform property inspections for different small and large-scale properties. It has become the ideal choice for property managers who want to be able to quickly and accurately assess a property’s condition.

Using technology-based software has significantly improved the inspection operations, productivity, efficiency and accuracy of property managers. By leveraging the latest technologies, property managers can easily manage and record every detail during a property inspection in real-time. They can leave behind markings in snapshots, use advanced analytics to review the inspection data, and even generate reports which can be used for future reference.

But that’s not all, there’s much more a property management app can do. In our article today, we are going to discuss how property managers can benefit from technology to complete property inspections. So without further ado, let’s read about it.

Property Inspection App Can Simplify the Inspection Process

By enhancing daily operations, a property inspection app can optimize every task of a property inspector thoroughly. Apps like Spot-on-Site can allow you to easily take snapshots of the properties which you’re inspecting and create markings on areas where attention is needed. Once you do that, you can then share the snapshot within the app and allow others to see which areas of the property require repairs or maintenance.

Using a property inspection app can also save you time significantly by automating the process of creating reports that you need to generate after the inspection is complete. By using powerful analytics, you can track any discrepancies quickly and generate reports within minutes.

Property Inspection App Gives You an Intuitive Software Design to Manage Everything

What makes a property inspection app so special is its intuitive design and user interface. This makes it easier for you to manage everything from one platform. With a few simple clicks, you can access all your inspection data in one place and manage them according to your needs. A robust property inspection software takes little to no technical expertise which allows your team to create a positive environment from which other individuals can benefit.

Apps like Spot-on-site are designed to offer you an intuitive and easy-to-use interface which you can use to carry out all the tasks of a property inspector. From understanding areas that need attention to generating reports, you can do everything in a user-friendly manner.

It’s as easy as using any other mobile app on the market.

It Helps Property Managers to Beat the Competition and Move Ahead

The real estate market is becoming more competitive day by day and if you want to stand out, using a powerful property management app can definitely help you do so. By leveraging the latest technologies, you can give your clients a better experience and provide exceptional customer service to move ahead of your competitors.

Property inspection apps like Spot-on-site can provide you with powerful features which can help you complete all the tasks quickly and easily.

Property Inspection App – It Keeps Everything in One Place

Using a property inspection app ensures that all the important data is stored in one place. This makes it easier to access and analyze previous records which can help you make more informed decisions. It also helps to keep track of all the tasks related to a property inspection and makes sure that all the records are up-to-date.

Using property inspection apps like Spot-on-Site can help you to stay organized. It’s the perfect app that keeps everything for you in one single place.

Concluding Thoughts

The real benefit of keeping a property inspection app is data organization. Your clients will love you when you have created proper reports and can answer their questions with the help of accurate data. Property inspection apps like Spot-on-Site can provide you with all the necessary tools required to keep your property inspection process organized and up-to-date.

Want to use a property inspection app like Spot-on-Site? Now stay ahead of the competition. The app has multi-user capability, stores images and videos related to the inspection process and more. Download it now and make your property inspections efficient and organized.