Stop Choosing the Work and Start Choosing the Client
Every once in a while it’s good to reflect on the work you’ve been doing recently, and whom you’ve been doing it for.
What have been your favorite projects recently?
What made them your favorites?
Take a moment to think back on your recent project history to answer these questions.
We all look back on past work from time to time, but today I want you to do it differently. I want you to look beyond the work itself and look at the clients that came with it.
Have you ever had a favorite project from a client you couldn’t stand?
If you have, it’s rare.
The truth is, clients make all the difference. Especially in the construction business. Even the worst type of work we do isn’t quite so bad when we are working for our favorite clients.
Why is that?
It boils down to the fact that we don’t just sell, we serve.
And our favorite clients respect, and appreciate, our service.
It is no coincidence that as contractors, we struggle and stress the most when we are not working with our best clients. In the long run, the quality of your relationships will be the difference between success and failure in your construction business.
Here is a short list of the benefits of choosing the right clients:
- The right clients give us respect.
- They follow our process.
- They pay us what we are worth.
- They pay us on time.
- And they give us repeat work and refer us to their network.
On the other hand, poorly chosen clients suck the life right out of us. They do this by challenging our prices, micro-managing, and not respecting our time.
Honestly, who needs that?
Now you might be asking yourself, should I accept work from clients I feel are not ideal? It really depends on how well you have been managing your project pipeline. We all need to keep the work coming in, however, we also need to look past the work to determine what type of relationship we would be entering into.
To excel we must steer clear of clients that are more trouble than they are worth.
The more we do that, the more time and energy we can devote to finding the right clients.
Ultimately our success depends on the quality of our client relationships. And the quality of our relationships depends on choosing the right clients in the first place.
So let me ask you, what choices have you been making lately?
Next Article: Win More Construction Projects By Understanding One Important Concept
About the Author: Wayne Lamarre is a construction marketing expert, speaker, and business development consultant, who specializes in helping contractors go from good to great. Contact Wayne to add fuel to your construction business.
Not sure who you should be targeting with your business? Contact me and let’s talk about it, because you deserve to succeed.
