Effective Sales Strategies for
Contractors, Architects and Engineers
In competing for jobs, many contractors, architects and engineers tend to
underestimate and undersell their firm's strengths. It's not difficult to
understand why: Selling doesn't come naturally to most people. Sales skills
tend to be regarded as "soft" skills and viewed as much less important than
craft or estimating skills. The reality, however, is that you need to
develop a range of sales-oriented skills and techniques if you want to be
successful. Here are some steps recommended by sales professionals that can
help improve your sales skills and boost your firm's chances of winning
contracts.
Do Your Homework
Research potential jobs carefully before you bid on them. Make sure the job
is within the range of your expertise and your experience. Your bid should
cover contingencies and leave room for an acceptable profit. If the job
seems like a good fit, qualify potential customers by using publicly
available resources to identify any past problems they might have had paying
contractors and suppliers.
Focus on the Personal
Bringing a bid or a quote to a prospect in person can sometimes be more
effective than e-mailing it. Why? A face-to-face encounter introduces you to
the prospect and personalizes the process. It also gives you a chance to
answer any queries and to clarify and elaborate on certain aspects of your
bid that you consider important. You may even be able to use the opportunity
to close on the job with the customer on site.
Differentiate Yourself from the Competition
Use every available opportunity to define and highlight to prospects what it
is that separates your firm from the others you are up against. In
promotional material, ads and bid documents, emphasize your employees' years
of experience, your firm's special skills, any awards you have won and any
guarantees or warranties you offer on your work. Give prospects a reason to
seriously consider your company for their next project.
Follow Up
Always follow up on sales calls and quotes in a timely way. Follow-up calls
give you a chance to counter possible objections raised by the prospect.
Above all else, they demonstrate your professionalism and your enthusiasm
about working on the project.
Somerset's December 2009 Practical MBA program was "Converting Contacts to Sales & Sales Systems and Techniques," presented by Larry Dykes. If you missed it and would like a copy of the presentation, please contact us.
Work-In-Process is provided by
Somerset for our clients and other interested persons upon request.
Since technical information is presented in generalized fashion, no
final conclusion on these topics should be made without further review.
For additional information on the issues discussed,
please contact
Ken
Hedlund,
Jay Feller,
Steve George,
Chris
Mayfield or
Rebecca Ogle
of our
Construction & A/E Team.
This document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used,
for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the
taxpayer.
Somerset CPAs,
P.C.
3925 River Crossing Parkway, Third Floor
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
317.472.2200 • 800.469.7206 • FAX 317.208.1200
www.IndianaConstructionCPAs.com
info@somersetcpas.com
