The Expert Podcast

…So if you're working on any type of building project large or small, you may have found it very difficult to get contractors. To even call you back much less. Agree to work on your job. Here are five things you can do. To increase the probability and number of contractors that you have respond to you…First we're going to start with what's the general problem General problem is. Contractors don't have enough labor They don't have enough employees or workers that can do all the jobs So they have to pick and choose the jobs they work on. There are more jobs available to them then they can do so how do they pick which ones to agree to? And how can you make sure you are one of the ones that are selected That's the key. You have to understand why they're picking certain jobs over others It's not always about the money. It's not always the most expensive jobs In fact it usually isn't the most expensive jobs. So you don't have to…pay more money You don't have to outbid somebody. You just have to be the most desirable job for that contractor which is actually very easy to do. But just keep in mind that these contractors don't have enough workers to finish all their jobs and have quality help to do their job So. The first thing to do is put yourself into contractor's shoes. Imagine you. Let's let's talk about a hypothetical job of building a fence all around the property. A pretty big property. Maybe it's 500 feet of fence and you know that you and maybe two other people I can build that fence, but you know that you're also not going to be able to get good quality help You're going to get maybe one guy that knows what they're doing building a fence, as it as an employer and maybe one guy that's kind of just like a laborer that barely can just haul stuff out of the truck And that's about it. So if the project you're trying to do as a consumer is a very highly detailed. Very exact high excellence, artistic fence. You know what that fence guy might say Look, I don't think I can do it to the standards you want. I can't build you that Perfect of a fence. But if you have a job that's a little more generic. It'll be a nice fence It'll be decent It's not going to fall down, but it may not have all the exact artistic details where everything has to be Exactly perfect. Well guess what Now you might be. On the short list for that. Contractor they might not rule you out. If they can see that you are a very highly demanding customer. They might not. Not that they don't want to but they just might not be able to provide that type of service right now because there's not enough skilled workers to provide very precise and excellent construction outcomes…So until you know for sure that that contractor whether it's a fence windows painting roof. Is. Able to provide. Highly excellent results. Don't…call them on the carpet and say, everything's gotta be perfect on this job. Because guess what That might rule out 90% of the contractors that know. they can't do everything perfect…Is that a place for us to be. As an industry, but just being real. Number two. Is try to have as much of the bureaucracy or details or paperwork or red tape out of the way they don't want to have to deal with. Figuring out exactly what you want Like if you don't have your design figured out that they can't do that for you where they maybe couldn't have passed maybe permit maybe you do your own permits. We've talked about that before. Maybe you already have. The job staked out So when they come to talk to you about it, they see you're organized Look I want the corners here. I want the drain line here. I want this over here. Don't assume just because they're a contractor that they're going to do everything for you. Do as much as you can yourself. Remember they're interested in being a builder contractor. They want to avoid all the details Now be flexible If you say I want the four corners here I already staked it out. This is where I want the drain line. But I'm open to suggestions from you. If you see an opportunity to do it better it might be easier for you Let me know I…see where I'm going with this. If they see that you have a clear cut idea of what you want but you're also open-minded. Boom. Your dream customer. And even if there's more than one. Builder that would do it for you You might be a little, get a lower bid if they see you're easier to work with, because if they see that there's always going to be changes or you don't know what you're doing or. You might want to upgrade your, your specs every couple of weeks they have to factor that in have more labor in factor than in have more of their time on the job. Because every week they're on the job, all their equipment their overhead as being the clock is running…Here's number three This is a very very good way to get. excellent response from contractors have a written checklist of what you want. So, if you walk around your job site potential job site and today I want the roof over here I want this over. They're going to write everything down and remember it. If you already make an organized type it up don't hand write it. Checklist of what your wishlist is what you want what you're trying to accomplish. Maybe even material specs. Square footage…Now. That contractor that builder knows that you have a clear idea of what you want, your documented for them Make a bunch of copies keep one for yourself Hey you can have this one You can keep it. they can make notes on it…Now. They have a clear picture of what you're looking at Maybe put a little drawn map on the back of what you're trying to do now Again they're not having to do the things that are in their expertise. If they are that's great That's a bonus Maybe some builders will do that themselves They have their own quoting software They're their own quoting. documents or worksheets. But at least if you have it. They know that you're taking some of the initiative. They're not going to be out there alone on the job And you just sit back and say just get everything done I'm not doing anything I'm not gonna lift a finger. If they see that you're going to be involved helping them. That might help you now again you don't want to step on their toes Tell him look I'm. You know willing to leave this to you I'm just trying to get you as much information as possible. Right Be the best of both worlds. Involved. But not intrusive. Assisting. But not interrupting. If you can do that you're going to get better quality. Better quality contractors to work with you and maybe get. A lower price. What about your job site Well even before. You bring somebody out to look at your job site, clean it up…If there's…Old tools and toys and uncut grass and, you know mud holes on your…lot They're going to look at it like this is going to be a hard job site to navigate. If you've got junk laying around and you know your deck has stuff scattered all over it. Or, you know, Dog waste all over the yard. That's going to be something that's gonna be a factor. So police up your yard. Clean it up. Mow it good if there's, overgrown weeds cut it low. So they don't have to worry about stuff that they don't want to get involved with They're not a weed cutting operation They can hire somebody but now they got to bill you for that and mark it up. Get it cleaned up mark it out Maybe puts a little paint lines on the ground, clean up all the junk toys tools everything laying around, make sure the access is good Move old cars out of the way. And now they can clearly see open access. Because you want them to keep an, a neat job site and if you already have it neat it's going to set the example for them. What about timeline? What we recommend for timeline A lot of times the builders kind of ask you how soon do you need it? It's a trick question. How soon do you need it? You don't want to…say Hey it doesn't matter Whenever you get to it that's a bad answer You might think that's good And the builder is going to be like I could take whatever time I want but it's actually a trap. You also don't want to say It's gotta be done by this day. Either one of them is going to make that build a run for the Hills. Because if he if you tell him it's gotta be done by this day even if that day is a year from now…That is a tough position to put them in because now there's a hard deadline. If you say Hey it doesn't matter when it gets done. Now, you're not a really serious buyer for that builder because you don't really have anything concrete Like you don't care when it gets done which means you might not even care if it gets done. So you might not even be worth taking the time to make a bid Cause you gotta remember when that builder puts together a bid they're investing three or four hours of their time. Making up a bid and they got plenty of things to do They don't have all day sitting around doing nothing. They don't have an extra three hours to put together a bid. If it's unlikely they're going to get it. So if you tell them I don't care when it gets done. What they're going to hear you say is I don't care if it gets done and they're never going to come back to you with a bid So here's what you say. You can say look obviously this project is something I want to do. I want to do this project…So obviously the sooner it gets done the better because if I'm putting on this edition the sooner I have my addition that I get to enjoy the happier I'm going to be. So if I get to enjoy it sooner that'll make me happier sooner But. There's also no hard deadline. Like I don't have an event I need this for, so I guess Mr Contractor the answer is. As soon it gets done this good. But also there's no hard deadline. How does that work for you…And ask them…And they'll tell you what their timeframe is. That they'll love that answer. builder's going to love that answer That you're serious You want to get it done and you see the value in having this done, but also that there's no hard deadline You're not going to just be breathing down their neck. Over and over. And the last thing you want to do to make sure you get call back is select your builder wisely. Look at. Five or six or seven potential contractors. And look at the jobs that they've done lately Look at their building con permits They've pulled, look at their. recorded documents for jobs that they've already done. And…even jobs that we're already working on right now look at their job site look at their equipment, look at their personnel. You don't want to go stalk them but maybe drive by take a look. Don't make it obvious because now you can talk to that builder. A little more intelligently. Look I see that you do spray foam for this installation. I see that you you use zip systems for your outside. I see that you have a John Deere, you know, J D 30…excavator whatever it is. Now the builder knows you're interested in their world. Right It's a collaborative partnership You're not just going to sit back and call the shots. You're interested in their world. So. Find out as much about them as you want them to know about you You want them to know about your project, your interests your desires. Your your your outcome that you're looking for. And if you're interested in their business as well. Then they're going to see it's a collaborative partnership Like Hey how are you busy this month Yeah we're busy We're down A couple of people. Equipment is good. You know whatever it is. Help. Be part of that collaborative process So that way it's a mutual, working relationship. Those are five things that can help you get a very good contractor to work with you or at least increase the odds of getting a better quality contractor and maybe even a better price on the overall project.