Estimating Quality

I have been listening to a lot of Social Media Sales experts and they say “establish a relationship”,  “People don’t like to be sold, they like to buy” Jeffrey Gitomer, and “be a go-giver not a go-getter”.  I agree with all that, truly I do.  I must because I am on Twitter, LinkedIn and now this new blog.

I believe wholeheartedly that relationships matter and I have been very lucky to have a loyal customer base, both end users and general contractors, some for over 15 years.  Of course I am always looking to add to that customer base because the more the merrier, right?



              Building addition in Rincon Ga.



The construction industry has changed vastly over the past few years and buildings are being built faster than ever before and for less money.  That concerns me.  How do I keep relationships when my competitor may be willing to undermine all that hard work by bidding so ridiculously low I can’t come close?  I have learned to not fight for those projects because I feel ultimately the general contractor is going to have quite the challenge with the doors/frames and hardware scope and will come back to me for the next job. For the most part that theory has been proven correct.

It seems to me establishing relationships is even harder for General Contractors as they are dealing with the Owner and the Owner typically changes on every job.  On top of that construction companies are now traveling further and further for projects so a local small GC may be bidding against a large construction firm from another state. 

Concrete Pipes - Rincon Facility

Case in point is Dale Davison and he is the owner of D.A. Davison Contracting, Inc.  I met Dale years ago when he called the company I worked for at the time asking for a bid on a project.  Thankfully he was awarded the project and in turn I was awarded the D/F/H scope and thus a business relationship was born.  I have been lucky enough to be part of many buildings Dale has built and have learned not only is the quality of his work is exceptional but he is an honorable person. 

The current business atmosphere where the all mighty dollar is king devastates a business like Dales' where workmanship, service and relationships matter.  You can say, well he needs to upgrade the business to the current market.  He has.  Dale branched out and received his GC License in a nearby state.  He has expanded his construction business to include residential.  Still he hurts because he refuses to compromise his standards of quality, he doesn’t cut corners and I am sure he isn’t the only general contractor to do so. 

I am not sure where we will all be when the building industry stabilizes but I hope the honorable businesses, like Dale’s, can hang on because eventually people are going to want quality and service again.

If you are looking for a General Contractor is the State’s of Florida and Mississippi please call my friend Dale Davison at Office 813-689-8358; Fax 813-689-8753; Cell 813-505-7545.  Or you can connect on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dale-davison/23/6a6/a2b