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It's no secret that parts of the economy have been going thru some tough times. |
| Some markets as yet are not affected. If that's you kudos! And some
companies have been fortunate to prepare well for the short term with
a good backlog. Kudos if that's you. Big backlogs are not an easy
accomplishment given the nature of fast tracking policies in
construction. No matter how well prepared you are these coming tough
times demand some reflection on your part. |
| Sales are the key here. |
| No doubt you should be expanding market areas, bidding the jobs that
best suit your production capabilities, and ensure that your pricing is
tight with a deep understanding of the project cost before you release
your pricing. Shore up the projects and clients you already have.
Sometimes it's helpful to "scour" them looking for ways to reduce costs
or piggyback more work out of them. |
| Pay attention to your core |
| What do you mean "core"? They're your estimators, project managers, foremen,
and business managers. These are the key staff people that you need to
ensure maximum effectiveness and profit potential. What gets in their
way? What will help them produce more? What will help them to be more
accurate? |
| Take a fresh look at the costs of processing business. |
| Where are you spending money to process your projects, especially what
is costing money AND reducing efficiency. Have your core staff spend a
week or two reflecting on the way things are done what they think will
improve things. It'll be a real eye opener. |
| Lastly take a fresh look at your overhead costs. |
Whoa! Why is this last? Well, most companies have been doing pretty
well in managing overhead so there's less fat there than there used to
be. But look, you'll find some waste, no doubt. Maybe using overnight
services more than needed, etc. Just make sure you don't confuse
production with overhead. For instance first blush might have some
people reducing staff .. by itself this is not a solution. Cutting
production makes your overhead costs per man hour go up NOT down. So it
all comes back to sales and maximizing profit potential.
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