This issue of Construction Connections includes the following articles:
Improving Your New Business Pipeline
By CutterCroix
For many construction companies, today’s marketplace seems harder than ever to survive, let alone thrive. There are many external challenges impacting the company’s ability to achieve its business goals. Some of these external forces include the lack of available credit to support new projects, cost increases in equipment, materials and fuel, shortages of skilled trade workers, increased competition, and unrealistic bids (i.e. low or no-profit bids). So, how does a company grow its business in this challenging environment? The answer is to improve its critical business systems, in particular (1) the acquisition of jobs (i.e. sales), (2) building the job or work performed, and (3) key support and tracking systems (e.g. accounting, field support/stores, equipment, etc.). We will focus our attention in this article on the development and management of a systematic and disciplined approach to securing more of the right kinds of jobs. While the company’s leadership team cannot control the national credit market or how its competitors will bid jobs, it can control how their company:
- Manages sales opportunities,
- Communicates and strengthens the relationship with current and prospective customers,
- Tracks the touches with leads, prospects and customers,
- Develops bids/estimates (e.g. efficiency, consistency and profile),
- Presents professional and timely quotes, and
- Utilizes the time and resources of its managers and employees.
Click here for more of this article.
National Outlook
One of the quirks of a major shift in the direction of the economy is that a little bit of news can influence sentiment in a short period of time. So it’s a bit dangerous to make too much of the raft of good economic news that greeted the start of the second quarter. With that caveat in place, the data and economic surveys, coupled with upbeat earnings reports from the stock market are showing the first signs of a sustained recovery.
Some of the news was good enough to embolden a minority of economists to start talking about a ‘V’ recovery instead of a double-dip ‘W-shaped’ recession.
Among the highlights of the data was a surprising rise in consumer spending during the first quarter, with the 3.5% rate of growth the highest in almost three years. March inflation was virtually flat from February and the core consumer price index was up only 1.7% in the previous twelve months, the smallest rate of inflation since early 2004. China reported stronger than expected growth in the first quarter at 11.9%, signaling better prospects that a global recovery was in higher gear. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book of economic anecdotes showed that businesses here in the U. S. were reporting ‘somewhat faster’ rates of recovery than expected, even while indicating that loan volume and credit quality continued to decline. And in the bad news is better than worse news category, the NAHB reported on April 15 that its monthly builders’ index had risen four points in March, from 15 to 19.
The most encouraging report from the first quarter was the first significant growth in jobs during March. After mid-April revisions the Labor Department showed a gain of 220,000 jobs in March, approximately 150,000 of which were private sector created. March also marked the third straight month of job gains and the fourth month in the last five. Improving business conditions and consumer spending are only sustainable if steady progress is made in reclaiming the more than eight million jobs lost during the recession.
Click here for more of this article.
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If you have any questions about any of these articles, post a comment below or please contact our Real Estate & Construction Group at 440-449-6800.
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Comments for Construction Connections: Spring 2010