Most successful subs know their operations cold. You know your backlog, which jobs are on schedule, where labor is tight, and which estimates are due this week.
Most of you also don’t have a sales department. Business development belongs to the owner and the project managers who are already running projects, so growth work happens in whatever time is left over.
Most of you also don’t have a sales department. Business development belongs to the owner and the project managers who are already running projects, so growth work happens in whatever time is left over.
That arrangement can work for years. It also makes it easy to mistake a busy estimating department for a healthy pipeline. A quick check can show you which one you have. Grade yourself honestly on the five statements below.
Use this scale: 1 means you can’t answer at all, 3 means you have a rough idea, and 5 means you can answer and back it up with data.
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Statement |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
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1. We know which markets will drive our growth over the next three years. |
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2. We know which customers and project types are the most profitable. |
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3. We know why a a customer should choose us when we are not the lowest bidder. |
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4. We know our qualified pipeline beyond the current backlog. |
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5. Growth happens on a schedule, not only when someone finds spare time. |
Add up your answers.
A low score points to a gap in how you pick markets, build relationships, and stand apart. You can close that gap with the people you already have, and more advertising isn’t required.
Each statement points to part of a commercial growth system.
Together they point to a system with five pieces: choose attractive markets, pick the right customers and projects, stand apart, build relationships on purpose, and get involved before bid day. None of it requires a business development department. It takes the owner, the president, and the project managers doing a small amount of the right work every month.
One more piece of the system, getting involved before bid day, isn’t covered by the five statements, and it’s about timing.
The later you enter a project, the more likely you are to compete on price alone. Compare two conversations. The first happens after the project is designed: “Here are the drawings. What is your price?” The second happens months earlier: “We have a problem. How would you solve it?”
Most subcontractors would rather be in the second conversation. Getting there takes a way to spot projects before they reach the bid list, and a reason for owners, architects, engineers, and general contractor preconstruction teams to bring you in early. Your project managers are often best placed to start, because they are already talking with the people who know what is coming next.
The five statements are a starting point. For a deeper read, put these questions to your leadership team, be honest and note every one you can’t answer:
The ones you can’t answer show you where to focus first.
Most successful subcontractors don’t suffer from a lack of opportunities. The harder work is deciding where to compete, which customers to pursue, which opportunities deserve real resources, and how to become the preferred choice before price takes over the conversation.
That is commercial growth strategy, and it connects market strategy, business development, sales, and marketing around one goal: a more predictable pipeline of profitable work your company is well positioned to win. Run all of it together and you should see better use of estimating hours, stronger customer relationships, and a better shot at winning the jobs you want.
Look at your lowest score, and take your list of unanswered questions to your next leadership meeting.
If statement 5 was your weak spot, the simplest first move is to put 30 minutes on the calendar each month to review the pipeline, not just the backlog. A short, repeating habit will beat a growth plan nobody has time to run.
If you’d like a second set of eyes on your answers, let’s talk.