The only BLUEPRINT you'll ever need to Grow your Construction Business...

That title was a bit of a 'double entendre' (On-ton-dra for all the Aussies), in-case you didn't get it!

I am going to start with a bang, love it, hate it, like it, leave it - I don't mind, my goal is to keep you reading...

"The Construction Industry is coming last across all industries when it comes to doing business the New Way, the RIGHT Way".

What does this mean exactly? I'll explain it in detail below... but what you need to know, is by the end of reading this article, you will have THE SECRET SAUCE to exponentially grow your construction company.

You're probably saying to yourself, "just because it's new doesn't make it right and the old way wrong", "who is this head in the clouds academic who knows nothing about the front lines of running a company", "the right way, is probably just another fad that will blow over as fast as planking".

 Let me answer each of those questions individually because they give total clarity of the state of our industry right now... then I am going to get onto the Blueprint (aka The Secret Sauce)!

"Just because it's new doesn't make it right and the old way wrong":

 How has the old way been working for you to date? Is it the same way your competition does it? Is your business exactly where you want it to be? Even if it is, that doesn't mean it will stay that way. 

As times change, so should you. Let me tell you a little story of a Goliath called Blockbuster and a David called Netflix. In 2000, Netflix approached Blockbuster to be bought out for a cool $50,000,000, which at the time seemed a lot for a Netflix that is nothing like it is today. You see, at the time Netflix was a DVD mailing service and they believed the only way they could move forward was to be bought out by the Goliath, Blockbuster, before that Goliath stomped them into the ground. 

“Selling had seemed to be our only way out. And Goliath didn’t want to buy us – he wanted to stomp us into the ground. As long a shot as Blockbuster had been, I had genuinely held out hope that it would save us. Now it was clear that if we were going to get out of the crash alive, it was entirely on us,” wrote Marc Randolph (Co-founder of Netflix).

So Netflix went back to the drawing board and pushed forward with an idea they had been toying with at the time, online streaming.

Fast forward to 2019, there is one privately owned Blockbuster left in the entire world (according to Wikipedia), the company itself filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and Netflix, well Netflix is worth about $125,000,000,000 - that's a whole lot more than $50,000,000.

Why do I tell this story? Because it highlights that when businesses do not pivot with the times, they ultimately lose out. Remember Kodak? They didn't pivot when the digital movement came through. What about Toys'R'Us - same story, they were too late meeting the changing needs of their customers for an e-commerce platform.

When I first heard these stories I thought...

 "Yeah, but those are massive companies, it's not entirely relevant to what I do"

That was wrong, SO WRONG. It is totally relevant to what I do, they run a business, I run a business, they rely on customers, I rely on customers.

So when something 'new' comes along (a new technology, a new 'way' of doing things, a new customer need), it comes along because the world started asking for it. Let that statement sink in. New is because of a new need - Netflix fulfills the 'need' of on demand streaming. Amazon fulfills the need of just about every shopping item you could think of (well in the US anyway! - get it together Amazon AU! - I want drone delivery NOW). These needs become a new 'way of life'. But something new doesn't totally change our physiology or psychology as humans, it changes our expectations of the normal.

So this is the point right now, where you should be thinking...

"What is the new norm people are expecting?" - keep reading to find out or. if you don't like reading - CLICK ME FOR A FREE DISCOVERY SESSION!

"Who is this head in the clouds academic who knows nothing about the front lines of running a company":

 For starters, I am not an academic, you don't even want to get me started on the world of Academia (that's for another article), and yes sometimes my head is in the clouds... but it's only so I can get a birds eye view of what's going on around me.

I've been there and done it in the construction industry. When I first started my company I was on the front lines. I was the Site Manager, Administrator, Business Development Manager, Book-keeper, CFO, CEO, Project Manager, Operations Manager, you name it I was it. But I learned early on that this was not a sustainable business model, doing all these things was helping the bottom line and it was not helping the top line growth or my health, future wealth or sanity!

It drove me nuts (and I hope wearing all those hats drives you nuts as well). As a business owner, I am better at certain things that others, for example, administration.... not my thing.... strategy... my thing. So doing all these individual tasks to keep overheads down was not at all a way to build a business with solid foundations. When I finally hit rock bottom in my head, I knew something had to change. I couldn't be spending 80 hours a week doing things I didn't like and wasn't that great at. Enough was enough... I had to change... and after a google search for 'construction coaches' who taught in the new school came up dry, I had to find a second best mentor (which I now know what FIRST best).

I turned to those I trusted most - experts in sales, in marketing, in business growth strategies People who already has success. I HAD to know what it was they did, what set them apart in business and if I could find out that, I knew I'd make massive changes in my own business. So, I spent thousands of hours studying the techniques that made them successful in business and re-grew myself into what I now know is a business owner, not a business operator. 

 ? I studied marketing strategies from Jay Abraham

? Sales techniques from Jordan Belfort

? Business growth strategies from Tony Robbins

? Influence & persuasion from NLP gurus.

Bottom line is, I went to the best, to show me how to do it, because there was no-one out there I believed that could teach me specifically in our industry (construction). 

I've built a construction company from $0 to $10,000,000+ (annually) in under 4 years. I've learned the lessons and am a student of what I teach.

I have a mission - and that mission is to help others build their construction companies the right way. Nothing drives me more insane than the 'herd mentality advice' that is given out when you are in need most.

I was forced to expand outside our industry, but I am so glad I did, because I now fully understand that our customers, no matter what the industry, they are all humans, who deep down, in their 2 million year old brains (the same 2 million year old brain I have and you who is reading this have) want the EXACT same thing...

MORE PLEASURE & LESS PAIN

Techniques to deliver more pleasure and less pain existed in other industries (read my story later about Louis Vuitton), but I truly believed it didn't (and still doesn't) exist in the construction industry. Let me give you a very high level, typical example that highlights this...

Extract from google (November 2019).

I hope this highlights my point! 

I've given blood, sweat and tears to the front-line of my company. And the sad truth for most construction businesses today, is that the owner will never leave the front line until the last bullet is shot. The reason? because no-one is out there, telling them what I am telling them. They are caught up working in the business, not on the business and I don't blame them... because there is no direction or guidance given for how to work ON the business. Why would you or how would you work on the business when you don't know what on the business means.

I hate that saying 'Work on the business, not in the business'.... because I know what people's response to that saying is...

 "but the reason I work in the business is because that's what I know. I started as a Carpenter, then became a builder, I know how to build, but no-one ever taught me how to run a company, I don't even know what working ON the business is and if I take time off, my business STOPS"

Sound familiar?

As a business owner you are told, you have to have a Facebook page, you have to attend networking events, you have to have the latest and greatest website. These are all fine, but if you have no direction, these are somewhat pointless.

 (Microsoft Paint 1995 represent!)

• Is your customer even on Facebook? 
• Do they care about your new work truck? I got 5 likes, is that good?
• What am I supposed to do with this handful of cards I got from this networking event?
• Do I even want to refer clients to this real estate agent I just met and who had sweaty hands?
• I got told you have to put all of the things you do on your website so I did, should I do that?
• We looked what your competition was doing and mimicked their website, does that sound good?

I just sounded like a raving lunatic for a reason - this is no doubt all of the information you get thrown at you about growing your business... AND NONE OF IT MAKES ANY SENSE UNLESS YOU START RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS 'THE NEW WAY, THE RIGHT WAY'.

What is 'the new way, the right way'?

It's about time I get down to the meat of this sandwich, enough bread and salad.

I remember it so clearly, it was like a light bulb ?? went off in my head, more than a lightbulb, a fire work (one of those ones that explodes once into a heap of tiny ones which all explode themselves). Everything I was learning really started to come together and make total sense and really all came down to one core idea. Listen to this idea lightbulb, because if you only take one thing away from this whole article it's this...

"Do things differently"

If you see your competitors doing something, and you do it 10% better, you'll get a 10% better result. Sounds mediocre to me, when achieving that 10% in a red ocean market (see image below), will mean fighting for more chum than your fellow sharks. But being totally different, means establishing yourself in a new market, free from any competition, free for you to win the reward of business growth.... Are you 'hooked' yet (Pun #2).

"But Danny, establishing myself yourself in a Blue Ocean (new market), does that mean totally dumping my whole product or offering and starting from scratch?

NOPE - it means finding a way to deliver your product or offering in a way that sets you so far apart from the rest you can't even call them competition anymore.

And this is what the Blueprint is all about:

Having exponential growth & being able to retain control.

1. Enjoying the experience with your customers / clients.
2. Being able to charge more (yes more).
3. It means not stressing about your competition because you're so focused on growing.

But how do I start Danny?

First off, you need to say 'You Shall Not Pass' to anything you've heard before and anything that comes your way moving forward (until you're trained in the new way). When you're at a BBQ and someone says Instagram worked for them. FORGET IT. 

When it comes to Marketing & Sales (M&S - which are two different things), you have to employ a tailored strategy to your business. There is not one size fits all approach, there is however a Blueprint to figure out your businesses M&S direction, and this is used to develop a M&S strategy - make sense?

This Podcast by Marketing Expert, Jay Abraham (the $21.7 Billion Dollar Man and Highest Paid Marketing Consultant), totally outlines this whole theory, in what he calls breaking away from the herd mentality - listen to a podcast on this here: https://www.abraham.com/ultimate-entrepreneur-episode-195-summer-camp-part-1/

The New Way, The Right Way, is not a fad, it is a requirement of businesses who want to achieve exponential growth. Quite simply, it's about:

"Serving the needs, wants, desires, and goals of your customers all the while, addressing their pain points and reservations by helping them trust in you and proceed with your product"

That is a mouthful, so I am going to break it down to something even simpler.

"Giving your customers what they subconsciously want"

Subconsciously, because your customers don't even know what they want (remember, they have a 2 million year old brain wires to seek pleasure and avoid pain, which they do not control at all). It's our job as business owners to discover this and then deliver on what the 2 million year old brain wants.

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You might be saying right now, but everyone wants something different. Yes, you are probably right, but your ideal customer, the one who you'd love to have fill your database, typically will have similar subconscious needs.

I've put together my Business Blueprint, primarily for the construction industry, but most of it is applicable across all industries. In the Blueprint I address with you 1-on-1 the following 6 core areas over 90-days:

CORE AREA 1 & 2 - MARKETING & SALES (M&S)

The sole goal for the M&S portion of the Blueprint is simple, bring more people through the door, close them, up-sell them and then turn them into raving fans...

Re-reading the words above, I realize some of it can sound, out-there and academic - but once your customer experiences their needs being met, you've unlocked the key to your businesses success.

Let me give you a personal example.

Recently, I did something very nice for my wife. I bought her a Louis Vuitton handbag. You probably all know the one, it has the LV pattern, in brown with the beige highlights. I must admit, I was impressed looking over the quality of this handbag.

She'd been wanting one for a long time and after a business 'win', I decided I'd get it for her. The thing is, if I am buying a $2,000 handbag, I expect next level service, right? I don't expect to be treated like another customer in K-Mart, I want the whole 'experience' - remember that word, 'experience'.

From the moment we entered the store we were guided through their sales process, which I'll explain now:

1. As you're entering the store you're first greeted by a security person, who opens the door for you and ushers you into the store with a friendly hello and smile.
2. Next your welcomed by a person who 'greets' every customer that comes through the door. It is their job to welcome you to the store, and find out what you are looking for.
3. They take your names (on a tablet) then direct you to the 'specialist' for the product you are looking for.
4. The specialist, metaphorically takes you by the hand, offers you a drink, addresses you by your name, invites you to sit down and presents the options for purchase.
5. You are treated to a story behind the product, you are treated to the smell of the leather, you are treated to that specialist wearing gloves as to not 'tarnish' the product, you are treated to different options (like inside lining colour, sizing, band colours).
6. Time to touch and feel the handbag, see how it feels on your shoulder, look in the mirror at how good you look.
7. Then, you are invited, at no extra cost to have your initials 'embossed', in a beautiful gold colour, totally customisable by you.
8. At no point is priced discuss, until you ask how much it will cost. At this point you're presented with a singular price - "$1,995" followed by, "which includes, X, Y, Z, A, B, C"By this time, you are so in awe of the experience it is hard to say no.
9. The transaction is made simple, you remain seated in the comfy chairs while the specialist takes your card for processing. At no time are you asked to line up or stand at a counter.
10. Then your card is returned in a nice little card holder (which you take with you), that contains your receipt.
11. The item you've bought is lovingly inspected prior to walking out the door, put back in the box, and a ribbon ties up the box.
12. The box is put in a striking orange bag, with ribbon handles, and you are walked to the door by the assistant who gives you their OWN PERSONAL BUSINESS CARD and invites you to contact them at any point in time.

That's it - those are the 12 steps you go through buying a Louis Vuitton handbag.

As someone who is very new to this kind of purchase, I can tell you right now, the experience sold me on the price. They treat you with the utmost respect and provide a level of service far beyond the typical buyers expectation.

After this had happened I wanted to see if any of the other designers offer the same experience. Without naming names, I was disappointed at the experience the others provided (and therefore they made NO sale). Right now, I don't want anything from Louis Vuitton, but I can tell you right now, in the competitive designer market, this experience has set Louis Vuitton far above the rest (in my humble opinion).

What I'd like to do now is dissect this experience, because I want you all reading this to understand how simple additions to Louis Vuitton's sale process, provided the experience I needed to close me as a customer.

 1. As you enter the store you are first greeted by a security person, who opens the door for you and ushers you into the store with a friendly hello and smile.

 We call this a feeling of significance. Everyone in some way shape or form, wants to feel significant. Make a person feel significant and you've likely won them as a customer. Plus, they have also done something for you, which we call Reciprocity. Think, do right by others and they'll do right by you.

2. Next your greeted by a person who 'greets' every customer that comes through the door. It is their job to welcome you to the store, and find out what you are looking for.

 3. They take your names (on a tablet) then direct you to the 'specialist' for the product you are looking for.

Significance AGAIN, plus some more reciprocity and this time they've added in some Authority. You feel as if you are being handled by the expert.

4. The specialist, metaphorically takes you by the hand, offers you a drink, addresses you by your name, invites you to sit down and presents the options for purchase.

Significance (everyone loves to hear their own name), reciprocity (the drink) , plus there is a level of rapport building, which adds another level of influence called 'Liking'. Additionally you now start to feel very comfortable being taken through a process. While the process is out of your control, you are asked a series of questions which makes you feel 'in control' (another basic human need we all want fulfilled).

5. You are treated to a story behind the product, you are treated to the smell of the leather, you are treated to that specialist wearing gloves as to not 'tarnish' the product, you are treated to different options (like inside lining colour, sizing, band colours).

 6. Time to touch and feel the handbag, see how it feels on your shoulder, look in the mirror at how good you look.

 7. Then, you are invited, at no extra cost to have your initials 'embossed', in a beautiful gold colour, totally customisable by you.

Authority, they are starting to hit your senses now, smell, touch, visual (obviously), again more and more significance (you are so significant we have to touch your new bag with gloves, and you get to customize it to suit your identity). There's another factor here, subtly reinforced, called Consistency. As you wear the bag on your shoulder, you feel like this is the new you, how could you go back to the old you, you have to stick by your new identity.

 Finally, there is one more factor, one called Social Proof. People rely on social cues from others on how to think, feel and act in many situations. Paris is synonymous with the fashion industry, so where do you think the story of Louis Vuitton takes us? To Paris of course, it takes us to the catwalk with the world's top Supermodels and Celebrities - no more social proof needed. This is the identity people want when they buy a Louis Vuitton handbag.

8. At no point is priced discuss, until you ask how much it will cost. At this point you're presented with a singular price - "$1,995" followed by, "which includes, X, Y, Z, A, B, C".

Finally, what most people consider 'the selling portion' starts, meanwhile, the product is basically already sold. Selling doesn't mean pushy tactics, it means giving people subconsciously what they want.

By this time, you are so in awe of the experience it is hard to say no.

• No-one who walks into Louis Vuitton with an intention to buy, even a small intention, is put off by the cost. Why?
• You're preconditioned to know this is a high-quality product.
• You are so swept up in the experience, experience you simply don't find until you start talking designer brands.
• You know this product means something more to you than just the product itself, it 'hits your identity'.
• You want people to know you as the Louis Vuitton handbag lady (or man).

9. The transaction is made simple, you remain seated in the comfy chairs while the specialist takes your card for processing. At no time are you asked to line up or stand at a counter.

Significance, authority, liking all in play here.

10. Then your card is returned in a nice little card holder (which you take with you), that contains your receipt.

 11. The item you've bought is lovingly inspected prior to walking out the door, put back in the box, and a ribbon ties up the box.

 12. The box is put in a striking orange bag, with ribbon handles, and you are walked to the door by the assistant who gives you their OWN PERSONAL BUSINESS CARD and invites you to contact them at any point in time.

What more significance, authority, liking, reciprocity can you get from this experience? I know, the personal phone number of your sales person.

BOOM - Mic Drop - Danny Out

But wait, there's more... remember our 2 million year old brain, wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain? Pain would be leaving that store and leaving your identity behind. Pleasure would be fulfilling your true identity and leaving with the big... Pain & Pleasure in perfect harmony... your logical brain, the one that says, $2,000 on a handbag... does not STAND A CHANCE.

Seriously though, if you are still reading, which I hope you are, does that story not want you to just experience what it is like being treated like royalty as you buy a handbag?

I am a Louis Vuitton convert, I HAVE to buy from them again in the future... BUT... if I don't get this treatment again, then Mic Drop - Danny Out.

You see, this is where a sales process has to stand out on it's own. It has to be replicatable, It has to be consistant, and it has to follow through on your promises.

Another quick story that illustrates this next level service. A few years ago I bought my wife a Tiffany bracelet - nothing to expensive, maybe $300-$400. To this day, we still continue to get a hand written card from the sales consultant for her birthday every-year.

 Probably 3 years went by until we bought again, but the cards didn't stop in this time.

Simply, this made me feel good, it made me feel cared about, it made me feel significant. 30 seconds to write a birthday card, say three times, caused me to purchase again.

How does this all relate to the construction industry?

Well think back to when we talked about herd mentality, everyone in the construction industry does things the same. The old way, the wrong way. No-one steps out from the herd in fear of being eaten by a lion. But if you want to start your own herd, be the leader of the pack and have massive exponential growth, you need to leave the confines of your current beliefs in this industry. The construction industry is behind, but I will show you how to bring it forward.

The other day I heard a perfect example of an opportunity lost - purely because this construction company did not spend the time understanding their customers. The story goes...

There was a display village on the Sunshine Coast (in QLD, Australia), where numerous people were buying their first homes. The typical demographic is early 30's, 2 kids, young family.

Now, once they signed on the dotted line, they were told they had to travel to another location to pick all of their colours, plumbing items, joinery etc/. in their showroom, which was located on the Gold Coast (again in QLD, and for those that don't know, it's probably a good 2-2.5 hours journey WITHOUT traffic).

So, all of the excitement of buying and designing their home, was now forgotten because of the 'journey' these young families had to go on to pick their colours, even after they've probably just spent $500,000 or more.

 This was a common theme among the buyers.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I spend that sort of money, and it is likely the biggest investment people will make in their life, I EXPECT next level service.

Sure, the company can't just go and build a showroom in every location, but the 'task' of designing their home, which should be fun, exciting and enjoyable, was overshadowed by the difficulty of travelling with young kids. Remember Louis Vuitton, you're only spending $2,000 and they don't even ask you to walk 5 steps to the counter to pay...

Now imagine if this company thought 'The New Way, The Right Way'... what could have they done. Firstly, they'd realise that their demographic and ideal client would find it difficult to travel in the car for 5 hours with young kids, but this unfortunately was unavoidable. So why not give them something that every family wants, a holiday, make designing their home an even better experience. Pay for 2 nights accomodation, breakfast included and maybe an 'experience' while they are there. Those that don't know, the Gold Coast is probably the tourism capital of Australia. What a missed opportunity!

Think of how happy the family would have been to have a holiday payed for, plus an exciting experience. Who are they going to remember when they remember their holiday? Who are they going to say payed for their holiday when people ask about it at work or among family and friends? That's right.... the builder.... the builder did this wonderful thing and paid for a holiday, so we could go down to the Gold Coast and design our new home.

That's a part of a sales process that will win. That's a way of thinking outside the box, swimming away from the red ocean and asserting yourself as the only option in your marketplace (your blue ocean).

CORE AREA 3 & 4 - DIRECTION & TIME

Unfortunately you will achieve NONE, I repeat, NONE of the above, if you don't take the business right back to bare bones.

Think of it this way... you know you need to lose some weight. What I am going to tell you to do will be confronting, but it's necessary.

Take off all your clothes, stand infront of the mirror and look at yourself... look at your love handles, look at that place where your abs used to be.

There is no way of getting to where you want to be without knowing exactly where you are now.

As you stare in the mirror you need to picture your ideal body shape, what you would absolutely 'love' to achieve. Don't let anything stop you imagining... are you picturing the physique of Zack Efron? the booty of Kim Kardashian? Whatever it is, it doesn't matter, this is a goal you want to achieve.

You are probably telling yourself, "I will never look like Zack or Kim, they have the best trainers, live in chefs, their life revolves around their physical condition"... I want you to take this type of mindset and squash it, tell it to 'beat it' right out of your head... because your mind has been conditioned to date to setting goals that fall within the herd, achievable, comfortable and not to stressful.

Do you think there are plenty of people out there who have the Zack Efron physique or the Kim K booty and still work full time?

 Yes, there definitely would be. These people are no different from you, except that they made a commitment that they would achieve the body they desired. They knew it would be hard work, tough at times and uncomfortable, but they also knew that in order to achieve what they wanted, they had to move through it.

 Remember, successful people do what unsuccessful people don't want to do.

And the first thing unsuccessful people don't want to do and rarely ever do 'is change'.

They live in their comfort zone within the herd, because it's easy. BUT when the herd is ambushed by a pride of lions, the herd is done for! It's every Antelope for themselves. Stop being an Antelope, start being a Lion. Start choosing that if you want to eat Antelope, you are going to eat Antelope. It won't be easy, there will be some stepping outside of your comfort zone, but boy oh boy will that juicy antelope taste good.

Where am I going with this? Achieving success in your business comes down to owning one simple formula to begin with. Without this you're building a house on sand...

1. You need to first know where you are, we'll call this (SU)
2. Then, you need to know where you want to be, this is (ESS)
3. Finally, why you want to be at that place (CC)

So (SU) + (CC) + (ESS) = ????

With your business goals you HAVE to get out of the same mindset as everybody else, otherwise you will achieve the same results. If you want exponential results, you need to dream big, believe in your dream and take action, MASSIVE ACTION.

Yes, there are dreams that are too big and too un-achievable (i.e. I'm 40 and decide I want to play in the NBA!), but the purpose of setting these goals BIG is to expand your thinking outside the heard, stop thinking in 2D & start thinking in 3D.

Tony Robbins (World's Number 1 Life & Business Strategist) often uses this analogy... If I said to you, I will give you $10million by this time tomorrow if you could lose 20kg... could you do it?

You'd say, no way it is not physically possible, I 'might' be able to lose 5kg of water weight, but 20kg no way.

What if I said to you, your leg weighs 20kg, cut it off.

If getting that $10million is more important to you than having a leg missing you'd do it.

I replay this analogy not to prove whether you're a psychopath or not, rather to demonstrate the linear thinking most of us have.

Another one, if I said to you, you have to raise $1,000,000 in 30 days for a life saving operation for a loved one, could you do it?

I truly believe you'd try everything under the sun to at least try and get that million dollars.

It's all about attaching enough 'why' to your end goal that you find ways of doing things you might have been to clouded to see earlier.

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What if you are so snowed under you don't have time for goals - you're barely keeping your head above water?

Sorry, time to drown - seriously, if you want to keep doing it the same way you will drown, and you'll drown the business with it.

We all have the same amount of time in a day, 24 hours, why then can some achieve so much and others just 'spin their wheels'. I will tell you why, it is something I remind myself of EVERY SINGLE DAY.

"To live deliberately"

What does this mean? It means changing your focus from a reactive to a proactive approach. It means only doing those tasks that move you closer to your goal and saying 'NO' to the ones that don't. Already I've been telling you to say no to hair-brain marketing ideas, now I am telling you to say no to even more. Start controlling your time and stop letting other people control it. Sounds easier said than done right? Wrong, it takes 3 things:

1. Planning
2. Discpline
3. Consistent action

Planning means structuring your day, your week, your month even your year in such a way that it's giving you the time you NEED to achieve your goals. To stick by your planning it takes....

Discipline to follow along with a plan you have created and avoid distraction, discipline to say no when reactive tasks come your way that are someone else's priority (not yours), discipline to stay strong, even when times get tough and uncomfortable... which they will.

 And finally you need...Consistent action in the direction of your goals. You need to be taking action weekly, daily even hourly, to ensure what you are doing is 'moving your closer to your goals'.

That's it - do those three things, with a goal in mind and you're on the path to success... but you won't get there unless you have a strategy to win business (the front end strategy we've already talked about - Sales & Marketing) and a strategy to deliver.

CORE AREAS 5 & 6 - DELIVERY - FRONT END & BACK-END

Everything in life has systems, whether you see it or not. Most of them we are so conditioned to following them it's just normal for us.

Some examples of systems in our everyday life:

Filling up with petrol - pull up, open the fuel cap, put the fuel in, pay for the fuel, drive off - This is a system.

Making a coffee - fill the kettle, boil the kettle, put a teaspoon of coffee in a mug, pour in some milk, pour in the boiling water, stir, enjoy - This is a system.

This is what your business HAS to become - totally systematized... why?

• Like your sales process (which is a system itself), it ensures you deliver value.
• It removes room for human error.
• It makes clients feel more comfortable that they are being taken care of, even though they aren't aware the system is taking place.
• It allows your business to grow with far less stress.
• It makes the company far more valuable in terms of future sale.It allows for far quicker, easier and smoother on-boarding of new staff.It gives you previous time back.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, it ensures you deliver what you promise.

You see, systems are the back-bone of any company and unfortunately they are often overlooked, especially in the construction space. Yes, you might have systems for invoicing or systems for setting up a site, but do these systems talk to each other? are they automated so that repetitive tasks are handled by technology not humans?

There are a magnitude of construction management "systems" out there. I put systems in inverted commas because I am yet to find one that ads anything more than a pain in the ***.

 A system should flow, it should be easy, it should take pressure off you, not add it on.

 Unfortunately, the systems out there are pitched at the herd, and we've already recognized that you're not going to be part of the herd anymore, so you're going to need something more 'robust'.

The whole back-end of your company should be run by technology and supported by human resources to deliver your systems. Human resources are expensive compared to technology. They get sick, they go on leave, they ask for pay rises.... technology is a better staff member.... for tasks it is designed to do. Computers are designed to be computers, humans are designed to be humans, so distribute tasks according to what we're good at.

I think the best way to describe it... technology can probably do any task you do which is repetitive in nature (and do it it better), eg/.

• Entering expenses - this can be as simple as taking a photo with an app, which reads the receipt and logs it into your accounting software.
• Setting up job folders - this can be as simple as clicking a button.
• Client contact registers - this can be a simple drag and drop through a basic CRM.
• Issuing subcontractor scopes - this can be a macro setup in excel that converts your quote to scopes.
• Updating scopes & programs - this can be an automation that alerts all of a change.

The list is really endless - anything you can think of, you can generally automate. The beauty of this is it saves you time = money, it reduces the chances of missing something or making an error and it can run while you are sleeping.

Simply, think of this.... If the task you are doing involves a repetitive "if this happens, then do this", technology can probably do it for you.

But technology can't do everything, humans have to be involved. We have a brain, and part of that brain is our 'pre-frontal cortex'. This allows us to critically think and is what separates us from machine! So instead of paying humans to do "if this happens, then do this" tasks, use them to do what only humans can do. That's think critically, interact, form relationships, apply ethical thinking... this is where you get the most out of humans and therefore the most out of your systems.

Back to systems now... Think of a system likes the 'Dummies Guide To Your Business"

It needs to spell out how your company works from start to finish and it needs to leave no stone un-touched. It has to:

• Ensure you deliver on your promises.
• Ensure you are following legislation, standards, act's etc/.
• Position the company to grow.
• Be a guide for all resources to follow.

I can't stress this enough... yes it does seem like A LOT of work, but it doesn't have to be if you spend a little bit of time on it each day. AND once it is done - it will save you sooooooooooooooo much time.

Remember that sketch from earlier... well I can amend that slightly.

 With perfectly functioning systems, everything is streamlined. Yes you might have small speed bumps you encounter, but these are added to your system as 'lessons learned', so you don't encounter that same speed hump again.

While you're building your systems it is going to feel a bit all over the place but stay true, because eventually your systems will pull you through.

I don't even need to talk about not having systems.... You'll explode basically.

IS THAT THE BLUEPRINT? IS THAT THE NEW WAY, THE RIGHT WAY?

Yes it is, the Blueprint involves 6 core areas which take you into The New Way, The Right Way. It's basically about:

1. Getting clear direction
2. Finding the time
3. Developing marketing strategies
4. Implementing sales processes
5. Systematizing the back-end
6. So you can deliver on the front end

That's it... that's the new way, the right way.

Most businesses, especially in Construction follow this pattern.

1. I build houses
2. A client asked me to build offices so now I build offices and houses
3. I've started a facebook page to win more business
4. How come I'm not winning any work
5. I'll try out in the education space, a friend said that's good
6. I build houses, offices & schools
7. Then you might be saying this to yourself...I'm a master of all but an expert in none.
8. Systems don't really exist let alone for all the different work I want to do
9. Work coming through the door is like a roller coasterI am not a sales person so I better hire a business development manager
10. They want $100,000 per year plus commission!

Stop following this path.... this is the path of the herd... this is the path of the 96% of businesses that fail in the first 10 years.

If you want to succeed, make money, achieve your goals and dreams, you HAVE to start doing things 'The NEW way, the RIGHT way'.

Declare now you will be a success. Join me for a free discovery session and we can talk through how to create a Blue Ocean for your business!

CLICK ME FOR A FREE DISCOVERY SESSION!

Danny Out - MIC DROP!

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