Why (& How) To Charge for Pre-Build Engagement

Charge pre-build consultation fees to strategically improve your projects and multiply profits – without the dramas.

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In comparison to a project that’s being built, pre-build fees aren’t huge.

But the method below, breaking your pre-build services (packages) into three strategic stages and charging for them, will help you win better clients with better margins and greater job satisfaction for your and you team.

Firstly, here’s why every builder should be charging for consultations before the client signs a construction contract:

Qualifying Prospects to Avoid Tyre Kickers

By packaging your prebuild consultations into three distinct services, and applying charges, you will immediately sort out tyre kickers from real clients.

As you’ll see below, the fees don’t have to be huge.

The goal is to ensure prospects don’t waste your time simply because they can.

You only want to deal with real clients.

Expert Consultation vs Sales Call

If you charge to engage with clients, they understand that you’re providing expert advice.

They ask a question, you answer it, expertly.

The dynamic is nothing like a sales call so they come to respect you as the expert – not a salesperson.

Helping Clients Value Your Time

If you don’t charge for your time, it suggests you’re happy to give away your expertise for free.

Free meetings slide quickly into phone calls outside business hours, expectations of free variations and little obligation to engage you for the build.

Set the boundaries early. Charge for your time and effort so prospects understand you don’t do ‘free’.

You’re a professional, not a mug.

You’re the Expert – Flaunt it!

Builders are uniquely positioned to inform clients on the most crucial elements of their build.

As a registered building practitioner, you know more about the project than any other profession.

You can advise on practicalities, formalities, and irregularities!

NO ONE ELSE in the industry can do this.

You have a monopoly because of your expertise and registration.

Clients’ Skin in The Game Means They Prefer You

It’s a fact of life that when we pay someone for their expert opinion, we immediately pay greater respect to their opinion.

Imagine two doctors. One who charges for a consultation and one who offers their first three meetings for free.

Which doctor would you trust?

Charging for your time requires a commitment from the client and therefore means they become more invested in you and your firm.

That, typically, leads to you be the preferred or even exclusive builder.

Building Trust For Better Jobs

One way humans build trust is to take a small risk at first then take larger risks as their trust grows.

As a builder, you may have experienced this when a client engages you for a small project like a bathroom or pergola and then comes back later on requesting a much larger extension or new home build.

You’ve shown they can trust you so they’re now happy to ‘bet the farm’ with your company.

So, how can you do all this as part of your pre build process?

Step 1: Project Review (first meeting)

Visit the site, look over their plans and provide a report using this template and a free ProCalc trial.
 
Charge $99-$499 for this report. Remember the actual price doesn’t matter because the purpose is to facilitate a small transaction.
 
Keep in mind, this report template answers all the questions clients ask before the can progress to more serious engagement. It’s valuable!
 
Never skip this stage as it saves you time and hesitation later in the process.

Step 2. Preliminary Agreement

Co-ordinate various consultants to facilitate the client’s project needs.

Make sure to apply a management fee to cover your time and effort but ensure the consultants understand the process you need them to follow.

Again, the goal is to ensure a positive experience for the client so they can ‘sample’ the way you operate.

So, make sure you vet your engineer, geotech, designers, surveyors and anyone else involved at that stage.

Give the consultants the process you want them to follow.

YOU own the client.

Step 3. Detailed Estimate

Finally, estimate a project in detail with all consultants reports to enable the client to fully understand their likely cost.
This might be a fee anywhere between $800 to $5,000 depending on your pipeline.

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Richard Armstrong is a former registered builder who recently interviewed hundreds of experienced Australian builders to identify how they best manage clients, budgets and profitability.

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