EP 4 - What is important when you invite someone to your site

So you want to invite someone to your site, but what are the important bits you should remember? Let's dive into it.

Before we get stuck into what’s important, let’s look at how the site visit is instigated. If the client asks you for a site visit, they’re probably considering you for their project but may be lacking some confidence and need some convincing before they make a decision.

What you need to do is flip this and be the instigator of the site visit – by doing this, you’re effectively saying, I’m confident you’re going to be impressed with my work and the processes we have in place. This is a much stronger position to be in.

This a LIVE interview… so be positive but 100% genuine!

Think of this event as an interview for a new job, but they’re actually coming to watch you perform to see if you’re any good – a bit like an audition.

In a high-performing job interview, your prospective employer doesn’t want to hear about how great you are and the results you delivered, which can be viewed as speculative - they’re more interested in your approach to problem-solving.

As we all know, construction projects are fraught with problems, so any experienced client will probably see straight through you if you imply the project is all fine and dandy, and the prospective client won’t get much out of the visit if you just say everything was great.

Instead, focus and discuss how you positively approached problems with the site and mitigated the delays and impact. Displaying how proactive you are to change will be a huge positive in the eyes of the prospective client, as one of their main goals will be to work with a collaborative contractor rather than someone who has a more adversarial approach to issues on-site.

What does the site visit say about you?

One of the main focuses of your site visit is to show them how you manage health and safety and the quality of your work – here are some questions you will want to ask yourself to make sure you have everything in check:

• How much do you pay attention to the health, safety and welfare of your team and surroundings? Is there anything I can improve on?
• How much do you pay attention to quality control? Do you wait for your clients to snag, or does your QA procedure pre-snag of your work?
• What make’s me different from the next subcontractor? Do you have a competitive edge you can apply to the delivery of your projects?

How to maximise your site visit

When I was a QS, I was seldom asked by my supply chain if I’d give them a review or if I’d have a chat with a prospective client on site – this is a shame as I’d have happily done it, and I think a lot of subcontractors are missing out new business because they haven’t tapped into their existing client base to review them.

With this in mind, to make your site visit powerful, ask your existing client if they’d happily have a quick chat with your prospective client or perhaps join you for a coffee near the site. Hearing how good your company is from a credible source will make your site visit far more compelling than if you just show them around a partially built site.

Takeaway

The site visit is your final shot at impressing the client, so make sure you bring your best self like you would for a job interview. Discuss and focus on your collaborative approach to change and quality control management. And finally, tap into your existing client base to get an authentic appraisal of your business whilst you’re on site.