EP 2 - What should you say and ask on a site visit?

So, let’s look at the person we’re meeting, it’s likely to be one of the key stakeholders who’ll be making the decision on which contractor will win the package - so bring your best self.

First things first – hold the business chat! Business is done between people, and building relationships is key to winning work, so, get to know this person and their interests. It doesn’t matter if you have similar interests or not, but by understanding the individual a bit better and more personally, you’ll start to build a much stronger rapport than you would if it’s strictly business.

Once the pleasantries are out of the way, you now want to look proactive; here are some questions you should ask:

• Are there any working or delivery restrictions; I’m assuming we can work and deliver materials anytime during the day?
• Will you provide any offloading, lifting and distribution attendances such as a forklift?
• What level of prelims and management do you require from us?
• Are you open to value engineering opportunities and product alternatives, or does it need to be strictly as per spec?

Now you’ve understood the scope requirements better; it’s now time to move on to convincing you’re the right person for the job. Simple statements can go a long way to help make the prospective client picture you doing the works, here’s some examples:

• “We did a similar scheme to this recently; I will share some photos of the work we did there”. By saying this, you are painting the picture that you’re competent in delivering similar scheme to theirs. You’ll also create a touch point to make contact with them after the meeting.
• “So you’re looking to start early April, that’s great; I have a crew coming available for then, so it fits in nicely with my work schedule”. The client will view this positively as you’ve started painting a picture that your crew will be on their site, working on the date they need you to start.
• “My goal is to be 100% comprehensive with my price - is there anything I need to allow or keep an eye out for that could get missed?”. The client will view this as you being totally transparent and you won’t be coming for extras – you’re painting the picture that you're trustworthy and will agree to a price and there won’t be with questionable variations, later down the line.

Next, you’ll want to get some inside information. If there’s one piece of insight, you’ll want to obtain its when they’re looking to make a decision. You could ask, “when are you looking to appoint the contractor” or “when will you be doing your tender analysis” – these dates are important because they give you insight on when’s best to touch base again with them, so you don’t fall out of the picture when they’re making their key decisions.

Finally, don’t forget to create those next touch points.

In our previous video, which you can check out here, I discussed what these touch points are and how they keep you in control of the dialogue.

The Takeaway

You don’t necessarily need to approach your meeting in these exact stages; however, it’s important to fit the three key elements into your discussions.

• Relationship building
• Framing your company as the right fit for their project
• Creating the next touchpoints

If you get these three things right, you’ll put your company in a greater position of winning the project.

Once you’ve had your meeting, follow it up in a simple email saying, “It was great to meet you today. I really like the scheme and I’m looking forward to getting our comprehensive price back to you. I’ve shared some notes from our meet below, let me know if I’ve missed anything and I look forward to catching up with you next week”.