While doing great work in the field is a big part of running a successful construction company, there are other factors you should still pay attention to that help your business thrive. Cat Ambassador Missy Scherber knows just how important building construction business best practices is, having done so for her and her husband’s company T. Scherber Demolition & Excavating. Missy shares her strategy and advice for business development, growth strategies and developing business leadership skills below.

No matter where new business comes from, project fit and follow up are two key things to keep in mind when approaching your business development strategy. Missy makes sure she finds the right project that fits her customer and is a good fit for her business and team’s capabilities. Even if a potential customer doesn’t have a project that would suit T. Scherber right away, Missy keeps in touch with them in case anything opens up in the future.

“Even when our pipeline is full, I like to be thinking 6 to 12 months, sometimes even 18 months out,” says Missy. “I’ll ask current and potential customers what projects are coming down the pipeline, which helps build out our future schedule.”

Business Leadership Skills:  Happy Employees for Better Work

The relationship building doesn’t stop with new business. You can apply those same principles to improving your business leadership skills, whether that’s with your operators on the job or with the people who provide essential services for your company.

One thing Missy recommends is treating the professional services you rely on, like your CPA, insurance carrier, accountant, banker and attorneys, as partners in your company. This might mean changing some of the businesses you use to provide these services in order to get the right fit.

“I’m relying on them for their expertise to help us grow and be successful,” she says. “It’s really helped us gain more insight into how to make the best decisions to keep us growing. A lot of companies don’t do this since they’re more bogged down in the day-to-day. But because I’m working so closely with our professional services, they’re right there when I need something.”

Another important group to focus on when it comes to your business leadership skills is your operators and their families. Part of retaining your current workforce should involve regular check-ins with your team.

“We ask every team member three things each week:  What did you love? What did you loathe or was a challenge? And what is your priority for next week?” Missy notes. “This has given us a better understanding of the things our team members like to do and the things they don’t like to do. It also helps us identify any challenges in their day-to-day jobs that we need to find solutions for.”

Something else you might consider is hosting events for your team where their families are also invited to attend.  Missy recently hosted a big open house where all of the employees could bring their families to tour the facilities and meet the crew. She finds moments where you can thank your crew and let their families know how much you appreciate their hard work invaluable.

How to Start Building Construction Business Best Practices

If you want to improve your construction business best practices, Missy recommends focusing on developing those strong relationships, whether it’s with customers, professional services or your operators. If you’re not much of a relational person, find someone who is so that can be their focus.

“Dirtwork is a gritty industry, but there’s such a human aspect to it that if you’re focused and intentional with it or have someone internally to focus on that, it makes a huge impact.  The next generation of earthmovers are really going to bring that human aspect into their company.”