Scaling to 8 figures: 4 strategies to grow your construction company

So, you want to grow your construction company, but you’ve hit a bit of a roadblock. You’ve got more jobs than manpower, you’re fighting endless fires and you’re juggling more balls than ever.

How can you, the construction leader, successfully take your business from a 6- or 7-figure company to 8-figures without going gray in the process?

First, you need to identify what’s keeping you from expanding the business in the first place. Pinpointing your growth roadblock will help you uncover strategies for growing your construction company.

This can feel daunting, but there are several concrete steps you can take to identify your growth roadblock and scale your construction company. First, we’ll cover the most common roadblocks that hold businesses back, then we’ll dive into the strategies on how to overcome them.

Why you’ve hit a growth roadblock

Nine times out of 10, when we talk to construction business owners who have hit a plateau, the challenges almost always fall into one of the following areas.

You have a loose (or outdated) business plan

Creating a business plan isn’t a one-time event. You should constantly be reviewing and updating it to align with your construction company’s goals and values. Without an up-to-date plan, it’s easy to lose focus – which can kill your business.

Too many distractions result in an overwhelmed leader and an unmotivated team. Focus on what’s truly important – pick three or four things, no more – and then look at the steps you need to take to achieve those goals.

You have lowered operational capacity

You can’t grow your business without the right people.

Without enough manpower, you won’t have the capacity to take on more work. And if you do, your current staff will become overwhelmed and eventually leave. Set an annual hiring budget so you can expand your team and grow your construction business.

You have poorly defined roles and responsibilities

Undefined work responsibilities have been cited as one of the top five work stress factors, resulting in employee burnout – and it makes sense. If you’re unclear on who does what in your company, the lack of clarity will lead to miscommunication and frustration. That means that you, the leader, are left wearing too many hats and fighting constant fires.

Set clear expectations on every role within your business to help you and your construction team avoid burnout.

You have an ineffective marketing strategy

A lackluster construction marketing strategy can be a significant contributing factor to your growth roadblock. Companies with poor sales and marketing alignment experience a revenue decline.

​When sales and marketing work in separate silos, company goals and objectives get lost or misinterpreted. This leads to conflicting ideas or information that doesn’t resonate with your ideal client. Or worse, messages that completely fail to reach your target audience at all.

The result is a poor sales follow-up, lost sales and a brand lacking direction – all of which lead to the inability to scale your construction business. An effective marketing plan can fix this. Check out our post on construction marketing tips that don’t cost a penny for seven simple ideas to get you started.

So, what proactive measures can you take to tackle these challenges when they come along?

4 key strategies to grow a construction company

You’ve made it this far, and hopefully, you’ve identified the roadblocks that have been holding you back from scaling your construction business.

Now it’s time to dive into the strategies to overcome them.

1. Build a construction business plan

Creating a winning business strategy brings the focus to a company’s mid-to-long-term goals and helps a team like yours expand with actual intention. A great strategic plan also allows you to think about your company’s future and a planned path to get you there.

Begin by asking yourself the following:

• What are my company’s values?
• What is the expected growth in net profit margins?
• What key hires will I need to get there?

Now drill down into the specifics. The key elements of a strategic plan will include:

• Company values: The ideals that influence your decision-making in good and bad times.
• Big goals: Visualize where you want the business to be in five years – include key measures of success.
• Your purpose: Why you do what you do – look back at why you started the company.
• Annual goals: Follow the S.M.A.R.T. goal methodology (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound).
• Your initiatives: Projects and upgrades need to be in place to sustain growth.
• Annual critical numbers: These metrics are the pulse of the year.

To chart your path for growth and build a stable infrastructure in your business, register for Breakthrough Academy’s upcoming web class: Contractors System Hub: The 6 proven processes to pull you out of the day-to-day.

2. Nail down your organizational structure

Define who does what, when and why in the business. Ultimately, this creates accountability within the team. When each position is tied to clear responsibilities, you better understand how much return on investment is generated per person.

How to build an organizational structure:

• Define each employee’s role and responsibilities in the company.
• State how each person contributes to your business’s quality, volume and profit.
• Outline the ways information flows between levels within your construction company.

The benefits of having a clearly defined organizational structure include:

• Faster decision-making
• Improved operating efficiency
• Greater employee performance
• Better communication
• Increase in employee job satisfaction

3. Invest in hiring and onboarding

People are essential to the growth of your business, right? So, investing in talent should be a major factor in your construction company’s growth strategy.

But, as a home builder in today’s industry, you probably have more work than you can produce. Yet you’re still investing far more resources into marketing and sales than recruiting – are we onto something here? Old habits die hard.

Here’s what to think about when it’s time to hire:

• Your company’s vision and how many people you will need to get there
• What roles will be coming up, and what skills will they need
• How you’ll build a brand to attract high performers
• How to hire for a role you don’t understand
• Your onboarding plan

A well-thought-out recruiting and onboarding strategy as well as active construction networking will result in reduced turnover, less stress, higher engagement and job satisfaction, long-term loyalty and business growth.

There’s a lot more to unpack as you improve your recruiting practices. Check out part-three of this blog series, where we dive into hiring construction workers during a labor shortage.

4. Build effective sales and marketing channels

The difference between your sales and marketing channels is this: Sales is a natural process, while marketing is more holistic and raises awareness of your company. Both impact lead generation and revenue, and both have an end goal: to secure business and help grow your company.

Alignment between the two is necessary for business growth.

How to achieve effective sales and marketing channels:

• Identify your ideal client persona (the most common characteristics and locations of clients)
• Build your brand through imagery and key messaging on social media apps (like LinkedIn and Instagram)
• Seek testimonials and generate word-of-mouth referrals
• Set goals and track your key performance indicators
• Ensure open communication between departments

Implementing these strategies will optimize your in-field and online construction brand presence, attract suitable clients leading to more closed deals, increase word-of-mouth recommendations, boost construction cash flow and even attract potential hires.

But where do you get started … it leaves your head spinning a bit, right? Building a systemized operational infrastructure is what Breakthrough Academy specializes in, and you can stop putting out fires, reclaim your life and join the top 4% of elite contractors who use their methods. Check out their web class: Contractors System Hub: The 6 proven processes to pull you out of the day-to-day.

Rising demand in the market makes intentional lead management even more critical to builders. Construction companies – especially those who take on a larger volume of jobs (like remodelers and specialty contractors) – need every advantage they can get. For the most tech-savvy in the industry, construction software like Buildertrend is that advantage.

Buildertrend’s set of sales tools helps automate and simplify construction lead management. You’ll now finally have a way you and your team can capture, organize and track prospective clients in one place. No more guessing which construction project is closest to closing either. From your construction software solution, you’ll see where all deals stand at a glance so you can focus on projects that’ll drive higher revenue.

For more marketing and sales tips, check out Buildertrend’s lead generation guide. It goes beyond just how construction tech can help grow your small business. Inside you’ll learn the top ways construction companies attract potential clients and a three-step sales system you can put into action today.

Now you’re equipped with an effective construction company growth strategy

Your business plan, organizational structure, recruitment strategy and sales and marketing funnel are the fundamentals of your construction company. Implementing these steps will clear out the clutter, and with fewer distractions to take you off course, you will be well-positioned for growth.

You’re now ready to take the next step. In the next post in this series, we’ll take you through the steps on how to hire the perfect project manager, giving you more time to focus on building your construction business.