6 Ways Construction Management Can Close Deals Faster

Construction managers often work on fast-paced projects with many moving pieces, but they also have some slower, less exciting responsibilities. No duties may be more tedious than creating proposals and closing deals.

Much of this process is filled with monotonous tasks that take up way more time than managers have to spare. It’s essential to adopt behaviors and tools that make things seamless and less time-consuming, from proposal creation to close.

You can create proposals and close deals more efficiently with the help of these tips.

1. Use Templates

Creating the actual proposal is one of the most time-consuming, effort-intensive responsibilities a construction manager takes on. In addition, how long it takes to make a proposal and send it to a potential client can surely affect your ability to close deals.

Rather than creating a proposal from scratch every time, use templates. Templates simplify the creation process because they’re pre-made with sections you’re almost always going to use in your proposals, no matter the project.

All you have to do is pull up your template, update each section with the project and client-specific information, maybe tweak the design, and then send it off.

2. Review the Final Proposal

Once you’ve got the final version of your proposal, send it to your client and set up a time to review it with them. This can make it easier to close deals because there won’t be a whole bunch of questions or confusion when it comes time to sign the contract.

Hammer out all details and answer any client questions before putting in time and effort to create a contract and continue the project. You can set up a call with your client or answer their questions via email if they’re simple enough.

3. Use Digital Documents and Online Signatures

Printing and mailing physical copies of proposals and getting clients to sign and send them back can take weeks. And every week that goes by slows the closing process.

You can close deals much faster and promptly get the signoffs you need by using solely digital documents and online signatures. The best option is to create your proposal as a PDF document.

Once you do that, you can request a PDF e-signature from your client. Do this by adding their email during the e-signature setup process, highlighting where they need to sign, and sending them the secure link to the PDF.

Your client can then view and sign the document quickly. And once all signatures are done, each party will receive a copy of the signed PDF.

It’s also important to note that leaning on technology more will require you to consider cybersecurity and implement solutions that protect everything you and your clients do online.

4. Embrace Contract Management

Once a client signs off on your proposal, create the contract. A signed contract is the last thing you need before you can begin work on the project. So, ensuring the contract workflow is seamless, from creation to distribution to edits to acquiring signatures, is crucial.

That’s where contract management comes in. Contract management is essentially the process of overseeing the entire lifecycle of a contract. It ensures that managers can create and execute a contract quickly, that all details in that contract are accurate and satisfactory, and that it’s understood by all parties involved.

Embrace contract management by documenting a specific process for it. For example, answer the following questions to draft a process:

• How are contracts to be created?
• Who will create these contracts?
• What details do you include?
• How do you send contracts to clients?
• Are e-signatures enabled?

Having a specific contract process ensures there aren’t any roadblocks when it’s time for clients to sign. Practice the process a few times before implementing it officially.

5. Follow Up After a Contract Is Sent

Once you send a contract, don’t let more than a couple of days go by without any action. Miscommunication, or better yet, no communication, is a good way to lose a client right before it’s time to close the deal.

So, reach out to them if you don’t get a signed contract or communication from a client within two days of sending the contract. Ask if they have any questions or if anything is missing from the agreement.

You may find out that they just forgot to press send. Imagine waiting a week for that.

6. Leverage Automation

A huge reason closing deals takes so long is that many construction managers tackle all of the above tasks manually. Construction industry data revealed that only 16% of small-to-medium-sized construction companies are using automation tools.

This could be happening for a few reasons:

• They don’t know what automation is.
• They don’t know how to use these tools in their business.
• The integration process would be too complex.

Contrary to popular belief, automation isn’t difficult to comprehend. You can use these tools in various business processes. And integrating them into a company doesn’t have to be an elaborate project. In fact, choosing to automate your network processes can free up time for you and your employees to pursue other tasks.

Construction managers can start small, using automation tools to close deals faster. We recommend an automated email sequence that deploys when a client is ready to close a deal.

For example, receiving a signed proposal could trigger the contract email to go out. If the contract isn’t signed or you don’t receive a response from the client in two days, it’ll trigger an email asking if the client has any questions or concerns.

If there still isn’t a response after another day, another email could automatically go out asking if you can do anything to move the process along. And when you get a signed contract back, that could trigger the final email in the sequence that thanks the client and details next steps.

Create Proposals and Close Deals Faster

Creating proposals and closing deals no longer have to be dreaded responsibilities.

Instead, use proposal templates, review final proposals with clients, embrace contract management, and digitize everything. And don’t forget to follow up after you send contracts and leverage automation to make the process as simple as possible, from proposal to close.

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