Calling up general contractors to see if there looking for subs
- Thread starter zappy
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laketime
Senior Member
We do it all the time to GC's we don't know. Then get ready to be persistent and follow through or dont bother trying.
jaylectricity
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Occupation
- licensed journeyman electrician
Have you thought about your sales pitch? Would you be willing to share it with us?
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
If I had to sell myself to GC's I would probably starve to death. I have been very fortunate so far.
goldstar
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
I understand times are tough and as such, many of us start to develop that "any port in a storm" approach but don't expect a lot from GC's. The only ones making money are the GC's. No one else is allowed to make any money. If you do get any work from them you'll be taking the jobs cheap and dirty, having to beat the next guy's price significantly.
The typical GC in this area is only loyal to the low bid. If he can save $100 on a sub, it adds $100 to his pocket. They especially like bullying subs into free extras so all the extras go in their pocket. Add to that the slow-pay and no-pay and you'll wonder why you wanted to work for GCs.
Usually GCs have a rotation of new subs who don't understand that they are losing money with the low bids and free extras. By the time they figure it out they are deep in debt and bankrupt. Also, if a GC goes under, you won't get paid for your last three jobs with him.
They used to say around 95% of new contracting businesses go under in the first 5 years. Now, thanks to GCs going under I think it's closer to 95% in 3 years go under. It seems like I read a story several months ago that GC bankruptcies on major projects in the area took out Amcore Bank.
Usually GCs have a rotation of new subs who don't understand that they are losing money with the low bids and free extras. By the time they figure it out they are deep in debt and bankrupt. Also, if a GC goes under, you won't get paid for your last three jobs with him.
They used to say around 95% of new contracting businesses go under in the first 5 years. Now, thanks to GCs going under I think it's closer to 95% in 3 years go under. It seems like I read a story several months ago that GC bankruptcies on major projects in the area took out Amcore Bank.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
What is funny about this is if you are a homeowner building a new home you typically are better off having a general contractor to manage all aspects of the project.
I have worked for many homeowners that tried to be their own GC and fail miserably to get all the subs to work together smoothly. Of course there are GC's that are not much better.
It is nice to have some GC's especially ones that have a fairly good reputation to work with frequently. Keep in mind that you may not work on every project they do. If you do good work and are fair some of them will remember this after they get burned by the cheapest guy out there and will be more willing to work with you in the future.
I have worked for many homeowners that tried to be their own GC and fail miserably to get all the subs to work together smoothly. Of course there are GC's that are not much better.
It is nice to have some GC's especially ones that have a fairly good reputation to work with frequently. Keep in mind that you may not work on every project they do. If you do good work and are fair some of them will remember this after they get burned by the cheapest guy out there and will be more willing to work with you in the future.
cadpoint
Senior Member
- Location
- Durham, NC
You might consider an association with both a Plumber and a HVAC contractor(s).
There's a few running around here that go into jobs with a package price.
There's a few running around here that go into jobs with a package price.
jmellc
Senior Member
- Location
- Durham, NC
- Occupation
- Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
I have visited 1 GC I knew to do a lot of small jobs. Ihad to leave info with receptionist. No response.
I also took flyers around to several of the larger EC's, offering my services for a day, a week, etc., if they needed short term extra help. No response, but I did get some benefit from it. 1 of them, who only does commercial work, started giving my name to customers calling for residential. I've gotten 10 or 12 calls & 3 jobs from it. Not great, but some benefit & cost me nothing but printing at home & dropping by.
I also took flyers around to several of the larger EC's, offering my services for a day, a week, etc., if they needed short term extra help. No response, but I did get some benefit from it. 1 of them, who only does commercial work, started giving my name to customers calling for residential. I've gotten 10 or 12 calls & 3 jobs from it. Not great, but some benefit & cost me nothing but printing at home & dropping by.
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA
I've always had better luck dealing with management companies. The tend to have multiple properties and some are also owners and/or developers. Now part of the reason for that is I tended to gravitate towards service work, I was good at it and enjoyed it. I would rather do 5 service calls a day than work for a GC on one project for 4 months. The main reason for that is you tend to pick up way more customers. You work in a big building and there is always someone working there that needs something done at home. So instead of just working for one guy for four months I may be able to pick up 100 new customers in that time. But also you have to be willing to do a bunch of $100 jobs verses one $20K job.
laketime
Senior Member
I am lucky I have a wife who was in marketing for years before we opened our business. Our sales pitch is this:
Contact #1 we call them and say we are looking for an opportunity to bid work for them and can we send them some information. (we send them a brochure and business card/contains information about us and sends them to our website)
Contact #2 "Did you get our information, we would like to set an appointment to meet you", people like to work with people they know (meeting can be us taking them to lunch down to just a meet at greet at one of their projects if they are busy, we let them make that choice)
Contact #3-???? Call back and ask about any projects to bid, if they say yes we bid them, if they say no we ask when we can follow up (permission marketing) Then we follow up.
System takes time to work but can result in very good connections and long time work relationships. You just need to be persistent. We are starting to see the fruits of first calls we made 6months to a year ago.
Contact #1 we call them and say we are looking for an opportunity to bid work for them and can we send them some information. (we send them a brochure and business card/contains information about us and sends them to our website)
Contact #2 "Did you get our information, we would like to set an appointment to meet you", people like to work with people they know (meeting can be us taking them to lunch down to just a meet at greet at one of their projects if they are busy, we let them make that choice)
Contact #3-???? Call back and ask about any projects to bid, if they say yes we bid them, if they say no we ask when we can follow up (permission marketing) Then we follow up.
System takes time to work but can result in very good connections and long time work relationships. You just need to be persistent. We are starting to see the fruits of first calls we made 6months to a year ago.
laketime
Senior Member
They are crazy but the crazier they are the more profitable they can be for you. I worked for a guy that was the "choice contractor" for a top dollar interior designer and one project we went in and hung a couple chandeliers and installed dimmers everywhere, the bill came to 5k. My jaw dropped at the price he charged her and she didn't even bat an eye and handed me the check.
laketime
Senior Member
By the way, my wife does all the calling. It is amazing how much better the male GC's respond to a female calling:roll:
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