Relationship Lessons Learned – How to Develop Lifelong Clients in the Construction Industry

mmcrebuildstg on November 12, 2021

With over 43 years of experience in the construction industry, Miles-McClellan Construction has learned valuable lessons about building lasting relationships with partners and clients. Our focusing on building strong relationships has resulted in many positive outcomes:

  • 85% repeat clients by volume
  • $71 million average annual sales volume
  • 10-year average employee tenure
  • Long-lasting success, even through difficult times

Our success in building trust with those we work with is no accident. It’s part of who we are and who we have always intended to be. So, what exactly do we do to cultivate trusting relationships?

How Miles-McClellan Cultivates Trusting Client Relationships

Focus on Positivity When Working With Clients and Partners

Negativity often seems to dominate the news headlines, social media chatter, and public discourse. Many people experience negativity seeping into their workplace, family life or social life. Negativity is pervasive – so why not stand out by being a source of positivity?

By focusing on the good, it’s far easier to stand out to your clients and partners. That’s not to say that negative things never happen or that they should be swept under the rug. Being candid and open is important but staying stuck on the negative is counterproductive. By actively focusing on genuine and positive interactions, we notice that we build better and more productive relationships.

Don’t Forget to Show Gratitude.
One important aspect of positivity we try to practice is showing gratitude, which can easily be taken for granted when busy. This includes gratitude to our clients and our colleagues and can be accomplished with small and simple ways of saying thanks, like emails, hand-written notes, small gifts or favors, highlighting the individual or organization’s accomplishments, or by sharing time over lunch.

Always Act with High Integrity
Integrity is one of our core values—and it contributes greatly to our ability to provide excellent customer service. When we communicate proactively, tell the truth, keep our word, act fairly and take responsibility for our actions, our clients see those behaviors as representing integrity. Practicing integrity isn’t always easy, but it always pays off in the long run.

The most important reason integrity is so critical to building long-lasting relationships is that it forms the foundation of trust. By showing clients and partners that we act with integrity through our day-to-day actions, we cultivate the type of trust needed to build repeat, long-lasting client relationships.

At Miles-McClellan, we practice integrity by focusing on:

  • Being true to our word — always
  • Being intensely loyal to our colleagues, clients and partners
  • Being honest and straightforward
  • Taking personal responsibility for the successes of our projects
  • Not taking shortcuts when it comes to problem solving
  • Taking pride in the quality of our work

Focus on Long-Term Sustainability Instead of Shortsighted Goals
So many organizations these days focus heavily on short-term goals. A lot of being long-term focused comes down to not forgetting about the bigger things that matter amidst day-to-day work. By not being exclusively short-term focused, we can once again stand out from other organizations while laying the groundwork that ensures our success down the road.

By taking a step back and focusing on the longer term, we allow ourselves to cultivate relationships, develop new capabilities and strengths and be proactive in managing risks, both on the job site and in the office. Our long-term approach allows us to:

  • Be actively involved in our community Invest in our own workforce and cultivate a culture of taking care of each other
  • Stay up to date on trends and new opportunities to proactively stay ahead of our peers
  • Actively build relationships with everyone we work with, even if there is no immediate reward or benefit
  • Focus on integrity, quality and service at all times

These strategies improve the quality of our work and relationships and help to ensure high continuity within our workforce. This leads to less client turnover, less disruption and higher overall satisfaction.

Focus on Beating Expectations in Client Service
Finally, beating client expectations in service is one of our founding principles. Our founders walked away from large international construction companies because they believed there was a better way to deliver construction services. There was a key component missing in the construction industry – customer service.

By building Miles-McClellan from the ground up with customer service at our core, we’ve separated ourselves from most other construction companies in the best way possible. This not only enables better relationships with our customers, but by aligning our model around our IMMPact Approach, we reduce bureaucracy, decrease miscommunication and improve the overall quality of the work we provide our long-term clients.

By building long-term relationships we are building excellence. Contact us today to learn more about our capabilities.

The Importance of Team in Achieving Technical Excellence

mmcrebuildstg on November 2, 2017

Believe it or not, the ability to work collaboratively as a team is a learned skill. The longer your project team has worked together, the more skilled they are at problem-solving. Through their shared experiences, team members become proficient in applying their intuition and offer creative problem-solving solutions. A few characteristics of an integrated project team are:

  • Team members knowing their role in the project’s success – Each professional understands how their role impacts the project and focuses on the subtle details of their position, confirming they are done accurately and thoroughly.
  • Hold each other to high standards – While the team makes an agreement with their owner, they make a promise to each other. As an owner, you may not see the accountability they hold to each other, but the effect is seen in the quality of your project.
  • Confidence in solutions – They all know how each other operate, how they break down issues and analyze the best path forward, and they know how to work together to develop creative solutions.
  • Connecting to people, not just your project – All team members are informed of the status of the project at all times. They maintain appreciation and comradery as you work together as partners, leading you to success.

“Collaborative problem solving refers to an open process for generating multiple alternatives, fostering the exchange of ideas and producing a validated solution.” (Garvin & Roberto, 2001)

Technical Excellence – It’s the Small Details

mmcrebuildstg on August 4, 2017

In the orchestra of construction, progress is systematic and purposeful, but with the many moving parts sometimes the little details are overlooked. But it’s the small details that demonstrate the professionalism and passion your project team has for their trade. Here are three fine details not to miss.

  • Fit & finish to be as flawless as possible – Demonstrates knowledge of how pieces fit together and the watchful eye of your construction partner. Are the corners straight and true? Are the trim and details clean? Are the paint lines crisp? Is everything installed to the standards? All these little items measure how meticulous the construction team paid attention to the easily overlooked details during crunch time at the end of the project. Interiors take only a couple of weeks to complete yet this is what you and clients will see every day. There is no perfect job which makes it even more important never to lose sight of quality. Have you looked lately at your building’s fine details?
  • Clean job site & trailer – A clean job site and trailer improve efficiency and safety. Organization means no lost time looking for tools and materials. A clean job site mitigates accidents that not only injury a worker but possibly one of your staff members. An injury might also cause lost time affecting your project schedule. A clean job site and trailer leaves an impression of organization, better quality, and safety – is your contractor leaving you with a good impression?
  • Consistency in customer service & communication – No matter if your project is $10,000 or $10 million you should be treated as if you are their only client. Consistency in customer service and communication is every team member knowing exactly what is going on with the project at all times, showing respect not only to you as the client but the subcontractors and suppliers, and professional daily interactions in addressing challenges and working toward a solution. Do you have an active relationship, appreciation, and camaraderie with your construction partner?

“Technical excellence can only be achieved through a full-team effort —everyone paying attention to details while keeping their clients’ best interests at the top of their mind.”– David McIntosh, Vice President