Building Relationships with Contractors in Real Estate

Consistency & Follow-Up Builds Trust — Not Calendars, Pens, or One-Off Visits One visit to a job site doesn’t build trust. Dropping off a calendar and some pens doesn’t build relationships. Like I always say: PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE THEY KNOW, LIKE, AND TRUST. And trust is built through consistent actions and adding real value, not drive-bys and giveaways. Before you step onto a job site, ask yourself: “How am I adding value and helping this job site today?” If you can’t answer that clearly… you might be wasting the GC’s time and losing respect. Reasons to follow up (real ones): ✅ Weather is turning — can I assist with safety training? ✅ Rain is creating mud on the street — can I offer a sweeper and solve a problem? ✅ Big subcontractor meeting this week — could I bring breakfast and support the team? If you’re not adding value, solving problems, or making life easier for your customers… you’re not a salesperson — you’re an order taker. Show up with purpose. Follow up with value. Earn the trust. Earn the business. #RentalEquipment #EquipmentRental #ConstructionRentalEquipment #ConstructionSales #JobSiteSales #ConstructionEquipmentRentals

In the real estate industry, channel partners are frequently the unsung heroes. I’ve had the honor of working with thousands of them throughout India over the years—from large organizations in Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and many other Tier 1 cities to boutique consultants in Tier 2 locations. Here’s what I’ve discovered: Commissions are never the only consideration. Successful channel partners want to grow alongside you. They seek fairness, transparency, timely updates and—above all—respect. The top developers I’ve worked with genuinely increase their sales velocity by treating channel partners as business allies rather than suppliers. They foster open communication, include partners early in planning and co-creation, and thoroughly educate them about the product. They value skill-building opportunities—workshops on personality development, sales techniques and soft skills. That trust leads to better client engagements, more aligned expectations and, ultimately, stronger closings. Conversely, I’ve also seen developers lose momentum when their channel strategy is an afterthought. In a field where trust is crucial, your channel network can be both your harshest critic and your greatest amplifier. Whether you’re launching a new project, expanding into additional cities or entering fresh markets, remember: your channel partners are promoting your brand, not just selling your project. #RealEstateIndia #ChannelPartnerNetwork #SalesStrategy #DeveloperInsights #BusinessRelationships

Over the years, I have negotiated a lot of commercial #contracts and one thing that’s clear is, negotiations are more straightforward when preceded by good relationships with the other party. Imagine this scenario, you send the same contract template to two different #suppliers, one comes back bleeding with redlines the other one only has a few minor edits/concerns. Folks will argue that this outcome is a reflection of the #risk appetite of the supplier but I’ll tell you this. Half the time, a supplier you have a good relationship with considers your relationship more protective than contract clauses. They trust your word and can live with minor edits in the contract. Post contract #negotiations, good relationships again play a crucial role in enforcing provisions in a contract. Again, think about this. Same type of contract, two different contractors. Imagine the #design of the project changes along the way, how the two #contractors respond will usually be different. I’ve seen some quickly submitting costly change orders, I have also had a contractor tell me, “look, we know the design has changed, just buy materials and we will install for you at no additional #labor cost since we already have staff on site”. The latter will usually also offer value #engineering by suggesting ways to deliver the project at low cost but with the same #quality, their interest is not unlocking their #remedies in the contract but protecting the relationship. I always argue that adding some “teeth” in contracts is great but that shouldn’t replace good personal relationships with #vendors, a contract anchored on good relationships is easy to manage, #accountability comes naturally and in most cases, it helps reduce overall spend and builds #trust.

Commercial construction bid platforms are shot (if you don’t use them right). 1/2 the jobs your bidding against 30 other people. How the hell are you suppossed to win? Especially when your just a couple of pixels on a screen & a number… Stop thinking like a bidder. Start acting like a business developer. Bid platforms are distribution tools, not relationship tools. If your first interaction with a GC or owner is you submitting a number… you’ve already lost leverage. Here’s the play: 1. Pre-call before you bid. If you’re not calling the estimator or PM before you submit, you’re invisible. Ask real questions. Clarify scope. Get your name in their head before your number hits their inbox. 2. Disqualify aggressively. If it’s purely a number-chasing bid with zero path to relationship… why are you spending 6 hours pricing it? Be honest. 3. Use the platform for intelligence. Who’s building what? Who’s bidding consistently? Who keeps winning? That’s your hit list. Take the relationship offline. 4. Follow up after the bid. 99% of subs disappear after they send a number. Call. Ask how you stacked up. Ask what you could’ve done better. 5. Build depth outside the platform. Coffee. Site visits. Lunch. Value-add insights. Send them a relevant article. Introduce them to someone useful. Don’t let the shiny new tech platform distract you from the tried and true basics in this industry. It’s still a relationships game. 

Want to negotiate $1,000,000+ Construction Projects? Here’s what I see most Contractors do: They want to skip straight to negotiating work. “I’ve bid them like 10 times - why won’t they just give me a job!” But, you have to do 2 things first: 1. Build trust 2. Make relationships Bidding jobs over and over again doesn’t usually do either. Sorry, but it’s true. The good news is anyone can negotiate work once they focus on trust and relationships. From my experience selling multi-million dollar construction projects, These 3 strategies help establish trust and make friends with you clients (so you can negotiate work too): - 1. Show up in person once/quarter A 40-year industry veteran once told me: “You’re not real to your clients until you show up in person at least 3x.” - Bring bagels and coffee - Buy the office lunch - Stop by just to say hi People can’t trust you if they forget you exist. - 2. Make relationships at 3 levels of the organization - 1 person at your level (PM→PM) - 1 person above your level (PM→Exec) - 1 person below your level (Pm→Jr. PM) The more advocates in the building, the more good things that get said about you when you’re not around. Trust ensues. - 3. Be interested not interesting Stop talking about yourself. Start talking about them. Build trust by investing in THEIR story. And help them achieve a happy ending. - My final advice: Always be genuine and authentic.. Because at the end of the day, what does every client want? To do good work with good people, for good prices. Prove you’re capable of all 3 → Build trust and negotiate work Need help? You may love this (it’s free): https://lnkd.in/earKh7QM