If You Want More Referrals in 2026, Listen To This

Word of mouth is never a bad thing, but how do you make sure you turn each of your clients into a raving fan? 🌟📣 

Today, Max shares five key points to help you start well and finish strong! 💪

Watch today's episode on the whiteboard --> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL76rc3DrCOMb7VM9icAOQmLodNCSZTfKf

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Starting well, finishing strong. I've got five points for you that are going to help you finish properly and professionally, which will make you more money. Be sure to stay to the end because I'm pretty sure it's going to change the way you feel about the back end of your projects. Enjoy. How old are you going to be before you start to experience life like you want it? I want to tell you right now, whether you like it or not, there is a better way to do business. Hi everyone, welcome to the Business for Builders Podcast. My name's Max. Thanks for joining me. I'm your host. Welcome to you if you're in Podcast Land. Welcome to you if you're in YouTube land. It's great to have you in the house. Look as usual, uh, we want to make sure that we get something into your head that's going to help you uh get money into your bank. How about that? That's not a bad start. So, you know, something you've heard me mention before is, you know, I've talked about start well, finish strong, just as a bit of a flippant term. But um, you know, what got me thinking is we're about to uh round up our project, um our big uh second story edition project, and we're going through these phases as we speak. So I thought it was very relevant as I was contemplating the completion phase of this project, our project. I thought how interesting would it be to just maybe break down and uh unpack some of the challenges that Jed and I face in um you know really circling or rounding this up. I was chatting with Jed um as we're unloading the dump trailer there. That uh I said, How do you feel about you know getting the thing buttoned up and a bow on it this week? He said, Oh mate, no problem. So that was an automatic trigger for me to start thinking about you know the final numbers, any extras that we've had to uh, you know, endure, um, that we have to get sorted out financially with the client and all these kinds of things. And so as I began to contemplate the week ahead and you know the the role that I will play because Jed's done his part, I've liaised with obviously the the local uh the the regional district of central Okanogan, um, which is like a council or a shire, or you know, depending on which uh neck of the woods you're from, but they're the governing authority as it relates to getting us what we call an occupancy uh inspection, and so uh that's that's been done since. And so, you know, I just thought that starting well, we always talk about kicking the business off. Everyone gets excited about you know, getting your business name together and your brand and the URLs and shirts and maybe truck wraps and logos and all that sort of stuff, and then you know, you've got to really lean hard into the marketing and getting the attention, then you've got to understand your your sales capability and what's your sales process and all these kinds of things. So we always talk about the start, the start, the start. And we also talk about because a lot of time, you know, I see builders ended up in the valley of despair where they're just like, Well, we've done all the fun stuff and now we've got ourselves into this predicament. Now what do we do? And getting out of that valley is a significant challenge. Matter of fact, I was talking to one of my EBA coaching clients, and I think I think it's episode 164, and it's called How to Unbroke Your Business. And so if you find yourself underwater upside down, or you know, um in a spot of bother financially, then I would suggest maybe I think it's 164, I'd suggest you get across there and just start to familiarize yourself with what it's gonna take to get you out. Because if you haven't got a plan or a vision or a program or a roadmap or a good understanding on how you need what you need to do to navigate your way out, um, you're definitely gonna lose financially and you're gonna be out of the business, and you will be in the statistic that says 50% of builders fail in the first five years. You know where you sit. Okay, so let's get cracking. So we're talking specifically about the back end of a project. Now, some of the projects that we do are small, you know, they're 30, 35 grand, and and it doesn't need a very much, it doesn't need the same sort of execution, you know, the same sort of sophistication, if you'd like, um, as something that's post one million dollars. That that client, that project, it demands different, a different level of service. Uh, it's going to need to be a lot more methodically. Uh, it's gonna need to be, we're gonna have to have more uh method around how we approach that. It's gonna need uh more more systemacy as far as negotiations and and uh to be able to close out that deal over or compared to a smaller project that is fairly non-complex. So as I I've just got a few points on the board, and if you want to have a look at that, that's what we're gonna talk about. The final five percent, we're gonna talk about management hats, we're gonna talk about expectation management, we're gonna talk about uh completion strength, not speed, and the finished project and creating raving fans. That is a binary goal. It's got two sides, we've got to do both. So let's get started. The final five percent is often the hardest of five percent. Most of the excitement uh is gone, but the work isn't finished. And you know, for me, um, you know, it's it's very much a case of I've had enough. You know, it's just you are you are always being leaned on by clients, subtrades, vendors, deadlines. And honestly, I you know, I did say this to Jed about a week ago. I said, mate, you're going to be banned from the business for a week. You're taking a week off. Go and sit in your pool, right? And just, you know, do what you do. But I need you to unplug for a second. And you know, having having having a cousin that's an air traffic controller or was an air traffic still involved in the uh the air traffic industry, but uh no longer plugging in, you know, he would only work 32 hours a week and he'd get something like 12 weeks a year and in holiday because they understood that the mental strain that is on those individuals needs to be managed. Okay, and so this is why when we get to the back end, the 5% to finish the job ends up being significantly more challenging than maybe we thought. Clients become hyper-focused on details, deficiencies, and expectations. So this is what this is what will escalate because you just want to get the flock out of there and dodge, and they keep turning around and saying, Oh, there's this wrong, and there's this little thing and this little detail. And you know, to fix all of that, you might need half a dozen trades. That means you've got to get on the phone, you've got to stop what you're doing. Like, that's the irritation. This is why the last 5% is super difficult. And so I think as a an overarching macro, you've got to have situational awareness, you've got to have grace under fire, you've got to be able to just compartmentalize and know that you know these tough times aren't gonna last. Like, then they they're soon gonna run out of lists. If you handle it right, you there's things that I'm gonna do this week that is gonna put a full stop on some stuff, and so that's what I do to maintain not just control at the back end of a project, but also our sanity. It's important because the closer you get to completion, the more important communication becomes. So if you're gray in communication at the back end, what you're going to find is that you're going to lose control of the situation. Okay. So if you lose your head, you neither win nor live, and it will definitely cost you money. Okay. So just understand that just because you get into the back end of the project and you're basically staring down the final stage claim and you know, practical completion or occupancy or whatever the case is for you. Um, understand this for a very short moment in time, a couple of weeks, um, it's going to be intense. That's it, that'd be the understatement, I would say. Point number two uh builders are managing more than construction. And this is where I think that it gets exponentially more challenging because there's a lot of things that are happening at once, a lot of balls are up in the air that you've got to keep your eye on outside of just you know doing the touch-ups. Practical issues include inspections, deficiencies, touch-ups, documentation, uh, final financial issues might include the final invoice change orders or variations, holdbacks and final payments. And of course, the emotional challenges that both you and the client face. You know, we have a situation where the client bullied their way in, and Jed and I discussed pushing back and we made a calculated assessment and thought, well, you know what, we're just going to we're going to allow that to happen. We extended the contract by I think three or four weeks. Um, and I'm about to issue a certificate of completion on that date. I'm going to backdate that, okay? Because once you move in, we literally had cleaners finish on the Sunday and they rolled down the driveway with U-hauls and started dirtying our shit. So, what we basically are going to say, well, at that moment, you effectively took possession. And so that's going to make for some interesting conversation as well. But what happens is, in that interesting conversation that we're going to have, there's emotional issues. Okay, there's going to be opinions, there's going to be uh perspectives and people's perception. Remember, perception is stronger than truth. People will will reinforce or they will they will stand by their perception even though it's not truthful. Okay. Plenty of criminals in in jail right now that you know confess that they're innocent, but you know, this the evidence would show that they did it, but their perception is that they didn't do it for whatever reason. Okay, so you're gonna and what emotional issues do is they will fatigue the client, they will fatigue yourself as the builder, and then all of a sudden, what you've got is because of that, you've got heightened expectations. So you're trying to get out and dodge and get the job wrapped up. Meanwhile, they keep dragging you back in and they want this, this, and this. So just cast your mind back. And I do this, this is what I do. Cast your mind back when the lead came in the door and it was a million-dollar lead. Mate, there wasn't there wasn't anything that I wasn't prepared to do to nurture or court that lead to move it closer and closer to contract so we can get after construction. That excitement and that thrill, okay, and that inspiration and me being terribly motivated to make that deal happen, it's that kind of that comes very naturally because you're very optimistic about what's going on. Now you've been bludgeoned to death for nine months, like we have, you're just really fed up, right? However, that is not a good enough excuse to you to just go and throw up and give up and give people attitude. Remember, you know, you've got to understand that people remember how they were treated at the back end, at the front end, and then they see what how you treat them under pressure at the back end, and this is going to make it very difficult and awkward for you to go, hey, how's about a video testimonial? Remember, you know, that's where we're that's where we're going. I'm going to talk about that last, interestingly enough, because it's going to be the thing that I'm going to use to put the bow on it because it's there to motivate you. Because I know this. Once me and Jed, we're going to Australia in September, going to a little Smithy's function on in Noosa in Queensland. And so, you know, when we get down there and you know, we're having a good old time with a few other Smithies guys and gals, and you know, I think this moment in time, and we're shooting this mid to late June, um, and it will probably drop sort of towards uh the end of June, beginning of July, a couple of months from now, everything would have been resolved. And the tension and the stress and the fatigue that's on us right now, that we are just navigating and that we will recover from being beat down, so to speak, and feeling worn out, that will pass. Okay. So I've got to focus on the excitement of getting the deal, and I've got to I've got to fabricate that even if it's just conjured up to get to get my head and my attitude in the right place. Here's what I've got to deliver out of duty. Okay. It's not just because I'm it's not because I'm excited, because I'm just about fed up, right? Um, it's because out of its duty to the business reputational. Um, you know, I'm I'm trying to develop the reputation of the brand, and this is going to help me do it if my attitude's right. That's the challenge. Right. Uh, number three, expectations must be managed. So this is what I've done intuitively is that we got them, we got the cleaners in done. Pretty much our scope of work was complete. Obviously, there's always plumbing issues and a few bits and pieces and some bathroom accessories to hook up. And right, we're still not going to get for another three weeks the door handle, you know, for the uh shower glass, you know, 24 inch. These interior designers like don't even get me started. It's like, seriously, dude. Anyway, so with all of that in mind, we've got all these things to button up. Um, but I've purposely or intentionally pumped the brakes. I'm focused primarily and firstly, um, the like wrapping up the project, all of the details. So Jed's out there doing his thing. I'm following up, going, mate, what else can I get? Um, you know, I've picked up a few door locks and mirrors and things like that, just to facilitate the the uh the conveyor belt or the production line to make sure that we get out the back end of it because I know when we're all tickety-boo, as the Canadians would say, then I can basically move in with my spreadsheets and my invoices and my financial presentation. Okay, and that's where I enjoy the challenge of presenting my case to the client, okay? Um, not for the faint-hearted, I will tell you that. But I've intentionally focused on what the client wants in this last couple of weeks. Have we jettisoned? Have we compromised? Uh, you know, have we paid out a few things that we maybe didn't budget for? Absolutely. Because what I'm trying to do is make the transition into the financial conversation very smooth. Because remember, they will remember how you treated them, and if you disrespected them as far as delivering the product, they will disrespect you when it comes to you asking for a bunch of variations, change orders, and the final payment. Okay, uh, clarity removes uncertainty and reduces conflict. So, like I just said, when I when I know that it's going to be a painful conversation when we start talking about change orders and variations and final payments, what I need to do is to nurture the the let's call it the move-in of that or for that client and show no, I don't want them feeling like they're an irritation to me at all. Mate, I'll jump on stuff, get it done. Now, in the back of my head, okay, I'm not happy and I feel inconvenienced, and I sometimes feel it's not fair. But but but the thing is, it's very short term. We can quickly get over that, right? Um so when I present my case financially, there will be copies of invoices, there'll be photographs, there'll be possibly emails, there'll be text messages, there'll be a lot of things that I can refer back to because I am the forensic accountant part of Smithy's Cold Stream. And so it is has been up to me to make sure all the data is correlated and that is stacked. Like when I go back into my budget, I mean there's about uh there's about 10 categories with line items that's all overages and extras. And there's an ebb and flow because it's a very interesting situation where you know there's already been some allowances that are in there. I've got to make sure that we the we've either utilized all of those allowances or if we've gone over variational change order. Um, and so there's there's a bunch of stuff that, and I said to Jed, I said, mate, I'm not gonna do it on a weekday, I'm gonna do it on a Saturday because I've just had a kid graduate, she just finished grade 12, so it was a bit of a busy, you know, last week or so. And so this weekend is is a time where I can probably just hit the pause button on everything around me and just basically go to town on a full day, play some rock and roll, get into the zone, and just go through each of those line items and do the diligence on presenting a very uh good case that has a high level of clarity that we don't want to argue about, we just want to maybe discuss and negotiate. So clarity removes the uncertainty and reduces conflict. We don't want conflict when I'm asking them for a final check. That really does make it challenging. I want them to be so happy, and I know they're you know they're very happy with the end result. I know that. I just want them to be as happy to cut me the final check for us to get out and finish up. Uh, great builders or great general contractors proactively discuss the finish line before they arrive at it. And so I issued a an arbitrary uh builder-generated no-cost change order to extend the contract date. It wasn't a request for payment, it was purely just a a uh uh uh a document that was that that actually forms part of the contract that pushed back that the contract completion date because of a bunch of reasons. And if I feel like I've got to do it, again I will, but I don't think I will because for the most part the job is finished. Um, and so uh that's going to be um something that I'll do this week. And so really discussing with clients the finish line and how we're gonna execute and how we're gonna round out is very that's why I like to do traditionally. This client was out of town, they hadn't set foot in that project since they walked out in early September. The first time they walked back in was uh first week of June. Other than that, it's just been photographs, videos that I'd sent them, etc. etc. And so they were absolutely gagging to get back in there and have a look at it, and they were blown away, right? Which is what you want. And we've got that all on video, right? And so, you know, it's very important that you know you make sure there's a high level of clarity because you what you don't want is to escalate conflict. What you want to do is mitigate that, reduce it, and make it go away. You do not want conflict, you want there to be some good, mature adult conversation. You don't want to get emotional about it, which means it's gonna take some level of preparation, just like I said, I've got to do. I've got to sit down, spend a whole day rerunning the whole movie in my head, talking to Jed, you know, about okay, how long did it take our carpenters to frame up, you know, three fireplaces? Right, the fireplaces are easy. There's an invoice for that. Boom. We know that's not, I've got a 50-page selection sheet. Whatever's not in the selection sheet automatically becomes a change order. And this is where I've got to start being able to reconcile that which was included in the initial contract, and that was built over time through this interior designer who was a massive challenge to deal with. And and yet, um, and of course, in the contract, it also states that the specifications or the inclusions or the selections were going to be built over time and that they could ultimately affect the final price of the job. So that was something I thought about because I knew I was jumping into a project, which I tell you guys never to do, and I prefer not to do it. And the most recent job we just started about a month and a half, two months ago, we had all the selections nailed down, right? That's how you're supposed to do it. But I knew that there was a vulnerability, so in the contract special conditions, I noted that the final contract price could be or would be adjusted in accordance with any of the uh specification or selection items that came in during the project. So it was noted that it was open-ended. The selections were not confirmed. So the client knows already, because he's already told Jed, he knows that I will be coming down the driveway, you know, with my bits of paper and spreadsheets and files and whatnot. So uh we want to reduce the conflict so we're giving them, they know in advance what's happening. Right. Uh number four, finish strong, not fast. Speed in this case, and you know how I feel about speed, we've got to get after it. Speed to lead, all this sort of stuff. Get through the project as we can because our, you know, with the more the quicker we finish, the more money we make, etc. However, uh resist the temptation to sprint through the final stage. I think it looks sloppy. Okay, I would rather you move fast, but it not be obvious that you and I think fast or speed is the wrong words. What I'm saying is efficiently. Okay, if something happens, deal with it. But it's not about right now, it's not about you trying to bully it through because then all the clients start to think is they they think, well, Max has got commission breath because he's trying to bully us over the line to get his final cat, final check, right? Um, so resist that temptation to try and push it through uh, you know, unnecessarily. Small details often have the biggest impact on client perception. So it's like when you set the bar this high at the beginning and you've got great sales service, and then even the construction service is good, but you seem to get commission breath and you fall off the back end, they will see the contrast. And you know what? They'll judge you on that last five minutes of play instead of looking at the whole game and giving you a good honest. That'll get you a four-star instead of a five-star, right? So, what you do at the back end in that final five percent is the final one star on top of the four to get you that five that you so desperately need uh to build your reputation. Professionalism at the end often outweighs the mistakes made during the project. So keep that in mind. Any of the failures that I've uh done or made, any of the mistakes that I've made can be smoothed over so long as I maintain a very consistent level of professional service. Right, last thing, and here's the biggest thing. This is why all of that is for this. We want to build a raving fan, not just finish the project. All those who agree, give me a nod, a wink, a hands up, a yeah, mate, right? That's what we want to do. We want to do both. Of course, we want to finish the project, that's how we get paid, right? But more than that, more than that, like at the moment, we're going, we're we're doing some of these little jobs, and they're getting us five star reviews. And so, you know, because of that's giving us some good momentum. So you can look at our five star reviews, and they're like, this was a month ago, this was two months ago, this was three months ago. It's like we're getting on average, you know, one a month, you know, from the smaller jobs. But this big one is about the video testimonial. We, me and Jed have invest. In the videographer to get the different stages. And if you're following Smith Son's Coldstream General Contractors, you'll be able to go and see me talking to the camera about this project, and you'll be able to see that thing. And of course, there's more videos to come. And then once we do the handover, um, in a couple of months, I've got a unique relationship with a local radio station downtown here. And uh, I've already talked to the morning host, and uh, she's indicated that she'd be more than happy to do the interview for me because I don't want to be there going, so tell me how good I am, because that's ridiculously awkward. Not even I could do that. So, you know, having that person come in and and do it, and she is the consument professional. So I would sit with her and give her the the questionnaire and we talk about it, and I'd say, Look, this is you know, we want to, you know, a two-minute answer if we can, and all this sort of stuff, because to me that is the absolute cherry on top. So we're we're about two phases at the same time. We want to finish the product, of course. That's what me and Jed are talking about, right? Um, the last thing we'll probably do is put those shower glass handles on because you know, the designer picks these stupid freaking things that need eight weeks to be made or something silly. So, um, you know, once that's done and the clients are settled in and they've enjoyed their summer, maybe at the back end of summer, before they go back to uh Edmonton. Um, we'd love to be able to sit down and and get the videograph in there to do what we call beauty shots and get all that B-roll, you know, with regards to the actual finished project. They've had a chance to settle in, they've had a chance to enjoy the new renovation and the finished product. So they're going to be a lot less stressed, they're going to be very optimistic. We've had a good chance to two months. If there's anything else that needed to be sorted out, we've served them at the highest level. And I know that's Jed's you know desire is to if there's anything wrong, just let us know. And uh, you know, so that's definitely a major part of what we're doing. Finishing the project, but also building a raving fan. Final walkthroughs, project photos, client feedback, they all matter. Okay, so it's all one and the same, right? It's not, you know, sort of separate, it's it's all under the same roof. Clients may not remember every conversation, but they'll remember the experience. So when it comes down to it, when someone asks them, oh mate, house looks beautiful, great finished product, what was the builder like to deal with? At that moment in time, the client will pause and try to pull up something negative. So if there's one thing negative, you're gonna need about 10 positives to overshadow the negative, right? So just make sure that you know, if in the event you've got to be a little bit, you know, harsh, make sure you're being fair and courteous and professional while you do it. Because at some point in the future, your next lead that comes in for maybe another big job could hinge on your natural ability to have handled a point of uh a challenging point in the project. So they won't remember every conversation, but they'll remember the experience. The handover phase is where referrals, reviews, and and reputation are often won or lost. So this is what we're talking about the final 5%. If you drop the ball there in the 11th hour, it will cost you it will cost you probably a video review for sure. You may get a five-star review with a nice, pretty paragraph, but I'm telling you, it's the video reviews. That's the kicker. Okay. So, you know, people don't remember what you said specifically, they just remember how you made them feel, right? The project isn't isn't truly complete when the uh the construction part of it finishes. Uh, it's complete when the client feels looked after, respected, and proud of the journey. All right. So, guys, all of that that I've just said, everything above, is really all built around or built upon your ability to have empathy and to empathize with what the homeowner's going through, which means taking your eyes off yourself, putting yourself in the shoes of the client, and then handling the way that you would like to be treated. Okay, and if you're not making money out of these projects, that's not a them problem, that's a you problem. Because you, you know, when people say, Oh, I flip houses or I do specs, you don't make money when you sell the property, you make money when you buy the land or you buy the original house that you're going to renovate. Because you should have done the numbers up front so that you could, you know, formulate and forecast the fact that if you did this as a scenario, this is what you get. So, guys, if you're losing money on the back end of a project, that it is not an excuse to behave badly. Man up, don't be a freaking coward, okay. Understand that you blew it in the sales process, but you still have an obligation, not just financially, but from your reputation standpoint. Salvage whatever you can out of a bad situation. Okay. If the project hasn't been as good to you financially as what you thought it was going to be, learn from it, right? And don't, do not discipline or don't place that on the client. That is not their problem, that is your problem. So you've got to own up to the cock up and go, well, you know, because if you can only take away a happy client, it's kind of worth it. Like I'm hoping you can pay your bills, right? That's a bad thing if you can't do that. But I want to make sure that you understand that don't go and be a coward and be lazy and be unprofessional and just give them a hard time because you didn't get your pricing model sorted out or you took on a job too cheap than you ought. Okay, so this is part of the learning curve. So, guys and gals, you know, we just want to make sure the final five percent, we know this is gonna be the hardest. We as builders are managing more than construction, a whole bunch of stuff. Expectations must be managed. People's perception is stronger than truth, be aware of that. Finish strong, not fast. In this case, if you bully it through and rush it, the clients will feel it, it'll go against you. And we're all about building raving fans, not just finishing projects, okay? Um, guys, if you want to chat with me about business coaching, go ahead, uh, hit the uh go to go to elitebusinessadvisory.com uh and hit the book a consult consultation button. There's all kinds of resources on that website. Get across there. The more you learn, the more you earn. And be sure to understand that some of the cock-ups that you make in the field, in your business, are opportunities for you to learn from. Okay, so it's not just about podcasts, it's not just about, you know, elite business advisory forward slash academy where you can download some of the contractor academy for a small fee each month. It's about your ability to take every situation and learn from it and get better. Okay, so guys, gals, chin up, stay optimistic, go build a kick ass business. See you on the next episode. Cheers