Huge Mistake Construction Companies Make & They Don’t Even Realize It

Lately, I’ve been calling business developers at construction companies, large and small, as part of a research study I’m working on concerning marketing toolkits. I’ve discovered a HUGE mistake many construction companies are making. Yes, most of you are making this mistake, and I’m pretty sure 90% of you don’t even realize it!

As I call construction companies on my list, I usually get a “phone call routing tree” that requires me to enter the first three letters of the person’s first or last name. No big deal, except I can’t find the person I’m looking for in the directory. Some companies even have a recording that names the different extensions including the president, accounting, human resources, and usually an emergency number (if after hours). Most of them don’t list the business developer’s, though.

Why is this horrifying? If I’m a prospective client looking to hire your company, I probably want/need to speak with your business developer. It is bad enough to have prospects fish through a phone tree. But when the person I’m looking for isn’t listed, I may become frustrated with the process and hang up (and probably not try again). You just lost a sale because of a setting on your phone that is free to fix.

What’s even worse than losing sales to your phone call routing system? I called one company a few minutes before they opened (I didn’t realize they were in Pacific time), and their recording said to press # and enter my mailbox number to check my messages. I couldn’t even leave a message for the receptionist or general mailbox because it was set for internal use only. If I’m a prospect or current client, this may really frustrate me or possibly even infuriate me. Your wasting their time!

Bottom line – you need to experience what your prospects experience. Take note of how your receptionist greets visitors, the trash in your parking lot, the response from your website’s contact form, and your phone system. You’ve worked hard to build a great reputation, and spent lots of money on marketing and business development; don’t have it all blown away because you infuriate someone with a complex phone directory. Life is already frustrating enough.