Every year, we pick a weekend in December for all the team members who work on job sites come to our home office. We get a few meetings out of the way Friday afternoon, then dedicate the weekend to bringing our work family together with our spouses and kids. We have a brunch on campus Saturday morning and top the weekend off with a celebration at my house that evening.

This year, we added a new tradition.

Friday night, we invited a few of our long-term vendors and subcontractor relationships to our place. We started with beverages in the office, then moved outside. The Spoonfed Grill food truck was parked out front to provide some wonderful fish and chicken tacos, along with other delights that we enjoyed by the campfire.

The result was a chance for our team to shake hands with folks who help make us successful every week of the year.

A couple of our guys approached me afterwards, telling me they liked giving this kind of simple thank you to valued partners. They were also glad to further their relationships on a more personal level by talking about something other than work. The simple, face-to-face connect makes our ties run even deeper.

Have you thanked your partners this holiday season?

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

Negotiation is a part of our business, and for that matter, most things in life.

CBS MoneyWatch recently posted 12 Negotiation Tips for People Who Hate Negotiating, and I was inclined to listen. Here they are:

1. Go first.
2. Be quiet.
3. Know what you want.
4. Assume the best case.
5. Avoid setting ranges.
6. Have a reason for concessions.
7. Never be Harry Truman.
8. Make time your friend.
9. Ignore face value.
10. Give the other person room.
11. Forget about winning and losing.
12. Create a lasting relationship.

While I find all these tips helpful, numbers 7 and 12 seemed particularly important to me.

Never be Harry Truman. He had a sign on his desk that said, “the buck stops here,” as a reminder that final decisions rested with him. It seems to me, if one adopts this attitude at the negotiating table, he will miss out on a lot of good opportunities.

Create a relationship. As I’ve mentioned before, you don’t get to make “second first impressions.” The way you negotiate today will certainly affect your business in the future. If I make concessions now, I always try to consider impact down the road. A long-term customer relationship is, in most cases, far more valuable than whatever details you might quibble about today.

Do you have additional tips for successful negotiating? 

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

Recently, I talked with a major architectural firm about their use of building information modeling. To them, BIM is just another advance of communications and drawings. I can relate.

When I was in college, everybody used pencils. The quality of your lines on the drawings was most important. Then we moved to ink to give them more clarity. Then Auto Cad. We are now on AutoCAD 2012 v. 18.2 which means there have been 26 releases of the software.

As a company, we’ve advanced to the next level of customer-service centered modeling: BIM.

BIM is not a specific piece of software but a group of programs used together to build a data rich model. Stewart Perry uses software from AutoDesk who also own AutoCAD, so BIM is really just an extension of what we have been doing continuing to advance efficient ways of communicating. We use the following:

• Autodesk Revit Architecture for structure and MEP for modeling
• Autodesk Navisworks Manage for clash detection and presentation
• Autodesk Navisworks Freedom for jobsite uses of BIM
• Autodesk Quantity Takeoff for estimate and budgeting
• Autodesk Buzzsaw for file management and transfers
• Microsoft Project for scheduling

BIM takes the lines once drawn by hand on paper with rulers and pencils that evolved into lines on a computer screen created in drafting software. Architects, contractors and owners now have the ability to give meaning to the lines on the screen.

We can assign properties to items in a model that are quantifiable.

A line that used to represent a wall now can show a visual 3D representation of the wall, include information on stud spacing, fire rating and material choices, that can be accessed by those involved in the project.

Communication between the concept in the architect’s head and the reality of the end product has been a source of confusion, delay, and lawsuits. Now the architect can provide more information about the design than ever before. We couldn’t be more pleased.

As a company, we are out of the infancy stages of BIM. We have hired a BIM manager, and are using the technology on three of our projects:

• Shoppes of Madison – Madison, AL
• Brookwood Village renovations – Birmingham, AL
• Redstone Gateway at Redstone Arsenal- Huntsville, AL
• US Steel’s new headquarter – Birmingham, AL

Has your company started working with BIM? Have you been successful in implementation?

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

Image Credit: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

On construction jobs, the unexpected is…well…expected.

Circumstances inevitably change. In our case, codes are updated, conditions in earthwork shift or we encounter any other variety of circumstances that affect the outcome of our work. To me, when considering a construction contract–or for that matter any written agreement–good communication and change management are essential to success and long term relationships.

I remember a particular Friday last March very clearly. I was meeting with one of our then project managers, when I realized we had not been keeping a customer relationship in-the-know about a changed aspect of their project.

Later that day I called our customer to explain what might be on the horizon. For several weeks following, I spent many hours gathering information and systematically sharing it with him.

The situation turned out okay, but could have been much different had we not immediately communicated what we saw on the radar. It might have been late, but fortunately it was not not too late for our relationship.

Because of our experience, I was glad to seen an article on the topic from Construction Executive Magazine. I found these points helpful and thought you might too, whether you are a contractor or in any service industry.

There is a legal distinction between “change” and “extra.”

• A change is a modification to something listed in the contract.
• An extra is a service or material not listed in original documents.

*As you read potential contracts, look for how these are addressed.

“Change Orders” and “Change Directives” are different animals.

• Change orders are when both parties can agree on the timing and price of changes.
• Change directives are born of disagreement. There is a dispute over what should be changed and how much should be charged.

I find it critical to communicate “early and often” if change is suspected. This gives us the benefit of time and more importantly, allows us to take the appropriate steps to mitigate.

How have you been successful at managing the unexpected?

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

Create sparks instead of a big forest fire. To me, this means making small connects over time.

The imagery resonated with me and prompted thoughts about business interactions. The type of “fire” one builds is as important as anything else in a relationship.

New Business. To me, new relationships are all about that first encounter. There is no such thing as a good “second first impression” with a prospective customer. Unless you hit a home run in that first encounter, which is highly unusual, a relationship is built through a series of small connects–sparks–rather than one big forest fire.

Relationship Building. Small connects equate to staying in touch. These interactions have meaning and value other than “Hey, I was just checking in with you” or even worse, “Hey, I was just checking in with you and by the way do you have any projects to give us?” This is the kind of call I despise.

Here’s an example of connecting done wrong: I once had a consultant call me and say, “It’s been some time since we spoke and I am just wondering if we could be involved with that new project I saw you guys are building?” He was right, I thought. It had been about 5 years since I had heard from this guy. No go.

Strategic Partnerships. Let’s say you work smart and are fortunate to get a project. During its course, you may hit choppy waters, but at the end of the day you handled things the right way. The relationship stays intact and then you have the possibilities for the long term. The relationship having stood the test of another type of fire, as in certain cases a bonfire, will make the relationship strong as new rope.

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

So, why do we go to the trouble? I’ll give you three good reasons.

Our Customers. The folks we have the privilege to work with aren’t always near their construction sites. The blogs give a visual check-in for them. They’re also great bragging tools. We’ve found our customer relationships often like to share their blog site with their team or with their own prospects.

Our Communities. A construction site is a living, growing thing. As projects move along, the community has a right to see progress–at a safe distance. I’d like to give everyone in the community a hardhat tour of the places we are building, but being more realistic, project blogs give them a front row seat complete with commentary.

Our People. Listed last, but certainly not counted least, is our Stewart Perry team. Since our business spreads across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, it’s virtually impossible for each team member to visit each site. Project blogs let them participate and give them a sense of pride in all our work.

Would a blog be a good way to chronicle work on your next site? We’ve found project blogs an invaluable tool for building, maintaining and improving relationships.

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

As background, Lean is a system that seeks to streamline practices and eliminate wasted effort. The idea is to create more value with fewer resources. The system is process-oriented, with the goal of entirely eliminating excess—be it physical or in the form of time.

While Lean technology has been applied to manufacturing for several decades, Superior is using it to make them be more efficient in construction. Rodney King, their Lean Coordinator, explained the efforts.

Superior has made perfecting processes their goal. Errors are identified and the procedure is refined until mistakes evolve out. The emphasis is on the series of tasks rather than the individuals performing them, systematizing delivery.

No more creating a new mold with every project. The system becomes the skill.

Rodney gave me the example of their pre-fab shop. It was created so that many standard assemblies–like plumbing systems–can be put together in a warehouse before installing on site. The benefits are multiple:

Speed. All the tools needed are at arm’s reach. Also, with repetition, the labor becomes more time and cost efficient.

Safety. While plumbers onsite might have to work on a ladder, the tasks are at chest-level in the prefab shop.

Lower waste. Excess product that might get thrown out on the job site is set aside for another use. This is better for landfills and the bottom line.

We are evaluating lean ourselves. In fact, we’re planning a post later this week about our CFO’s visit to Basic Lean. For us, I can see the potential. While it’s not always easy to change mindsets and habits, I believe there are some wins out there in the construction industry. As Rodney said, it’s about small incremental successes over time. I agree.

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

Image: Business Management

The good news is, being out of sight no longer means you have to be out of mind.

With today’s networking tools and social media options, it is easier than ever to stay connected to customer relationships.

That’s important, because a well-maintained positive relationship can decide whether a current customer stays or goes elsewhere.

Relationships can also be the reason a potential prospect selects a new partner.

I feel like we are passionate about helping our customers (and others) and I want to stay closely connected to them, but I want to do it in ways that are most effective. Here is what has worked for me:

● I try to figure out how many times a customer wishes to receive contact from me. Once a week, once a month, once a quarter?

● I determine what time of the day and week they prefer to receive contact. I’ve found some people like to receive non-urgent communication over the weekend, so they can look at it first thing Monday morning before diving into the work week.

● I use different forms of communication, mixing up emails with phone calls and personal letters.

● I send articles that pertain to the interests of a particular customer.

● Most important, I try to help the customer become more successful by connecting them with opportunities and projects.

I do all this because I genuinely like our customers. We try to work with customers who are, first of all, decent individuals who stand for the same character issues in life that we stand for and who represent quality organizations.

To me, if you help others first, all other things being equal,  then something good will come back to you.

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

We recently made a presentation to a prospective customer who had an adaptive reuse project that seemed perfect for us. It involved revitalizing an area of the city, which is exactly the type of project we enjoy. We confidently answered all the questions in the RFI, and the presentation seemed to go flawlessly.

As we left the meeting, I told my two colleagues that we had nailed it. There was no way they would use anybody else. A few days later I received a call from the architect informing us that we were not selected for the project.

This disappointment was a great reminder for me. I realized that despite my optimism, I had not spent enough prep time on the presentation. Yes, I had answered the customer’s questions, but I hadn’t gone beyond that. I let an over-booked schedule get in the way of the dress rehearsal one of our project managers suggested. It might have cost us the project.

I know better. Over the years, these have been my tried and true rules for successful presentations:

Don’t oversell yourself. Owners don’t want to have to spend time weeding through contractors who make lofty promises.

Ask, then listen. A contractor who asks questions, carefully listens to the responses and then makes a reasoned proposal is more believable.

Work for your wins. No matter how many projects you have won in the past, you are not a shoe-in for the opportunities you persue. In the end, it’s good to know that you got the job not off only from past merits, but because you came prepared, then went above and beyond.

Think like an athlete. The pros don’t just practice before games. It’s a year round job.

Every day is an opportunity to practice selling what you do and promoting your services. When the next opportunity comes up, how will you get ready?

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email

While I am not sure it is a primary reason, the brand of a small business is intertwined with the persona of the business owner(s). To me, directly or indirectly, business owners are always representing their brand–selling– whether we mean to or not. If you are the primary spokesperson for your company, good representation is job number one.

A few thoughts that Tice suggests we remember:

1. Talk about your products and services as you would to a good friend.
2. Remember why you started your business and relate it.
3. Focus on customers’ needs and emotions rather than delivering a canned monologue.
4. Make “warm” calls.
5. Identify obstacles that would prevent a sale and think of ways to overcome them.

To me, the most important is #4. I’m a big believer in initiating frequent touch points with our contacts (or relationship customers). This is very individual to the relationship. I often share newspaper articles, draft short notes or enjoy meals with people I hope to stay in touch with. The benefit is two-fold: our business stays top of mind, whether they need us now or not, and customers often become friends. Those personal relationships are our primary business plan.

How do you overcome your reluctance to sell? What works for your business?

Merrill Stewart is Founder and President of the Stewart Perry Company, a commercial building contractor based in Birmingham, Ala. Contact him via email