What is the one process to streamline your building business, and positioned you as a professional operator and owner, who is respected and valued?

Learn how this one process can streamline your building business, and help set you up for success.

Is it possible for one system to streamline your whole building business? We believe so, because we’re seeing it happen when builders learn our PAC Process.

Our PAC Process is also known as the Paid As Consultant Process. 

It’s where you, as the builder, get Paid As a Consultant to be involved in a project during pre-construction. You work collaboratively with the homeowner / client and their designer or architect, and help ensure that their design is developing on budget.

Doing the PAC Process removes all sorts of stress and drama from your relationship with the client, and the way you’re running your jobs. It also means you no longer have to do free quotes, or competitively tender on projects (which is a race to the bottom).

If you’re finding your relationships with clients could be improved, you’re sick of always having to tell clients their design is over budget, you’re spending way too much time on free quotes, or you’re dealing with issues on site due to mis-managed expectations or things missing from the documentation, read on to learn how you could change ALL of this in your business.

Here’s our 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, of streamlining your building business with this one process.

5. KNOWING WHAT THE CLIENT EXPECTS

As a builder, how often do you have situations on site where something you do, or have done, doesn’t meet the client’s expectations?

More often than not, this becomes something that you have to redo or fix at your own costs, or it takes up your time managing the variation. 

These can be small little things, or they can be things that impact your schedule hugely, possibly even bringing the project to a standstill. On top of this, the client can often take these situations out on you, the builder. However, it may actually not be your fault.

I’m sure this happens a lot more than you would like to admit or are prepared to talk about.

Now have a think about all those situations and ask yourself why they happened?

We can tell you exactly why. It’s because you weren’t involved during the design process, and aren’t doing the PAC Process.

So many times clients are discussing things with their designers during the design stage that don’t end up on paper. Your clients have had these discussions and just assumed that whatever the outcome was would be documented on the drawings.

Now fast forward to you being on site building your client’s home. Your client comes to site, and while walking around, discovers that things they had discussed with the designer aren’t happening. This is where it can get really messy, as the client thinks these things have also been included in your costs. However, because it’s not shown on the drawings or even listed in any specs you haven’t allowed for it.

The designer’s job is finished and they have been paid, so it now becomes all your problem to resolve. And it’s your relationship to repair with your client, even though their expectations weren’t managed or properly met by their designer.

Instead, when you, the builder, are involved throughout this stage and attending all the design meetings, you then get to hear and see everything that the client is asking for. And you can do this via the PAC Process.

Doing the PAC Process, and being involved throughout the design, is the only effective way to do business. Because then you know exactly what your clients are expecting, you have been at the meetings, you have kept notes and most importantly you have costed the project to suit their expectations.

4. A CONFIDENT CLIENT

The design-bid-build model is completely broken. And to be brutally honest, if you are a builder that’s still getting involved in these situations then you are asking for trouble. 

The writing is on the wall with this ancient method and you will never stop having problems with your clients, your projects and your business whilst you operate this way.

Duayne tells stories about when he thought this was the only way to do business, and the only way to win projects. 

He says:

“You think as a builder you have to do what the architects and designers tell you, you can because they feed you the work. Think about it. It’s absolutely crazy that a builder gets involved with a client that often they don’t even meet until the day they sign the contract!”

You might be in a little bit better situation where you have met the client once or twice prior to signing the contract. But seriously, how can you have a great relationship with your clients when you haven’t got to know them first.

From the client’s point of view, they don’t know you from a bar of soap. So there’s very little, if any, trust. When things come up on site that aren’t what your client expected, there’s variations or there’s things that have been left off the plans. Everything will be your fault as there’s been no relationship built.

Doing the PAC Process means you will be spending hours and hours of time with your clients at design meetings. You and your admin team will be communicating with them on all types of things up until signing a building contract. And you will be giving them helpful information right throughout the process.

This means that by the time you get to signing a building contract, you have confirmed if you can work with the client. 

Because you do have a choice. You can say no to a client at any point if they don’t suit you.

If you think that the clients are fantastic and you have built a great relationship with them through the design stage then the flow-on effect into construction is amazing. 

Your clients will trust you and respect you as a professional business. 

They will have full confidence in you and your team, and the best part is they will see you as authority.

They will know how you work and what they can expect from your business.

3. CONSISTENCY AND PLANNING IS POSSIBLE

Two of the hardest things for any business owner to manage are growth and maintaining good staff. Builders are no different, and quite often really struggle with this as they don’t know what’s coming up next.

For example, most builders rely on getting sent plans or tender packages from architects, designers or direct from clients. They put (a lot of!) time and effort into pricing up the work and then submit their quotes. 

It’s not uncommon for a small builder to have multiple quotes floating around that they have given back to clients or architects. They might only be able to handle one or two projects at a time but have six to eight quotes out in the market.

When you are NOT doing the PAC Process, you generally have no idea of exactly where the project is at, and you’re in a holding pattern until the client, or architect, decides to give you more information, such as:

• Was your price ok?
• Was it too expensive and now the design is changing?
• When does the client want to start?
• Where are the design documents up to?
• Is the client making changes?
• When will the designer make the changes?

Because of all of the above, it’s not uncommon for a builder to submit their quote, and then not hear anything for weeks or even months. And then get a phone call saying “we want to work with you on that project you priced for us. The client wants to start in 4 weeks”.

This used to happen to Duayne all the time and we know it happens regularly to most builders. This can mean that you have to knock back work as you can’t fit it in. Or you take it all on, and then struggle finding good staff to complete the work. Either way this method is very inconsistent and can add a lot of unnecessary stress.

By being involved throughout the design stage with the PAC Process means you learn first-hand exactly where each project you are involved in, is up to. This means you can manage your team and business growth a lot more proactively and strategically.

Consistently knowing what work you have in the pipeline is so empowering, and will improve your mindset so you can focus on other areas of your business.

2. STREAMLINING

Do you ever feel like you just can’t get on top of things and the business is controlling you? 

We all start our businesses to ultimately have freedom in our lives. 

It might be freedom from being told what to do, because you can now run things how you want. 

It might be financial freedom, because you think that if you work for yourself you will make more money. 

Or it might be because you want to be able to work your own hours and have lots of holidays.

Then you find out very quickly that this isn’t reality and running a business is hard work.

One of the reasons for this is that most Builders are tradies, they love their trade and have just naturally progressed and become a builder. 

Because of this they haven’t put any time into learning or understanding what they need to know to be more than just a builder, and instead a professional business owner.

When Duayne started being paid for the service he was providing his clients he had no idea it would grow into the PAC Process and become such a powerful system. Looking back now over all the mental and financial stress and anxiety he dealt with for such a long time, he always talks about how the PAC Process would have solved so much of it.

And now it does solve it. Because by using the PAC Process, Duayne is streamlining his building business overall. 

It doesn’t matter what stage you are at in your building business, the PAC Process is the number one way for you to get started and streamline it. The PAC Process covers so many areas and can help you manage your business.

It enables you to plan your pipeline and workflow, so you can manage your growth and your team. Through it, you get to know the client really well. You also get to add value to their process, having them trust you as an experienced authority, and building a great relationship. You get to know them and their design really well. Which means you can price it accurately, and ensure the drawings contain all that is discussed and priced.

Plus, there are so many more benefits.

We know you are a great builder. With the PAC Process you can become a great business. You can work towards getting that freedom back that you started your business to have.

1. INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR BUSINESS

The most valuable businesses are the ones that have proven and successful systems. Systems that add value to every single part of the business. 

Our PAC Process does exactly this, and once you implement it:

• You’re involved right from the beginning of the design and preliminary stages so you can manage and control your workflow so much better.
• You will get an understanding of exactly what stage each project is at. So no more guessing what projects are coming next and when.
• You will be able to give your team certainty about work flow so they are more comfortable and feel like they have security with your business.
• You will get to know your clients before you sign a building contract.
• Now you have the power to pull out of the project if the client isn’t the right fit for you and your business, prior to being tied up by a building contract.
• Your clients will have confidence in you and your team prior to signing the building contract. This makes you an authority.
• Because you know what projects are in the pipeline and what stage they are at, you will have the confidence to grow your team.
• You will have more confidence in your business which allows you to free up head space to focus on other things.
• You will have more control over your profitability.
• You will also have more control over the types of projects you do.

The PAC Process is the single most powerful system you can have in your building business. As you can see from the list above it helps you in just about every single area of your business.

And the best part is you will start getting PAID for time that you have previously been giving away for free. 

Yes, clients will be lining up to PAY you as their Consultant. Seriously, once you implement the PAC Process and follow through with every step you will never provide free services ever again.

You will become a professional builder with clients who are happy to pay for your experience, your knowledge, your advice and your service.

In fact, we recently just heard from a member of our PAC Challenge online course, which teaches you how to implement the PAC Process. They said:

“We are absolutely loving what we have learned in this process. We purchased the course not even a month ago and this week have signed 4 prelim agreements to the value of $7,500! Absolutely mindblowing, this has been the missing link to our business. Thank you!!”

Your time is valuable, teach your clients to appreciate it. And start getting paid for something you’re currently doing for free.

Live Life Build’s 6P Methodology unlocks the 6 ways to elevate your building business: 

PERSONAL | PROJECTS | PEOPLE | PARTNERSHIPS | PROCESSES | PROFESSIONAL

Want to start using the PAC Process in your business? Access the PAC Challenge as part of membership to our group program, ELEVATE. Learn more here.