How would you like to get a commitment from your client to move
forward with construction services even before you have a
construction contract? Tim Thoelecke of the American Academy of
Landscape Design does exactly this by utilizing his "Pre-Contract
Agreement" during the design phase.
Here's how Tim explains the concept:
"It's an agreement to proceed. It states that the client has
approved the Concept Plan and the Budget Study (or an agreed
portion of each for a phased installation). They advance us a
deposit on the project. In most cases, we collect $5,000.
The reason is that, if they change their minds, this is enough to
cover the time we have in it. Other than that, it's an arbitrary
number."
This agreement and small deposit is collected BEFORE Construction
Documents are drafted and before bid procurement.
This is a win-win all the way around. For the client, they are put
on the schedule immediately and do not have to pay for Construction
Documents. For Tim's company, they can proceed with the CD's
knowing the project is going forward, the chances of the client
bidding out the plan are now slim and his subcontractors are happy
because they know their time is not being wasted pricing the work.
Plus he gets a little extra cash flow.
I'm seriously considering adding this strategy to my design and
sales process. I lost a very large project earlier this spring
when my client decided to get their own bids right before
construction was to start. I'm convinced that had I had a
pre-contract agreement and small deposit of $5,000-$10,000,I would
not have lost that project. Live and learn :-)
This "Pre-contract Agreement" is part of Tim Thoelecke's 10 Step
Design Process. It's #7 in fact. He's still giving away his e-book
"The 10 Step Design Process" for FREE. You can get it here and
learn more about this PCA:
http://www.landscapeleadership.com/public/203.cfm
Tim has also put together an extensive and valuable downloadable
package of 14 documents that he personally created and utilized in
his successful design firm Garden Concepts.
His actual Pre-contract Agreement is part of this package, as is
his Budget Study, design and construction contracts, phone call
scripts and a ton more.
Tim is selling this package for $47 right now (I told him this is
too cheap), but will be bumping up the price to $97 on July 4th.
This is a great opportunity for you to implement some of Tim's
best practices. I'd recommend downloading Tim's free ebook first
and learning more about his design process. Here's the link again:
http://www.landscapeleadership.com/public/203.cfm
If you want to purchase his actual documents, you can do that on
his website here:
http://payloadz.com/go/jump?id=769954&merch_id=91382&aff_id=3350365
If you're implementing a similar process in your business, I'd love
to hear about it. Maybe I could share it with readers in a future
edition of the "Profit Tip of the Week".
All the best,
Chris Heiler, Editor
Visit my blog- http://www.fountainheadgardens.com/blog
