-
- Going Green in Jamaica
- Stop the Deceit!
- What Jamaican Construction Customers want, Now!
- We need to be seen by the Rest of the World!
- Our Quick Contractor Business Tip - Changed Mind? Change Order
- 3D Presentations of your Construction
- AutoCAD in Jamaican Architectural Engineering
- Your Jamaican Kitchen
- Villa Design in Jamaica
- We will design your Jamaican homes for you
-
Making Money on the
World Wide Web
Get more Traffic: The key to residual traffic with these programs is to build a referral network...
Oct
9
If you have noticed or paying close attention, which I’m sure you have, the economic changes has gone to the extreme here in Jamaica. The ‘go-go’ days of Construction Workers are fading into the background as the ‘LOT’ buyers are looking to improve what they have rather than spending on a new Villa in the sun. The residential owners who are willing to invest their dollars need to be sure they’ll get what they pay for in the end.
Are you discouraged, you do not have to be; some do and want to stop trying. The customers are there, waiting for you, they’ve simply changed their perspective on the whole idea. If you wish to continue and get the work you have to feel what the clients feel, hear what they hear and understand what these clients want. If you can talk their language and fill their need, they will hire you for their jobs.
JA Projects saw these problems a few years ago, created a program to deal with it and are still at the forefront of the Construction game in Jamaica.
Here are the concerns, in the order, that seriously make them consider hiring a Contractor here in Jamaica.
Risk • Quality • Price • Communication • Time • Guarantees
The clients want to make sure they will not get screwed in any way. They don’t trust contractors. Sadly, due to the ‘go-go’ mentality of the construction industry in the last few years, there have been many ‘fly-by-night’ scammers posing as construction professionals. They’ve done nothing but tarnish the industry reputation, and as a result, it is this fear of being taken advantage of that the clients are getting wiser and far more careful.
Risk
Give the clients photographs of the work, daily or weekly; keep them from feeling at risk with your company or workers. A picture is worth a thousand words. Pack your website with good photographs of your work and the clients will love you for it.Quality
Good quality construction begins with a strong, sturdy foundation. Whether building from scratch or doing major renovations and repairs, they’ll want expert advice on foundations and concrete work to get the job done right. Use quality materials at all times. Buying materials in Jamaica can be a risk in itself so check before you buy especially timber, ply, 2” x 2”, 2” x 6” etc… Make sure your hardware shop store the materials in a dry place such as a purpose build shed and not just covered at times from the weather as this can cause damage not clearly seen at construction stage. Use quality windows, doors and fittings where you can as the Jamaican weather ask for strength in the materials and good workmanship in the fitting.
Quality means more pictures. Too often we hear of block holes not being filled and the clients paying for work not done at an even greater cost. Every 4 to 5 blocks start filling and ramming, not more than that or the holes can get ‘ chocked-up’ and cause problems, these are the hidden problems the clients need to have addressed by you as the contractor.Price
Provide high, medium and low estimates where you can, and point out that the quality of the materials, not your workmanship, impacts the job most. Giving your customers the choice of materials quality directly addresses concerns of risk, job quality, and price. Assure them that your workmanship is the highest quality regardless of the materials used.Communication
Good communications with your client is more about listening and less about talking, although there is a certain amount of talking you should be doing too. Talk honestly to your client and let them tell you what they want, not what you want because you are the builder.Change Orders are crucial in keeping communications clean and clear. If there is ANY change in the job, track it and get it approved in writing first.
Time
Be realistic with your time-frames, and then add 25% more time on top of that. The client would be a lot happier if you stick to the time-frame given so cover yourself well. Get to know your suppliers and make sure he delivers on time. Know you builders or subcontractors, know the guys who are working for you and make sure they can do the job right. As Project Managers, JA Projects are good at this and will always get the job done on time so make sure you do too otherwise the client will drop you and move on.Guarantees
Customers NEED to feel safe. They are about to give you lots of money. You need to give them the feeling of security they crave, and the best way to do that is through your guarantees. The best way to guarantee your work is to put it in writing, and the best way to do that is to have a contract that spells everything out in black and white for the customer to see. Position yourself as the competent reliable professional they seek, and you will get the job, we need it in Jamaica so go and get it.Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.-
Build without always being in Jamaica.
"What a great way to to keep an eye on our new home in Montego Bay. We live in Massachusetts and now we feel we can build without always being there".
It works for me!
"Thank you, what a great way to save time and money, it works for me! Having already constructed the outside of our Villa/Hotel we wanted to fill it with Jamaican furniture.
We posted the style and discuss the arrangement, all through JA Projects, the database did the rest, knowing our discussion and pictures were private. It's a great way to do business!
