Taking your construction business on the path of growth

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Thanks to all the infrastructural developments planned and underway, and the increasing investments in residential construction and transport infrastructure, India looks all geared up to become one of world's largest construction market in a few years from now.

Indian real estate has attracted $32 billion in private equity so far since 2005. The global capital flow into Indian real estate in 2016 stood at $5.7 billion. India's Tier-I cities moved up to the 36th rank in JLL's 2016 bi-annual Global Real Estate Transparency Index. The factors that made this possible were improvements in structural reforms, more liberalised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regime and increased transparency. Not to mention, the launch of REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) this year, will further benefit the sector. Much against the popular belief that real estate sector would be hit badly by demonetisation, the move seems to have kick-started a new era for the real estate industry — one that would be transparent, and more organised.

Considering that you have already put your money in the right places, and weighed all the pros and cons of running a construction business, here are some aspects you must look into in order to grow your construction business.

A Winning Team

The need to find the right people to spearhead your company to success cannot be emphasised enough. You need skilled and reliable employees who can take on the daily tasks and deliver them in the best way possible. Make a list of the top five positions you need filled with the best possible people you can find at whatever (or some specified) cost:

Sales
Marketing
Operations
Estimating
Finance

Of course, you always have the option to hire independent contractors or subcontractors. But this works well in situations where the quantum of work varies drastically throughout the year. Well-planned sub-contracting can prove to be economical, as you don't have to keep paying the staff during a quiet period. At the same time, having dedicated resources working for you on a payroll gives you the advantage of having a steady, loyal and ready resource at your disposal.

So, here are a few things you must look into so as to strengthen your workforce:

1) Overall company mission, vision and values – Ensure your team is in tune with the vision and mission of your company. You cannot work towards a common goal if you aren’t on the same page.

2) Assignments and responsibilities – People work best when they are working towards a specific result. Hence, it is important that your team leaders are given assignments and responsibilities so that they can lead their team in the right direction.

3) List strengths and weaknesses – Give your team leaders the task to report to you every month with the strengths and weaknesses of the staff under them. You can use the strengths to assign additional responsibilities to the staff member and note their weaknesses to help them improve on their shortcomings.

4) Training programmes – This is the best way to motivate your team leaders and staff. Conducting training programmes at regular intervals will help your employees sharpen their skills. You can bring in experienced speakers from your sector or related sectors.

5) Incentives – This is another sure way of letting your employees know that you value their contribution. Reward their service with valuable incentives that will motivate them to work harder and stay loyal to the company.

6) Work environment – It is important to build an office that people love to go to. By providing your employees with the right facilities like meal plans, clean bathrooms, central office location, and by making your office a joyful place to work at, you can show that you care.

Apart from this, you need to hold mandatory safety drills, provide regular safety training sessions, discuss potential hazards at the beginning of every task, and create a safety culture by embracing quick hazard recognition and corrections.

Market your Brand
Before your buyers can look at investing in your property, they need to know who you are. To get their attention, you'll need to promote your brand in a way that it stays memorable and fresh in the minds of your potential buyers.

Here are a few marketing essentials that will get your company on the radar:
1) Hire a creative agency to sell your brand – With the right creative minds on board, you can build an advertising campaign that will reinforce positivity about your brand in the buyer’s mind.

2) Go digital – Website and social media presence is a must these days. Your website needs to be user friendly and should have all the necessary information that a buyer would ideally look for. Social media is today’s top marketing tool used by every brand in order to connect to a wider audience with minimal investment. You can hire a team of developers and social media specialists who can keep up with technology trends, and dedicatedly attend to buyers.

3) Participate in trade shows – Realty expos are a great way to meet potential buyers in an informal environment and talk to them one-on-one. The buyers can also get a glimpse of your offerings and connect with you at a later time.
Considering factors like budget, lifestyle, etc. and targeting your marketing campaign to people who meet these specifications can get you more out of your spends.

Look for Newer Grounds
Once you have a clear understanding about your target audience, you can look into setting up smaller offices across different regions. If TIER 1 cities have more of your potential buyers, then you must look at expanding to more TIER 1 cities so to be more accessible to buyers there.

Bring more funding for your operations
Many small businesses usually have trouble sustaining good cash flow and find it tough when customers delay their payments. Your business cannot entirely depend on funding from you and your partners to support its activities. This is where you will need to look at ways of accessing a line of credit, overdraft protection, bank loans etc. to expand your activities and grow your business. With the right banking partner, you can avail plans that will suit your business model and help you grow.

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Taking your Construction business on the path of growth

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