How Long is This Going to Take?
Perfect your promises
Over the last few years, my wife and I have dealt with many different contractors. One of the observations that became quite interesting during this process was their ability to estimate how long the jobs would take for completion.
This seems to be one of the most difficult feats for any contractor to master. Depending upon the type of work one does, you might be affected by the weather, supply chain shortages, scheduling errors, or lack of adequate personnel to complete the job. These are givens; however, if you have competitors that are doing a better job of honoring their commitments than you are, you’re not going to be able to fall back on these excuses for missing your deadlines.
In some cases, the actual time needed for job completions were more than twice as long as the original estimate. If you are doing inside work, this could mean that your customers house is going to be in a state of disarray for quite a long period of time. If you are doing a particular part of the job — let’s say painting — that means that flooring and carpeting cannot be completed until after you finish your task. This can create a snowball effect if you are holding up other contractors working on the same project who will then have to reschedule their contributions.
So, what is the answer? For one, build in a cushion of time that will allow you to make up for unexpected delays. Second, lead your customers. Many entrepreneurs are afraid to let a customer know that if they want a specific product, item, or color, they will have to order it far in advance to make sure it is available when needed to complete the jobs on time.
Third, use your experience. Unless you are brand new in this field, you should have a sense as to how long a particular task is going to take. Go through your records and see how long past projects have taken and how they compared to the original estimates. The more you do this, the more accurate you should become. This is what I referred to as the, “ready, fire, aim” method. You give it your best shot, you stand back and look to see how close you actually came, and then you adjust accordingly.
When you become known for your reliable time estimates, you will become the vendor of choice in your field. And remember, very few people will complain if you finish up a job sooner than you said you would.
“Be congruent in your words and your actions.” – Dave Romeo
This excerpt is taken from the seminar entitled 8 Qualities That Will Make You a Star. I encourage you to
click here to register for the exclusive live Zoom presentation of 8 Qualities That Will Make You a Star on Thursday, February 2, 2023 from 9 AM to 12 noon Eastern Standard Time.
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