By Darryl Feldman, ActionCOACH Milwaukee
Construction is rooted in blueprints and processes. We document how projects are estimated, scheduled, staffed, managed and delivered. Yet when it comes to sales, many companies still rely on individual personalities, institutional knowledge and a loosely defined approach that changes with every opportunity. To that, sales author Jeb Blount noted, “Winging it is stupid.” That may work for a while, but it is difficult to scale—and nearly impossible to coach, measure or improve.
Moreover, the vast majority of salespeople just give up engagement too soon – research shows 80% of sales are made on the 5th to the 12th contact. The fortune is in the follow-up.
More importantly, sales professionals are constantly selling to their prospects. Instead, they need to help their prospects to buy.
Creating high-performance construction sales teams requires some key ingredients: positive mindset and daily habits, a documented sales process, and adoption of modern technology and tools.
Positive Mindset & Daily Habits
Great salespeople have a purpose – they focus on their prospect, not their product. They discover what their clients want (e.g. hole in the wall) and sell them what they need (e.g. the drill). They sell on emotion and build trust and credibility to get them there.
Here’s some key winning sales mindset and habits:
• Curiosity – Engage and ask questions
• Discipline – Have an AM/daily route, time blocking, diet and exercise
• Take Risks – Push out of your comfort zones
• Commitment – Do whatever it takes to get it done
• Continuous Learning – Knowledge Gap = Earnings Gap
• Authenticity – Genuine, honest, direct, and real
Sales Process
A practical construction sales process can be organized into seven steps:
1. Prospecting – Identify ideal clients and consistently create new opportunities.
2. Lead Qualification – Determine whether the opportunity, customer and project are a good fit.
3. Company Research & Discovery – Uncover the prospect’s needs, stakeholders, priorities, timeline, and definition of success. Play dumb and dig deep.
4. Pitch Solution – Connect your capabilities directly to the customer’s specific problems and opportunities.
5. Objection Handling – Treat questions and concerns as buying signals rather than resistance.
6. Close – Secure a mutually beneficial commitment and clearly define the next step.
7. Nurturing – Continue communicating, reinforcing value and strengthening the relationship after the initial decision.
Documenting these steps does not mean every conversation becomes rigid or scripted. It creates a shared framework. Your team knows what good looks like, managers know what to coach, and opportunities are less likely to stall because an important step was skipped.
Adoption of Modern Technology & Tools
Construction – like all industries – is at an inflection point: AI is everywhere. As a salesperson, you can either be displaced, controlled, or enhanced by AI. The latter is the way to go. It’s a tool; but without directing it, AI is worthless in your sales kit.
AI is best leveraged to handle low-value administrative work and give your people more time to sell, research, prepare for meetings, draft messages, summarize conversations, organize follow-up, and develop proposal content.
AI cannot replace the most important parts of construction sales: YOU. It cannot build genuine trust, read the room, navigate a sensitive objection or understand the history behind a long-term relationship.
The winning formula is to leverage AI to become faster, more informed, and more consistent—while protecting the human connection that ultimately wins the work. BE MORE HUMAN.
Take Action
Start by asking three questions:
• Do I have a purpose and practice positive, daily mindset and habits?
• Do I have a documented, consistent sales process or are we just winging it?
• Where can I leverage AI and technology to give me more time to sell?
If you’re interested in learning more, here’s two great options for you and your team to get started:
Register for “Bid2Win: The Human Side of Modern Construction Sales” on November 18th in Titletown. Visit our Training Event Calendar page to learn more.
Enroll in our “ABC Construction Sales Accelerator: 12 Weeks to a Repeatable Sales Process,” an ABC of Wisconsin Construction U program delivered in partnership with ActionCOACH Milwaukee. Cohorts begin January 12, 2027.
