The Inside Perspective:“My Experience Selling Construction Software”

By Guest Blogger - Tim Ricketts

Selling software over the past 28 years has given me a unique perspective on the successes and failures of purchasing, installation and use of software for a construction company. Let me share with you some of the common misconceptions and blunders along with the similarities a software purchase has to a typical construction job.

First, success in software selection like any other aspect of life begins with a plan. I call it “Plan your work-work your plan” The companies who plan and document what they want to accomplish have a much higher chance of success at finding software that best fits their needs. Make sure you ask questions and survey every department and aspect of your business to determine what works and what doesn’t. One of my customers held a meeting with all employees of the company for the sole purpose of discussing what software features could help them improve the way they did their job. They wrote all suggestions on a white board and it remained in the break room for a period of time to let employees add to it. Besides the obvious of gathering critical information for the plan, it also rallied the troops and allowed them to be a part of the process and take ownership in the project.

I have seen my share of good software purchases end up as mediocre installations because management forced software on the masses without consideration of the those who are most likely doing all the work. Sure, the attitude of the construction company management may be that it’s their job and they should do it. The reality is they are human and work much better as a team when they feel like they are a part of the team. “Plan your work-work your plan” and get buy-in from your employees by making them a part of the plan.

Next, make salespeople part of your team. Now, you may be thinking this guy is just another self-serving salesman. Let me tell you why this is so important. Sales is a profession and the great majority of software salespeople are honest and professional. I have seen plenty of companies make poor decisions because they did not have enough or all critical information. Salespeople have an abundance of information and can compare and contrast features of the programs they sell versus those of their competitors. Take advantage of that knowledge and use it to your advantage.

It is my belief that most salespeople do not intentionally mislead buyers but they may say or represent something incorrectly because they do not know the product well enough. This is a good reason for sharing information with all sales people. If something is not accurate the other sales people may provide useful information helping you to better determine accuracy of all representations. Look at the most successful salespeople and you will find that they are the ones with the most product knowledge. The customer will find out the truth sooner or later. Therefore, if you are dealing with a reputable software vendor they will only allow so many mistakes by a salesperson because the mistakes add to support costs of additional time spent with the customer attempting to make the software do something it was not designed to do. In extreme cases it can lead to refunds or lawsuits.

The point is that by sharing information with salespeople, you put yourself in a better position to find out what is real and what is vapor-ware with regard to a particular feature or service. This really is no different than the way you manage your jobs. You talk and share information with other contractors and subs, architects, engineers etc. allowing you to benefit by what you have learned. Thus you should manage your software evaluation project the way you do your job, as efficiently as possible through open communication.

Communication goes both ways: share and communicate to learn more

Share with salespeople what you have learned from their competitors. Tell them what you like and dislike about their software and why. The good salesperson should be able to compare feature and functionality of their software to the competition. You need someone to help distinguish the various programs. No one can do this better than your salespeople. It is not just about what it does but how it does it that counts. Everyone does Accounts Payable but each vendor does it somewhat differently. This is why you should share everything with all salespeople because they will point out how the features of their product work compared to the competition. You benefit by having a better understanding of each program under consideration. The more you know the better decision you will make.

Don’t settle for the sizzle

Everyone has the special feature they want you to see. We all have them. Just make sure you don’t get caught up in the flash and sizzle. Make sure the functionality you require is there. Stick to your plan. Don’t let the emotion of a cool new technology distract you from the goals you originally set for yourself. Leading edge technology is okay when tested and proven. Bleeding edge technology can leave scars. Be careful!

Let me give you an example. Document Imaging has been a hot item for the last couple of years. The reality is most of the document imaging (DI) products in construction today do nothing more than your multipurpose printer/copier/scanner. It takes years for new programs to mature and work efficiently. A program like this has to be carefully integrated into all appropriate modules. The few that do work well are ones that the vendor has had in release for some time. Compare a mature DI product that allows drill down into job cost, payroll, AR, PO. or GL to get to the same document compared to the bleeding edge product that has a flashy screen but simply puts all job documents by themselves into one file in a stand-alone program that is written by a third party vendor. You can do this with your multifunction copier. The point is stick to your original functionality goals and features. Don’t get blinded by the flash and sizzle.

I have personally been involved in the release of two completely rewritten construction software programs from highly respected and recognized national vendors. The design and layout was superb. But I caution you that in reality it took years until the products worked as designed. Bugs, glitches, blue screens, posting errors were prevalent and added considerable time in going live adding considerable cost to implementation as well as increased stress levels. New technology is good for all of us. Just make sure you understand that there is a cost associated with it. Sizzle must have substance.

Keys to success – training and consulting

Lastly, make sure you allocate the necessary time, dollars and human resources to implement your software. Software is just like any other tool your company uses to complete a job. It requires someone who is well trained to operate it effectively. Would you send someone out to a job to weld an important structure or operate a crane without the proper training? Of course not. But time after time companies expect their software and the people operating it to perform at a high level without the proper degree of training. In my 25+ years of experience if I had to pick one item that contributes most to the success and failure of software, it is training and consulting.

Let’s distinguish between the two. Training is showing you the screen where you setup phases/cost codes. Consulting is when you use your industry and accounting experience to the customer’s benefit. For example, you don’t just show the screen to setup cost codes. Rather, you explain that setting up phases in a particular format will allow them to track both shop labor and field labor separately. The shop may be non-union and exempt from prevailing wages so they need an easy way to track that. The skilled consultant would likely have found this item early on in the discovery process so when the system is set up it is designed to provide critical or time saving information. Consulting goes beyond basic software training and includes developing internal systems and work flows so the customer can manage the business more effectively and efficiently.

Successful Installations

A successful implementation eliminates redundancy and the use of spreadsheets and reports outside of the system. For example, most construction companies create and use a WIP report that is outside of the primary system. The detail in WIP reporting can vary by company. Some companies use cost to complete, others cost at completion, some use dollars, some units etc. The issue generally is that field personal and the accounting system use different methods of measurement. Why? Because their accounting/job cost software was not set up in a way that accommodates field personnel to report completions the way they need to. Software vendors with experienced implementation skills go beyond showing how to setup a job or phase. They have an implementation strategy that includes a course of action. In this example, making sure field personal have meaningful data in the system allowing them to project cost in a way that makes sense to them while still maintaining the data integrity required by accounting is a good example of a sound implementation practice.

By the way don’t expect your training to be of the same quality for inexpensive systems as it would for higher end products. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.

To summarize

1. “Plan your work, work your plan” Without a well thought out plan, your risk of failure goes up considerably.
2. Utilize your salesperson as much as possible. They have an abundance of information and experience. Use it.
3. Don’t get burned by the “Flash and Sizzle.” Make sure there is substance to go along with it.
4. Allocate time, dollars and resources to implement the software successfully.

About the Author
Timothy D. Ricketts has 28 years in sales and development of construction software. He began his career with Contel/Versyss in the early 80’s and was involved in the design, development and release of their construction software. He has experience with J.D. Edwards, Concord, Geac and Dexter+Chaney. For the last 15 years, Mr. Ricketts has held the position of president of his own business, T. Daniels Consulting in Fenton, Michigan, where he oversees software sales, development and training of many of the construction industry’s premier software applications. He can be reached at tim@tdaniels.com or by phone at 810-629-0131.

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