Team meetings are all about making sure everyone is on the same page. When it comes to driving growth and making informed decisions in your highway construction business, structured team meetings can empower your team, ensure clarity, keep everyone focused on driving growth and making informed decisions, and keep the company aligned with its strategic goals.

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll learn about a meeting structure for facilitating clear communication, alignment, and effective tracking and adjustment of strategies. I’ll outline the five types of meetings within this framework and reveal their unique purpose and agenda.

3:07 - Main goal of the annual quarterly review meeting and what it looks like

7:52 - Purpose and agenda of the quarterly strategic plan progress and update meeting

11:53 - Aim and structure of the monthly department leaders’ OKR or metric review meeting

13:50 - The magic of the bi-weekly department tactical sprint planning meeting and weekly department stand-up meeting

18:18 - The importance of individual bi-weekly sprint planning and its role in keeping teams on track

Mentioned In From Chaos to Clarity: Transform Your Team Meetings for Better Results

Growth Strategy Assessment

Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

Are you falling short of your forecasted business numbers right now?

You’ve probably felt the possibility of a downturn coming, and you’re not alone. In the last few weeks, folks across the industry have been having tough conversations about being off track in their business. But why?

As the recent good times rolled on, many started slacking off in one key area--their sales team. They’ve reduced them or stopped providing ongoing training. Now that things are slowing, it’s time to get back to some basics!

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll hear about the importance of having a strong sales strategy and system in place for your business. I’ll emphasize questions that help you understand your buyers and what you have to offer them, and help you figure out how to invest in sales team building and support.

3:11 - Where to start to get a better understanding of your offerings and customers

6:50 - Questions to ask that’ll help you build a great sales strategy and business development system

9:24 - Questions to ask that’ll help you invest in a strong sales team and talent brand

Mentioned In How to Navigate Downturns in Your Business By Revitalizing Your Sales Strategies

Growth Strategy Assessment

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Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

Last week, you heard me talk about why understanding your workforce is important to recruiting and retaining top talent in your construction company. Now you need to know how implementing the data gathered from those employee interviews and surveys can affect your results and how to measure their impact.

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll hear part two of my interview with CONEXPO where I discuss the influence of your employee research on your company and how to analyze your implementation to see whether it’s working or not. I’ll also share why we need to rethink recruitment in construction and a couple of strategies that can aid your company’s retention efforts.

4:00 - The importance of having someone who’s aware of talent branding on your team to help you implement employee research

6:34 - How your employee research influences recruitment and retention using our workforce strategy framework

11:30 - How to measure whether your implementation of employee research is effective

16:31 - The paradigm shift happening with how we think about recruiting in construction

19:34 - How the Savannah Bananas, Lego, Starbucks, and L'Oréal provide great examples of inspirational ideas from outside our industry

27:03 - The power of highlighting stories of success from within your company

34:31 - Examples of how you can get good stories out of your employees

Mentioned In How Employee Research Helps Build a Resilient Workforce in the Construction Industry

Workforce Strategy Health Assessment

CONEXPO-CON/AGG

“Secrets for Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent at Every Level” | CONEXPO-CON/AGG

Survey Monkey | Google Forms 

Upwork

We Build Texas Roads

Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller

Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

CONEXPO isn’t just the largest construction show in North America. It also has an incredible amount of content on its website with articles, interviews, and other very helpful resources. So when they asked if I was willing to be interviewed for an article, I jumped at the chance!

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll hear part one of my interview with Gregg, where I talk about understanding your workforce and improving your recruitment, development, and retention through gathering and implementing valuable feedback from employees.

4:23 - How I’d characterize the labor crunch today versus in 2022 and why it’s different

12:50 - How to use surveys and interviews to figure out what you need to do to build your brand

18:48 - How affordable (or even free) software tools can help you survey and interview your workforce

23:59 - The benefit of a third-party interviewer and how interviews can help with brand messaging and talent acquisition

30:43 - How the ideal customer concept can help you identify the ideal person for your workforce

32:20 - The fine line you have to walk as you’re getting to know your employees

35:50 - The importance of having or working with someone who understands employer branding and marketing

Mentioned In Understanding Your Workforce is Key to Recruit and Retain Top Talent

Workforce Strategy Health Assessment

CONEXPO-CON/AGG

“Secrets for Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent at Every Level” | CONEXPO-CON/AGG

Survey Monkey | Google Forms 

Upwork

Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

When you look up at the end of the week, does it feel like it’s gotten away from you? You put in work, but you don’t necessarily feel like it was the most efficient use of your time. You want to do more with less and ensure you and your team are focusing your time (and energy) and where it’s needed most.

But how? There are micro-specific ways you can leverage as part of your process. I’ve been working on something inside my business to restructure my workweek that works great for those I challenge to try it.

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll learn about the concept of an ideal week and how creating one can help structure and prioritize tasks in your highway construction business. I’ll share my recently revamped ideal week schedule, breaking down what I do day-by-day and highlighting aspects that create increased productivity while streamlining your time.

3:24 - What you need to know about implementing ideal week mode

4:56 - How I start my day and my workday startup ritual

7:31 - A component of your ideal week that makes you more productive

12:18 - How I revamped my schedule to stream down my workday and gave myself space to work on ideas I’d otherwise forget

19:16 - A slight modification for summer and the importance of blocking out time for yourself and your family

Mentioned In Take Control of Your Time By Creating Your Ideal Week Schedule

Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner System

Slack

Monday

Snipd

Fathom AI Notetaker

Growing Your Business with AI: Unlocking Efficiency and Success

Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

Schedule a Call

Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

You’re at the point where you need to get serious about marketing. Yet, you feel like marketing can be a real drain on your resources. And it can be, unless it’s done right. 

So how do you do it in a cost-effective and adaptable way? Bringing on board a fractional chief marketing officer (CMO) might be the right avenue for your business.

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll hear examples of how a fractional CMO can help with the marketing side of your business. I’ll also reveal more benefits of working with a fractional CMO and what you need to look for when hiring one to ensure they’re a good fit.

3:17 - How a fractional CMO can be used in your business

6:51 - Collaboration between the fractional CMO and your teams

9:53 - Benefits of hiring a fractional CMO for your asphalt business

11:46 - Tips on how to find and work with a fractional CMO

20:30 - How to figure out your next steps

Mentioned In How to Maximize Your Marketing Through a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer

World of Asphalt

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Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

“If we’ve lost an employee in a really significant role, should I use a headhunter?”

This question often comes up when we’re focused on workforce strategy with businesses, and there are both positives and negatives to hiring a headhunter or recruiter to replace a key employee. So how do you decide if it’s the right thing to do for your company?

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll learn some of the pros and cons of using a headhunter to recruit someone to fill a key role in your organization. I’ll also reveal some questions to ask yourself to help you discover whether it’s the right move for you to make right now.

2:20 - Why using a headhunter might be the right move for your business

5:29 - Why using a headhunter might not be right for your business right now

9:53 - Questions to help you decide if hiring a headhunter or recruiter is the way to go for you

Mentioned In Pros and Cons of Using a Headhunter to Fill Key Employee Roles

Workforce Strategy Health Assessment

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Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

How do you increase the percentage of closes you get during the proposal phase?

An often overlooked but important element can shorten your sales cycle and make it easier for your construction sales team to close the deal. It helps extract the information you need and is something your competition isn’t likely to do. You simply have to appeal to the emotional things that trigger people into making decisions through the power of storytelling.

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll learn about how you can set your construction business apart with your proposal through story. I’ll teach you step-by-step how to incorporate story elements into your offer and give a couple of tips for streamlining the process and making your proposal even stronger.

6:41 - Where to start in crafting the story for your unique proposal and why this makes your team better at sales

10:10 - The importance of giving prospective clients a clear path to take action in your proposal

15:14 - A powerful way to position your offer to potential clients

16:34 - The mistake in many proposals we see and two ways to do it correctly and effectively

18:23 - How to end the proposal offer and ideas for crafting a cover letter 

Mentioned In How to Use Storytelling to Set Your Proposal Apart and Close the Deal

Growth Strategy Assessment Tool

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Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find anybody who doesn’t like rewards. Having incentives in compensation packages for your employees helps you grow your highway construction business. You increase the likelihood of hiring and retaining workers who’ll want to show up consistently and perform their best, stay and evolve with the company, refer others, and more.

However, you might need to get creative and think outside of the box a bit. And you need to avoid some of the pitfalls and challenges when coming up with incentives you want to give workers.

In this episode of the Contractor’s Daughter podcast, you’ll learn about common mistakes with compensation inside the industry, key components of creating successful incentive packages, and how to structure incentives for different employee roles within your organization. I’ll also teach you how to measure the impact of the compensation you offer to your workforce.

4:45 - The two biggest things you need to think about before taking on the challenge of crafting incentivized compensation packages

6:01 - Common mistakes that construction companies make with the compensation they offer

11:13 - Key components of successful compensation packages and some ideas you can use, including non-monetary examples

18:24 - How you can tailor incentives to benefit people in specific roles inside your construction company

23:08 - Ideas for evaluating the effectiveness, satisfaction, and appeal of your compensation packages

Mentioned In How to Create Great Incentivized Compensation Packages for Your Construction Employees

Workforce Strategy Health Assessment

Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work by Uri Gneezy 

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Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.

Explore the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the highway paving industry. AI is more than just a trendy concept; it's a potent instrument that requires a well-thought-out strategy for it to be a boon for our businesses. 

My own company's experience served as a case study, highlighting how AI integration, when aligned with our overarching business objectives, can significantly boost efficiency and foster growth. We delve into the ways AI can address some of the pressing challenges in the industry, such as labor shortages, by automating tasks and optimizing data entry processes. Additionally, AI's role in refining supply chain management, showcasing its potential to streamline operations and reduce bottlenecks.

In this episode of The Contractor’s Daughter Podcast, I spotlight several innovative AI tools, including Fathom, Zapier, Alexa, Monday, Everhour, and Snipd, that are currently reshaping how we handle our day-to-day tasks. The key takeaway is the importance of employing AI in a smart and strategic manner to fully harness its capabilities for the betterment of our businesses.

1:17 - The importance of understanding and using AI effectively and strategically.

5:01 - Establishing a company AI policy and inside look at our AI policy.

6:22 - Integrating AI usage with overall business strategy for growth and efficiency.

8:31 - The potential of AI in addressing labor shortage problems.

12:07 - AI in supply chain analytics and its impact on cost reduction and forecasting.

13:35 - AI tools I use to enhance daily productivity.

25:14 - Why a strategy for utilizing AI effectively in business operations is critical.

Mentioned In Growing Your Business with AI: Unlocking Efficiency and Success

Hey NAPA for NAPA

Fathom 

Zapier

Stream Deck

Monday

Asana

Everhour

Snipd

Wisdom AI

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Jeani on LinkedIn

Blacktop Banter Network

Follow Jeani Ringkob on LinkedIn for more resources, strategy videos, tips and news from the Blacktop Banter Network
You can also schedule a call with Jeani to learn more about building and marketing your heavy highway construction business and access videos and free resources on the StoryBuilt.Marketing website.
Take the Growth Strategy Assessment here! It only takes a few minutes to determine the roadblock between you and the next big growth of your business.