How to Value Engineer Better w/ Alex Meaney

In this episode, Bryan and Alex Meaney talk about value engineering. They discuss what it means to value engineer better when it comes to construction projects.

Value engineering is about finding ways to reduce the costs of a project. However, we don’t want to do a bad job or use extremely cheap materials just to bring the price tag down. In many cases, builders will want to reduce the cost as much as possible, but we also want to make sure the construction project works in the end. In other words, 2+2 doesn’t quite have to equal 4, but we don’t want it to equal 3. We can’t afford to lose work or do bad work.

When we value engineer, we have to bring some sales experience to the table. We will have to negotiate with builders, and the process of value engineering is transactional. We also have to be honest about solutions that will work and ones that won’t. It’s best to show builders previous value engineering solutions that have failed. You don’t have to sound robotic in your meetings with builders, but you want to be sincere and have a consultation process that works for you. It’s a good idea to let previous results speak for themselves.

However, you will want to mention options that you think the builder will reject. More often than you could imagine, the builders do indeed take those more expensive add-ons.

Alex and Bryan also discuss:

• Speaking your customer’s language
• Coming to the table with the most expensive option
• Selling vs. consulting
• Printing your failures
• Approaching a sales conversation with pros and cons
• Changing solutions and technologies
• Finding a consultation process that works
• Price objections about parts warranties
• New constructions vs. retrofits
• Where builders usually want to cut costs
• Flex duct

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