Become the expert on topics, like green building, that are important to your customers.

I gave a presentation to a graduate accounting class at a local university near my home a couple of days ago. It was a basic primer on how the real property consulting business I work in integrates with what these future CPA’s, CFO’s and Controllers will work into their daily work. The presentation went fine, and there was some interest here and there, but the interest spiked when I got to the part about green energy tax credits. Many hands went up, questions were asked and opinions presented when the topic turned to a shade of “green.”

As a general contractor, we are often inundated with the new gadget of the day. Suppliers try to sell us on the latest and greatest and work to have us market these systems to our clients. In the case of green products, the list of products ranges from vacuum cleaners to roofing materials. Everyone wants to catch up on the green trend of the day.

I have no doubt that this greenwashing we now see will someday come to an end. What I hope is left in its place is a thorough understanding of our responsibility to reduce and eliminate waste, make our building tighter (yet introduce fresh air) and generally understand even better our responsibility to use resources wisely.

At the end of the day, regardless of what your opinion may be on green products and systems, this is what our clients are interested in. It is well worth gaining as much knowledge as you can in the various topics so that you can become or remain the trusted advisor to them as they navigate the various green landscapes. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion as to the merits of certain products, but remain informed and become the expert on the topic for the sake of your client.

It always comes back to the basics of business: Provide a service that your competitors can’t or won’t commit themselves to. You don’t have to sell green in order to be an expert. Explaining the benefits versus the cost is equally as valuable.

I’ve always been somewhat of a Green builder.  Growing up and coming of age in a cold climate, I learned to  prefer 2 x 6 exterior walls for additional insulation.  We use to catch rainwater in an old cistern and pumped it out to water the garden.  We were squarely in the working class, so we re-used nearly everything and built for function way more than form.

Green idealism has been around for years.  But it wasn’t until recently with the surge in energy prices and the discussion about global warming that becoming Green is a necessary business strategy.  Customers look for some kind of tangible “green” symbol on anything and everything.  They now care about where the product was sourced, where it was built, the sustainability of the materials involved, etc.

I have always felt much of the recent green trend is just that – a trend with a defined shelf life.  With that sentiment, I do think a realistic greening of our industry is upon us.  This is an important shift in public perception.  I recently joined the U.S. Green Building Council and am diligently working towards the LEED AP certification.  Sustainability is upon us, and fighting the tide is a losing battle.  Although I could tell clients that Building Science has been a passion of mine since I was a teenager, there is nothing like the proverbial letters after one’s name to verify and qualify that statement.  I am beginning to feel like a credential collector, which is something I never thought I needed in this industry – but I believe that sentiment is no longer correct.

Our clients don’t just want a contractor – they want an expert partner that can guide them through the maze of questions and regulations.  They want someone who understands tax credits enough to point them in the right direction.  They want a contractor that cares about where the product was sourced, how sustainable the process was in both harvesting and building the end result.

As contractors, we can never be educated enough.  Building scientist (BS), renewable energy guru (REG), tax credit understander (TCU), sustainable product sourcer (SPS) - and, oh yeah – be able to build a facility on time and within budget with no punchlist.  Sheesh!  These are all letters that we now must, in some way, put after our name.

It is unfortunate in some aspects, but true and incredibly exciting in others - our industry has grown up and continues to do so, and we are quickly being considered more of a professional service than anything else.  We always use to wear multiple hats in our companies, now we may need multiple heads to wear all of them that people expect of us.  Let’s not fear these new expectations put upon us, but rather embrace them as a sign that we are succeeding at our goal, and are looked to for expert guidance and advice.  That alone is a powerful change in perception.  Trust me, it will take some time to get used to.