Focusing on price wars instead of people-first delivery could lead to short-term wins but long-term misery.
Are you fighting for scraps on price? Let’s be honest: if your business model is built on winning jobs by undercutting the competition, you’re on a fast track to burnout.
Price wars might keep your pipeline busy, but they strangle profit, erode trust, and leave your team disillusioned.
The companies that thrive in today’s construction industry aren’t necessarily the cheapest. They’re the ones building reputations for quality, culture and care. They’re people-first businesses.
And if you want to break free from the hamster wheel of chasing low-margin jobs, this playbook is for you.
The problem with competing on price
I’ll never forget one of my early years running a building company. We won a large extension job purely because we shaved £5,000 off the nearest quote.
At the time, I thought I’d cracked it. Work in the diary, money in the bank.
But it nearly sank us. Every delay, every extra skip, every supplier increase wiped out our profit.
The client, focused only on the ‘cheap quote’, was impossible to please. By the end, my team was exhausted, and I’d basically paid for the privilege of building someone else’s dream home.
That’s the harsh reality of price wars: you don’t win, you just bleed slower.
The people-first alternative
In my Develop Mastermind Roadmap, I have created a framework that helps construction companies scale through five pillars: plan, attract, convert, deliver, and scale.
Delivery isn’t just about getting a project finished; it’s about how you deliver. This includes the skill level of your trades, the inclusivity of your workforce, the strength of your leadership, and the wellbeing of your people.
Get this right and you create raving fans, repeat work, and teams that stick with you for the long haul.
So, let’s break this down into four key plays.
1. Skills: from gaps to growth
The construction industry has a massive skills shortage. Too many firms moan about ‘not finding good people’, yet do little to train or develop the ones they have.
Think of it like football. You don’t expect to win the league by only signing players ready-made for the Champions League. You invest in the academy. You coach. You build depth in your squad. You can support this by:
- Upskilling your current team. Treat toolbox talks as training rather than a tick-box briefing.
- Pairing veterans with juniors to keep knowledge alive.
- Creating a training matrix so you know exactly who can do what on site.
Strengthen your bench with a clear, repeatable method for finding and selecting talent.
In my own company, when we invested in structured training, productivity leapt. Jobs finished faster. Snags dropped. Profit climbed. Skills pay dividends.
2. Inclusion: building a stronger workforce
Construction has long been male-dominated, but the tide is shifting. If you want to future-proof your business, you need to widen the net.
One of my clients made a conscious effort to recruit more women into site management roles. At first, he faced pushback.
But within a year, his projects were running more smoothly. Communication improved, client satisfaction soared, and his reputation for being progressive helped attract top talent.
Practical steps:
- Review your job adverts – do they sound inclusive or like a ‘lads only’ club?
- Put policies in place to support parents, carers or those returning to work.
- Foster a culture where everyone feels valued on site.
Inclusion isn’t a buzzword. It’s smart business. Diverse teams problem-solve better, win client trust quicker, and stick around longer.
3. Leadership: from firefighting to forward-thinking
Most builders grow their company by being the best on the tools. But leading people is a different game.
I’ve coached dozens of owners who feel trapped. They are usually stressed, stuck in firefighting mode, and wondering why their team doesn’t step up.
The issue isn’t the team. It’s leadership.
Great leaders:
- Set the vision – your team should know the ‘why’ behind the job.
- Empower, don’t micromanage – give responsibility and watch people grow.
- Model behaviour – if you cut corners, they will too.
When I finally embraced leadership, not just management, my business leapt from £700k to £1.2m in a year. Why? Because my team trusted me, and I trusted them.
4. Wellbeing: protecting your greatest asset
Construction has a wellbeing crisis. Long hours, physical graft, financial pressure and mental strain. It’s no wonder so many business owners and workers hit breaking point.
Ignoring wellbeing is like driving a van without ever checking the oil. Sooner or later, it seizes up.
What can you do?
- Daily huddles, not daily hassles – a 10-minute check-in keeps teams aligned and stress down.
- Encourage downtime – lead by example and don’t glorify 80-hour weeks.
- Provide support – whether it’s mental health resources or flexible hours, show your team you care.
When your people feel supported, productivity and loyalty soar. And that directly boosts profitability.
The ripple effect
Focusing on people-first delivery doesn’t just make life nicer on site. It transforms your business model, including:
- Higher margins – clients pay more for reliability, culture and care.
- Better reputation – word spreads when your team is happy and your jobs finish well.
- Loyal teams – you cut recruitment costs and retain skills.
- Sustainable growth – instead of chasing every job, you choose the right ones.
This is how you escape the endless price wars and build a company with resilience.
Action point checklist:
- Stop competing on price; start competing on value.
- Invest in training and a skills matrix for your team.
- Audit your hiring and culture for inclusion.
- Develop leadership skills – set vision, empower, and model.
- Prioritise wellbeing with daily huddles and realistic hours.
The construction companies that win the next decade won’t be the cheapest. They’ll be the ones that invest in people skills, inclusion, leadership, wellbeing.
That’s how you move from surviving on scraps to thriving with sustainability.
So, are you ready to stop racing to the bottom and start leading from the top?
Greg Wilkes is founder of Develop Coaching.
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