There are no certainties in business. Clients give verbal approvals and then pull back. Deals feel done until they aren’t. Pipelines look healthy right up until they suddenly aren’t. Anyone who’s been in business long enough learns not to count outcomes before they actually land.

What does exist, though, are patterns.

Most construction companies still market themselves as a builder who does new builds, renovations, extensions, decks, fences, and retaining walls. Or they adopt the label architectural builder, which is just as broad, just dressed differently.

The disconnect is obvious. People are making highly specific purchasing decisions in every other part of their lives, but when it comes to building, the industry largely speaks in generalities.

That gap is one of the biggest reasons builders struggle to attract better projects, better margins, and more consistent work.

In marketing meetings, there’s a question we ask almost every builder early on.