Considering new software is a major commitment. Besides the cost involved in purchasing, hours are spent on figuring out what features you need, evaluations, comparisons, playing around with free trials, watching demos, reading reviews, and talking to peers… and then there’s the time spent narrowing down your top runners.
Sometimes, an obvious choice is made based on price and features alone. However, when it comes to picking a platform in which your preconstruction team does most of their work, a few fancy features alone won’t cut it.
Making this major commitment should include plenty of research before jumping in with both feet. You should ask a lot of questions and feel comfortable with leaving behind the “way I’ve always done it” and embracing change and innovation. Being stagnant with an archaic estimating software limits growth, innovation, and collaboration.
Click here to read what happens if you choose not to innovate.
When Haselden Construction and Layton Construction Company were considering upgrading their construction estimating software, they knew that blindly making the decision based on functions and features was not the way to embrace a technology that plays a major role in winning work and winning over clients.
The Problem
Software vendors typically want to make a sale as quickly as possible, while general contractors want to take the time to thoroughly examine the product often resulting in contractors feeling rushed and unheard. The worst outcome is committing to purchasing a technology that hasn’t been completely vetted out and then having buyer’s remorse by being stuck with a huge investment and no plan to implement. Beck Technology is all too familiar with stories from general contractors about investing a lot of money into new software and it just collects dust because the purchase didn’t include training or implementation. What a waste.
The Companies
Layton Construction
Founded in 1953 and based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Layton Construction is a nationally ranked commercial contractor with proven experience in almost every industry, including healthcare, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, distribution, education, office, industrial, detention, tenant improvement, and public offices.
Switching from Sage Timberline, Layton Construction was introduced to Beck Technology in 2016, spurring a year-and-a-half-long DESTINI Estimator evaluation process.
“We wanted to look out there and see everything that was involved, and, really, I think Beck Technology was the only one that provided that opportunity for that kind of exploration. This was very hands-on, very personal, and very tailored to us.” - Senior Estimator for Layton Construction
Haselden Construction Company
Consistently ranked in the ENR 400 list of top national contractors, Haselden Construction Company was searching for a solution to replace MC2 to make their estimating process more efficient and handle the influx of 3D models received for incorporation with the models they produce in house.
The Solution
Beck Technology offers a unique experience through its exploration process. Beck Technology’s exploration process sets DESTINI Estimator apart from any other construction estimating software because it gives prospective users real life experience in seeing how the software will work for them.
Many software sales departments next steps are to continue to reach out via email and phone, answer any questions, and maybe even offer a slight discount if you’re lucky. Either way, their end goal is to get you to sign on the dotted line no matter what.
We’re different at Beck Technology. We don’t have the traditional SaaS sales approach. Do we want you to buy our software? Of course! However, only if it is truly a good tool for you.
Even before booking a demo, we’ll reach out with a phone call to make sure DESTINI Estimator is a fit for your needs. If what we do can help you solve your problems, we move on to the next step, which is an extended demo of DESTINI Estimator. This demo will take about an hour with time after for you to ask any questions.
We completely understand the time and effort it takes to evaluate new software. Out of respect for how precious your time is, we don’t move forward if what you see in our demo doesn’t fit your needs. If DESTINI Estimator rocks your world—and we’re pretty sure it will—we offer an exploration period where we’ll dive deeper into how DESTINI Estimator can make your preconstruction team more efficient, create accurate conceptual estimates faster, and ultimately how it helps win projects.
Click here to read more case studies on how DESTINI Estimator has helped precon teams like yours.
How Beck Technology's Software Exploration Works
Purchasing any software typically always entails a demonstration so users can gain a general understanding of the features and functionality. That said, a demo alone only touches on the surface. The idea of the exploration is, assuming the software demo passes the sniff test, for both parties to sit down and spend an extended amount of time together going deeper into the software.
Ultimately, both groups are trying to determine whether or not the software is capable of meeting both the day-to-day needs AND (more importantly) the future goals and directions of the organization. It is not just Beck Technology trying to convince the prospective users that this is the solution, but rather an opportunity for both groups to determine whether or not this partnership makes sense.
We also realized that while “hands-on” approaches can be effective, the reality is that most prospective customers generally do not have the time to effectively trial software. It takes time to get everything set up and get familiar with the application to then be able to make a true determination of whether or not the software works, along with doing their day job. Our exploration approach is designed to allow you to go deeper into the software without having to invest significant time getting up to speed on every aspect of the software.
The exploration itself involves going multiple layers deeper into every aspect of the software and evaluating whether or not it either aligns with your current workflow, process, and desired outcomes or whether or not the organization feels comfortable that they can adapt their workflow, processes, and desired outcomes to the way the software functions.
We very much want every single client to be successful and we absolutely want to do everything possible to make sure all of their questions and concerns are answered. This also allows us to see if there are any red flags that, based on our experiences, might result in the software not meeting their needs.
As much as you are learning about Beck Technology and the software, we are learning about you and trying to determine whether or not we believe we can set you up for success. Sometimes one party or the other determines that perhaps this doesn’t make sense and we would much rather know that now than further down the road.
Since contracts have unique issues that require unique solutions, each exploration is customized based on individual clients and their needs. Beck Technology will learn your team setup, regional differences, nuances to your process, and what your company wants to accomplish. This helps us tailor DESTINI Estimator toward your specific goals if you choose our preconstruction software.
The Director of Preconstruction at Haselden Construction says, “The exploration was great, they were very patient with us. I think they realize that it was a big investment for any company. There was no pressure. The whole team was very laidback. If we had questions, they’d answer them, and now and then they would touch base to see how we were doing, but it was never a pressure situation, which was great.”
After Layton Construction finished their exploration, the Director of Preconstruction said, “I think we felt like they were real people that we could work with and reach out to, rather than some massive organization that may or may not listen to what we have to say.”
The Result
Our primary focus at Beck Technology is to have productive and successful customers. We encourage those working through the exploration process to provide feedback on DESTINI Estimator and ask how they would make it better.
Layton’s Director of Preconstruction says, “The exploration kind of ended up being a collaborative session where we learned the software, and at the same time, we gave feedback that was then implemented. They went back and rewrote the code and made it better, and we truly appreciated that.”
How many other software companies will go back and rewrite code to improve their product before a potential client decides to purchase it?
After exploration, Layton, and Haselden made the switch to DESTINI Estimator. On why they chose DESTINI Estimator, Layton’s Director of Preconstruction says, “Layton Construction selected DESTNI Estimator as our new estimating platform because we believe Beck Technology has a great vision for future development of the product and they are willing to listen to and respond to our needs.”
Further, Layton’s Director of Information Systems says, “DESTINI Estimator will give the estimating department additional bandwidth to look at more projects. Compared to our old system, this will save us hours per week to do estimating jobs and improve the accuracy as well. This platform is going to significantly streamline our efforts.”
To read about what happens during a DESTINI Estimator software demo, click here.
If you are ready to explore a revolutionary preconstruction tool that replaces Excel, Sage, Winest, MC2, with Procore integration, built-in 2D and 3D quantity takeoff, and automatically curates all your data, click the button below to schedule a call with us.
