An ongoing program that gathers customer value and satisfaction data is critical to managing a sustainable competitive advantage. Leading companies often use customer value and satisfaction both as key performance indicators and as diagnostic measures for continuous improvement. But is it important to assess customer value in the world of government contracts? The answer is a qualified "yes". The ability for construction companies to learn from government decision makers can be crucial to beating the competition, though feedback isn't available in every situation.

In the case of a hard money bid, the government agency narrowly defines value as "best price," and that's all you need to know. On the other hand, when contractors are selected based upon qualifications rather than a fixed bid, learning from government decision makers can pay huge dividends.

When an agency puts work out on a fixed bid, it knows precisely what it wants and opens a price negotiation. When an agency issues a RFP, the psychology is different. The agency only has a general idea of a solution. A dialogue with potential solution providers is expected. This gives you a chance to pick the brains of agency personnel and zero in on their hot buttons. Your ability to smoke out project owner preferences during the RFP process can help you to outshine and upstage your competitors.

This article examines the tools best practices companies use to learn from government decision makers and project owners.

Improve listening skills
Your ability to learn from government project owners depends upon effective listening. A listening-centered approach to working with public sector decision makers can improve your ability not only to do good work today, but also to build a foundation of trust that leads to future contracts. I once saw a survey that said high performing sales people are better listeners. What made the difference? The study revealed that, compared to most people, these high performers tend to: