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By Chelsea Furlong

Bidformaterials.com proudly celebrates a major stride being made in an effort to stimulate the construction and related manufacturing industries. After a vote of 246 to 161 in the United States House of Representatives, the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019) has passed. This act has been developed to rapidly stimulate job formation in the construction and manufacturing industries by increasing the need for residential energy efficiency.

Frederick Cann, founder and partner of Bidformaterials.com, is eager to witness and be apart of this monumental bill. “The Home Star Act will create thousands of valuable jobs for Americans,” praised Cann. “It will also allow homeowners to create efficient homes and save a great deal of money on energy.

The bill still needs to be reviewed by the Senate and followed up with an appropriations bill to allot funds for the program, which costs 6 billion dollars. While the Home Star Act has not been put into effect yet, Cann is ever so confident in its future. “This is a monumental bill that will change the lives of thousands of Americans in a time where they truly need it,” said Cann.

Finally the year 2010 is here. A new year with new hopes and new concerns and from this writers standpoint it will be the year that the construction industry will turn forever.

Centuries and decades have gone by where construction material pricing has gone by the way side. It has been a custom in the construction material marketplace to try to get the best price for your materials. It has also been a custom to rely on your salesman to provide you with the tools to promote and use new products. In the last ten years the construction industry has gotten to the point where you will do whatever it takes to survive . And that works on both sides of the table. Suppliers are trying to stay afloat by pushing the same old products into there warehouse and then out in the field. They don’t have the time to sit with there contractor and teach them about the new products on the market like Green Alternatives. They need to push products and in quantities. On the other hand contractors need to scramble to get work and that takes time. They don’t have the time to sit and make phone calls to price check or sit and listen to a presentation on new products.

The new innovative way to price construction materials and to promote new products is finally at your fingertips. www.bidformaterials.com launched three months ago and has seen a overwhelming response from the industry. It has been quoted and featured in local newspapers and on online editorials by major construction related publishers like Builder and Prosales. Now in only two weeks they will be center stage at the largest trade show in the country. This is the International Builders Show, sponsored by the National Association of Home builders in Las Vegas Nevada January 19 – 22. Bidformaterials.com will demonstrate how they help price construction materials in real time. The website will include mini seminars with real construction lists and will show how easy it is for a contractor to get real time pricing on a list of materials. They will also show how easy it is for a supplier to have a real time free lead generated. The experience will be one you should not miss.

Please Visit us at Booth C3085. Remember the website is not an auction website, it is a connection website and may become the most important tool in your tool box.

1 – Reduce Your Overhead

The number one way you can boost your bottom line is by keeping more of the money you already have. Cutting back on unnecessary expenses can save you more than you think. Instead of providing vehicles for every employee, have your employees go directly to the job site in their own vehicle. You can keep one truck as a delivery vehicle to deliver bulky equipment and materials to the job site.

Hiring jack-of-all-trade employees can minimize the amount of sub-contractors you may need to hire can also help you to cut overall costs.

2 – Make Your Proposals Stand Out

Don’t just focus on price and the project’s scope. Be sure to include a detailed description of the attention that will be paid towards cleanliness and the protection of any household items that may exist in areas of remodeling. Homeowners are concerned about their valuable property, show them that you are as well.

Always arrive 5 Minutes early for every meeting. A client who is afraid that you may not show is a client that’s unlikely to sign a contract with you. Consider how you like to be treated by the people you do business with, and act accordingly.

3 – Never Pay More Than You Have To

Price, price, price your materials! Getting the best price for your materials puts more money in your pocket. By using Bidformaterials.com you’ll be able to be more competitive with your pricing as a supplier, and to provide better bids to your prospects if you’re a contractor.

4 – Go Green

Everyone is going green and if your company is the exception, your bottom line is sure to suffer. By offering green technology, and new inventive ways to save energy, you’ll have a foot in the door with a much wider market. Using Energy star equipment is an absolute must in the current construction industry. If you are not versed in this field you may be losing potential clients.

5 – Provide Job Security

Give your employees motivation to bring in new clients. With today’s economy, there are a lot of skilled tradesman who are either unemployed, or underemployed. Many of these workers are even trying to get day labor jobs in order to survive and will offer their bids off the books. Even full time employees, nervous about their jobs, are trying to secure weekend work, which can sometimes make their work during the week, the work they do for you, suffer.  It’s important to let you employees know that bringing work into your company will help the whole company to thrive, and will ensure that their Monday through Friday work is secure, and abundant. Think about giving finder’s fees to your employees. It takes a team effort to get through tough times, so work on making your employees feel like they’re an important part of the team.

A tough construction market has led Bid For Materials to come up with new supply marketing strategies that benefit contractors, suppliers, and homeowners alike.

Medford, NY August 21, 2009- Frederick Cann Jr. has been in the construction industry for over 20 years, in both the commercial and residential fields, and for all of that time, his passion has been getting the best price possible for his materials. “That’s why my company is always busy, even in a down market,” says Cann. “Since the onset of the most recent recession, I’ve been even more motivated.”

This motivation to save money has been the driving force behind Cann’s most recent business venture, www.bidformaterials.com. Along with partners Tom Costarelli and Allen Weinstein, Cann created Bid For Materials as a way to connect suppliers and contractors online, saving them time, and money. The website allows construction professionals to create profiles and gain access to a nationwide database of suppliers and contractors. Contractors have the opportunity to post lists of the supplies they need, and suppliers are able to send them private offers for what they are able to provide.

Based out of their Medford, Long Island headquarters, Cann, Costarelli, and Weinstein hope to help suppliers find more outlets for their materials, contractors get better prices on those materials, and homeowners get the most for their home improvement dollar.

“Contractors get endless possibilities for better prices on materials, which would result in better bids to customers, generating more work for their company. Suppliers get unlimited leads, which improves their sales as well. It’s a no brainer,” says Cann.

For additional information about Bid For Materials, please visit their website,  www.bidformaterials.com.

Contact:
Frederick Cann- Co-Owner
Bid For Materials
631.624.0323
Fred@bidformaterials.com

Ron Gold, President
Marketing Works
631 444 0176
ron@advertisingworksinc.com