The 5 Commandments to Crush Your Competition
BY Bill Stanley
For Bill Stanley, crushing the competition isn’t about underbidding or badmouthing. Here, Stanley lays out five real-world rules for competing with integrity, improving your craft and winning the jobs that matter.
Every paving contractor wants to win jobs. But too many folks think “crushing the competition” means underbidding or tearing down the next guy. That’s not how you win—and it’s definitely not how you build a lasting business.
To me, crushing the competition means running your own race better than anyone else. It means knowing your trade, staying up on technology and carrying yourself like a professional. That’s how you build a reputation. That’s how you build trust. And that’s how you win the work that matters.
Here are my five commandments for “crushing your competition” the right way.
Commandment #1: Don’t Badmouth the Competition
We’ve all heard the stereotypes—contractors are shady, unreliable, just out to make a buck. Where do people get those ideas? Often, from us. That’s got to stop.
I never badmouth my competition. In fact, I consider most of my competition friendly, even the ones we go up against often. That doesn’t mean I get along with everyone—even Superman has a nemesis. But dragging another contractor through the mud isn’t helping anybody.
Ever notice how doctors and lawyers talk about each other as “my colleague,” “my associate,” etc.? You don’t often hear doctors saying, “Don’t go to that guy, he’s a quack.” But in our line of work, we’ve got folks out there saying, “That guy’s a jerk, hires illegals, doesn’t pay good wages.” And they think that makes them look better to the customer. It doesn’t.
If you tell a customer the whole industry’s filled with hacks and crooks, they’ll look at all of us like that—including you. You just made it harder for the next guy who walks in, just like the guy who came in before you has made it harder for you.
What if the other contractor the customer is considering really is a hack? I give them my quote, explain what we do, and encourage them to go look at our work and their work. Let the customer do their homework. If the other guy submits a bid that comes in way under ours, the most I might say is that they’re comparing apples to oranges.
At the end of the day, the best way to beat the competition is to do great work, treat customers with respect, and act like this is a trade worth being proud of. Because it is.
We posted a paving video online recently and it got over 90 million views and thousands of comments, many of them critical or uninformed. I extend the no badmouthing rule to social media, too. When contractors argue online—like a guy in Texas telling a guy in Maine he’s doing it wrong—it harms the credibility of our entire industry.
Commandment #2: Be an Expert in Your Trade
If you really want to crush your competition, you’ve got to know your trade—and I mean really know it. The better educated you are, the more respect you’ll get, from both your customers and your competition.
In our industry, there’s no set path. Some folks learn this work in a classroom with a big company. Others pick it up on the job at a small mom-and-pop. No matter where you learn, you should always be learning.
Learn about the tools, the specs, the tech. Read every issue of AsphaltPro magazine. Follow contractors you respect on social media to see what they’re up to. Pay attention to how others are doing the work—not to criticize, but to improve.
The more you know, the better you’ll do. If you do that, you won’t need to watch the competition. You’ll be leading it.
Commandment #3: Embrace Your Competition
Not all competition is bad. In fact, some of it can make you better.
I’ve got competitors I talk to regularly. We don’t discuss pricing, but we’ll talk about equipment, techniques, what’s working and what’s not. I’ve had a friendly competitor invite me to his yard just to show me a new 3D machine he bought. We spent 45 minutes kicking the tires and talking shop. We both walked away knowing more than we did before.
That’s how it should be. Strong competition makes a strong industry.
If you walk down a street with five great restaurants on it–steakhouse, Italian, sushi, you name it, they don’t steal customers from each other. They bring more people to the block. Good paving contractors can do the same. We lift each other up, not tear each other down.
I’ve even had folks early in my career say, “Good luck, keep your head down.” Those were the ones I respected. They weren’t mad I was out here trying to do good work. They welcomed it. And when I see a competitor doing something better than we do? I peek my head out and say, “Let’s do that.” That’s how we improve.
Commandment #4: Keep Up With Technology
We’ve been guinea pigs for a lot of the new tech like 2D and 3D grading systems, intelligent compaction, automated controls. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s close. And the results speak for themselves. We just finished a 15-acre lot with 30,000 tons of asphalt, and the entire project had one birdbath. One. That wasn’t because we’re miracle workers. It’s because of technology.
When you can tell a customer their lot will be 99.99% puddle-free, that sells itself. Compare that to a contractor who doesn’t utilize the latest technology and tells the customer puddling is inevitable for a lot that size (because, for that contractor, it is). You’re going to crush that bid.
There are companies in our area who used to dominate the industry 20 or 30 years ago. But they didn’t evolve. Now they’re losing bids left and right to folks running smarter, faster, more accurate setups. They’re not being undercut—they’re being outperformed.
Technology isn’t optional anymore. It’s how you stay competitive.
How to Grow Your Paving Business in the Golden Age of Opportunity
Commandment 5: Know Yourself and Play Your Game
Everyone’s got an ego in this business. I’ve got one too. Hell, I like to think I’m Michael Jordan! But even MJ didn’t try to be Shaq. He played his game.
That’s the point. If you get so wrapped up in your competition that you start trying to outdo them at what they do best, you’re setting yourself up to lose. If MJ tried to charge into the paint against Shaq, he’d end up on the floor. You’ve got to play your game. Know your strengths. Improve your weaknesses. And don’t waste your time chasing someone else’s style.
People ask me all the time, “How’s your year going?” My answer is it depends how many stupid things I’ve done lately. I’m my own biggest competition. The other guy’s price? That doesn’t keep me up. My own decisions do.
The Bottom Line
If you want to crush your competition, start by knowing yourself. Be honest about what’s working, what’s not, and what you need to change. If you keep looking inward instead of sideways, you’ll keep moving forward.
At the end of the day, competition is part of the game. It can frustrate you, motivate you, or teach you something—sometimes all three in the same week. But the goal isn’t just to beat the other guy. It’s to build something solid. To earn respect. To leave behind a job that you’re proud to point at. If you do that, you won’t need to worry about crushing your competition. You’ll already be doing it.