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T h e

Most CoMMon MistakesexcavaTors Make and how You can easilY avoid TheM5

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a s an excavator or contractor, in the middle of a recession, you’ve got a lot of things on your mind. You’re worried about paying bills, meeting payroll, making payments on your equipment, and keeping up with your bidding- not to mention all the projects you’re trying to complete. in other words, you’re weighed down with a lot of heavy concerns.

i know you’ve got taxing issues on your mind, and i don’t mean to twist the knife, but i can’t help but wonder if you’re losing time, money, and potential projects without even realizing it.

are You losing ouT To Your coMpeTiTors because Your TechnologY is ouT-of-daTe? let’s face it, you’ve experienced some tough competition in the past. but now, in the midst of a recession, things are tougher than ever. everyone in your industry is vying for the same jobs. so, in order to win bids, you’ve really got to step up your game.

here’s the thing…approximately 50% of excavators and contractors have done just that. They’ve taken their bidding to the next level. Their bids have become more accurate, faster, and easier to document, revise and share. and i’ll tell you why…

it’s because they’re using powerful, updated technology to do the work for them. and the stuff they can do really impresses their clients while lightening their bidding load.

are You wasTing Your eMploYees’ TiMe wiTh archaic esTiMaTing Tools?

one of the greatest ironies in life is the lengths people go to just to save a few bucks. i’ve known guys that drive clear across town to save 2 cents a gallon at the gas station. i know other people who’ll buy ten cans of food simply to save $1. and i know contractors and excavators who will waste their employees’ time because its “too expensive” to

© 2009 Trakware, inc. all rights reserved.

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© 2009 Trakware, inc. all rights reserved. 3

update their estimating tools.

consider this…with the right tools, your employees can do highly accurate take offs in just 1-2 hours (saving them 4 hours of the same work by hand.) That’s 4 hours of employee time you can now use somewhere else.

but…too many business owners refuse to update their technology because they can’t or don’t want to “justify” the cost.

i hardly need tell you that “time is money.” but i will ask: if you could save your employees 4 hours on each project, how could you capitalize on that extra time? in other words, what would those 4 hours be worth to you?

has Your aTTachMenT To “bY-hand” esTiMaTing losT You jobs?

i know i’ve asked you a lot of painful questions already. but i need to ask you another one. if you haven’t taken advantage of newer technology yet, what’s holding you back? Why are you so intent upon completing take offs “by-hand”? i’ve asked several individuals that same question, and i’ve received a lot of interesting responses:

“Well, that’s the way I learned and I’m comfortable with it.”

“If I do it, I know I’m taking the time to calculate it correctly.”

“It’s too hard to learn the new stuff.”

“I can’t afford to change.”

Although I can empathize with these guys, I have a difficult time understanding them.

You see, i don’t believe you got into business because you enjoyed spending a whole day completing a single take off. i think you got into

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© 2009 Trakware, inc. all rights reserved. 4

business because you love the work. You love construction; you love moving dirt. furthermore, those long, tedious hours are keeping you from doing what you need to do most…finding new projects.

and, if you’re cranking out your bids by hand, the time you’re spending doing this “grunt” work is a financial waste of time.

plus…you’re not out doing what you really love…your work!

has Your producTiviTY decreased because You’re buried under a MounTain of paper plans?

You’re in the construction industry, so you know what a mess working with paper plans can be. it probably wasn’t long after starting your business that you found yourself up to your eyeballs in paper plans. You have plans for past clients, plans for current clients, plans for projects you’re going to bid on, plans for bids you might win and plans that magically showed up one day but you have no clue where they came from.

but here’s the thing about paper…it’s cumbersome. just to locate and sift through plans takes time. and when you’re in a hurry, that’s not time you can waste.

Furthermore, what happens when:

• someone borrows the plans and fails to return them

• someone does a take off from the wrong version of the plan

• Two people need the same set of plans

• You have multiple revisions of the plan and you can’t find the newest one

And how can you do your work when you can’t even find your desk?

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© 2009 Trakware, inc. all rights reserved. 5

are You sTruggling To coMpleTe siMple plans wiTh overlY coMplex sofTware?

okay. so maybe you’ve already overcome the other mistakes. Maybe you know that technology is the key to faster, more accurate, better bids. But even if you’ve freed yourself from the first four mistakes, you may have made another error by choosing software that’s far too complex for what you’re trying to achieve.

it might seem like a contradiction. i just showed you all the ways a lack of technology could be slowing you down and losing you money. and now i’m telling you that technology, too, could be a mistake.

Let me clarify: the wrong technology could be hurting your business.

If you’re forced to spend hours just to figure out your software, then yes, you were definitely better off doing things manually. But with the right technology, you can speed up the take off process, make better use of your time, and outbid and outperform your competition.

So now the question is…what technology should you be using to fix these mistakes and make your business more profitable?

announcing earThworks excavaTion sofTware…

By reading this, you are taking the first step towards avoiding those old mistakes and tURBo-CHaRGinG your bidding and your company profits with EarthWorks!

Trakware has spent 17 years focusing on making earthworks excavation software the easiest to use excavation software of its kind. a user-friendly interface allows you to do your take off and check it using common sense, instead of a technical manual.

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© 2009 Trakware, inc. all rights reserved. 6

earthworks excavation software saves you time, makes it easy to check your work, frees you up from the paper plans in your business, helps you ensure your take offs are done correctly, accurately, and fast. faster take offs means more bids submitted and ULtiMateLY more bids won!

so, if you’re tired of making these common mistakes in your business, then it’s time to make a few changes!

right now, you’re invited to sign up for a FRee, live demo of earthworks where one of our experts will show you:

• how earthworks is simpler and easier to use than almost any other excavation software on the market

• The incredible accuracy and speed with which you can do take offs

• how easy it is double check your work and make any necessary changes

• why earthworks is the best solution for your business

but you need to sign up now! we only offer a limited number of live demos each week and we want to set you up with the time that works best for you!

sign up now at: www.trakware1.com/demo