Concept
Depth Chart
What it is
The depth chart is your contractor roster built like a football team. First string, second string, third string at every trade. Framer, plumber, electrician, HVAC, drywall, tile, paint, LVP install, roofer, concrete, foundation, landscaping, handyman. Ten-plus trades, three deep.
From the How to Pick the Right Contractor video, Ross explains there are four types of contractors: the general contractor, the specific-job contractor, the all-arounder, and the laborer. Your depth chart has the right mix of types at every position — and the most useful players are usually the all-arounders who can handle a handful of different things, since chunking jobs together gets you better pricing and more consistent availability.
The nine tangible indicators Ross profiles contractors on, from that video: truck (white van or truck, not wrapped, not rusted), crew structure (owner leading 2-4 people), Google presence (findable but not massive), main marketing method (magnetic sign not a permanent wrap), tools and gear (clean, quality), clothing (paint or drywall on the pants), sales tone (relaxed, not pitchy), email address (not AOL, but not some marketing agency address either), and gut feel.
Why it matters
A rolodex is a list. A depth chart is a system. The difference shows up when your best plumber goes on vacation, gets overbooked, or disappears. Rolodex: your job stops. Depth chart: second string picks up the phone.
From the contractor picking video: “Most of you all think that you need a whole bunch of money to start buying houses… Here’s the main thing — you are going to be enticed into hiring guys that are going to charge you way too much money.” The guys with the wrapped trucks, the admin teams, the billboard presence — they have overhead to feed. “Who do you think is paying for all that stuff? It is a humongous overhead.” Your job is one of twelve they’re running right now to cover it.
The depth chart also kills the hostage play. When a contractor knows you have two other people ready to step in, he can’t hold a mid-project job hostage for more money. When he knows he’s your only option, he can and will. Power in contractor relationships flows entirely from your depth chart depth.
How it shows up
From the crash video: in bad markets, good contractors become available. “A lot of great contractors who have built their business and they have nobody to hire them. That could be you. You could build relationships with some of the best vendors out there and they’ll remember who helped them out in the worst of times.”
Where to find them: the 31-minutes-of-pain video has the profile. You’re not looking for the guy in the wrapped truck. You’re looking for the owner-operator with 2-4 guys in a white van with a magnetic sign. Find them at Home Depot at 6am, gas stations near industrial parts of town, lumber yards and supply houses, on other active job sites. Referrals from other contractors who’ve worked on your jobs are good. Referrals from fellow investors are sometimes the guys those investors are about to fire.
The yearly review is honest and unemotional. First string who coasted gets demoted. Second string who delivered three clean jobs promotes. Anyone who ghosted or ran you into a contractor black hole comes off the chart entirely. You don’t owe anybody a roster spot.
Related
contractors, contractor black hole, all weather approach, the hostage, dilution effect, miy method, job confidence