I was talking to a contractor this week who does line striping all over the country. Most of it for primes on DOT work. He said something that caught my attention:

"We learn how the GC plans to build the job, then price our shifts to support their schedule. When you understand their approach, you win jobs because people want to work with you - not just because you're low."

That's partnership thinking. Not transactional thinking.

I've been blessed to work with some awesome subs over the years - electricians, concrete, striping, traffic control, sawcutting. I've also had a jack and bore sub almost go under on a 125' x 96" bore that took over three weeks to get across the road. One of the owner's reps drove by one evening, rolled down his window, and suggested we "put up a mailbox" at the bore pit with a big Louisiana grin. I didn't find it funny at the time, but the guy had a point.

I've also had an egomaniac electrician curse me out because we were 30 minutes late putting his lane closure out. I didn't appreciate that either.

This is about civil work where both primes and subs actually do work - not GCs that just coordinate from the trailer. When you're moving dirt, laying pipe, and paving alongside your subs, the dynamics are different. You're not just managing schedules - you're managing a job site where your crews and theirs need to work hand in hand.

The difference between great partnerships and disasters comes down to one thing: understanding that you're building the same job together.

What Great GCs Do Right

Clear expectations before the bid. Pick up the phone and call your subs about every job you want a quote on. Clarify items, seek input, ask questions. You never know what you might learn. Most estimators treat subcontractor quotes like an Uber Eats delivery - they call, place an order, and wait for it to show up. The best treat them like consultations.

Demand the best pricing, but earn it. People won't like this, but I don't care. The companies I worked for were the best in our markets. Far from perfect. But we hired the best people, paid them top dollar, and worked hard to do the highest quality work at the lowest price. We strove to kick the competition's ass in every way imaginable.

As a result, I expected the best pricing from our key subs and suppliers. Why? Because working with us was different. The job would be ready when they mobilized. The inspector wouldn't be up their ass because we'd built trust ahead of them. We'd call early if we decided to rain out. They'd get better production with us because we worked faster and better.

If you can't honestly say this about your company, that's a problem you need to fix. But if you can, you shouldn't accept blanket pricing that your sub sends to everyone else. You're competing on price, and so are they. The best partnerships are built on mutual competitiveness.

Honor your word. Once we made a deal pre-bid, my word was my bond. We wouldn't beat them up after the fact if they were low and made a strategic deal before the bid. I never shopped someone's price post-bid, but I would be willing to work out deals with great subs after the fact if I hadn't previously committed to someone else.

Stay connected. Meet up every six months minimum with ownership, senior management, estimating, and field teams to discuss how things are going and upcoming work. This is relationship hygiene. Too many partnerships die from neglect, not conflict.

Communicate like lives depend on it. Issue subcontracts as soon as jobs get awarded. Hold kickoff meetings weeks in advance. Set clear expectations.

Require preconstruction meetings for every sub. No exceptions. Every subcontractor should attend a preconstruction meeting before any work starts. Cover scope, schedule, safety requirements, quality standards, and coordination with other crews. This isn't bureaucracy - it's insurance against expensive misunderstandings. When we implemented subcontractor precons, many of our subs told me “Man, we wish everyone did this!”

Pick up the phone when there's a problem. Both parties: if you've got a problem, please pick up the phone and don't send an email! Problems get solved faster with a 5-minute conversation than a 20-email chain. Save the emails for documentation after you've already talked it through.

Plan for your partners to make money and pay on time. The best GCs understand that broke subs are bad subs. If your sub isn't making money, they're either cutting corners, bringing their C-team, or about to walk off your job. None of these outcomes help you.

Stay present when your subs are working. I wouldn't ever have a sub working without one of our reps on site or available nearby. This isn't micromanaging - it's partnership. When problems arise (and they will), you need to be there to solve them together. Too many self-performing contractors get sloppy about managing their subs.

What Great Subs Do Right

Keep the legalese simple. If I need to be a lawyer to understand the 400 clarifications on your quote, you're doing it wrong. Include what’s incidental to your work. Don't try to jam the GC up with War and Peace in clarifications. Don't stick "gotcha" clauses in there without talking about it. If you do, they won't trust you.

Send quotes on time. If the bid is due at 10 AM and you’re sending it to us that morning, you’re late. I don’t care if the steel supplier drug his feet… get us the quote the day before the bid.

Price your best customers differently. Too many subs quote everyone the same price. I believe this is wrong. The best GCs deserve the best pricing because they make your life easier, pay faster, and help you do better work.

Own your mistakes. If you screw something up, admit it and fix it. This will earn you way more trust and business in the long run than trying to cover it up or blame someone else.

Understand the bigger picture. Seek to understand how the GC will build the job. When will your scope actually start? What other trades are you coordinating with? What are the schedule risks? The striping contractor I mentioned at the beginning gets this - he prices jobs based on how his work fits into the GC's overall plan.

Keep track of your own quantities. We don't want to do your accounting for you. Work with the inspectors. Know your numbers. Be ready to discuss progress and costs. Document everything.

Speak up when something's wrong. If you see problems or concerns on the job - safety issues, schedule conflicts, quality problems, or owner issues - tell the GC immediately. Your input matters. You're often closer to the work than anyone else and see things they miss. The best subs don't just execute their scope - they help protect the entire project.

The Pricing Code

Here's how the best relationships handle pricing:

• GCs want the best price and subs want to give it to their best customers

• Never ever okay to shop someone else's price by showing quotes around

• Okay to call to tell subs when they're not low and what items are out of line pre-bid, but don't shop

• Once a deal is made pre-bid, honor it - no jerking around after the fact

• If no deal is made, both parties have latitude to find other options

The Bottom Line

Great partnerships aren't built on contracts - they're built on trust, communication, and mutual respect.

People will forget what you said, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. Subs deserve to be treated as members of the team, not vendors to be squeezed.

Everything comes down to setting clear expectations and working together toward the same goal: building great work safely, on time, and profitably.

The contractors who master this don't just get better pricing - they get better partners. And in a low-margin business, that can be the difference between winning and losing.

What's your experience been with prime-sub relationships? What works? What doesn't? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Want a preconstruction meeting template that covers all the bases? Reply to this email with “PARTNERSHIP” and I'll send it over. It'll help you set clear expectations and avoid expensive misunderstandings on your next project.

Thanks for reading this week. If you found this valuable, forward it to someone who might benefit. See you next week - we’ll have some exciting news to share!

In Case You Missed It:

Why Estimating Ain’t Bidding

The Art of the Takeoff

A Beginner’s Guide to AI for Civil Contractors

How Not To Hire

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About the Author

Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Edgevanta. We make software that helps contractors win more work at the right price. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, ultra runner, and bidding nerd. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]