Beyond Revenue: Defining Go-to-Market Success in Construction Tech

It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game. Revenue targets, conversion rates, quarterly growth – these metrics dominate boardrooms and investor presentations. But what if we’re measuring the wrong things? What if true go-to-market success in construction tech isn’t just about hitting numbers, but about something far more fundamental?

Trey Darnell, Director of Sales at Ediphi, brings a refreshingly different perspective to this conversation. Having started his career on construction sites before transitioning to the tech side, he’s witnessed firsthand how traditional sales metrics can miss the mark entirely. His approach challenges the conventional wisdom about what makes a construction tech go-to-market strategy truly successful.

In this episode, Trey Darnell, Director of Sales at Ediphi, shares why construction tech sales is completely broken, how most salespeople get it wrong, and why the industry desperately needs a new approach.

The People-First Philosophy

“Sales is not what sales used to be. It’s more of a consulting… it’s more about the people in the process and less about the tech,” Darnell explains. This fundamental shift in thinking represents a seismic change in how construction technology companies should approach their markets.

The traditional sales playbook – spray and pray outreach, feature-heavy demos, and aggressive closing tactics – simply doesn’t work in construction. Why? Because construction is fundamentally a relationship-driven industry built on trust, shared experiences, and proven results. When someone who’s never swung a hammer tries to sell scheduling software to a 30-year veteran superintendent, the disconnect is immediate and often insurmountable.

Darnell’s approach flips this dynamic entirely. Instead of leading with technology features, he starts with understanding people’s existing processes, their pain points, and their daily realities. “You have to understand people’s process and you have to understand the people and what their challenges are. Then you can layer the tech on top of that,” he notes.

This people-first philosophy extends beyond just understanding customers – it fundamentally changes how success is measured. Rather than focusing solely on deals closed or revenue generated, the emphasis shifts to whether customers are actually solving problems and improving their work lives.

The Speed-to-Value Revolution

One of the most critical metrics that construction tech companies should be tracking isn’t how quickly they can close deals, but how quickly they can deliver tangible value to their customers. Darnell calls this “speed to value” or “time to value,” and it’s becoming a differentiating factor in an increasingly crowded market.

“Our speed to value is in our people because we have an awesome CS team and awesome technical sales folks that come alongside… These are your objectives. And that’s the consultative piece,” Darnell explains. The goal isn’t just to get customers to sign contracts – it’s to get them actually using the technology productively as quickly as possible.

For Edify, this means aiming to have customers doing production estimating within two weeks of their kickoff call. It’s an ambitious target that requires careful coordination between sales, customer success, and technical teams. But it’s also what separates successful implementations from expensive software shelfware.

This focus on speed to value changes everything about how the sales process works. Instead of lengthy evaluation cycles followed by extended implementation periods, the emphasis becomes on rapid onboarding and immediate utility. The faster customers see real value, the stronger the relationship becomes and the more likely they are to expand their usage over time.

Redefining KPIs: Quality Over Quantity

Ask most sales leaders about their key performance indicators, and you’ll get a familiar list: calls made, demos booked, pipeline value, conversion rates. Darnell takes a more nuanced view of these traditional metrics.

“I think you have to coach and help people improve. And I find that a lot of sales leaders don’t do that effectively… it’s equally about the engagement, the quality of the engagement in the funnel before it closes,” he observes.

This perspective acknowledges that while metrics are necessary, they shouldn’t become weapons used against salespeople. Instead, they should be tools for improvement and coaching. The focus shifts from raw activity levels to the quality of customer interactions and the depth of problem-solving conversations.

In construction tech, this quality-over-quantity approach makes even more sense. A single high-quality conversation with the right person at a mid-sized general contractor can be worth more than dozens of cold calls to unqualified prospects. The relationships and trust built during the sales process often determine long-term customer success more than any individual feature or price point.

The Partnership Paradigm

Perhaps the most significant shift in thinking about construction tech go-to-market success is moving from a vendor-customer relationship to a true partnership model. Darnell describes sitting in customers’ offices, working through their actual processes, and identifying gaps in real-time.

“I sit with people because I want to see where they see the gaps, not just across a camera like this, but like in the room, you can feel the tension,” he explains. This level of engagement goes far beyond traditional sales activities – it’s consultative problem-solving at its finest.

This partnership approach recognizes that construction technology implementations are rarely plug-and-play. Each contractor has unique processes, different market conditions, and varying levels of technology sophistication. Success comes from adapting the technology to fit the customer’s reality, not forcing the customer to adapt to the technology.

The implications for measuring success are profound. Instead of just tracking whether deals close, companies should be measuring customer satisfaction, implementation success rates, and long-term usage patterns. Are customers actually achieving their goals? Are they expanding their use of the platform over time? Are they becoming advocates who refer other potential customers?

The Long Game: Industry Impact Over Individual Transactions

Darnell’s ultimate measure of success transcends individual deals or even company performance. “When I was in the industry, I can have impact for that company. When I’m on the solution side of the house, I can have a much deeper impact across the whole industry,” he reflects.

This perspective frames construction tech sales as something larger than just moving software licenses. It’s about enabling an entire industry to work more efficiently, reduce waste, improve safety, and ultimately allow people to spend more time with their families instead of working late into the night.

When success is measured by industry impact rather than just revenue growth, the entire go-to-market approach changes. Customer education becomes as important as customer acquisition. Building genuine relationships takes precedence over closing quick deals. Long-term value creation outweighs short-term revenue optimization.

Practical Implications for Construction Tech Companies

So what does this people-first, partnership-driven approach mean for construction tech companies developing their go-to-market strategies?

First, it means investing heavily in team members who understand construction – not just from a theoretical perspective, but from hands-on experience. The credibility that comes from having actually lived the problems you’re trying to solve is invaluable in this industry.

Second, it means designing sales processes that prioritize customer education and empowerment over pressure and urgency. The goal should be helping prospects make the best decision for their business, even if that sometimes means walking away from a deal.

Third, it means measuring success metrics that reflect customer outcomes, not just sales activities. Track implementation success rates, user adoption levels, and customer satisfaction scores alongside traditional revenue metrics.

Finally, it means taking a long-term view of market development. Building trust and credibility in construction takes time, but the relationships formed often last decades.

The Future of Construction Tech Sales

As construction technology continues to mature, the companies that succeed will be those that understand this fundamental truth: in construction, relationships matter more than features, trust trumps technology, and solving real problems beats hitting quarterly numbers every time.

The construction industry has been slow to adopt new technology precisely because so many vendors have focused on the technology rather than the people using it. By flipping this dynamic and putting people first, construction tech companies can not only achieve better sales results but also drive meaningful change across an entire industry.