When Barry Newcomb joined Davie Construction Co. in 2005, he brought the legacy of a Dad who worked in the profession at Weaver and Samet construction companies for years, and his enjoyment of working in the field for Samet during college summers.
A Greensboro native and Grimsley High School graduate earning a Bachelor of Science in Management and Marketing at Appalachian State University, Barry was happy to start his career with Davie. “My wife’s uncle owns Twin City Sprinklers, and he had known Carl for twenty years. When a position opened at Davie soon after I graduated, he called Carl and recommended me, telling him I was a hard worker. For Carl, a referral from a trusted colleague is a strong endorsement,” Barry said. He had no idea that his employment with Davie would include four promotions leading to the position he now holds as Director of Business Development.
Committed to fulfilling his wife’s uncle’s promise, Barry made it clear he was open to whatever was needed. He was willing to travel as he and his wife hadn’t started their family yet. “I started in the field working with Ben (Tuck, Executive VP of Facility Services) on financial institution projects. These involved several bank renovations in Asheville that we would work on during the night. I moved back to Boone, working on our hotel project during my wife’s last year at App. After we married, we came home to Kernersville. I worked for two or three more years in the field. Davie didn’t use formal job titles then, but my responsibilities were those of an Assistant Superintendent. After those few years, I was evaluated and moved into the office where I worked with the estimating department, which, back then, was just Allen Snipes. I worked with him on all stages of the bid process and traveled to assess potential jobs with him.”
A few years later, his job changed again, increasing his responsibilities as an Assistant Project Manager. “While I held that position, I ran some small renovation projects that went so well that I became a Project Manager, where I stayed for the next 14 years. I managed many projects, including new financial institutions, office buildings, and renovations. Over the last six years, I focused on multifamily housing and helped start our work in our western division in Knoxville. When Cade (Carney, Project Manager) took over the Tennessee projects, I phased into my role with Business Development. Carl believes that the scope of my experience at Davie, knowledge gained by working in every part of preconstruction and operations, is a significant benefit to clients and potential clients,” said Barry. “He knows my story gives them confidence and that I can answer most of their questions about our company and explain in meaningful detail why they should work with us.”
Barry’s Business Development responsibilities entail “‘everything it takes to attract new clients and turn them into repeat clients.” Among these crucial activities is managing client contact through a CRM software program every week. “Before I had this position, we didn’t have a strong system for following up with clients after we submitted our proposals. We’d spend a lot of time putting together the proposal, and then we might not hear back for a few weeks or never. Or we might get a call a month later, that they want to move ahead with us. By tracking our leads, opportunities, and proposals, we can be more proactive,” he said. “Our marketing communications have become significantly more professional over the past few years. Cody (Crissman, Director of Marketing and Relationship Manager) provides us with sophisticated marketing tools and a dynamic digital program that has greatly expanded our branding footprint and visibility throughout the Southeast.”
Once he has established a client relationship, Barry works hard to ensure our clients know how much they are valued. He does this by inviting them on fishing trips, sponsoring, playing in, and building teams for golf tournaments, as well as taking them to events like the Ryder Cup. He arranges tailgate parties (for Wake Forest games!) and Top Golf events. He also enjoys planning the annual fishing trip honoring our late team member, Tony Nichols. “Carl participates in many of these. He knows I’m doing all the planning and making sure that everyone involved has a great time. It helps that I like to play golf! Our commitment to spending leisure time with our clients has built many long-lasting relationships and personal friendships.”
Barry considers his most significant contribution to Davie to be securing jobs for the company’s future financial success. “While I’m working to keep our clients happy and ensuring that they continue to work with us, I must always be working to expand our client list and project types for next year and the year after. Economic situations change, and if one kind of industry slows down, we need to have jobs lined up for the growing ones. That means I’m always making new contacts and developing new leads. I took the call a year and a half ago with a promising potential client. After we talked, I heard nothing for six months, but then it became a job. I enjoy seeing something that starts with a phone call, turns into a contract and operations, and then a finished building. Another challenge is finding jobs suited to our size and capabilities. Especially those that have the potential for more work with a particular client. Even if the first job might seem small, we consider what could result from that success. We’re not here to make money on one job, but to build that project into a valuable partnership. That’s been the philosophy since the beginning, and we take great pride in our incomparable repeat business statistics.
Barry knows that the family-first philosophy of the Davie culture is attractive to team members and clients. “We all communicate seamlessly as a team that works and plays together, and our clients see that benefit daily. Our operations and technical capabilities are competitive with larger construction firms. There might be more money working at a firm with larger revenues. But we would also put in much longer hours, taking away from our family time. The trust put in the team members held by our upper management is reflected in the flexibility of our schedules when taking care of our own families. The longevity of our team and the fact that our new guys don’t leave speak to the value of all the intangible benefits we appreciate so much working with Davie,” he said.
Barry enjoys spending his leisure time watching his son, Austin (12), play baseball while his wife, Stephanie, is at the cheer gym with daughters Ava (14) and Anniston (9). Barry and Stephanie organize vacations around cheer competitions and are focused on raising their children to share all the values that enrich their lives.