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Submitting bids for work is a vital part of any contractor’s business. But submitting construction bids can take up a lot of time and energy. Moreover, all the effort you put into producing take offs and estimates can come to nothing. You might not even get feedback on why your bid wasn’t successful.
This is problematic for everyone in the construction industry, from tradies to engineers. Faced with tight deadlines to submit a bid, the pressure to gather all the information you need leads to mistakes and inaccuracies. That’s not true for all, of course. But even if you think you always nail your construction bids, there’s still room for improvement, right?
Here are ways you can produce better and more successful construction bids, which means you’ll get more work. What’s more, these strategies won’t even take more of your time or effort. Try them now.
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Keep a Fresh Perspective
It can pay off to revisit previous construction bids you submitted to clients. Compare the documents you put together for the proposal with what the job required once you got started on it.
How well did your original specifications compare with the client’s needs? With hindsight, you’ll be able to see the gaps or problems in your bid and learn from what you’ve done before. This will help you produce more accurate construction bids. This means less wastage and healthier margins for you.
Ask Questions When Your Construction Bids Fail
Often you just can’t work out why your bid wasn’t successful. However, there’s no harm in asking. The most appropriate time to do this is when you learn that you didn’t win the bid. However, be careful you don’t come across as sounding defensive.
Keep your tone upbeat and respectful. Make it clear you want more information so you can do better next time. Once you know why the client made the decision, you’ll be able to put an action plan together for your next bid.
Keep Your Construction Bids Clear and Simple
When you’ve been rolling out construction bids for years, you can become complacent. You might believe that potential clients already know what services you offer. This could cost you the job, so beware.
Take time to carefully unpack the bid request and ensure you answer all questions and detail criteria it asks for. If the brief is a poor one, you might need to read between the lines. In other words, you may need to do a little guesswork about what the client really wants.
Therefore, cover all the bases that the job would require. Make the services you offer obvious to the client. This will leave little room for confusion.
Put Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes
Think about it: Your bid is likely up against several other construction bids offering similar services and pricing. Often a client will simply choose the cheapest bid because it’s the easiest way to make a decision. So how will you make yours stand out?
There may be additional services or solutions that you can offer a client that will make their project more efficient. By highlighting these in your bid, you’ll come across as proactive, solution-based, and willing to work with your potential client. By upgrading your offering, you’ll make your bid more attractive without cutting your pricing.
Embrace Technology to Get an Edge with Your Construction Bids
Finding time to submit construction bids can be tricky. Therefore, dedicating time to improving your bids might seem impossible. However, one way to save time in the process is to implement software designed to produce takeoffs and estimates.
Producing construction bids by hand is time-consuming, and this also leaves room for error. Switching to digital methods like those offered by Groundplan will not only give you more hours in the day, but it will also make your bid stand out and show you’re moving with the times.
Conclusion
The next time you have an opportunity to place a bid, follow these tips. That is, review your previous bids, ask the right questions, imagine yourself in your client’s shoes, and go digital with state-of-the-art software. When you do, you’ll find yourself winning more construction bids more often.
