A lot of people outside of the industry don’t know that construction companies often have to bid on prospective projects. Important projects are often advertised to several construction companies, who then have to offer the right fee and the right expertise in order to get the profitable and name-making construction projects they need.
So when you’re in this line of work, especially in a management position, it’s absolutely essential that you really know how to sell your company. Here are a bunch of tips for those in construction who want to ensure they’re not making mistakes when it comes to the project bidding process. Here’s how to really stand out.
Don’t make mistakes with the units
A surprising number of businesses make the mistake of bidding based on a misunderstanding of the unit measurement that the client is requesting. Don’t be one of the companies that end up putting in a bid based on price for, say, linear feet when the client’s preferred unit is actually linear meter. This may seem obvious, but it’s the most common construction bidding mistake in the business!
Considering payment methods
The more flexible you can be with payment, the more likely it is that you will be able to win construction bids. There are clients out there who will want to pay using credit card, or, even more specifically, specialist cards such as American Express. Ensure that you’re able to accept as many sensible payment methods that are reasonable for your business as you can.
Your resources and collaborators
So how many workers are you able to deploy and how quickly? Can you send out your best workers at the drop of a hat? And what tools will they be using? Are they using hi-tech, environmentally friendly and powerful tools or will their resources be a little behind the curve? (Protip: the latter isn’t the one that’s going to win you the most bids.) And if you work with other companies for certain elements, are they reliable and respected? You can always check reputations by looking at resources such as steel building reviews.
The power of specialty
The best companies out there are usually known for being the best at a particular thing. They may have a niche or particular area of expertise. A lot of potential clients are going to like the look of this, though this will, of course, depend on the sort of project they’re looking to get completed. Remember to put a lot of focus on your specialties, and don’t spend too much time or money developing bids that lie outside your area of construction expertise.
Getting social proof
So let’s say your bid is looking good. The client likes the look of things so far. But when they go online and try to find out more about you (and, rest assured, they are going to do this), they don’t see much social proof. This is more than showing the existence of your company through the use of a website. It’s about there being proof that other people know about and have interacted with your business. Testimonials, social media interactions, and the like can help you build social proof for your business.
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