Lost A Job For Lack Of A Generator.

21gun

I cant say i cant believe it... i just didn't see it making this much difference...

I bid a biggun'..... milk barn... t/0 old roof framing and replace with trusses and add on here and the to get some extra floorspace... gave the HO a great bid.... walked him thru it... gave him options for everything he wanted... even was gonna let him do the demo and wait on him....

Thing is... the ele. had been taken off the building for demo.... for me to work... needed it back up....temp pole i was gonna help him find and install it....

another guy bid it.... he had a generator..... customer calls me back to tell me this.... said the bids were identical.... (but had less to worry about i guess )... didnt seem to want to haggle with me... i didnt offer....

So how do i learn from this...?????? There was several hours of time in this bid.... sucks to loose it.. but eh, you win some you loose some...

I'm inside looking out..... what should i have done differently? Every job/bid counts... i need them too. I feel dumb for not offering to rent a generator. He has told the guy he got the job.... i cant get it back.... but i cant see where i lost this one....
To a generator? Well of course not....

I lost it for not thinking about a generator right? How do you get a HO to call you back before they make their final choice? A negotiating call?

Hell, i dunno... i just know i'm bummed... really wanted this job...needed rather.

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Inner10

The generator wasn't the issue, the other guy probably had a better sales pitch. I find I get most jobs when you establish a level of comfort between yourself and the client by discussing matters of common insterest; not just the job in question.

JonM

Sounds like something else is involved besides the generator...happens all the time in this business. If you get your feelings hurt by losing bids, you are not long for this business.

Magnettica

That's been mentioned here more than once and I can say honestly that that is what's been working for me. It may seem ridiculous to help an elderly lady set up a gopher trap in her back yard but I did just that a week ago and I got the job because she specifically said she had a "good feeling" just from talking with me. Building a trust with any customer goes a long way I am finding out.

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jtpro

The bonding with customer is good advice. I do feel it's possible that you nailed it with the generator.

If someone has 2 IDENTICAL numbers and they see the hassle of a temp pole and delay of project vs. no hassle and project has no down time well..which would you choose?

480sparky

X2.

It could have easily been a statement such as "I can get you a temp pole installed, but that can take time to get hooked up. If that's going to delay the project any I can easily stop by with a genny and keeps things moving along."

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jumbo

I always try to just be myself with a customer, most tend see through the "I'm a good guy" fake bullsh*t. And by the way, I get my feelings hurt on just about every job I don't get. It's just the way I'm built. I've been in this business for 17 years, hope I'm going to make it.

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deckman22

Bidding jobs is an ongoing learning experience. You just learned something new.

Cows have to be milked everyday, the down time was no doubt going to give him some problems & he wanted it done quick.

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Mike Finley

I don't know about the bonding. Whatever...

The issue is you ran into a customer who in the end wasn't buying what you were selling. The other guy for whatever reason was solving the guys problems in a way that made him more comfortable.

Was it cause you didn't shoot the sh*t about his garden? Who knows. Was it more about he never was really sold on you? Most likely that's the issue. If he was 100% sold on you he would have either asked you about the generator option, which he didn't. Could be you just ran into a customer who wasn't really as sold as you think he was, was looking right through you and all the while keeping his options open with somebody else. He talked to the other guy last and said to him self, F-it. This guy is right here, he is going to do exactly what I need, screw it, let's rock. And then you were out in the cold.

If you really want to know why you lose a job the thing to do is ask the customer. You do that enough and you'll find out real quick some things about yourself and your company. Some you may not like and be suprised by. You might find out over time you hear something like "Just didn't feel you could do the job as well" or "Just didn't feel you were listening to what I was saying..."

You'll never know until you ask the customer himself.

I know lots of young bucks who think they have golden tongues, the gift of gab... they think their smooth talk'n players, they think they are salesman because they sell cheap and customer say yes and they attribute their success more to their golden tongues then what is really making the sale which is selling on price and being a low bidder.

As soon as they run into a customer who isn't concerned with the money and is more concerned with the job being completed on time, being done right, not having to babysit the contractor etc... then suddenly they start getting all these really confusing things happening, like customers signing contracts with competitors for odd reasons

... like generators?

Don't know if you fit the mold, but something to think about.

mics_54

I don't think the elect power issues had anything to do with it. It's really impossible to predict what the reason actually was. Maybe you talked too much. Maybe you gave the customer the impression you couldn't handle the job. Maybe you were too eager. Who Knows. But then..it could have been the power issues. If the other guy offered to use a generator for power for the same price...basically you were under bid.

SelfContract

The answer is the first one bold there! (talk?) Lesson learned. Move on.

Mellison

Who knows what came into play wth making the final decision to go with the other bidder.
The good news is that next time you will offer both options.
You are not the first forget to offer a specific option and you certainly won't be the last.
Not trying to sound pedantic here but: Always give your customers as many oiptions as possible.
Walk them through each, and teach them something along the way.

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Treeandland

Sounds like it was a pretty big job, is it really possible both of your prices were identical?

Customer sounds like he's lying. I would love to know what my customers think of my presentations, bidding and everything else. Just asking them doesn't usually work. People are pussies, they very rarely will tell you the truth. If they did, everybody in business would have their sales techniques down pat.

Tom R

Maybe he reads this forum and when he sees comments like this he becomes a 'profiler' too . . .

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OGStilts

I think we coverd this back in the thread where 21gun had 46 out of the 112 posts on that thread. The answer lies there.

http://www.contractortalk.com/f11/wh...-62872/index3/

then again what do I know....I'm just a "Hamerheaded Old Fart"

Or maybe the H/O was smart enought to realize this was a job for someone with a crew bigger than a one man show. I'm just saying

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JumboJack

Maybe the other guy showed the client insurance certs.....
Just thinking outside the box....

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in texas with framing and cornish people will do it for 3.00 a foot. What do yall think about that? Just laber

JumboJack

Yeah...But you're our "Hammerheaded Old Fart"

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in texas with framing and cornish people will do it for 3.00 a foot. What do yall think about that? Just laber

W-Tinc

Tough Crowd!

Things I would learn from this..I need to think about more ways to close the sale. I need to figure out how to get enough leads so that each one doesn't represent money I need (This is always the tough one for me, and the biggest reason I like subbing).

Be prepared..think about the appointment beforehand and try to make the most of it. Clean vehicle, look nice, nice samples/notebook/pen etc. Be exactly on time. People love pictures, did you show this guy some of the pictures you posted here? Some great looking work.

+1 to not looking desperate, wether its your 4th sale of the week or you put your last $10 bucks in the tank to get to the guys house you have to act the same.

Better luck on your next appointment

Willie T

We keep forgetting that we are not primarily in the construction business, but in the people business.

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Bud Cline

Well.......if you write....
your bids and converse....with the cust......the same way way you you p[ost....
messages here in this forum....then !!!!! i

can see why a prospect......might be a little........aprehensive...?????

i'm shure it wernt........the generrator...

Catch my drift?????

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