Help On Bidding

vwall2008

I have bid on 2 roofs and a garage in the last month, I am new to bidding but not to construction, I have 7yrs experience in carpentry, and roofing combined, I am insured with standard contractors insurance. I'm having trouble getting call backs after I drop off the bid sheet with unbeatable prices. What am I doing wrong, any help would be appreciated

nlgutters

Maybe your too cheap and they don't trust you

DavidC

Stop bidding and start selling.

Your post gives very little info to try to help with but it is apparent that your bids are beatable if they didn't call back. It does sound like you are trying to win on low price alone. For myself, dismissing a lower bid is usually no problem because my company offers great service and a positive experience.

Sonny Lykos would say that choosing based on lowest bid is like a reverse auction where the winner gets to take a good chance on loosing their as$.

Do a little research on how to sell your services.

Good Luck
Dave

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www.CookContractingLLC.com

BuriedHammer

No offense inteneded in this post but...

There's a lot more to this than just price. In my opinion price is not a singularly important factor in itself. You're proposing to work on someone's home, and depending on the customer and the job, price may be a very small part of the decision. If they trust you, and like you, and want you, and you are within their budget, you will probably get the job.

Some people have enough money that price really doesn't matter, although they are the minority.

If they are buying gravel or mulch, yeah, price is probably the biggest issue. But if you're talking about something structural or cosmetic, or something really involved, many more variables are going to come into play. Sometimes it's just our appearance. A lady I know had a person come into her home with mud on his shoes, to quote her some drywall repair. I assure you, he could not have gotten that job if he offered to do it free. She excluded him instantly.

So think long and hard about your entire approach, not just your price. I know guys who I know are hurting their business because of long stringy hair. Should that matter? Who cares, it does. Also, you may have to work harder at it if you don't have a long track record.

Like Dave said, you have to sell it.

Edit: I sound like I think you present yourself poorly. I don't know how you present yourself, I'm only giving examples of other people who may have trouble getting work even with a competitive price. There could be any number of reasons you did not get these jobs, maybe something as simple as your customers weren't really serious, or they will be calling you down the road. I do think we all need to think past the price.

If this post is offensive, I apologize.

BuriedHammer

By the way, I do feel for ya. Bidding jobs sucks enough when you get the job, let alone when you don't....

BKFranks

I worked for a GC for 5 years who has been a GC for 30 years. Various home owners told me that they were sold on him and not the price. He was priced high in many cases, but because of his personal skills he sold the job. So it's not only the price, but you as well. Good luck.

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BattleRidge

I think I am actually getting to the point where I don't even think about other peoples prices, I used to think to myself, "Average base price is 40 bucks a square, no one would do 30, but I need this, I'll go thirty." Now I just give them the price I need to make my goals in income. I concern myself more with spending time with promising people and just looking for the work. Theres so much work if you really look for it. I write all my estimates on a whiteboard and mark them if I get them erase them if I don't. I probably do like 10 a month I don't get.