How to Outbid Your Competition (Without Hurting Your Contractor Business)
Your desk (a.k.a. your vehicle dashboard) is covered with notes and loose papers. Unanswered phone calls impatiently await your attention. Lunch — if you are fortunate enough to have any today — will yet again be courtesy of the nearest drive-thru window. And you have a bid due today on a project that will be excellent for your company. But you absolutely have a feeling that your competition down the road is going to be bidding on this next project, too. Sound familiar? We know the frustrations of managing a company are real. Here’s how to outbid your competition without hurting your contracting business.
Take Your Time
How to outbid the competition is more than just submitting the lowest number. Take your time. Slow down. Fully consider a variety of likely details that this new home improvement undertaking may entail. Developing a reputation with customers of quality, organization, and consistency is worth the effort it takes to achieve it. While it may appear counterintuitive to slow down in the midst of seemingly endless project chaos, effective time management can be a complete game changer.
Furthermore, quality, organization, and consistency can allow you to confidently submit competitive bids — knowing that while not all circumstances can be pre-planned, you can have a competitive edge in the market by simply shedding the side effects of poor planning and underestimation. Yes, time is indeed a valuable resource. That is why it is critical to bid appropriately the first time.
Talk to Experts Around You
Give yourself the gift of expert input. Lots of it! If phone calls, emails, or a bit of online research can clarify and preemptively resolve issues, enlist that help in forming your bid. Engineers, electricians, roofers, and others around you likely have years of expertise garnered through handling similar circumstances as those upon which you find yourself bidding right now. The more information you have, the better equipped you will be to utilize resources efficiently and therefore bid more competitively.
Keep Detailed Records
Make new contractor bids simpler with the use of quality recordkeeping. Whether you prefer a notebook at your side, or the benefits of online tracking software and apps, a quality accounting of both expected and unexpected outcomes provides a roadmap for future undertakings. Understand the details of a potential contracting job before the issues pile up. Scour over every detail with care. Instill a sense of confidence in customers. Enable them to seek your professional work again and again. Standardized forms online or even on paper can go a long way toward providing a “safety net” of sorts in data collection as well.
Offer Financing with Your Bid
Want to know one of the best ways to outbid your competition and win that bid? Offer financing through HFS Financial! It’s a proven fact that people who have financing in place are more likely to choose the right contractor and to even expand their original home plans. When you offer exceptional financing options and your competitor does not, that puts you ahead of the game even further. Partner with HFS Financial today. We’ll help get your clients the funding they need for their home improvement project. Contact us today for more details at 1-800-254-9560. You Dream It, We Finance It!
