Preparing a professional bid is one of the main tasks you will encounter as a contractor. A poorly prepared bid will either push away potential clients or hurt your financial gain in the contract. It is therefore important to invest thoroughly in the quoting and estimating stage of the bid preparation. Regardless of your expertise and experience in the construction industry, here are five key points we recommend that you should consider before preparing a bid.
- Decide If You Want to Do the Project
Preparing and undertaking a contract is a labor- and capital-intensive process which needs through planning and preparation. To avoid the embarrassment of terminating the contract or failing to perform on the project, we advise that you do a thorough analysis of the gains or losses and the return on investment of undertaking the project. Hiring a professional team to do the task will not only give you the best results but also guarantee that you get the best out of the contract.
- Communicate with the Contractor
In order to ensure that you get the award of the contract, ensure that you stand out from the other contractors competing for the same project. Setting up a meeting with the client and showing interest in the contract will build trust with the client and raise the chances of winning the contract. Ensure you secure their consideration above the other contractors.
- Calculate up to Date Costs
Proper estimation of costs of materials, labor and other services will ensure that you play your cards right in order to maximize on the profits. We recommend having a list of all materials you need with their costs at the current market price to save you making losses in the process. You can even develop a database with all materials and their costs which can be updated regularly depending on the current market trends.
- Do a Material Takeoff
This process will help you to estimate the amount of materials needed in order to undertake the project often coming hand in hand with the cost estimation stage. Develop a clear blueprint of the project with all materials necessary for the project before submitting your bid.
- Submit Your Professional Bid
This is the final stage that will determine if you will get awarded the contract or not. Ensure all necessary parts of the bid including a cover letter, the bid and marked up plans are submitted in a clear manner.
Conclusion
Bidding for a contract is one of the most important stages of getting awarded a contract. In order to prepare and submit a good bid, we recommend that you take your time to analyze and prepare the bid with the above simple steps.
References: Conx, Freshbooks
