Commercial Bidding

[Renato Pinto]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you guys had any tips or things you would have known before ya'll got into commercial bidding or bidding in general.

My boss and a sales manager have sat down and done a couple and I wish I could help but my input would be vague as of right now.

Any suggestions? Ideas? Ways to bring down price?

 

[ams]

First, what exactly are you asking? What are you wanting to bid?

Second, why bring down the price? You don't want to be the cheapest bidder. You can quote your normal mark up and rate. If there are a ton of bidders like a state job, quote it 25% less if you are still able to make a profit at that.

 

[Z SIGNS]

The word bidding makes my blood boil. When people ask me to "bid" on a project my answer is no I'm not interested in being the lowest price sign contractor. Getting a job because you are the cheapest is never profitable. You can always bring the price down by cutting corners but then your reputation is at stake. My suggestion if you want work. Do the best job you possibly can, outshine your competition and let your reputation be your salesman. Do this and people will seek you.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Vendorsy will give you special pricing for specific bids. Just have to ask. You can't use the pricing for daily operation but for bidding purposes. This will bring down cost/price.

 

[Renato Pinto]

We bid a full sign package with exterior signs with electricity running through them and indoor graphics such as door decals, window perf, and so on. Almost all companies go with the lowest bidder everytime sowe just gotta make sure we stay in the low part of all the bids.

First, what exactly are you asking? What are you wanting to bid?

Second, why bring down the price? You don't want to be the cheapest bidder. You can quote your normal mark up and rate. If there are a ton of bidders like a state job, quote it 25% less if you are still able to make a profit at that.

 

[Gino]

Ì know a company who purposely bids the lowest price by far....... just to get the job. Then, they scurry around trying to figure out how to make it happen. These are 1/4 and 1/2 million dollar contracts. The other trick they use is to do change orders and just keep adding costs to the bottom line. They've gotten caught, but have gotten away with it far more times than not.

 

[ams]

We bid a full sign package with exterior signs with electricity running through them and indoor graphics such as door decals, window perf, and so on. Almost all companies go with the lowest bidder everytime sowe just gotta make sure we stay in the low part of all the bids.

Have a better design, better knowledge and better product. This all equals winning most bids.

 

[ddarlak]

doesn't sound like you can add much to the process. get better at what you are doing and just keep chugging along. sounds like you have much to learn. pay attention and learn.

 

[AKwrapguy]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you guys had any tips or things you would have known before ya'll got into commercial bidding or bidding in general.

My boss and a sales manager have sat down and done a couple and I wish I could help but my input would be vague as of right now.

Any suggestions? Ideas? Ways to bring down price?

Instead of worrying about adding your two cents, what about just going in there and asking them questions and learning. This would probably be much more productive and valuable not just to them but for yourself as well.

 

[equippaint]

Bidding doesnt mean that you have to drop your pants. Its the commercial contractors equivalent of an estimate. Many times there is only 1 bid and low bid doesnt always get the job either. Everything in the proposal is considered and evaluated so your experience can be very important.
It is a big risk for a contractor to take on a sub knowing full well that they can not do the job properly for the quoted price so really low bids are usually tossed out.

 

[equippaint]

Ì know a company who purposely bids the lowest price by far....... just to get the job. Then, they scurry around trying to figure out how to make it happen. These are 1/4 and 1/2 million dollar contracts. The other trick they use is to do change orders and just keep adding costs to the bottom line. They've gotten caught, but have gotten away with it far more times than not.

I used to see many jobs get change ordered into profitability. Its a tactic on larger projects. A savy estimator is able to pick up on where some would be in the bid stage and leverage it to keep their bid price lower. These large projects are dog eat dog and you better have your act together. A large contractor can bury you as a sub if you're not careful in your bid and contract.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

My uncle (who is in a different industry) absolutely loves changes orders... its where he makes his real $$$.

 

[visual800]

I made a comment on someones post that we dropped all commercial bidding for all contractors, got sick of wasting our time got sick of the BS and the art changes. If you arent low you aint getting the bid, simple and plain. Also if you want money down on these big jobs, you might as well keep walking and lets not forget at the end begging for your money. No sir Im sick and tired of that game

Now I did bid a $48k job a couple months back and they came back and said I was too high and they DO NOT pay money down....welll! I guess they told me how it was going to be. They wanted several 7' tall aluminum signs with cast aluminum lettering on them. Well I gave them 3 tier pricing on this project...using vinyl and fabricated aluminum instead of cast. Ending up driving by the location one day and there was 1 new sign up with plastic gemini shiny bubble letters, It was tacky as hell. I did not price plastic because I think its tacky and cheap looking.

 

[jimbug72]

Slightly off topic, but we work with a commercial contractor who owns a 60' offshore fishing boat. The boat's name is "Change Order"

 

[equippaint]

I made a comment on someones post that we dropped all commercial bidding for all contractors, got sick of wasting our time got sick of the BS and the art changes. If you arent low you aint getting the bid, simple and plain.

We have been awarded many bids and not been the lowest. We did an $18k job last month and were highest of 3.
I dont blame you for not wanting to do bid work though, the process is long and wastes a bunch of time. As for payment, you can always put a payment schedule in with it and make any acceptance of the work contigent on your terms. Some may go for it and you win and if they dont just decline the job.

 

[StarSign]

What really frys me is, I have lost bids then when I go "check out the job" what is up is no where near what I bid and many times not code. Remember if you are getting more then 50% of your bids you are priced too low.

 

[Gino]

What really frys me is, I have lost bids then when I go "check out the job" what is up is no where near what I bid and many times not code. Remember if you are getting more then 50% of your bids you are priced too low.

Hahahaaaaa................. for some people that number could be if they're getting 10% of their bids, they are too low. Some people just do crappy work and the public knows it. They just don't see the writing on the wall...... or their signs.