A follow up thought to bidding against other EC's

[Emanon]

We lost a job a few months back to another EC contractor after the homeowner called to see if she was comparing "apples to apples." I did not have the time to get with her on details of the bids on site [ as previously mentioned in another thread] and thought I did a good job of selling the company as a quality and service based company. There was even some common associates, etc that supported our work history. I have now recently heard that she is finishing up her remodel-addition.

My question to you guys. What is a good way to follow up with her to see how the other contractor did [ie. what we would have done to what they did] and where we stood in the beginning that affected her decision to go with them? I do know that the EC that did the job has been wiring houses for a while and does a decent job from the work previously seen done by them. I don't want to come back and say "OH I would have done...this and this". I just want to follow up and see where I went wrong. I really thought that this one was no contest.

A little history of me and why I am asking this question. I am a lead mech for a small contractor and over the past few years I have been doing the estimating, sales, etc for alot of my jobs [basically doing both the office and field end]. I want more specific info on my lost or closely bid jobs to better future dealings.

Thanks for your input.

 

[brian john]

Go see her.

I was in the area and was wondering how the job went, ask where you might have won the project or was she just a cheap SOB and price was all that mattered.

 

[mdshunk]

Go see her.

I was in the area and was wondering how the job went, ...

Yes, simple as that. I do that all the time. Commercial, I just show up and wander around. Resi I don't sulk over too much, but many times I have just rung the bell and chatted them up. Never got me any more work, but gave me ideas to use in following pitches.

 

[SiddMartin]

send her a fruit cake


........................


ok, just kiddin, I haven't been estimating long, and the first couple that I lost really got to me, I wondered where I went wrong. Afterwards I realized they just didn't have the funds to get it done at the price of my quality of work. Thats not my problem. I agree with everyone else and would swing by

 

[peter d]

Commercial, I just show up and wander around.

I used to do that all the time. Nowadays, job sites area all locked down because of the rampant copper theft.

 

[480sparky]

As Ernestine used to say....

"One ringy dingy.....(snort, snort!)...."

Curious, though...... if you don't have time to meet with someone to 'sell' yourself, are you so busy that this one job was such a huge loss?

 

[Emanon]

I thought just stopping by would be the best way and I was just checking to see if there were any other ideas or pratices that would seem to work better from all the experience on this forum.

In response to 480SPARKY; I did not have time to "sell' myself since I had already invested the time in the original site walkthru meeting and the time getting the proposal together. With me doing the field and office aspects I have to get back to working on the current jobs without a lot of productivity lost. Not being awarded the job did not affect anything since we have plenty of work. Though if we would have gotten it, it would have hit at a good time to keep a smooth schedule if things were to slow down at one of the other jobs. If there was not a slowdown,l it would have kept us on our toes for a week or two to keep things rolling.

I will and do not get every job. This one seemed like no contest and also would have been a good contact. Part of the reason for the follow up is just that; a way to get back into the customers mindset. She may not have used us this time, but a good followup may go just as far if she ever finds herself unhappy with her present EC.

 

[khixxx]

Here is a good book by Dale Carnegie "How to win friends and influence people". You can actually buy the CDs and listen to them in the truck on the way to work.

We had guys stop in on our projects. They talk to the guys doing the work. I think someone said they will take a project just to keep busy. That could be this guys deal. That might make it harder to compete.

One thing you might want to think about is an email auto responder. Some of those seem pretty personal.

 

[bikeindy]

I am curious about this part

I did not have the time to get with her on details of the bids on site [ as previously mentioned in another thread] and thought I did a good job of selling the company as a quality and service based company.

My question to you guys. What is a good way to follow up with her to see how the other contractor did [ie. what we would have done to what they did] and where we stood in the beginning that affected her decision to go with them?

Maybe the other guy had the time to go meet her and that made all the difference. You have the time now to meet her and wonder why you didn't get the job, and see what the other guy did.

My advice is to find the time to meet with the customer, If you can't and you don't get the job, you might look at why you don't have time to see jobs you would like to be doing, and solve that issue. And don't waste time worring about jobs you lost, use that time to get jobs you don't yet have.

 

[DanZ]

I would guess your overhead and mark ups are higher than your competition. :grin:
Definetley read "How to win friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnagie. Other than that, a quick stop and ringy dingy, as someone put it, is about the only way you'll know.

 

[growler]

My question to you guys. What is a good way to follow up with her to see how the other contractor did [ie. what we would have done to what they did] and where we stood in the beginning that affected her decision to go with them? I do know that the EC that did the job has been wiring houses for a while and does a decent job from the work previously seen done by them. I don't want to come back and say "OH I would have done...this and this". I just want to follow up and see where I went wrong. I really thought that this one was no contest.

Every bid is a contest. The more contractors the homeowner is willing to talk to the harder the contest. The good thing is that most homeowners will only get two or three different bids. This gives less competition.

You didn't really do anything wrong, you didn't need the work so you didn't put much effort into getting the job. The other EC probably needed the work and put more time and effort into getting the job.

There is no "one size fits all" all when it comes to selling a job. Some customers go with the lowest price, best quality, most reliable and some are sold just because they like the guy that they talk to during the sale.

 

[satcom]

It may supprise many of the newer EC's on here, but a large number of any bids are lost to the higher bidder many times, and the reason for that are many and very, so EC's may have a great price, but when a company does a background and credit check, they fail, and with homeowners, it may be as simple as the condition of their truck, how their men are dressed, and how they present themself, bottom line, price is not always the deciding factor.