Losing bids can be disheartening. And they aren’t just a disappointment. Every time you bid and don’t get the job it wastes time, money, and resources.
What’s worse, missing out on bids wrecks your team's confidence and makes it hard to plan for the future.
However, there is hope in sight. A few tweaks to your bidding strategy can be the difference between coming up short and a consistent stream of lasting partnerships. Read on for the best ways to win your next pipe support bid.
Start with a Better Bidding Philosophy
As a business, it’s tempting to fall into the trap of long-shot bids. After all, you want more business, so why not bid on everything you can? But this mindset causes problems. What ends up happening is that you win fewer bids, waste time and money, and end up working with groups that are a bad fit.
Winning more pipe support bids requires a fresh perspective on bidding. Here’s how to develop a winning strategy for your next pipe support bid:
Choose Quality Over Quantity
It’s natural: As humans, we’re competitive. We want to win. However, this desire to win can make us blind to obvious no-bid situations.
Too often, the red flags are there: The client doesn’t understand your industry, they don’t know anything about your company, or you don’t have a solid solution for them. Instead of walking away, it’s easy to push ahead and try to win anyway. This almost always ends in disaster. Instead, if you want to win more jobs, focus on quality bids with clients who are on your level.
Focus on Selective Bidding
Why is selective bidding important? Jumping on open bids might seem like a winning strategy, but it’s more or less a crapshoot. Instead, the goal should always be to build relationships with businesses that understand your operation.
It might be tempting to hit up every open bid and try to play a numbers game. That technique has several holes in it that are often overlooked.
First of all, you’re less likely to win bids with companies that you don’t know. If they don’t understand your business or if you aren’t prepared to offer the right solution, the odds of closing a deal fall through the floor. Focusing on quality bids with select companies will up your chances of winning and cut down the costs that come with missed bids.
Additionally, winning bids with companies you don’t mesh with well can also lead to disasters. When you start a job, you’re kicking off a relationship. If you can’t rely on your partner to deliver, it could lead to botched jobs, missed deadlines, and reputational damage.
How to Determine If a Bid Is a Good Fit
So, how do you know which bids will result in more wins and better partnerships with quality companies? Start by asking these questions:
- Does our company have a prior relationship with this client?
- Who else is competing? Do we stand a realistic chance?
- Do we know exactly what to price and how to set prices?
- Do we have a clear solution and plan that will meet the client’s needs?
- Do we understand the job and everything the customer wants?
For quality bids, you should have a good grasp on the answers to these questions. When you have an idea of what winners look like, you can set a plan in motion to improve your win rate.
Make Winning a Process
The best way to win more pipe support bids is to organize your bidding strategy. How? It starts by refining your current system. Here are some simple steps to take:
- Make a list of bids your company has made over the past several months
- List the five biggest factors that determine whether you won a bid or not
- Separate bids by wins, losses, and still waiting
- Analyze the bids you won and lost, and you’ll notice patterns—pay attention to what factors led to wins and which types of companies you never should have bid on
When you have a handle on the factors that have led to success, you can create a profile for better bids. List companies that fit this profile in your first-string lineup of bids.
It might be tempting to bid on big-revenue, low-odds bids. But this is a losing gamble. You end up winning less often, wasting money, and losing resources on those bids.
Instead, focus on churning up more quality bid opportunities. This will keep you from a scarcity mindset that makes you eager for a big score, and it will free you up to focus your energy on winners.
Looking for a Pipe Support Partner?
Switching up your bidding strategy should help you up your win rate and build better relationships. And we’re always looking for quality partners. Have questions about pipe supports or needs for an upcoming project? Let’s talk.
