What Exactly Are You Proposing?

When going after a new construction project, it’s useful to put yourself in the shoes of the reviewer who will evaluate your proposal. Whether a single client, or a whole review team, proposal readers are looking for evidence that you understand the project, and that you’ve succeeded with builds like this before. They also want to know if the timeline and pricing are well thought out and viable. Don’t make reviewers have to work too hard to find the key information that will lead them to one conclusion: the job is yours. Strengthen your proposals with these practical tips from industry pros. 

Skip The Word Salad and Get to the Protein

When you read something that starts out OK but then quickly descends into wordy word salad with soupy dressing, you know it’s AI verbiage that went unchecked, and it’s annoying, right? Keep that in mind, and try not to be so desperate about getting a proposal done that you dump the word salad on your reviewers. 

According to Maila Kim at Construct Connect: “A winning construction proposal does two things at once: it proves you can do the job and make it easy for the client to choose you over your competitors.” Even though proposals require a lot of details, keep these two main goals top of mind, and aim every point at making your case for why you can do the job uniquely and best. According to Kim, the eight elements of a strong proposal are:

1. Start with a strong executive summary.
2. Define the project scope clearly.
3. Present a detailed technical approach.
4. Provide a realistic schedule.
5. Showcase your team’s qualifications.
6. Address risk and safety management.
7. Break down pricing.
8. Include compliance documents.

Observing that “For many contractors, the hard part is turning estimates into a set of consistent, branded, client-ready proposals,” pros at Construct Connect remind us that the right tools can really help; for example, “Quick Bid takes the detailed estimate you’ve built and pushes it into professional, customizable proposal documents.” Four additional tips on writing winning proposals include:

• Be specific and data-driven. Use hard numbers and concrete examples to back up your claims. For instance, instead of saying, “We have experience,” say, “We’ve completed 15 healthcare renovations exceeding $5M in value.”
• Avoid ambiguity. Clearly define what is included, excluded, and assumed. Submit RFIs early to clarify any confusing requirements.
• Focus on readability. Use clear headings, bullet points, and professional formatting to make your proposal easy to evaluate.
• Double-check your estimates. Ensure your pricing is accurate and accounts for contingencies.

Attract Great Projects

As important as the capacity to prepare strong proposals is to the success of your construction business, proposals alone are not going to help you grow. You can’t just spin into a marketing frenzy when opportunities run dry. Thriving businesses always have their marketing and sales functions humming along. At Well Built Construction Consulting, Chad Prinkey reminds us to be methodical about this work, pointing out that a sold sales process should arm you to:

• Quickly evaluate and separate the wheat from the chaff. You probably don’t have unlimited sales and estimating resources to effectively chase every project so focus on the ones that fit your business and have a high potential of converting to a sale.
• Create interactive conversations with your buyers. In most cases, humans are making buying decisions, and without talking to them you’re just another number.
• Gather essential information about the project, buyers and competitors. A little key information goes a long way to help your team highlight key differentiators beyond price in your proposal.
• …Close the deal. You need an opportunity to present your unique approach to the project and your team’s ability to deliver optimal results. You should also plan to field questions from the customer to put their mind at ease. Without this opportunity, your bid is all the information available to your buyer to make a decision.

Ready For More Success?

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Growing from there, construction business owners can get in on even more action by qualifying for The Partnership Account® for Contractors. Once qualified, you’ll use our power of attorney to issue your own bid bonds, in minutes. Order performance bonds with speed and ease too. Plus, you’ll bid and win more than ever as you leverage your:

• surety line of credit—in writing;
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• daily snapshot of single and aggregate limits 
• ability to update work on hand

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