Masonry Magazine February 2000 Page. 35
Submitting a Winning Proposal
Besides the actual construction itself, the written proposal is arguably the greatest, most pivotal vehicle that the contractor possesses to impress (and eventually win over) a building prospect. The proposal says as much (or as little) as you want it to about your professional expertise, attitude, and abilities and is a vital and integral element in the quest for success in the contracting business.
# The Subcontractor Proposal
Now, as a subcontractor, your proposals are generally submitted to one of two broad groups of clients: 1) a prime contractor in charge of a building project or 2) direct to the owner of the project. Generally, the smaller the project, the greater the odds that a prime contractor needn't be involved in the work, in which case the likelihood that you would submit direct to the owner increases. An example would be the concrete sub quoting a new driveway for a homeowner clearly a situation that can be handled directly between owner and subcontractor.
But things change as the projects grow larger and more costly. If the job being quoted is say a hospital renovation, this same subcontractor will likely be submitting his quotation (as a sub) to a general contractor or construction manager for that particular project. The GC/CM then in turn typically submits their proposal (including all divisions) to the owner's representative(s).
And that's where I come in. I'm an estimator and project manager for a commercial general contractor in the Midwest. For years now, I've worked and negotiated with scores of subcontracting firms most of them good, some of them not and received, analyzed, and deciphered thousands of sub-contractor proposals. In that time, I've come to realize a discernible difference (more of a wide chasm) between the best proposals and the worst. I further discovered that I tended to harbor a marked tendency to award my contracts to the most complete, professional, and competitive proposals even if they weren't the lowest price in the pile!
# Low Price & Economy... Not One in the Same
The mind-set isn't really difficult to understand and has a lot more to do with economics than it might first appear. In the mind of a GC estimator, a sloppy, incomplete proposal conveys to mind the picture of a sloppy incomplete contractor one who'll carry over this sloppiness into the field, generating mistakes. And mistakes cost money. They also waste time and time is something that the average general contractor can ill-afford to lose in the often restraining confines of the project schedule. But, on the other hand, a well-organized, complete and competitive proposal (that follows all the rules) depicts a contractor who has his act together and genuinely cares about his work and profession.
So let's discuss the all-important proposal. Here are a few items to consider when creating yours:
# Elements of a Good Proposal
Be professional. Yeah, I know you make money with your hands, not with a word-processor, but a little refinement at the proper times can spell the difference between winning and losing the job. Type the proposal (or have someone type it for you); no hand-written quotes. Use professional letterhead and make sure your phone and fax numbers are on there. If you don't have a fax get one!
The phone number is particularly important and to this day I'm amazed at how many sub proposals I receive that still don't have it on there. You see, it's quite common for an estimator to have last-minute questions on a bid checking quantities, brick allowances, addenda items, etc. as the bid deadline rapidly approaches. This is a very hectic time for the estimator and he doesn't have time to search the phone book or his computer database for your number! Also, there are still a few of you out there that do not have a receptionist, answering service, or machine to answer the phone for you. During working hours, somebody (or something) should always be able to reach you (in reasonable time) in case last-minute questions need to be answered.
Address your proposal to the GC and the estimator by name. It shows the GC that you care enough about establishing a working relationship with them to not just throw your number out on the streets to anyone. Now, this doesn't mean you can't bid to more than one GC at a time-we understand that you need to do that. Personalizing your proposal simply shows the GC that you hold him in importance. And this respect is significant to the GC. GC's look for subs who are loyal (within the realities of the contracting business) and who