Knowledge and Strategy Can Land More Jobs

In today’s competitive contracting landscape, many contractors find themselves struggling despite their best efforts. Here are practical strategies that helped transform our company — McCarl’s Inc. — and can provide a pathway to increased profitability and growth.

In my travels, I often hear contractors say, “No matter how low I bid, I still can’t win any projects.” Despite keeping their estimators busy, many are frustrated by low success rates and constant rejections. Years ago, we faced similar challenges at our company. However, by rethinking our approach, we managed to turn things around and achieve lasting success.

The Importance of a Business Development Plan

As I reflect on the keys to my business success in both good times and bad, I realize that having a passion for developing a written business development plan was crucial. This plan was closely integrated with our operations strategy and budgets.

Creating a Sales-Oriented Culture

Most contractors hear the term “business development” and immediately think it’s too complex, so they revert to reading reports. This mindset inevitably leads to high bid volume, low success rates and reduced margins; not a sustainable approach.

Our sales and profits grew, and our project success rates improved significantly.

Understanding Your Market

We started by asking ourselves: What do we do best? Where do we do it? Who are our clients, and where do we make the most profit? Answering these questions helped us align our efforts with our strengths.

Customer Analysis

After 35 years in business, we had amassed a significant customer list. We segmented this list by work type, geography, bid type (prime, public, negotiated) and trades. Project managers and estimators were assigned to analyze each segment in terms of profitability, competition and relationships. This analysis helped us identify our most profitable customers and areas where we could deploy our resources more effectively. We even “fired” customers who consistently used us for price checks but rarely awarded us projects. This allowed us to focus on genuine opportunities.

Finding Your Sweet Spot

Next, we analyzed successful projects to pinpoint where we consistently made money. We categorized projects by customer, work type, project size and acquisition method. This exercise revealed which types of projects we should focus on and which to avoid. By understanding our “sweet spot,” we concentrated on bids that aligned with our strengths.

Bidding with Purpose

Armed with our newfound insights, our estimators began bidding on fewer projects but with greater depth and precision. We would engage with potential clients early, offering budgeting assistance and building relationships, which paid off not just on the immediate project but on future ones as well.

Educating Your Team

Adopting a culture where “everyone is a salesperson” required effort and time. We defined how each team member could impact our business development goals. From the receptionist to project foremen, everyone understood their role in attracting and retaining clients. This collective effort created a competitive advantage that set us apart from the competition.

Writing a Simple, Effective Plan

We now had all the data we needed to build a concise, actionable business development plan. The KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) guided our approach. Our first plan was just three pages, focusing on our “sweet spot” and key customers. We assigned accountability to specific team members and tracked opportunities on a whiteboard. This process helped us increase our project hit rate from under 10% to over 20%, all while boosting profitability.

Bid Smarter, Not Harder

You might be thinking, “It’s easy to do this in good times, but how can I implement this now with too few projects and too many competitors?” The answer is to bid smarter. Focus on winning profitable projects rather than simply keeping your estimators busy. Remember, the goal is to generate profit, not just to churn out bids. By using the strategies outlined above, you can transform your approach and thrive, even in challenging times.