Bidding on commercial flooring jobs can be a tricky business. With large-scale jobs, prospects can be exacting in their needs and expectations. With our decades of experience in the flooring industry we know that commercial flooring businesses have unique needs for every job. How do you bid on (and win!) commercial flooring jobs? By proving your business has the skills with a top-notch presentation, an accurate estimation, and great customer service. Let’s break down the commercial flooring bidding process step by step.
The Difference Between Residential And Commercial Flooring Jobs
When it comes to the flooring industry, commercial and residential jobs couldn’t be more different. Residential flooring businesses can have their own challenges, but commercial flooring jobs are on a different scale.
Comparatively, the sheer volume of work that goes into one commercial flooring job can be astronomical! Because of this, the sales process can be much longer. Additional time is required for relationship building, and your estimate must be on point. For large-scale commercial flooring businesses, having a software partner that is able to handle multi-phase jobs with limitless product and labor items is key for staying organized and keeping your client happy.
Commercial flooring jobs may also include more components than residential including:
- Installation
- Floor refinishing
- Ongoing maintenance services
- Ongoing floor cleaning services
These ongoing components can mean regular income for your business with just one sales pitch. Because of this winning a commercial job can be a huge boost to flooring businesses.
Step One: Create An Accurate Estimate
It’s all in the estimation! You’ll be building out and presenting an extensive bid that has all of the details of your project. Now how good could that bid be if the estimate isn’t accurate? Providing a professional, accurate estimate (and creating it quickly!) can make or break your commercial flooring bid.
Our commercial flooring estimating software, in partnership with MeasureSquare, helps you properly price your initial bid. Why is this so important? Having an accurate estimate and cost is a benefit to both you and the client. You can accurately estimate how you’ll fulfil the contract, and the client will have an accurate estimation without needing to deal with increasing costs as the job moves forward. Plus, building a reputation for accuracy, professionalism, and honesty will help you gain more clients down the line.
Use Your Estimation To Make The Job Easier Later
With an accurate price, you can then present to your clients in a professional manner by showing prospective clients their own building with accurate floor plan measurements. An impressive presentation isn’t the only benefit of RM MeasureSquare when you fully integrate it with the RollMaster system. It also allows for:
- partial shipping and invoicing of materials and labor
- tracking works in progress
- dealing with retainage amounts and job costing throughout the process.
Plus, the accurate measurements that helped you win the job can also provide you with accurate cut sheets when it comes time to install.
What Should My Bid Include?
A commercial flooring bid should include the following:
- Cover page – Your cover page should include your logo, contact information, and should include an outline of the content that follows and any important facts the client should know up front.
- State the job details and specifications – this ensures you and the client are on the same page of what the job requires.
- For ongoing contracts – specify the area(s) you will service, when, how often, and any contingencies for emergencies. It’s also helpful to include what supplies you will use to ensure the entire job is fulfilled with the client’s expectations met.
- Your accurate estimate – Outlined above, your estimate should show the client that you have all your ducks in a row and you’re able to fulfill the scale of the job.
- What sets you apart – Make sure to include any photos of similar jobs you’ve done in the past, as well as testimonials from happy clients. This can make your business stand out in the competition.
- The Contract – You should include the actual contract for the job including the price, your terms, and any relevant dates for start, completion, or service dates.
Preparing For The Presentation
It’s critical that before you present the bid to your prospective client that you double check all information is accurate, the numbers add up correctly, there are no spelling errors, and so on. A professional bid should be just that: professional and without errors.
You may make your presentation with a digital format, or solely on paper. Either way you should have your entire presentation printed out and set into a folder or binder with your company’s logo for easy identification that your prospect will keep after your presentation.
You may find it helpful to write yourself a script of what you plan to say, and read it through to a mirror or a friend if you are new to the bidding process. Ideally you will not need these notes for the presentation so you are able to present comfortably and without needing to rely on reading off your script.
Other Ways To Make Commercial Flooring Jobs More Profitable
When the jobs are large-scale, it’s critical that every component works well together. This ensures that you’re able to make the most profit. RollMaster flooring software helps businesses stay organized and on-top of their business by allowing for data to easily flow through the program, ensuring everyone is on the same page. We also offer the best in data visualization so you can make big decisions more quickly.
Our commercial flooring business partners love these features:
- With our commercial pricing tool allows you to calculate the total bid price by profit, margin, or total sale.
- Our extensive product catalog allows you to stock and sell any product for your commercial jobs. And, our fcB2B partnerships can’t be beat!
- Use our Projects Module to track multiple jobs as one project for viewing total cost, profit, and sale, as well as change orders.
- Manage your project’s bottom line with our Schedule of Values.
RollMaster Flooring Software is dedicated to helping make our clients become successful flooring businesses. Want to learn more about how our software works for your business? Sign up today for a free demo!
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