Conversion optimisation

?Conversion optimisation is a very important part of the selling process. I have witnessed many companies in building products or construction contracting who facilitate enquiries, quote and then wait for the client to contact them if they are successful.

There are several points in this process which need attention and often pitfalls which mean losing out instead of winning.

Firstly, tendering is an expensive process so assess the enquiry, ask questions and gather as much intel as possible to help you tailor the bid to the client’s requirements. If done well this could lead you to making an alternative suggestion to the original enquiry and take you straight from the bid stage to negotiation, losing the competition on the way. This is something I have done many times by reviewing the needs and finding better solutions to the client’s problems. Questioning can also bring out your USPs or you may be able to deliver faster meeting the client’s tight schedule, work out of hours, etc. Alternatively, you could discover that the project does not play to your strengths and the odds of winning are low so a decline is in order. Better to do this at the early stages than pulling out further down the line.

Next is compiling the bid which you can now do with confidence, highlighting the areas that are important to the client, which differ from project to project. Your research will help you to answer and expand on specific questions that are pass/fail or have high scoring attached. Detail is often more unless there is a word restriction. The actual quotation needs to be competitive so you will again draw on your competitor knowledge and previous pricing experience. Working in partnership with your suppliers should enable you to get price support on important projects that you are very keen to win.

So after submission do not leave it too long before chasing. If the client has not been back to you within a few days, or when it was agreed at submission, then chase it. The best person to chase is the salesperson that instigated the enquiry and took the brief, in other words, the person that has developed a rapport/relationship with the client – not the person who has priced the job (unless it is one of the same). You need to discover your standing against the competition. Do you need to clarify anything, does anything need value engineering (repricing and looking at alternatives)? Reinforce confidence again with your previous experience, case studies, and testimonials, and ask what you need to do to get the order. Negotiation is not a “give away” so unless you are way out do not immediately start dropping your rate but explain how you offer the best value, via what is included in the price, you may add value with additional services that are valued by the client but do not add cost. Sell on quality, especially if it is the building owner or FM provider as they do look more long term as against a contractor. Style, design and functionality may come into it as well at this stage.

Win or lose, always get feedback. What was it that made them select you? Or why did you not get the order, what did the winners do that made the difference?

Feedback contributes greatly to the understanding of each client and should enable you to improve on your next bid for them. It also enlightens you about your competitors’ offerings or confirms your strengths or what clients value most.

The other thing to do regularly is check your quote conversion rate. If there are frequent clients using you for estimating but you are never winning work from them you should discover why this is and if it is that you are a pricing service for their estimating department and project managers use their own favourite suppliers/ contractors and do not come to you then stop pricing their work unless they give you an order or start considering you at order stage.

By checking your conversion rate you can discover how competitive you are, which type of projects give you the most success and what type of work you make the best margins on.

Taking all the information gathered should help you decide which are the best projects to go for, show which clients favour you, which sectors/locations are best to select (and which to avoid) and where you make the most money. This should also help you improve your conversion optimisation by making good enquiry choices that play to your strengths.