Not All Solutions Are Sexy: How I Doubled Bid Conversions by Fixing the 1 Simple Problem
My experience is a little out there. It’s not all media marketing and content creation classes. When I say I look at your efficiency, I mean it. That’s where a lot of my experience comes into play.
Now, understand — I sign NDAs with most employers and now with my clients. That’s pretty standard. So while I can’t name names, I can tell you this happened with one of the largest electrical contractors in the Denver metro area.
The owner wanted to grow his company from a multi-million-dollar electrical contracting business into a multi-hundred-million-dollar powerhouse. He invested in training and gave me the green light to start and manage a couple of internal think tanks to find out why we were struggling to beat estimates.
Operations blamed estimating. Estimating blamed operations. Everyone pointed fingers, but no one had time to solve it.
So, I dug in.
The Estimating Audit
At the time, I was an assistant project manager. My first instinct was that the issue had to be in estimating — and I said so.
The lead estimator challenged me: “Estimate a project, win the bid, and then manage it yourself.”
Challenge accepted.
Within weeks, I realized just how intense the estimating process really was.
Tight deadlines left no time for research.
Information was incomplete.
Coordination between trades was spotty.
Sometimes you just had to put a number down and pray you weren’t missing something.
Still, I did it. I bid two major projects — one over $12 million — and won one of them.
I got really lucky. With our conversion rate, in order to win a bid, I should have had to bid closer to 8-10 projects. I got it in 2.
That’s when I learned the truth: the problem wasn’t just estimating. It was the whole system.
Seeing It from the Field
Once the project kicked off, I found holes in my own budget within the first month. I’d missed details because the information simply wasn’t there when I needed it.
When you’re managing the job, you can slow down and ask questions. You can submit RFI’s (requests for information), wait for answers, and negotiate change orders (hopefully). But when you’re bidding, you don’t get that luxury.
By the time you figure out the right question, the deadline to ask questions has already passed.
The design team’s favorite line was, “The intent was evident at the time of bid.” Which basically means, “You missed it — now it’s your problem, sucka!”
No. Look, I haven’t met an architect who ever said it that way. Engineers? They pronounce the “r” very clearly.
I learned a hard truth that stuck with me: inefficiency isn’t about effort. It’s about missing connections under time constraints.
Building a Better System
Together with my senior project manager and the lead estimator, I proposed two simple changes:
Assign one estimator solely to reading and documenting all notes and issuing early questions.
Require vendors to submit preliminary cut sheets with their quotes on engineered items like gear and lighting.
At the time, those ideas were considered revolutionary. Vendors balked. Estimators rolled their eyes.
But the results spoke for themselves. And now… it’s almost an industry standard.
The Results
We went from winning 1.5 bids out of 10 to 3 out of 10 — without increasing workload.
With a higher conversion rate, we didn’t have to chase projects anymore. We could choose the right ones.
And when you’re dealing with multi-million-dollar jobs, that’s a massive shift.
We also started delivering those jobs with fewer surprises, better coordination, and higher margins.
All from a few small, unsexy changes that connected the right people to the right information in a timely manner.
What It Taught Me
Not all solutions are glamorous.
Sometimes it’s not a shiny new tool or a trendy process. Sometimes it’s just a better question, a clearer system, or a different conversation.
That’s the work I love most — whether it’s a construction company, a service business, or a creative entrepreneur.
Because inefficiency costs energy.
And when your systems, offers, or messaging don’t align, you lose momentum — not because you’re lazy, but because you’re disconnected.
My job now? To help you find the same kind of clarity I found back then — faster.
If you’re tired of spinning your wheels, I’ll help you see where the leaks are and how to fix them.
👉 Start with a Clarity Engine Audit if you want a quick, sharp overview of what’s holding you back.
👉 Go deeper with the Content Engine Audit when you’re ready to turn your strategy into results. If you’re looking for a more operations focus, just let me know. It’s the same audit on my end.
Your solutions don’t have to be sexy. They just have to work.
