So You Lost a Bid - Have You Asked Why?

Ahhh...you delivered that winning proposal that you put a lot of effort in to. This proposal wasn't just for any client. This is THE client that you've always wanted. It's that client you'd want to take your best mate out and celebrate once they sign your contract. It's the client that leads to 2 scoops of ice cream instead of your normal one (or none) because, after all, you deserve it. It's not the deal of the day. It's the deal of the month...maybe even the deal of the year. 

And then your prospect's reply rolls in (you can almost taste the ice cream):

Dear _____, Thank you for your proposal. After careful consideration......

What?! It was in the bag! You thought you had this. What happened? What went wrong? We all have been there. I used to internalize it to the point of despair. But over time I learned how to turn the negative into a huge positive. 

There could be different reasons why they said "no". Maybe they were only price shopping and offers were outside of their budget. Maybe they are mandated by an internal process to get a number of bids each year to compare current services. Maybe they didn't see any value or maybe the pain points faced in changing cleaning companies outweighs the perceived benefit of the actual switch. Whatever the reason, at the end of the day, they can only choose one.

But instead of guessing, just ask. Whenever I lose a bid, I send an email, and if I can do this in person or over the phone, then better:

Dear SoandSo,

You win some and you lose some. We can't win them all. Thank you so much for the opportunity to bid at [location]. 

Would you be open to a couple of quick questions? We are always looking to improve as an organization.

1) What is the ONE thing that set the winner of this opportunity over those of us that didn't win?

2) What is one thing that none of us included in our proposals/bids that you would have like to have seen?

Thanks in advance for answering. If there's anything I can do for you in the future, my direct contact is xxx-xxx-xxxx. 

Sincerely,
You

That's it. Their answers will help you in future bids. It'll help you improve your business and it'll show that you truly are genuinely interested in this prospect. And whatever you say, do NOT retort. One of my musings was that "The customer is not always right". It's true.

I remember bidding a K-8 school and we lost. I asked the above questions and on his #1, the decision-maker said, "Well, the other company said they were willing to hire the employees of the existing cleaning company.". In my walkthrough with him, he had nothing but bad things to say about the cleaning and the cleaning staff. I would have been willing to hire those employees if it meant winning the contract. The customer was wrong. But instead of arguing, I smiled and nodded. Decisions like this can't be reversed.

In another example, I bid on a residential community. They wanted us to clean common areas and lobbies of 12 buildings on site plus exterior cleaning. It was a nice contract of about $8000/mo. They invited about 10 cleaning companies to bid and it came down to the final 3, and we were selected. The three of us had to pitch in front of their condo board. I knocked my presentation out of the park as did one of my bigger competitors. Both of our prices were nearly identical. In the end, they won. I asked the above questions. Their answer to #1 was that my competitor was selected because they offered an app and we didn't. What? An app? They explained that the average age of their residents were in their mid-20s and in the age of Gen-Z, they didn't want to be bothered with a phone call to voice complaints or mess with an email. They just wanted to report things through an app. So what went on my task list for our company? An app.

As an aside from the above, don't give up on any lost bid. Follow up with them between the 60-90 day mark. Maybe the new company is doing a terrible job. Aside from your normal marketing rotation with that prospect, also hit them around month 10-11 from your last bid. Maybe they were willing to stick it out for a year and want to replace them at the year mark. I've lost bids, only to be re-invited at the one-year anniversary, and we've won some of these too.

The ice cream might have melted, but there's always more. Go get them.

Next on Deck: 8 Things to Look Out For In a Cleaning Coach (7/10/24)