ICBA: The Winner’s Curse

A systems approach to winning more work and increasing profits. 

What is the winner’s curse? Whoever makes the biggest estimating mistake wins the job. First, the bad news:

• Successful companies rarely “buy work” through discounting.
• Profitability is not the reward for hard work, good intentions, or being a “good guy”.

Now, the good news:

• Profitability is the reward for smart work. This means having good systems in place.

Trying to minimize costs is always a goal when tendering contracts. And too often, contractors focus solely on price, adopting strategies and pricing that can kill the rewards of winning the contract. These tactics can go so far as to threaten the company’s financial health. We will review:

• Why estimation mistakes are made
• Common bidding errors
• 12 specific tips for improving the estimation process
• Bidding in the context of the overall sales process

This breakfast presentation will focus first on how to be a smarter competitor in bidding situations and then on alternative strategies that will shelter you and your company from the price game, if not remove you from it all together.

*ICBA member discount price: $30 + GST/person