Champions Guide To Winning Construction Contracts

The lifeblood of any construction company is the ability to win contracts with project management clients. From property development to commercial renovations, these jobs secure a future for your business. 

But contracts aren’t just handed to you; you must fight for them. CHAS has been helping contractors find work since we were established in 1997. In our champions guide to winning construction contracts, we’ll discuss how you can edge out your competition and find victory on the construction bidding battlefield. 

What Are Clients Looking For?

It’s best to work backwards when securing contracts for your construction business. Imagine you’re the project management client looking for the best construction contractor opportunities bidding for your tenders — what’s going to appeal to you?

• Balancing Budget With Benefits — Budget is important for any construction contract, but there are other aspects of your bid that will weigh against this. So don’t be afraid to increase bid cost in return for the benefits of your work.
• Working With Network Contacts — Project managers need a job to go smoothly. They want to work with reputable contractors they trust. If you’re within a client’s contact network, they’re more likely to choose your business based on these criteria.
• Adaptive Contractors — Construction projects rarely go ahead without any delays or challenges. Clients need to know you can handle these and adapt. Show that you’re capable of adapting to problems and you’ll be able to win construction contracts. 
• Trustworthy Contractors — Just because you’re not in their network, it doesn’t mean you can show a client you’re trustworthy. Being able to demonstrate trust through other channels, like previous testimonials or accreditations from trusted authorities, can be a great way to increase your chances of winning construction contracts. 
• Experienced Contractors — Clients want to work with the best. They’ll be looking at your experience and historic data wherever relevant. Don’t be deterred if you’re new to the construction contractor space, however. You can play off other strengths like commercial qualifications, accreditations or individual strengths within your team. 
• Alignment With Vision And Values — Contractors concerned with resources and budget often forget that clients may want to work with contractor businesses that match their organisational culture and branding. Alignment of such vision and values can make for cohesive project communication and delivery. If you can show the similarities between your branding and theirs, it could very much play in your favour when it comes to winning construction bids. 
• Low-Risk Contractors — There isn’t a single client out there putting out a contract tender that is interested in taking on risk to their supply chain. The more risk-averse you can show your business is, the better. Accreditations can be an essential factor in demonstrating you’ve properly and thoroughly risk-assessed your construction company. 
• Contractors That Make Life Easy — Clients are busy. Time is one of their most valuable assets. Anything you can do to cut down on their workload will do wonders for your viability as a contract candidate. Clarity of message, open and transparent communication, concise information and qualifications/certifications that mean potential clients don’t have to audit your processes will improve your chances of winning construction contracts. Getting into the mindset of what you can offer to the project — instead of what you will gain from the contract — can make a big difference. 

How To Win Construction Contracts

Knowing what construction clients want is one thing; understanding how to win their construction contracts is a different matter. So what exactly could your construction business be doing to secure winning bids?

Get Your Bids In Early

Construction contracts are not a first-past-the-post system, but clients are also often looking for quick and simple resolutions so they can push forward on projects. If you can get in early with attractive bids, you’ve got a chance of being contracted before others have even put a plan together. CHAS can help you access opportunities early through our contractor portal, My CHAS. You can apply for work before many ever get a chance to view the opportunity. It’s also a good idea to start building bid plans the moment you hear about an available project. Don’t procrastinate, or you may miss your chance.

Touch Base With Contacts

If the client running the project is within your network, simply reach out and touch base to say you’ve put a bid in for the construction contract — if you’ve bid online or through a bidding platform and not directly. This step can be quite powerful because it also opens up room for a feedback loop between yourself and the client, enabling you to adapt your bid to satisfy client demands.

Go After The Right Tenders

A scatter-gun approach is not always your best choice for winning bids. It means you’re investing a lot of time in a lot of bids, but your bid plans are probably weaker as a result. Instead of casting your net too wide, consider more targeted bid opportunities, focusing your attention on the contracts that seem ideal for your business and the ones you’re more confident you can win. This is a good time to think about balancing budget with benefits — and your alignment of vision and values.

Showcase Your Qualities

Make sure your bid outlines everything of value that your construction company has to offer within your contract, including qualifications, histories and other benefits like deadline commitments, adaptivity and so on. When applying within the CHAS contractor portal, you can build your contractor business profile to provide clients with all the essential information they need to make informed decisions.

Be Realistic With Your Bid

It’s easy to try and undercut the market or promise the world in your tender bid to win construction projects. However, most clients can identify those businesses that are overpromising and disregard them. Avoid making unrealistic bids. Instead, stick to genuine opportunities you can offer.

Get Your Accreditations 

The best bid in the world is nothing without the right risk assessment assurances and accreditations. Clients need to be confident in your ability to manage supply chain risk and keep their project running smoothly. Accreditations are the most effective tool for providing such peace of mind to clients, helping you win contracts. Do not enter the bidding process until you’ve got the right certifications and accreditations for your business. Without them, you’re likely wasting your time.

CHAS offers a wide range of risk assessment programs and accreditation schemes for contractors. Work with us today to empower your bidding process and win more construction contracts. 

Winning Big Construction Contracts

Looking to secure yourself some of the biggest and most lucrative construction projects available — such as work on the HS2? You’ll want to think about how you can go the extra mile, baiting the most alluring line to catch the largest fish.

Search For Construction Contracts Within The Public Sector 

Many of the largest construction contracts are found within the public sector. They typically involve transportation infrastructure, school development, hospitals, public buildings or affordable property developments. Identifying public sector contracts can land big projects for your business.

Expand Your Resource Base And Find Subcontractors

If you’re going to bid for large construction contracts, you should be fully aware that you need to be adaptive in terms of delivery and resources.

These large contracts have larger risks and need larger pools of resources to manage. To secure these contracts, you must show you can adapt to change and keep the contract on track. Expanding your business by connecting with subcontractors you can call on to pick up extra work or changing schedules is important for inspiring confidence in bigger clients.

Devise Project Proposals And Strategy As Part Of Your Tender Process

Most large project bids will require you to increase the level of detail you’re supplying with your offer. They’ll be looking for you to set forward a detailed project proposal including benefits like return on investment, productivity data for your business, how you’re going to complete the project, and so on.

All this data usually comes in the form of a “request for proposal” (RFP) from the prospective client. The more detailed and attractive your proposal, the better your chances of landing the big contract. It’s recommended you invest more time in such a proposal than you would on smaller projects.

Secure The Highest Class Of Accreditations 

Big clients face bigger risks in their supply chain. They have more moving parts, so one weak link can create wide-reaching chain reactions. To protect their projects, clients will only be accepting bids from contractors that can display they have fully risk-assessed their business and are committed to smooth operations. The best way to do this is to cover your business with the highest class of certifications and accreditations available.

For construction, this is the Common Assessment Standard. This 12-point accreditation scheme ensures comprehensive risk assessment processes are undertaken and that those certified are fully compliant with all important regulatory standards. There is a reason why projects like the HS2 only accept Common Assessment Standard accredited contractors.

Join CHAS to access resources designed to support you in the PQQ tendering process. 

Sign up for CHAS Elite membership to complete the Common Assessment Standard, the preeminent PQQ scheme that covers 13 areas of risk management. Work with us today to gain accreditation for your business and start securing major project contracts. 

Not sure where to start? Learn how the membership process works by reading our guide to joining CHAS.