Confidence in closing contractor proposals

Confidence in closing

What exactly is the magic or mojo behind “having confidence” in closing jobs as a contractor?

What I’m talking about is that moment when you hit “send” on that proposal. Or when you slide the proposal across the table to the prospect.

Right at that moment, rather than feeling confidence in closing, we can feel pretty shaky. 😅

Then when the prospect takes a look at the $50k proposal, looks back at you, and says, “We got $45k, can you do it for that?”

We cringe.

We need the work.

We need the deposit cash for this week’s payroll. (This is dangerous territory! But it’s the reality for far too many contractors)

We waver.

… and then we cave.

“Sure, I can do that.”

And in that critical moment, you just negotiated your profit away.

It vanished into thin air.

But you still have to do the work!

(What’s the use at this point? Doing all that work for little to no profit 😟)

But we get the hit of that deposit cash in the bank account.

Kicking that cash flow can down the road for another week or so.

When we’ll need to repeat the whole process and get a deposit check to pay for the next cashflow crunch.

All of this, this whole picture I’m painting out, produces a massive stressor in contractors’ lives, minds, and emotional states.

And it’s that emotional state of scarcity and desperation that produces the fertile ground where this “no confidence” can exist.

Not only can it exist, it controls you.

So…

What is the solution?

Do you attend some 10X conferences and get all amped up to try to produce this ever-elusive confidence in closing?

Try to read sales books.

Watch YouTube videos on sales and wonder how on earth they do it.

I mean… you can… but that won’t solve your issue.

Let me ask you this:

What produces a lack of confidence in closing?

Could be many things, but in the context of this article, it is “not knowing.”

Not knowing creates a void, a vacuum.

Not knowing is what makes you waver when you get that “We got $45k, can you do it for that?” response to your $50k proposal.

Here’s what I’m getting at:

You need to know.

You need to know your numbers, your breakeven, and the net profit on that job at that $50k price.

And when you know that, you will have that confidence in closing!

The best confidence in closing  “drug” I have ever seen for contractors is when they know their breakeven on every single job. To the penny.

When they know their breakeven, there is no wavering. There is no lack of confidence in closing.

Let’s say your breakeven was $44,500 on that hypothetical $50k quote I’ve been talking about.

When the client gives you that “We got $45k, can you do it for that?” response, you know immediately how to answer.

No wavering.

You’d be left with a $500 net profit.

Totally not worth soaking up 10 days of production time out of your schedule, and taking on the risk of doing an excellent job to produce a happy client for only $500 net profit.

You answer “No, I can’t. But I can help you achieve a $45k budget if that’s your ceiling. I could pull out the lights, I could simplify the design, use cheaper materials, etc. Which lever would you like to pull to bring the price down to $45k?”

Bingo.

Now you can see how your prospect responds.

Either, “Nah, that’s ok, let’s do it.”

Or, “Sure, I’d love for you to help me adjust the scope of work to bring the price down to my budget.”

Some clients will give you that “We got $45k, can you do it for that?” response just to see what you’ll do.

And when you waver, your eyes drop, they’ll smell that lack of confidence like a shark smells blood in water.

They know you don’t know.

And many will take advantage of that.

It’s a rare client that understands small business well enough to know how that can hurt you and your business, and based on honor and respect values, won’t take advantage of your not knowing.

So.

The thrust of my message here today is knowing produces confidence in closing.

So when you know your numbers, your breakeven, and your projected net profit on every job you bid, your confidence in closing will skyrocket.

And you’ll win more jobs.

You’ll adjust the scope of work instead of your price.

Want to really know how to have confidence in closing?

If you want to truly know your breakeven, I invite you to go down the rabbit hole of knowing your own numbers.

Use this free man-hour calculator that will help you know your breakeven and net profit on your hourly rate. This can then help you roll up to knowing your breakeven and net profit on each job.

I just did a full webinar on the topic of “4 Ways to Close More Jobs” with Ray Rodenbough from Unilock last week. In this webinar I share more perspectives and tips on this topic of confidence, and how to win that deal.

And win that deal profitably.

Give it a watch here.

Until next time!

Cheers!