Have you ever had a client tell you that your bid is too high?
I suffered with this painful problem for over 25 years because I thought there were only two solutions;
Either lower my bid or don't take the job.
Then in 2003, it happened again. Contracting Officer Tony Clayborne at Arnold AFB, TN called to tell me that my bid was too high on a contract that I really wanted.
Suddenly, it was like a flashbulb going off - I had an idea.
It was a Friday and so I asked Tony if I could write him a letter about my bid and email it to him on Monday. Tony said OK. I spent the whole weekend writing a letter designed to change the Government's perception of my bid and to forever solve the problem of "Your bid is too high." As promised, the email was sent to Tony on Monday morning. All day I waited in anticipation; nothing, not one email or phone call. Was it all for naught?Then BAM!
Tuesday morning, in my email was a full price contract award! No phone call, no discussion, just a full price contract award. The letter had worked like magic! Over the next three months that $363,000 project made more than $100,000. Thus the document became known as the hundred thousand dollar letter.
And it didn't just work for me. One of the Advanced Training Workshop graduates, Jeff Williams of JF Construction, sent an exciting and unsolicited email explaining in detail how he used the $100K letter to make over $60,000 on a contract in Pennsylvania. You can read it below. In fact, to date, over 3 million dollars of extra profit has been made by client companies that is directly attributable to the proper use of the $100K letter.
It doesn't work for just Me! Check out what others have
(unsolicited) said about the $100K letter;
"From: Jeff Williams
Subject: Your $100K Letter
To: "doug@reitmeyer.com"
Cc: "Rusty Norris"
Just wanted to share some good news. Joe Funk Construction Engineers was just awarded a contract and given a notice to proceed by the United States Government under a Dept of the Interior agency. The project is for the supply and installation of special covers at their research facility in PA. The contract amount is $229,854.00 and we are projecting a 30% margin.
The solicitation was an RFP and we prepared it just as you taught us. We identified our expert in the past performance document as our chosen expert and used his prescreened contact reference for the relevant jobs section. We submitted our proposal on the Thursday the 25th and were contacted on Monday morning by the Contracting Officer.
Now Doug, here is the best part; She wanted to talk to me about the price. She explained to me that our bid was “way over the budget”. She asked me to submit a revised proposal for just 2 of them and She told me that she needed me to cut my price... ”a lot”. I went back to the estimate and found a couple of small items that could be honed but it certainly didn't amount to “a lot”. Then, I remembered what you are probably thinking as you read this paragraph…'use the 100 thousand dollar letter!!!'. She wanted a response quick so I made very few changes, then pasted my revised price sheet to the top and sent it in. The next day I was in the CQMC class and had messages from her at each break asking for this or that clarification. In the end, the contract was awarded for the entire original proposal amount and there is no question that your “100 thousand dollar letter” had played a great part in the Government's ability to justify their purchase.
I am very thankful that Rusty had the foresight to research, and identify you as the best when he decided to look for direction and training prior to launching our company's Federal Construction Initiative. And I am thankful to you for your willingness to share all of your hard earned experience through your workshops and continued mentoring. I am certain that this is only the first of many awards and successful projects and that is a very motivating and exciting realization.
Thank you again Doug,
Jeff Williams, Project ManagerJoe Funk Construction Engineers, Inc.
Dallas, TX
www.JoeFunkConstruction.com
"From: Frey Radfar
Subject: $100K Letter
To: "doug@reitmeyer.com"
Cc: "Deemah Ramadan"
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011, 1:19 PM
Design+Build Group just recently submitted a proposal on a design job (pre-construction services) only to receive an e-mail back from the client saying we were way too high. My heart sank, I got frustrated that we wasted so much time in meetings to put together their bid, and then I remembered the 100K Letter! It works for Doug why not us? We excitedly pulled out the $100K Letter to use as our template, made the necessary changes, and sent it off.
I'll go ahead and say now that the result of this proposal is inconsequential. What's important is that we didn't have to back down on our costs to take on an unprofitable project. You've provided us with a way to professionally explain why our proposal was higher than they expected and that in itself is a great burden solved.
Sincerely,
Frey Radfar - Field ManagerDesign+Build Group