I received an RFP email for surveying services, it included location monitoring wells and bore locations. It is a little farther than I was wanting to drive to go and do it, but I figured what the heck, I will put enough in it to make money and be worth the headache. mind you this is a federal contract which requires me to have special safety qualification and what not, that I currently do not have. I have enough work for 2 months lined up, as it is right now, so I am not worried about starving or keeping the lights on.
Just got notice that I "potentially" have the job but they think my, office time price, should be 85% less than what I proposed. Now they want a justification of why my price is so high.
My wife says I am an A hole a lot of the time and I try to consciously be aware of that when replying to potential clients, but I am currently baffled at how I should reply
A-This is my price to operate, and make a living, Thank you have a nice day.
B- Haggle with them and agree on a price
I am leaning to answer A.
if the number was, say, 15% then consider answer B.
85% - walk away.
I would consider a request to reduce your office time price by 85% to be disrespectful. Do they think it is just a random figure or what?
Or are they asking you to reduce to 85% of your current price.
Matt McCrory, post: 431685, member: 10684 wrote: I received an RFP email for surveying services, it included location monitoring wells and bore locations. It is a little farther than I was wanting to drive to go and do it, but I figured what the heck, I will put enough in it to make money and be worth the headache. mind you this is a federal contract which requires me to have special safety qualification and what not, that I currently do not have. I have enough work for 2 months lined up, as it is right now, so I am not worried about starving or keeping the lights on.
Just got notice that I "potentially" have the job but they think my, office time price, should be 85% less than what I proposed. Now they want a justification of why my price is so high.
My wife says I am an A hole a lot of the time and I try to consciously be aware of that when replying to potential clients, but I am currently baffled at how I should reply
A-This is my price to operate, and make a living, Thank you have a nice day.
B- Haggle with them and agree on a priceI am leaning to answer A.
They probably have a prescribed process. They were probably required to develop an in-house estimate before sending out the RFP. If your cost proposal is substantially higher, then they are required to justify why and then perhaps negotiate if the justification is unsatisfactory. I would play along. Don't reduce your price, but provide justification ("I calculate that my overhead rate is XXX%; we employ high level staff with higher hourly rates, but who are time efficient, so overall project cost is generally very competitive..." stuff like that). If your justification doesn't satisfy them, ask them for their justification in return and then negotiate based on facts and comparables. That's all that they are likely in the position to do as well.
I would just honestly provide an explanation. They may be putting together a paper trail as to why they hired you when your prices were higher than the alternative quotes. Be careful about jumping to conclusions. This is an opportunity for you to explain why your services are superior to the other bids.
I like to think that my schooling, licensing, and general knowledge is worth more than my sweat.
I am a solo surveyor and started my business 2 yrs ago, I try not to be the cheapest and have been higher on some local jobs than the surveying/engineering firm I was previously employed, but I can operate at a lower overhead than them. I just did not expect to get a request to justify the price when I sent in my proposal.
Matt McCrory, post: 431685, member: 10684 wrote: should be 85%
Reduce the office stuff to15% and add 85% to the field estimate. 😉
That is about the time that the A-hole inside me would come out and I would request an explanation as to why they think I should work so cheap.
I agree with [USER=10219]@FrozenNorth[/USER] . They are possibly trying to be good stewards of taxpayers' dollars and trying not to by $1,000 toilet seats so to speak. They probably have a good estimate of the standard "office time" charge. Open dialogue with them or turn it down, but I would agree with being diplomatic about it. If they have a different estimate of what they should pay, you might ask them how they arrived at their cost. (it should be public information)
Double your quote and return it with a tube of K-Y.
Never revise your fee without revising the scope of services.
The last time that someone asked me to justify my fee I said, "That is what is worth, to me, to do your project." Also, I don't do MA DOT work because they have a policy that you have to have your company professionally audited, yearly to the tune of about $6K, so that they can figure out how much to pay you. I am not ever going to let my clients decide my fees.
foggyidea, post: 431708, member: 155 wrote: Never revise your fee without revising the scope of services.
The last time that someone asked me to justify my fee I said, "That is what is worth, to me, to do your project." Also, I don't do MA DOT work because they have a policy that you have to have your company professionally audited, yearly to the tune of about $6K, so that they can figure out how much to pay you. I am not ever going to let my clients decide my fees.
That's a good policy.
And I personally think it's rude to ask someone their opinion (or for a quote) and then want to argue the point. It's derogatory and disrespectful.
I'd rather chat with the young men in slacks and ties that blanket the neighborhood on their bicycles....
paden cash, post: 431704, member: 20 wrote: Double your quote and return it with a tube of K-Y.
You better take good care of yourself, because lines like this from you is half the reason to come to this forum.
Matt McCrory, post: 431695, member: 10684 wrote: I like to think that my schooling, licensing, and general knowledge is worth more than my sweat.
I am a solo surveyor and started my business 2 yrs ago, I try not to be the cheapest and have been higher on some local jobs than the surveying/engineering firm I was previously employed, but I can operate at a lower overhead than them. I just did not expect to get a request to justify the price when I sent in my proposal.
That looks like a subliminal message that I need to charge more.
Tommy Young, post: 431710, member: 703 wrote: You better take good care of yourself, because lines like this from you is half the reason to come to this forum.
Thank you Tommy, I plan on it. Something you can verify with those that have worked with me over the years is that I generally don't suggest something that I haven't actually put into action.
In my career those that have insulted me professionally discovered their err immediately. 😉
??they think my, office time price, should be 85% less than what I proposed.?
They haven??t asked you to change your fee ?? they just want you to explain it to them.
I??m only hearing this second hand but the stated facts don??t support getting offended - maybe they were nasty or demeaning but I'm not seeing that.
Did you simply provide a fee or did you also prepare a proposal with a scope of work?
Is this lump sum or T&M?
If it??s lump sum fee and nothing else then there??s less explaining to do.
If it??s T&M then tell them to make the contract for whatever price they??d like but don??t make it an NTE contract.
Regardless, tell them what is going to happen in the office. Don??t itemize the costs or hours just say something like:
[INDENT]??Office work includes refuel survey truck, transfer field equipment to the office, finalize field notes, data download from survey instruments, field book indexing, photo indexing, clean and store field equipment, replenish field supplies consumed, raw data review (and edit if necessary), project control processing and documentation, field measurement processing, develop final measurement coordinates, drawing development (import, draft, annotate data, prepare and present metadata), final data and drawing check by field staff, edits if necessary, draft preparation of deliverables, independent quality control, edits if necessary, final hardcopy and digital product preparation, certification (as appropriate), project documentation, transfer of deliverables to required media, letter of transmittal preparation, delivery, data archiving, and work report review.?[/INDENT]
More words here conveys more effort - add info about OPUS or base station position determination or precise ephemerides, or any other step that you are taking in support of their project.
We all know that clients typically don??t have a clue as to how much effort is involved in the field or the office - give them an idea of what happens?? it??s more than just pushing a button. We typically don't do a good job of conveying the level of effort when we simply say "office work" when we are talking about a large series of activities (on the other hand if you don't do most of those steps then maybe "office work is the best explanation you can give).
Don??t get into defending each step ?? that??s when it??s time to say?? sounds like you really have an interest in surveying ?? you might want to look into becoming a surveyor, there are some great bachelors geomatics programs what will teach you more about the profession.
Matt McCrory, post: 431685, member: 10684 wrote: Thank you have a nice day
Best regards.
Matt McCrory, post: 431685, member: 10684 wrote: I
Just got notice that I "potentially" have the job but they think my, office time price, should be 85% less than what I proposed. Now they want a justification of why my price is so high.
Tell them your "office time price" is for what you do in the office as a professional, you are not a common secretary or bureaucrat.
Or, you could tell them that the reason your "office time price" is so high is to cover the cost and aggravation of dealing with those who ask you to justify your professional fees.
Sarcasm font maybe?? Maybe not.....
It can get strange with government types, I've had them tell me I couldn't charge GPS, 4 wheelers, and such, then turn around and say I have to raise my rates,,,,,,,,go figure, I wouldn't give up on it too easily, you need to have a conversation with them and see where they are coming from, you might be surprised when all the dust settles.
Justify it and see what happens. Govt werks in funny ways.
