Have any of y'all ever worked up a price to do something, and find out is was drastically low? I'm working on a price to do something. Well, I ran the numbers by another guy in our office. He told me that my price was less than 1/3 of the going rate! What makes it worse is that I have done enough of this to know that we can make money at the original price. Anyway, I'm upping the proposal right now.
Whenever that's happened to me, I start wondering what I've missed. I can't recall ever coming in at less than half of what other surveyors think a job would take. If you're that far off, it's a good bet you've missed something.
"The going rate" should count for zip.
A job is what it is worth to all concerned.
If the client can not afford to pay your proposed fee they move on.
Too many have not learned to let go if the potential client insists on dictating the fee in an area of expertise that they know nothing about . Driven by "I will screw him", or "my mate got his job done for $X"!
In regards to your initial Q . I would say that it is easy to overlook lots of little pricing boxes that require pricing consideration on every job. Like instrument depreciation, saving for new gear, vehicle replacement, software acquisition, beside the normal boxes of man hours in field and office etc
RADU
We will just have to wait to see what the job goes for and what it costs to do. Just because the other guy in your office says so doesn't make it a fact.
A few times I was told that my numbers were low and encouraged me to make a quote for some amount they requested me in a way that appeared to be a suggestion that I rethink my numbers.
Once I did add some just to appear to listen.
The other times I kept my numbers and still did not get the contract.
When they want to go with certain company, the price does not matter, they will let the contract to whoever they want and swear that company is their best choice.
> A few times I was told that my numbers were low and encouraged me to make a quote for some amount they requested me in a way that appeared to be a suggestion that I rethink my numbers.
I have had that happen, adjusted my numbers up, and leapfrogged the ultimate low bid in the process. In hindsight I think that the client was just shaking my tree to see if I'd fall out, and I did.
> We will just have to wait to see what the job goes for and what it costs to do. Just because the other guy in your office says so doesn't make it a fact.
True, however, he deals with this type of work a lot more than I do.
we play a little "game" here at our office. there are three of us that write down "our number" after looking at the scope of the work. - it's interesting what 3 people can estimate on the same job. We go with the middle number.:-)
Let us know if you get the job.
