You didn’t win the bid. Instead, you hear, “…their price was lower than yours.” Ugh…

The only thing worse than losing a job or bid that you really wanted, to another company, (especially when you know that your company provides a better experience), is thinking that you lost it because their price was lower…

Why? 

Because, in believing that you lost the bid because their price was cheaper lets you off the hook of being responsible and mistakingly gives you license to complain and criticize them. 

When, instead, what you should do, is take full and complete responsibility by taking the position that either:

A) you did not prequalify well enough or

B) that you did not educate your prospect to explain the value that your company provides by differentiating your self. 

“But they said my price was too high!” 

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Right. That’s what they said. 

Here is what they mean. 

Of all the painting companies we had come out to give us a bid, they all seemed to offer about the same experience; therefore, price was our only differentiator and so it only makes logical sense to go with the best price as long as they were likable. (By the way, being likable is very important.) 

If you continue to blame the other company for underbidding you, you’re stuck. There isn’t much you can do about their pricing. Well, except complain and get angry, which will get you exactly nowhere. 

Plus, when you blame others, you’re practicing mental laziness. When you blame others for your situation, your brain stops working to help you find a solution. 

Here’s what to do when you keep getting underbid.

Take complete ownership and say to yourself, “Ok self, this feedback means that I didn’t communicate enough value for my quoted price.” 

Once you do this, taking complete ownership for your result and not blaming anybody else, now you have the power to change future outcomes.

Your brain will go to work thinking of ways to help you to step up your game, to explain the value you provide, to educate the client on the experience they will have with your company.

I have to confess, I can only share this with you now in full confidence, because I was once a full-blown victim. Until I was introduced to the concept of Above The Line by my Best Man, Ron Mann. Literally, he was my Best Man at our wedding. I digress…

Here is how to create the new habit of taking ownership. 

1. Look for others who seem to experience a set back of sort and see if they respond positively with ownership or if they react with blame and criticism. This will help you keep your new habit top of mind. 
2. Give those close to you permission to hold you Above The Line. Meaning any time they hear you blame others, make excuses, or deny responsibility, they can ask you’re if you being below or above the line. 

This mindset will serve you in every area of your life, not just in winning bid, but winning bids is a great place to start. 🙂

You are your only real competition and if you work harder on yourself than you do on your business, as the late Jim Rohn would say, success is inevitable.

In my next post, I’ll show you some ways to stand out making it much easier to show why your company provides a much better experience and why your price, even though it may be the highest, is the best value.

Until then, let’s agree to keep it Above The Line,