1. Get invited before you go looking
Public plan rooms and bid databases are useful, but the best commercial work usually comes by invitation. GCs send invites to the subs already on their bid list. If you're not on the list, you never see the job.
Start with the general contractors who build the kind of work you want in the area you want to work. Get your company into their subcontractor database with a clean W-9, certificate of insurance and a short capability statement. More on that in our guide to getting on GC bid lists.
2. Read the package for deal-breakers first
Don't start a takeoff on page one. Look for the things that kill a bid before you spend two hours on it:
- Bid due date and the pre-bid walk, and whether you can realistically make them
- Insurance limits, bonding and any union or prevailing-wage requirements
- Your scope section — what's in, what's excluded, and what's buried in another division
- Liquidated damages, retainage and payment terms
- Schedule and duration compared with your crew's capacity
3. Price from your real costs, not last year's rate
Your labor rate has to include current payroll burden, workers' comp, liability insurance and your share of overhead. If those numbers are a year or two old, you can win the job and still lose money on it.
Rebuild your rate whenever payroll, insurance or overhead changes, and compare it with what your last few finished jobs actually cost.
4. Submit a clean proposal and list your exclusions
A GC is comparing several numbers side by side. Use their bid form if they have one, state your inclusions and exclusions clearly, and note anything you assumed. A clear proposal gets read; a vague one gets leveled against you.
5. Follow up and track what happens
Call or email the estimator after bid day. Ask where you landed. Write down whether you won, lost, or got no answer — over a few months that tells you which GCs and job types are worth bidding.