I think you might be missing out on the fine art of negotiating, guys. You've all got parts of it. Of course if you don't really want the job, you're not going to budge, or if they're going to be a pain in the patootie you're going to make them pay for it.
The part I'm talking about also is when you want the job, but also negotiate with them. You get the job and the money, they talked you out of a little, and everybody's happy.
If you're interested, you should really check out some books on it. I'll bash at it a bit to give you an idea.
First, it's a contract, so they don't know what portion is labor and what's materials. If they're negotiating they'll probable ask you to break it down for them. It's called unbundling. Don't unbundle. They supposedly know the material cost by walking down the eisles of Home Depot. I may say something like "I didn't figure it at T&M, but at per outlet" & "All outlets are a different rate, depending on the type", or sometimes "I figured the materials at cost & labor at a discount".
There are a lot of things to say other than "That's my price, take it or leave it". A recent example is a job that I figured up and the guy called and asked for a few hundred off the price AND some extra outlets. He's a very nice guy and I wanted the job, and now I knew we were negotiating.
I said something like "Gee guy, I figured this pretty close, and those extra outlets are going to require an additional circuit, I'll refigure it." Now since we were negotiating I figure the extra plus a little for the next negotiation. He asked for several hundred off the new price and I gave him a few hundred off the price. We had a change and I got it back. I also gave him some extra work without a change order & repeatedly told him I wanted him happy with the job. If he'd been a jerk I probably would have limited any comments like that.
I gave a little without giving away the profit and also got the job, which is the point after all. Also as a new customer, it's always good to give them something. If they're nice people they'll know you gave it to them , or just say, "I thought it needed an extra outlet there, but I'm not charging you for it". That gets references and repeat business. The repeat business is where you can get that money back, if you want to. I get most of this work without competative bids. With a lot of people price isn't the most important issue, it's that they trust me to be there on time, do a good job and not try to gouge them in the middle of it.
Dave
[This message has been edited by Dave55 (edited 09-18-2004).]
