We lost a project of N5.6M to an electrician who quoted N700k and here’s why! 😳😳😳 Last two months my company ( OJM Electrical Company ) was contacted for a hotel project ground floor piping, upon receiving the request we set a schedule for oversight and inspection. Which after we presented an estimate inclusive of labour charges and the quotation came up to N5.6M. After submission the client called for a review and modifications, which was mild with extra 7 days of negotiations, but we later reached a compromise. While this negotiations was going on other professionals who are interested on the project has been lobbying around and unfortunately this client was presented with surprising and unbelievable quotations valued at N700k, undercutting us by over 500%. (Na there the matter tie wrapper). Immediately; we received a call on the development and the client was requesting for another review and negotiations, but we declined, we lost the contract and here’s the reason for our decision. Project quantification is not done by guessing, emotions and sentiments, it’s done with pristine clarity of what the project deliverables entails. And as we understood, we knew that proceeding with the project with an unrealistic price is going to impair on the quality of the project delivery, with the possibility of us loosing money. And as expected it happened (That contractor is in trouble because he couldn’t deliver). Before quantifying a project, here are several considerations you need to make (aside materials estimation). 1. Workforce ( How many workers are needed on site) 2. Logistics (What transportation expenses I’m i going to make till the project gets delivered) 3. Feeding (Does the project requires feeding and how much is it) 4. Accommodation (If I’m I sleeping over; what’s the cost) 5. Contingency (planning for scope creep, (sudden events) like project delays, accidents, inflation and site tipping) 6. Project tools (Are there any special tooling system needed, do I have it or what’s the cost) 7. Profit (How much do I want to go home with after delivering this project). These are the questions we asked ourselves and understood that undercharging will not do us any good. And today; yes we lost the contract but our reputation is still intact. We hope other professionals will see the dangers of undercharging and desist from it. As this issue still lingers in the electrical industry, my team and I are working round the clock to see whether we can build a solution that can help both aspiring and practicing electrical professionals to quote better. Check out what we’re building at 'Quotepaddy' we’ll be launching our MVP soon, like the page to stay updated with the date of our launch 🚀. Or check the comment section to join our WhatsApp channel. Quote better, quote smarter, stop guessing!!! #thelectricalgrandmaster #ogbonnayachinedu #thebrandsherif #quotepaddy #fixpaddyservices #ojmelectricalstore #electricalunicorn #ojmelectricalcompany #thecelebrityelectrician #quotesmart