November 11, 2024
Mike sat across from Tom, a General Contractor he'd worked with for years, about to have a very different kind of conversation. After 15 years of bidding to Tom's company, this was the first time Mike had ever been able to show their complete history together.
"Let me show you something interesting," Mike said, pulling up his RhinoDox data. "Over the past three years, we've won 42% of the medical facility projects we've bid with you, but only 15% of the office buildings. I think there's an opportunity here we should discuss."
Tom leaned forward, genuinely intrigued. Like most GCs, he was juggling dozens of projects and hundreds of subcontractors. Having this level of insight into their working relationship was new – and valuable.
"The funny thing is," Mike told me later, "Tom had no idea about these numbers either. GCs are just as busy as we are. They're not sitting there tracking every bid from every subcontractor. When we showed him the patterns in our successful projects together, it completely changed the conversation."
This wasn't always how things worked. Before implementing RhinoDox, Mike's company tracked their bids the same way most contractors do – through a combination of spreadsheets, emails, gut and intuition. Getting a complete picture of their relationship with any GC meant hours of digging through old files and because of this, only did this once or twice a year.
The transformation began when they started using RhinoDox to capture their bid data. Suddenly, every interaction, every bid, every project outcome was tracked systematically. But the real breakthrough came when they realized this information wasn't just useful for internal tracking – it could help demonstrate their value to GCs in a concrete way.
"We used to walk into meetings with GCs and have pretty standard conversations about current bids," Mike recalled. "But when we started bringing our historical performance data, showing them exactly where and how we'd been successful together, the dynamics shifted. We weren't just another subcontractor – we were showing them patterns they hadn't seen before."
The real value became clear during regular check-ins with GCs. Instead of just discussing current bids, Mike could now guide conversations toward their proven strengths.
"During our quarterly meeting with Turner Construction, we showed them that our margin requirements were actually lower on laboratory projects because of our specialized experience," Mike explained. "We had the numbers right there - every lab project we'd bid with them over the past three years, including similar scope and pricing trends. That kind of concrete information helps the GC understand where we can provide the most value."
The data didn't just help win individual projects - it helped focus their bidding strategy. By understanding which project types consistently performed better, they could be more strategic about where they invested their estimating time.
"It's not about convincing GCs to give us more work," Mike noted. "It's about showing them, with real numbers, where our partnership has been most successful. That helps everyone make better decisions about future opportunities."
The impact was measurable. Since they started using their RhinoDox insights in GC meetings, they've seen:
- Better alignment on project opportunities
- More focused bid invitations matching their strengths
- Clearer understanding of their competitive advantages
- More productive conversations about project types where they excel
"When you can show a GC your exact performance history on similar projects, it changes the conversation," Mike noted. "They can see precisely where we've delivered the most value."
The benefits extended beyond just winning more work. By having data-driven conversations about past performance, they could:
- Plan resources more effectively
- Target the most profitable project types
- Make more informed bidding decisions
- Demonstrate consistency in performance
Today, Mike's company approaches GC meetings entirely differently. "We're not just showing up to discuss the latest bid," he explained. "We're bringing insights about our shared history that help both parties understand where we work best together. The data tells a story about our relationship – what works, what could work better, and where we should focus next."
The construction industry may still run on relationships, but now those relationships can be strengthened with real data. As Mike puts it, "RhinoDox didn't replace the handshake – it just made sure both parties understand exactly where they've been most successful together."
For contractors considering this approach, Mike's advice is simple: "Start tracking everything now. The sooner you build your data history, the more valuable these conversations become. In an industry where everyone is pressed for time, being able to show clear patterns of success makes every meeting more productive."
The future of contractor-GC relationships isn't about replacing the personal with the digital – it's about using data to make those relationships more productive for everyone involved. As Mike says with a smile, "Now when we say we're good at something, we don't just think it. We know it. And we can prove it."
