The $11M Job Won at 3.8% Margin
A cladding contractor celebrated winning an $11M package with a Tier 1 builder. Then he ran the
numbers. Margin: 3.8%. After variations, delays, and retentions, he’d clear $340,000 on $11M in
revenue. If nothing went wrong.
“I had to be sharp,” he said. “Twelve other cladding contractors priced it.”
He’d won by being the cheapest. Not the best. Not the most reliable. The cheapest. And in Tier 1
construction, the cheapest subcontractor usually becomes the most expensive once the builder
realises why the others priced higher.
Why the Portal Is a Margin Destroyer
Tender portals are designed to drive price competition. Builders can see 10–15 quotes side by side.
The visual format encourages procurement to sort by price. The subcontractor who wins is often the
one who made the biggest mistake in their pricing.
Relationship-driven work doesn’t work this way. When a builder knows you, trusts your delivery, and
has seen your work, price becomes one factor among many. They’ll pay 8–12% more for certainty.
For reliability. For a subcontractor who won’t create problems on site.
The data is clear: portal-driven work averages 5–7% margins. Relationship-driven work averages
12–16%. The difference on a $10M job is $700,000–$900,000 in profit. Same work. Different
channel.
What Outsourced Sales Actually Does to Protect Margin
At Results Group, our outsourced sales team builds the relationships that get you out of the portal
and into direct negotiation. We introduce you to procurement teams before the package goes live.
We position your track record as a value multiplier, not a price competitor. We get you into
frameworks where tendering is optional, not mandatory.
This is sales outsourcing at the profit level. Not helping you win more jobs. Helping you win more
profitable jobs. Because revenue without margin is just busy work.
Keywords That Capture the Margin Problem
• outsourced sales margin protection
• construction profit improvement
• subcontractor pricing strategy
• sales outsourcing value selling
• framework agreement margins
• outsourced BDM profit growth
The Margin Recovery
That cladding contractor? Twelve months after engaging outsourced sales, his average margin on
new work was 13.4%. His relationship-driven win rate had increased from 15% to 41%. He was
winning less work through portals—and making more money on every job he won.
The work didn’t change. The way he won it did. That’s outsourced sales: protecting the profit you
used to give away.
