CRM for Contractors: From Tender to Project Without Losing Data
A contractor's sales cycle is measured in months, not days. What gets lost along the way is usually not the opportunity, it is the record of it.
A tender pipeline differs from a product pipeline
The stages are longer and branch: invitation, site visit, estimate, submission, clarification, decision. Stages can go backwards. Design stages that reflect this reality rather than copying a retail sales pipeline.
What belongs in one place
- Tender documents and their latest versions.
- The list of parties involved, including consultants and the project owner.
- Estimate history and the assumptions behind the pricing.
- Key dates and who is responsible.
An estimate is an asset, not a throwaway file
Store the estimate with its assumptions on the opportunity record. After two years, comparing estimates with actual costs gives a far stronger basis for pricing than instinct.
Handover to the project team
When a tender is won, information must move without retyping: scope, price, schedule, contacts. If sales and delivery use separate systems, define one formal handover point and a short checklist. See managing client projects.
Numbers the board cares about
Value of live tenders, win rate by project type, reasons for losing, and estimator workload. All can be shown in Zoho Analytics.
Start with one division
Fix one business line first, then copy the pattern. See our implementation service.