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Sending a bid you can't sign yet

A roughly 32,000 square foot structural bid had no engineering behind it, so I sent it as a probe and verified the takeoff myself.

We had a structural bid ready for a project of roughly 32,000 square feet, but no engineering stood behind the structure yet. By law that means it cannot become a signable contract as it stands.

I sent it anyway, framed as a probe and not a binding offer, to get the client's real reaction while engineering caught up. Before it went out, I checked the takeoff behind it myself.

Holding every number until full engineering arrives just costs weeks of feedback and gains nothing. At this stage a bid's job is to keep the client's attention and test the reaction, not to be signable. That only works honestly if you have personally verified the numbers underneath.

The bid went out the same day it was finalized. We sent it to see what would happen, and we began sourcing draftsmen in parallel so the next round would not hit the same bottleneck.

A deal can move on a number you cannot sign yet, so long as everyone involved, you first, understands exactly why it cannot be signed. Being honest with myself about what I was sending is what allowed me to be honest with the client about it.

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