Cheap Today. Costly Tomorrow. How One Bollard Spec Killed Profit.
(And Why Lowballing Your Way In Can Blow Up in Your Face)
A client once thought they were being clever.
They priced a cheaper bollard, not what was called for, banking on changing the spec after award.
They submitted.
They won.
They celebrated.
But then…
The consultant rejected their bollard post-award.
It didn’t meet spec.
Now they had two choices:
Omit their bollard cost entirely (margin gone)
Or pay the difference and absorb the loss (margin worse)
They went in with a price-win strategy…
And came out with zero profit, zero credibility, and a team scrambling to justify a product swap.
⚠️ This Happens More Than You Think
Tenderers think:
“Let’s quote something cheaper now, we’ll change it later.”
But under PQM scoring and consultant reviews, this backfires. Hard.
Because:
Specs aren’t just words — they’re evaluation anchors
Post-award deviations raise red flags
Consultants have seen these tricks before, and they push back
You don’t just lose margin.
You lose trust, with consultants, with clients, with future invites.
✅ How We Prevent That
We help clients quote strategically, not just “cheaply.”
That means:
Submitting fully aligned specs from day one
Offering compliant alternatives before award, not after
Structuring the submission to maximise Q-score and protect margin
📌 Don’t Get Burned Post-Award
If you’re preparing a bollard or HVM submission now:
📞 Book a 15-min pre-submission review with our tech team.
We’ll catch what might fail before the consultant does.