Why does a broad engineering firm lose to big firms on price and to specialists on expertise?

In my view, a broad service offering leaves you in the middle: big firms undercut you on price and specialists deliver faster. That is where my own firm sat, too expensive to win on price and too general to win on expertise. Choosing one core expertise and two or three client types is the way out.

What does being stuck in the middle look like?

My service offering was broad. I could do a lot of things, and I said yes to a lot of things. More services seemed like more chances at work.

In practice, it left me in the middle. Big firms undercut me on price. Specialists delivered faster. I could not win on price, and I could not win on expertise.

Why does a broad offering lose on both sides?

The material gives me two facts from my own experience. Big firms undercut me on price, and specialists delivered faster. A firm that offers a little of everything is competing against both at once.

Here is my view, and only my view. A buyer who compares you on price will find someone cheaper. A buyer who wants a specific problem solved will go to the firm known for solving it. A broad firm is not the obvious choice in either comparison.

What changes when you pick one expertise and a few client types?

The idea is simple. Pick one core expertise. Pick two or three client types. Say no to most of the rest. In my experience, three things follow:

• You become more efficient.
• You become easier to scale.
• You become known for something specific.

The third one matters most for the problem in the title. A firm known for something specific is no longer judged only against the cheapest number or the fastest specialist. It is judged on whether it solves a particular kind of problem for a particular kind of client.

Isn't narrowing down risky?

It feels risky. Saying no to a client type you have always accepted is uncomfortable, and I will not pretend otherwise.

But staying general has a cost too. You pay it whenever a cheaper bid or a faster specialist beats you. Treat the choice like any other professional decision: make it carefully, try it on a small scale, and look honestly at the results.

What should I do next week?

This is a suggestion from me, not a method from the book.

1. Look back over your recent proposals. Next to each, write whether you won or lost, who the client was and what kind of work it was.
2. Look for a pattern in the work you won and the work you lost.
3. Write a draft of one core expertise and two or three client types. It does not need to be final. It needs to be specific.

Then try it on your next proposal and see what you learn.