Reverse Auctions

Reverse auctions provide an excellent opportunity for increasing your business, particularly in the service sector. The bidding website will notify you of projects posted on a reverse auction site in your area of expertise. You review and bid on that interest you, and increase your business as you become more successful in your bidding.

To get started, register with selected reverse online auction sites that cover the services you provide. Select all the categories you are interested in being notified about, and select the geographical areas that you cover. Most websites will notify you of new projects in your categories and locations. Some reverse auction websites offer the opportunity to include a description of your services, licensing, insurance, bonding, how long you've been in business and the like.

Many reverse online auctions involve programming, website development, editing, technical writing and such that can be done without ever meeting the customer. In reviewing this type of contract, be sure that the details are clear, and that you ask for clarification you need before bidding. You can, as many suppliers of this type of work do, bid a scoping price, in which the specification and scope of the work will be detailed out in a preliminary contract. Once the full specification is available, you can then bid on the resulting specification.

Keep an eye on what competitors are bidding through sophisticated online bidding points and how they are describing it. Generally you can go back in and modify your bid if you either discover through reviewing their bids that you missed some element of the project, or if they are undercutting your price just don't allow yourself to become so competitive that you cause yourself a loss.