## The Challenge
Mike Morrison runs a two-person electrical shop in Columbus, Ohio. For years, he watched larger contractors walk away with jobs he was qualified to do. The problem wasn't his work quality—his crew had a 4.9-star rating on Houzz—but his inability to produce polished bid packages fast enough.
"We'd spend 6-8 hours on a single RFP response," Mike explains. "Between that and actual electrical work, something had to give. Usually it was the bidding."
The numbers were stark. Morrison Electrical was winning roughly 1 in 8 bids they pursued. Industry average for established trade contractors is closer to 1 in 4. Something had to change.
## The Solution
Mike heard about TradeBid AI from a fellow contractor at a supply house. He was skeptical—"I tried other AI tools and they were garbage"—but the $500 seed money for a month of access felt worth the experiment.
The implementation took less than an afternoon. Mike uploaded his company information, past successful bids, and license documentation. Within 30 minutes, he had a fully branded proposal template ready for customization.
## The Results
In the first month, Morrison Electrical submitted 23 RFP responses—a 47% increase over their previous monthly average. More importantly, they won 8 of them.
"The quality of the proposals jumped immediately," Mike says. "GCs told us our bid packages looked like they came from a company twice our size. That opened doors."
Within 90 days, Morrison Electrical had joined 12 general contractor preferred vendor lists. Their win rate climbed from 12.5% to 34.7%—well above industry average.
Revenue from new GC contracts reached $340,000 in the first year, compared to $78,000 the prior year.
## What's Next
Mike's now bidding on larger commercial projects he previously wouldn't have considered. "Before, I didn't have the bandwidth to even look at those RFPs. Now? Bring 'em on."
The next frontier: property management contracts for multifamily electrical work. With TradeBid AI handling the proposal volume, Mike's crew can focus on what they do best—quality electrical work.