# Will Menkhaus

Will Menkhaus shares practical guidance for public water and wastewater owners on progressive design-build procurement, including how to evaluate proposals, shortlist teams, hold proprietary meetings, and plan contracts.

- Profile: https://b2binfluencer.marketing/creators/will-menkhaus/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williammenkhaus
- LinkedIn followers: 502
- Based on 11 dated posts, latest 2026-09-04

## Summary

Will Menkhaus is most useful for owner-side guidance on progressive design-build procurement for water and wastewater projects.

- Best for: A water utility planning progressive design-build procurement and seeking owner-side advisory or workshop help.
- Not for: Paid high-volume social campaigns for broad awareness, impressions, clicks, or demo signups.
- Check first: Ask directly about price, availability, past sessions, utility-owner references, and audience analytics.

### Takeaways

- Ask each proposer for a design concept, construction sequencing, and explicit tradeoffs.
- Shortlisting can improve proposal effort, but the right number depends on the project.
- A design-builder's reputation can depend on closeout and performance after startup.

## Main ideas

- **Ask proposals to show how teams think**: When standard qualifications make firms hard to distinguish, Menkhaus says owners should ask for ideas tied to the project’s hardest problem. That makes a proposal evidence of how a team handles risk and tradeoffs, not just a polished account of its experience.
- **Use best value to reward performance over time**: Menkhaus argues that when future work depends on references and reputation, a design-builder has a business reason to leave the owner satisfied. They say reputation does not replace contracts or oversight; both still matter.
- **Shortlist to balance proposal effort and choice**: Menkhaus sees shortlisting as a way to encourage more serious proposals and reduce review work, while recognizing that excluding teams can mean missing a fresh idea. They say the number of finalists should depend on the project, not follow a fixed rule of three.
- **Consider one-on-one meetings—and use them to test the owner’s own process**: Menkhaus argues that proprietary meetings can help teams check assumptions and improve proposals. They also make the meetings a test of the owner’s instructions: if teams misunderstand the project, the RFP or shared information may need correction. Menkhaus does not call the meetings essential.
- **Start contract work before procurement gets underway**: Menkhaus’s contracting advice reflects the same emphasis on deliberate preparation: a new delivery method needs contract terms suited to the project, and developing them takes time. Starting early can prevent rushed decisions and last-minute demands on legal and senior staff.

## Work to read

- [Procurement Stage Key Decision #1: Get the Best Ideas on the Table](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/williammenkhaus_procurement-stage-key-decision-1-get-the-activity-7340841926192939009-NtV8)
- [Procurement Stage Key Decision #2: Shortlisting](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/williammenkhaus_procurement-stage-key-decision-2-shortlisting-activity-7341875108229148673-f-Be)
- [Procurement Stage Key Decision #4: Proprietary Meetings](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/williammenkhaus_procurement-stage-key-decision-4-proprietary-activity-7345265966215254016-V5eC)
- [Procurement Stage Key Idea #3: Best-Value Procurement Incentivizes the Long Game](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/williammenkhaus_procurement-stage-key-idea-3-best-value-activity-7343621519593414656-o8lh)
- [Contracting Key Decision #1: Start Early](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/williammenkhaus_contracting-key-decision-1-start-early-activity-7347859421412147200-CCsC)

## Brand relationships

- **Design-Build Institute of America** (mention)
- **Water Collaborative Delivery Association** (mention)

## Partnerships

Will Menkhaus's public posts offer practitioner guidance for public water and wastewater owners running progressive design-build procurements, covering best-value selection, shortlisting, proprietary meetings, and contract development. They contain no sponsorship offer, media kit, rate card, or disclosed brand partnership, and describe no paid placements, sponsored posts, affiliate arrangements, consulting engagements, or speaking bookings. No official inquiry route for a commercial partnership is stated; partnerships may be handled privately or through an employer. Buyers interested in exploring one should ask directly whether a partnership is available, what format and cost would apply, and how to request it.

## Alternatives

- Andrew S.: Choose Andrew S. if the utility needs to challenge outdated assumptions in its RFP and shift from prescribed tasks to measurable outcomes. In posts about municipal parking procurement, Andrew argues that legacy RFP language can rule out modernization before proposals arrive. They recommend asking vendors to improve results rather than simply perform a task list. That perspective could help the utility assess whether its facility procurement invites better solutions or reproduces its existing approach.
- Chad Smeltzer: Choose Chad Smeltzer if the utility’s priority is making the case for technology-led infrastructure inspection and better asset information. One post compares manual manhole inspection with optical scanning, gives a cost example, and explains how a reusable digital record can support later review and maintenance decisions. That can help frame the value of innovation in infrastructure work.

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AI-assisted summary of public posts. Audience demographics are not available. Engagement appears only where we checked recent posts. Method: https://b2binfluencer.marketing/methodology/