Tips and advice on improving your bid process to reduce time input and produce higher quality and more effective bids.
If you receive feedback that your quality procedures are not adequate, either during a tender process or when delivering a project, it is vital that you amend them. While it may be tempting to think “they work for us”, weak procedures will lose you vital points. It is not necessary to have ISO accredited systems … Read more..
There are many ways to offer innovation in the commercial section of a bid, even when presented with a prescriptive template. Think about the benefits the client will gain with different pricing models and present these alongside the actual prices. It may be necessary to submit an “alternative offer“, in which case you should clarify … Read more..
Many proposals ask specifically about the management of risk but even when they do not, it is an area which needs careful consideration. The risks may be to time, budget, delivery, safety or image. They may or may not be within your control. They may affect the client, you or other stakeholders. All clients want … Read more..
When the clock is ticking and you don’t have enough hours in the day to complete a proposal document, make sure you prioritise the important tasks. The most important thing to do is to ensure your bid is compliant by checking you have answered all the client’s questions and attached all the relevant information. The … Read more..
When preparing for a pitch, it is important that the whole team prepares together otherwise you risk looking like a disjointed group of individuals during the presentation. A good approach is to spend time critiquing each other’s presentations to achieve consistency in tone and messaging. Having got through the initial stages of selection by preparing … Read more..
There are many different ways of presenting your price to the client but only one correct approach. The correct approach is to ensure the client sees value in what you are offering rather than merely evaluating you on a cash figure. To do this, ensure the price is supported with sufficient text to describe why the client should … Read more..
A really strong proposal will convince the evaluators that you have all the project risks under control. By considering the likelihood and impact of each risk, you can show which ones you will prioritise for appropriate action. You should aim to reduce or eliminate the majority of risks through good project management and application of experience.
When you are given a word count, ensure your response does not exceed it or stretch the limit. Some evaluators will simply disregard any material over the limit but others will consider your response to be non-compliant and penalise you. Words within images are not usually counted. However, if you opt to insert detailed tables … Read more..
Part of your bid process should include tracking the bids you won, the ones you lost and the ones which ‘went away’. Over a period of time, you will be able to identify the types of clients or projects you win most often and which might therefore withstand price increases. You will also see areas … Read more..
Clients often ask for evidence of similar work which has been carried out in the past. To impress the evaluators, some of whom will not be familiar with your service, you should make it clear how your examples relate to the project being tendered. You can do this by clearly stating the similarities in value, … Read more..
