Tips to improve the effectiveness of your bid strategy, to win more work at higher prices.
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..
It is useful to track bids won, lost and ‘gone away’ along with any feedback you receive. A spreadsheet is a good way to capture this and it can also hold information about submission dates and expected decision dates. A tracking system allows you to monitor trends and make strategic decisions about pricing and positioning … Read more..
Unfortunately, it is sometimes true that clients have a preferred supplier before they invite companies to bid. By using a rigorous bid/no bid process you can reduce the amount of time wasted on unwinnable bids and concentrate only on ‘good’ ones. If staff think the outcome is rigged or the bid is unwinnable, it is … Read more..
There are many different ways of allocating work within a framework. Before bidding to become part of a framework, try to establish the way individual contracts will be awarded. If the volume of work could be very low, or each job will need a mini-tender, you must factor that into your costing.
Many companies write a flashy sales-style executive summary which highlights many great features from their company. What most clients actually want to read about are the unique benefits they will gain by engaging with that supplier. Ensure your executive summary is written for your readers and not to impress your own senior management.
When a client asks for innovation, do not assume they are only interested in new technologies or materials. Offering new ways of delivering a service, giving optional pricing models or suggesting flexible staffing models are all innovative solutions. It is important to remember that any innovation offered must deliver value to the client.
It is vital that you de-risk your proposal so the buyer is confident there will not be any problems during contract delivery. This is particularly important when offering innovative solutions or alternative proposals. To do this, you must prove that you have the skills, experience and supporting processes that are needed for the work.
Clients ask for case studies to find out how you have tackled similar projects in the past. This is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate competence.
