Is this right for you? Deciding to bid will take time and an investment potentially from your wider team so only say ‘Yes’ when you know it to be the right opportunity. How do you know if it is ‘the one?’ Ask questions of your capability and the Authority before making up your mid. The types of questions should include:
- Does the Authority know me? – bidding cold is harder to win that those opportunities you have helped shape
- Is the service or product one I have/can do and have done before? – A new entrant into a new market is the hardest sale to achieve
- Have I references that will substantiate my suitability?
- What is the price/quality score and what does it say about what the Authority is looking for? – an overriding focus on price means that is their focus, would you be the cheapest?
- Is there anything in the specification that makes me think the competition has been favoured here or that the Authority is being unrealistic in their requirements? Time for a clarification question
About the contributor
Stuart Naylor
Applying for tenders is usually seen as ‘hit and miss’ and ‘takes up loads of your time’ if you’ve viewed the activities from afar. There’s not many occasions that you would invest money into a gamble so why on tenders?
It’s about the creation of opportunities and knowing which ones are going to be your best bet. Makin sure they are in your ‘Sweet spot.’
We provide professional Bid Management services for those that want the convenience of having someone else manage the processes and also development, training, coaching and mentoring to help you and your team members learn new techniques and build them into daily behaviours.