Business Durham 18 July 2017 BE Group Presentation Andrew Wilson, Director of Business Development

Public Sector Customers

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders Choose Carefully Collaborate You Be The Buyer Triple Check Timing is Everything Learn From Mistakes Points Mean Prizes SUCCESSFUL BIDDERS Andrew Wilson

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 1. Firstly – Choose Carefully Companies new to the public sector can be keen to bid for tenders that might not suit their business needs, lured in by a pertinent keyword or a high contract value. Before running any searches, it is vital to take a step back and reflect on what your business is capable of providing. By finding contracts that are more suitable, you will not only improve your chances of winning but also, in time, your win ratio. It will also be more cost-effective, less resource-heavy and, ultimately, save time and reduce expense. CONSIDER: Competition / Experience / Scope / Geography / True Value

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 2. Collaborate for a Stronger Bid Consider the option of strengthening your bid by collaborating with another similar-sized company. A lot of businesses are extremely reluctant to take up this ‘tendering tip’, but winning a share of an opportunity is much more advantageous than losing out altogether. Bidding as a consortium is not unusual or frowned upon and it can ultimately increase your chances of winning more business. CONSIDER: Potential Partners / Teaming Agreements / Delivery Arrangement

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 3. Put Yourself in the Buyer’s Shoes Focus on what they are looking for. Consider what added value you can offer the buyer – which can give you a crucial edge over competitors. However, make sure you meet the core standards and requirements before demonstrating the ‘added value’. When writing the proposal, you should always keep the buyer in mind – consider their needs and wants. Demonstrate how you can solve any problems they may have, and explain your skills, products and experience that can help to fulfil their specified requirements. CONSIDER: Plain English / Less is more / Strategic understanding

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 4. Triple-Check Everything! Always get someone else to proofread your proposal. It is easy to get tunnel vision and miss the occasional spelling mistake or even question (especially on an electronic tendering system). Ultimately, a fresh pair of eyes or an outsider’s perspective can help reduce mistakes, ensuring that your proposal makes complete sense to an individual who may not necessarily know your organisation. CONSIDER: Costings and financials / word counts / yes&no responses (on PQQs) / additional documentation requirements (accounts, insurance, company policies, certification).

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 5. Submit Your Proposal on Time Plan your response effort. A deadline is set for a reason. Most organisations will refuse to consider a tender that has been submitted after the stated deadline, even if you miss the closing date/time by a matter of minutes. You have to be prompt and professional. Leave time for any possible technical hitches when submitting documentation electronically. CONSIDER: Tender team / agree shared timeline / draft stages / final checks / contingency and a “Plan B”

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 6. Learn From Your Mistakes Event if you are successful, but especially if you’re not, make sure you ask for feedback to help understand where you fell short. Don’t lose heart… you have to accept that being unsuccessful on some occasions is not unusual. Feedback will allow you to pick yourself up and make improvements. You can learn a lot from this exercise and it can aid your organisation when positioning yourself against your competitors and improve your bid for the next time. CONSIDER: Internal de-brief / future bid recommendations / obtaining full scoring breakdown and evaluation notes

7 Habits of Highly Successful Bidders 7. Points Mean Prizes You need to understand how scoring and evaluation works. Check the weighting for price versus quality – a useful pointer to how the buyer will evaluate responses. Also check the amount of points for each part of the response, and dedicate your time and energy accordingly. Don’t spend 50% of your effort on a response worth 5% of marks. Work out which questions are worth most points and concentrate on those. Connect your responses to the exact requirements of each question. CONSIDER: Specific answers to specific questions / no waffle / price v quality and any hidden meaning