Tendering insights

This blog is no longer being updated.
Please feel free to continue to browse the archives but for more tendering insights please visit our website www.mulga.com.au

Collingwood: winner or not?

I was speaking at a conference in Melbourne yesterday and foolishly made a disparaging comment about Collingwood supporters. This was foolish for two reasons; firstly, because in Melbourne you don't joke about the AFL; and secondly, if you ignore the first reason make sure you are not in the company of any Collingwood supporters!
It reminded me to always research your audience which is good advice when you're making a tender submission and can make the difference between being seen as a friend or foe.

P.S. Go Collingwood!

Saving trees is not enough

I was reminded of how important it is to be specific about the value you are offering a prospective purchaser in a bid or tender submission when I checked into a hotel recently.
Usually hotels have a standard sign in the bathroom asking people to hang-up towels they will use again to help save the planet. I've often been a bit cynical about such messages because I suspect their concern is more about saving money; however in this case the sign boldly stated that "5 towels = 1 tree". It expressed the benefit in measurable terms which is something many claims made in submissions fail to do. So next time you are writing make sure you have plenty of "5 towels = 1 tree" statements to give evaluators evidence that can be measured.

Procurement priorities are shifting

One good thing that has come out of the global financial crisis is that many organisations are now turning to their suppliers to help them get better value from their supply chain.
According to Supply Management magazine, "A good SRM [Supplier Relationship Management] program will lower costs, reduce risk, improve quality/service levels and enhance supply chain efficiency."
For the switched-on supplier this could be the opportunity to take off the boxing gloves and extend the hand of friendship. Why not proactively approach purchasers with a well thought out submission about ways you can help them achieve the advantages described above. If you can make this compelling with specific examples and quantify savings or improvements you could end up being a preferred supplier.

Headline news

Approach each question in an RFT by writing a headline that encapsulates the key benefit you are presenting in your answer. This will help you to focus your argument.
For example, in a question about customer service many people start by talking in generalisations about how seriously they treat it, their Customer Service Policy, or how they focus on TQM. The problem with this approach is that the benefits for the purchaser are not immediately obvious and busy evaluators will not bother searching for them.
Instead, think about Customer Service in your organisation - what do you do differently and it what ways do you add-value for your clients? This will give you your "headline" and the evaluators something they can score.

The 4R’s of sustainable procurement

Show how your product/service can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle or Rethink to help you score maximum points for Sustainability questions in tenders.

Sure, knowing your Carbon Footprint from your shoe size is important (maybe even mandatory in some cases) but a well crafted “story” about how your product/service helps reduce (waste, emissions, effort…); or allows for reuse (either physically in consumables or reuse of existing knowledge); or recycling or even rethinking existing systems and processes to make them more sustainable.

Don’t forget also that sustainability is about more than just the environment. Make sure you show that your organization is financially, socially and environmentally sound.

Presentations need an Executive Summary too

I'm sure you all understand the importance of a good Executive Summary for your tender submissions, but do you have one at presentation stage?
Last week I had to attend a Q&A session after being shortlisted for a large tender. I knew that there were a couple of areas where we were potentially weak so rather than hope the panel didn't drill down too deeply, I made sure I covered them off in my introduction. The result was that I wasn't later questioned on these issues and had been able to place our organisation in the best possible light.
Without such an introduction I would have been restricted to answering just the questions that were put to me, or worse have our offer held out as being deficient.

Don't let design get in the way of a good story

While good presentation is important in creating the right impression, don't let it overpower your story.
When I worked as a Creative Director in an advertising agency I always used design as a tool for presenting the story or message in the best possible light - you have only a few seconds of someone's eye on the page to make a strong enough impression for them to read on.

Here's 10 tips to consider:

1. Black text on a white background is by far the easiest to read (and also comes out clearly when your proposal is photocopied).
2. A serif typeface (like Times) is easier to read the a sans-serif face (like Arial) - particularly when there is lots of type on the page.
3. Avoid using CAPITALS IN HEADLINES OR WHOLE SENTENCES - they tend to make the text look like a "block" and interrupt flow. I tend to use underlines and indenting to emphasize.
4. Don't right-justify your paragraphs - this also has a "block" effect that makes it easier for the eye to skip over.
5. Use bullet points to reinforce key messages rather than dense paragraphs.
6. Remember that your audience (the Evaluation Panel) are not all experts in your field so minimise the amount of technical jargon (in non-technical sections) you use.
7. Graphic elements (such as photos and graphs) are useful in getting your message across so make sure that they are relevant to what you are saying and also use captions to recap your message rather than just as a simple description of the image. This is important as the eye usually goes first to major graphic elements on the page and a caption that conveys a specific benefit will help generate interest.
8. Break-out comments and quotations (if used sparingly) help add interest and also give a feeling of endorsement if they are attributed to respected individuals.
9. Use sub-heads to help the reader navigate your story and where possible write them as a benefit statement.
10. And lastly, my favourite, don't put full stops at the end of headlines or sub-heads - they just stop people in their tracks!

If you have  design tips you would like to share I would welcome your comments.

Treat your subcontractors as partners

I have many subcontractors complaining that they are frustrated with the tendering process because main contractors use it to screw down prices.
While price is always an important element, in many cases a subcontractor (who is an expert in his field) can help you win the main contract by sharing their skill with you. I've been in a situation where a subcontractor shared with me a different (and superior) way of installing curbing on an athletic track that we then recommended and it helped us to win the tender.
A win-win situation like that will always turn out better than a win-lose one.

Are your people costing you work?

In many tenders you are asked to attach CV's for key personnel.

Make sure you take the time to write them specifically for the tender you are responding to. Highlight relevant skills and experience and also make it clear what "value" that person brings to the job.

Remember you have to "sell" your people to the client and a standard recruitment style CV won't do it. Worse it could have the opposite effect!

Presentation Power

What you've written in your submission has got you on the shortlist, but your task is only just beginning when there is a presentation involved.
I was reminded of this when talking to a purchaser recently. After evaluating written responses in a particular tender there was one clear leader, however a presentation formed a significant part of the final score. In this case the person giving the presentation was the company's CEO who obviously decided that his credibility and experience would win the day.
Unfortunately for him, things came unstuck pretty quickly when the first question asked related to a technical component of the bid – and he was unable to give an answer!
The tender was awarded to a smaller competitor.
If a presentation forms a part of an evaluation you can usually assume that it will have a fair influence on the outcome. Make sure you prepare accordingly and not just rely on a Powerpoint version of your written submission.

It's not all about me

I'm often asked to review people's Executive Summaries. To me these are very important in "selling the sizzle" to your potential client, yet often they read like the are "all about me"!

"We are a large company..." "We offer a quality service..." "We have a good reputation..."

All this says to the reader is that you are more concerned about yourself than them. Try to rephrase those statements so they don't start with "we" and then also add a benefit to each so the client gets a good idea of what it means to THEM.

For example: "With a staff of 25 qualified technicians, we guarantee to be onsite within 60 minutes, which means you will be operational again quickly with minimal downtime."

Take a look at your last Executive Summary and have a go at changing all your "we" statements into strong selling points.

Stranger Danger

At my seminars people often mention how difficult it is to compete against incumbents. Usually they want to know effective ways of overcoming the advantage incumbents have.

Well, there's good news – the single most important thing is to ensure you are known by the purchaser before you make your submission! Say an incumbent has an 80% advantage going in (which is a figure commonly quoted), you only have a 20% chance to start with which almost reduces to nothing if the purchaser has never heard of you. I know some companies who make a rule that they will not bid under these circumstances. If you seriously want the business make sure you identify companies you want to work with and approach them before a tender comes out.

Of course, incumbents don't necessarily win 80% of the business. Purchasers have told me the principle reason is "arrogance" – incumbents often presume that their relationship is enough to retain the business and don't put a good submission in. So, to even up the odds make sure you answer every question carefully; attach all the requested documents and follow the order and format required. Do this and the odds are much more in your favour.

Executive Summary or not?

I posed a question to one of my linkedin procurer groups, asking how much notice, if any, they took of an Executive Summary in a submission. The following response is an excellent insight:
"To gain an overall impression of the vendor and their response it can be useful. However for me it will not assist them in the actual tender evaluation outcome as I will always publish the specific evaluation criteria (all questions upon which I require them to respond to) with the respective weightings and it is their actual answers to these questions which will be assessed by the panel and scored accordingly.

For effectiveness and efficiency reasons, I am wanting the respondants to see my specific question, consider their response to that question and then respond directly to it, (preferably laid out in their proposal as Question followed by Response) thus enabling the panel to focus on that response when determining an appropriate score and not having to have searched indiscriminately through, what might be, large volumes of general information.

So back to your original question, it is not an evaluated component of my tenders and as such should not contain any key information regarding our requirement that is not already included in the responses to specific evaluated questions".


In a nutshell: It's an introduction to your organisation and can help position you in the assessor's mind but make sure you answer the questions!! Also note that not all procurers will be that helpful in being specific about their evaluation criteria.

Gobbledegook kills submissions

When you've finished writing your next submission, take a look at how many times you've used the following words:

innovative; leading company; optimized solution; overdeliver; customer centric; cutting edge...

You get the picture - these words, and many more, are used time and time again in submissions and cause evaluators eyes to glaze over. Don't use such word clutter - tell me what you really mean and what's in it for me. Everyone who has responded to my RFT can't be an innovative market leader with cutting edge solutions!

What type of client are you dealing with?

Organisations, like people, come in all shapes and sizes. In order to communicate with them effectively you first need to understand what type of organisation they are. I like to map them on a scale of 1-5 from 'creative' at one end to 'corporate' at the other. 

An organization that is highly creative is more likely to be open to new ideas, interested in innovation, and flexible in their approach. Think of Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

A corporate style organization is more likely to be interested in systems and processes, hard facts, documented experience and formal language. Think of a typical government department.

Where you place your potential client will help determine the “tone” of your submission. No point in extolling your creativity if that scares off the fact/process - loving client!

Did you understand clearly what was being requested?

A number of people have asked me about tips relating to my Answer the Question post. Here's a list of things to think about to show that you really understand what is being asked:

1. The purchaser usually has a picture in their mind about the ideal tenderer. From reading the tender request carefully, build up your own picture – does this describe your company?
2. Look beyond the questions that you are asked to answer and put yourself in the purchaser’s shoes. By focusing on just the questions you will miss many cues in the document itself.
3. Do your answers to questions demonstrate your understanding or are they just a collection of individual comments?
4. Have you answered all required sections of the Tender Document? Are all components requiring a signature completed? Ie: Statutory Declaration. You don’t want to lose a Tender by failing to complete the required information.
5. Don’t “overanswer” questions – make sure anything you write, or any documents you append – are relevant and add necessary proof.
6. Pay particular attention to requests for Certificates and Insurances. Without evidence of the required information it is unlikely that a provider would be successful. Once Insurance or Certification has been obtained it must be maintained and/or increased as required.

G8CGHJMSC2P9

I know you can do it - BUT tell me HOW you'll do it.

One of the biggest gripes I hear from procurers is that people making submissions often fail to tell them exactly HOW they propose to tackle the job. Yes, you've rabbited on about your experience but that's not enough to inspire confidence.

Make sure you show that you know how to put a project plan together. What unique systems and/or processes do you bring to the table? What will you put in place to ensure you finish the job on time and on budget? Have you a Communication plan in place that shows me how easy it will be to deal with you?

When people see the word "methodology" in an RFT they start to panic - but really it's just a big word for TELL ME HOW!

Answer the question!

Next time you are watching a politician in a television interview, listen carefully to what questions are being asked and then evaluate whether they answered the question or not.
In many cases you'll find that they completely avoid the question and give an answer that reflects their party's policy.
 I've seen the same thing happen in tender submissions. People are so keen to get "their" message across they don't pay enough attention to what is being asked. Rule number 1 is "always answer the question".
The challenge is to answer it in such a way that the purchaser gets what they want; but that you do it so that it positions your organisation as the one that can meet all the requirements better than anyone else.

Less is more

I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked "how long should I make my submission?"
For an answer, I'll quote David Ogilvy the eminent ad man who was a renowned copywriter. People often asked him about Copy length - should it be 1 page, a few paragraphs, what's the magic number?
In answer, he said that copy length was irrelevant, "use as many words as it takes to get your message across. Not a word more or less!"
It's the same when you are preparing a response to a tender request (or other submission). Evaluators are driven insane when they are confronted with mountains of paper. Even worse if it is "marketing bumpf"! Concentrate first on deciding what message you are trying to convey - what do you think the potential client's ideal supplier looks like? Once you have decided that, then look at each question you are asked and answer it making sure you reinforce your 'message' with every answer.
Too many words will hide the 'value' you are presenting, and too few will mean you haven't provided enough evidence to justify the message.
Tell me what you're offering; what the advantage is for me; and give me some proof of what you say.