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.

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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.