Bid Winners - Top Tip No16

When bidding for a project, do you act like a winner?

These are the common thoughts of bid losers:

• Our team knows we can't expect to win then all, but we always put in a good effort.

• Our bids are focused on the practicalities of doing the work (we cannot know the prospect's strategic objectives so this is the sensible way to do it).

• Our documentation contains our standard information and of course could always be improved a little if we had more time.

• We respond to most opportunities because it is a numbers game.

• We never examine successful bids because it is always down to who we knew or the price.

• We don't have the time to investigate lost bids.

• The competition will lose money on most of the opportunities we don't win - either that, or they had an established relationship with the prospect.

This is what bid winners do:

1. Ruthlessly prioritise opportunities (never waste time on prospects we have little chance of winning).

2. Research the prospect.

3. Align bid to prospect's strategy and objectives.

4. Demonstrate 'cultural fit' by matching personnel and approach to the prospect.

5. Make visually attractive and appealing documentation.

6. Have a 'we will win this' attitude in the team.

7. Hold enquiries into lost business and hold people to account.

8. Drive continuous change and improvement into bidding process.

Want to be a winner?

Shere offers a "Be a Bid Winner" workshop. To find out more, please click here.