Using firm governance and management to gain competitive (and other) advantages
When leading and large clients determine their professional service relationships, one factor influencing their decision is how well prospective service providers fit with their own values, culture, and aspirations. Evidence of strong governance and responsible management goes a long way to demonstrating this fit and becomes especially important in competitive bids, tender and proposal processes with […]
Continue ReadingWhat do you really know about your competition?
In contracting and mature professional services markets, it’s more important than ever to know how your firm stacks up against the competition. This applies generally to firms, but it is also really important in competitive tender, bid and proposal situations. Even basic information about your competitors can be a powerful tool for your decision-making – […]
Continue ReadingTender planning: don’t hit go before you’re ready and set
Does this tender planning scenario sound familiar? Excitement builds the first couple of days after an RFT release; there are even attempts to draft responses, but then professional work takes priority and the tender project quickly loses momentum. By the time someone reinvigorates the project, the deadline is looming and the task is even more […]
Continue ReadingHow to make your proposal client focussed
Professional services bids, tenders and proposals are tough (and getting tougher), not least of all because you are up against many other firms, each of which has experts as qualified as yours, who have practised for as long as yours have, and who deliver the same expert services for the same type of clients as […]
Continue ReadingBreaking bad bid habits
Time and again, I see professional services clients falling victim to bad bid habits. Abraham Lincoln allegedly said (but actually didn’t): “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Proper planning, organisation, shared accountability, and a sense of urgency is a must if you […]
Continue ReadingWill your tender end up in the “too long; didn’t read” pile?
Will evaluators react to your tender, bid or proposal with TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)? In competitive bid processes, evaluators usually have scores of submissions to wade through. Requests increasingly insist on brevity in responses, often setting word or page limits and other restrictive formats. Your tender responses are not the place for long and […]
Continue ReadingGET SMART: create an effective client service plan with your next tender
Whether you want to win a new account or grow and retain an existing client, tender preparation is an opportunity to map out how your firm can (and will) deliver first-rate service. In the flurry to submit tenders, bids, or proposals many professional services firms miss the chance to create an effective client service plan. […]
Continue ReadingHow firm policies can give you a competitive edge
If your professional services firm wants to win work with government, insurer, banking, telecommunications, or large corporate clients, it’s increasingly important to have documented firm policies and procedures in place. Requesting copies of your policies and procedures is becoming very common in RFTs. Tenderers want to gauge risk, as well as assess how efficiently and […]
Continue ReadingSize of the prize: how to dimension tender, bid and proposal opportunities
Many clients come to JMA excited about tender, bid and proposal “opportunities” and wanting help. It never ceases to amaze me how many are eager to throw everything into a bid without first establishing the value of potential revenues – that is, the size of the prize. This is often true, even when they are […]
Continue ReadingWinning government tenders – 5 factors you must address
If your firm has decided to pursue public sector clients as part of your business development strategy, you’ll need to understand and address some common concerns in order to win government tenders. All levels of government (Commonwealth, state, and local) have overriding interests and concerns about appointment of their external professional advisors and service providers, […]
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Feature article
Tender readability – tips to improve your tender presentation and some tender presentation no-nos
Tender readability remains a problem for some in the 21st century. I still see submission documents that cling to a handful of really old hat tender presentation and formatting techniques. I suspect this is because some of these ‘rules’ are viewed as being more appropriate to a ‘formal’ style of document such as a tender. […]
