When preparing proposals or tenders see the documentation as a promotional opportunity even if you are unsuccessful. Even where you fail to win the bid a well crafted submission can help promote the practice for future invitations.
Time management
Decide how much time and effort you want to spend on tenders. Effort needs to be balanced with the chances of success and, for example, you may decide you do not want to submit if you will not have a chance to present your team at an interview with the proponent.
The key is to develop a process that helps you understand why you are doing this work and what your expectations are. One of the most critical issues when preparing proposals, tenders or expressions of interest is to record the amount of time you spend on them. By recording the time of both your professional and support staff you can review your commitment and gain some idea of the return you are getting on your investment of time and effort.
Considerations
One of the main reasons for lack of success in proposals, tenders and expressions of interest is the failure to fully understand the client's expectations. In addition to their stated selection criteria there are other factors that need to be considered and, in some cases, included in the submission, including:
- What is the background, why has this proposal come about (are there service issues associated with the incumbent or a previous provider)?
- Who are the decision makers?
- Who are the current providers?
- Which other firms have been invited to tender?
- What are the key-selection criteria and which items will be given greater importance?
- Will there be an opportunity to present to the client?
- What are the expectations in terms of the tender document (style, level of detail, length)?
- What, in their opinion, will set you apart in your submission?
- Are there any other buying criteria that have not been outlined in the tender specification?
- What are they looking for in a principal and team?
- How can you specifically and directly add value to their business?
- What is their preferred method of communication (face-to-face meetings, conference calls, emails etc)?
- What fees are they paying now? (Some of this will be in their Annual Report, if they have one.)
- What is their general expectation on fees?
- Can you explore various pricing approaches (fixed fees, success fees)?
Processes
Establish a proposal process that provides for the following:
- keeps track of what comes in, from where, what the final result is
- finds a champion for every tender – without a principal who is both keen and available to drive the process it is unlikely to be successful
- treat the opportunity as a client from the start, and take the opportunity to find out everything you need to know
- treat it as business from the start – have a clear view as to whether you want this work or not and why, and review profitability and conflicts
- be realistic – get someone not directly involved in the project to assess likelihood and potential
- plan it like a project – allow enough time to do a job that does you credit
- don't start from scratch each time – have all the necessary information approved and stored for reuse (for all promotional material, unless otherwise agreed, architectural photographers own the copyright of their images and control their use and reproduction. Check the Guide to Copyright, Commissioning & Publishing Architectural Photography for further information)
- get a reviewer who has not been involved in the bid to review the draft (especially price) against client requirements and strategy
- communicate your enthusiasm
- deliver it right – check and recheck
- present well – look at the presentation as the real reason you did the proposal, rehearse
- follow up – always ask for feedback, even if you win, you might learn something, and don't forget to thank the referrer or source
Disclaimer
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