Content Library
“Ermm, I’m sure we’ve seen this question before, and we’ve already answered this … but for the life of me I can’t remember which bid it was”.
Does this sound familiar?
If so, the core Bid Team and domain experts contributing to your bids are probably having to spend time at vital moments looking for proposal content that has already been generated in the past.
And then, when you find something that looks pretty good, is it actually the best content for the particular question that you are now being asked?
Issues like version control, following approved sign-off protocols and rapid content search are rarely issues that set the pulse racing!
But if these types of issues are not addressed head on too much energy is wasted on searching and reinventing the wheel – energy that should be going into making your current bid special and better than everyone else’s.
We know about proven protocols and Content Management Systems (CMS) – from the rudimentary (fast to implement) to the sophisticated and slick – that can make the life of the bidder much, much easier.
Sales Process and Playbooks
One of the hottest topics right now is Sales and Marketing alignment, with most commentators agreeing that any organisation’s ability to generate new revenues is maximised when the Sales and Marketing functions are properly aligned to work well together.
Where does your Bid Process fit? Is Bidding ultimately the responsibility of Sales? Or what about Marketing? Both? Perhaps another department entirely?
The most effective and successful bids are undertaken by Bid Teams working to a clear bid process within the broader context of the Sales Process and Sales Plan.
Such considerations might appear somewhat esoteric when you are focused on getting the next bid out of the door on time, but an inability to see the bigger business picture may be hampering business success. Which is why we help clients refine their sales process to fully align with their bid process and its resource requirements.
Visual, interactive playbooks can really bring this alive for Bid Managers and Writers and secure their on-going commitment to follow the steps essential for superior win rates.
Qualification Tools
Working on proposals can sometimes make Bid Team members feel like headless chickens as they stumble from one bid to the next with reduced energy and rising sick leave rates serving as a pretty accurate barometer of the health of the team and – indirectly – the likely quality of your proposals.
Whisper it quietly – because some people will hate hearing this – but submitting fewer bids to a higher level of quality is associated with higher win rates and better, more profitable business.
This, however, assumes that you know how to select the right bids to go for and the right ones to avoid. And this is the rub. How on earth can you make such big calls accurately 100% of the time, especially when you’ve got the Sales Director or the CEO telling you to get as many proposals out there as you can physically (and mentally!?) handle?
If this dilemma is one you recognise what you may need is an intelligent qualification matrix tool that everyone buys into …
… including your Sales Director, Managing Director and CEO; a new qualification tool that can be trusted to arrive at correct Bid / No Bid decisions and which ranks the relative attractiveness of the bids you want to proceed with.
Our qualification tool helps you to allocate your precious bid resources in the very best way for your company.
Proposal Review and Benchmarking
