In most industries, there’s one company that’s winning the lion’s share of tenders. What are they doing that makes them so successful?
In our experience, these companies are hungry for the prize and investing their time and energy in following an integrated approach to tender submissions. The good news is that your company can do it too:
- Understanding of the client and what keeps them awake at night
- Understanding of the competition and what makes them successful
- Clear strategic approach that solves the client’s problems
- Clearly articulated message
- Understanding of how to respond to the specific questions of the tender documents
- Clarity of roles and responsibilities between team members
- Commitment to behave like a high-performance team
- Setting expectations and/or deadline early
- Prioritising the tender over their day-to-day responsibilities
- Strong project management processes / tools
- Customised CVs prepared well in advance
- Project sheets prepared well in advance
- Attention to detail in production and presentation
- Attention to presentation/interviews/workshops
The interesting thing we have observed is that its either feast or famine for the lion. Once clients start winning the lion’s share, they start to get cocky and complacent. They become arrogant, start cutting corners and pulling back on resources. Their fat bellies mean they are no longer hungry. As a result, their success rate starts to drop. Before they know it, they haven’t made a kill for a while and their competitors take over their territory.
You too can become the lion of your industry, and if you stay humble you can stay on top.
“When you are green you are growing, when you are ripe you start to rot.”
Leann Webb