Take Control of your Tendering

 

The trouble with tenders is that organisations invest so much time into writing the responses, yet often the bid to win ratio is just not good enough. Each tender costs too much, not just in terms of the direct cost, but also in the fact that it ties up valuable resource which could be put to better use. if only you knew which ones you should bid and which you should ignore. What can you do to improve this? How can you know which tenders to bid, and which to ignore?

 

It has long been known that people buy firstly because something feels right, and later justify it with logic. Think of buying your car, or your house. How often have you ended up with the most logical outcome? How often have you changed your mind and bought something different, 'just because it felt right'? People usually set out with a clear goal in mind, but more often than not end up buying something completely different because it 'felt' better. This element of human nature has now been scientifically analysed and academically tested, most notably in the study by Professor Tim Ambler and his team at the London Business School through their research into the new science of Neuro Marketing.

 

Despite the best endeavours of procurement departments to 'level the playing field', it is commonly accepted that there is frequently bias in decisions made at tender selection time. So how is this achieved, and more importantly, how can you tip the balance in your favour more often? The knowledge of what it takes to achieve this is one of the key outcomes of ICDL's unique Value Positioning series of events.

 

When all the tenders have been assessed for compliance, and all prices are checked as being 'there or there about', what enable the tender selectors to choose one tender over another? It is clearly evidenced as part of the compliance process that they can all do the job. It is also clearly evidenced that everyone's prices are similar. So, how can this selection be made? "Ah", you say, "they use a weighted scoring system". True, and where none of the players have created any perceived differentiation in the minds of the selectors, this may be how a decision is reached. Indeed, there are some companies for whom this weighted price is the only issue. But there are also many companies, including a significant number of all government tenders, where the preference would be to buy from a vendor whose offer 'feels right', rather than 'just complies'. Why? Because people want to minimise their own risk, and when something feels right, perceived risk is minimised.

 

Value is the solution to the challenge of tenders. Value being defined in many terms such as 'we could choose anyone, but I just feel that ...'; 'they alone really understand us' or 'they alone have evidenced success with other similar customers' or it could be as little as 'they would be the best choice, but I have no real reason'.

 

How do you get feelings like this into the minds of the key people? By positioning what you have to offer in their world, in their terms, and telling them about it before the tender is out. How do you do this? Having this knowledge, and being able to apply it is the entire focus of ICDL's Value Positioning programmes. The outcome is very simple. The difference appears small, it's often no more than 'just a feeling'. The results to your business however are huge! More wins, more often, from more people. That's ICDL's Value Positioning programmes.

 

Three different Value Positioning workshops (available in both Private and Public Sector formats) are offered - Value Positioning, Advanced Value Positioning and the Value Positioning MasterClass, and your choice of workshop is based on the level of complexity of the opportunities your organisation is facing. Factors that impact the complexity of sales include the informal power and political structure of your prospect, the number and level of the decision-makers, the complexity of external impacts on your prospect's business and the scope and scale of the deal.

 

The Value Positioning workshop is a one-day event aimed at organisations where your senior sales team run typically thirty to a hundred customers, with relatively low associated complexities. Companies which select the Value Positioning workshop are typically those involved in selling to SMEs, who will usually operate with lower levels of decision complexity than Enterprises.

 

The Advanced Value Positioning workshop is a two-day event best utilised by organisations with a lower number of higher value prospects, with a higher level of associated complexity. Companies that select this workshop are typically those that are involved in selling to organisations with a relatively complex informal power structure and a relatively high number or level of decision-makers.

 

The Value Positioning MasterClass is a two-day event that has been developed for organisations that typically focus on only a small number of very high value prospects, and addresses the extremely high level of complexities associated with such high-revenue organisations. Companies that select the Value Positioning MasterClass are typically those involved in selling to Enterprise or Government, who are faced with multifaceted informal power and political structures within the prospect's organisation, exacerbated by high number of top-level decision-makers with complex needs.

 

Click on the links below to see how ICDL can start to help your organisation today:

 

1. Win New Business Without Eroding Margins
2. Effectively Position the Value of your Offering
3. Take Control of Your Sales Pipeline
4. Invest Precious Resource In Only The Best Opportunities And Grow EBIT
5. Sell Comfortably At The Executive Level And Increase Customer Loyalty and Advocacy
6. Increase Value For You And Your Customers Through Your Channel Partners
7. Take Control of Tendering, Win Most of What You Bid, Reduce Costs per Bid

 

Related downloads:

 

1. Creating the High Performance Sales Team
2. Re-Skilling the Workforce

 

Related workshops:

 

• Political Dynamics