Bid Management: The Busy Person's Guide to Creating Winning Bids and Proposals

by Jaques, Emma

• ISBN13: 9780749460662
• ISBN10: 0749460660
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-28
• Publisher: Kogan Page Ltd

Summary

while it is becoming increasingly common for contracts to be awarded through formal procurement processes, smaller business are missing out. without the training and confidence needed to write a successful bid or proposal valuable business can be lost. bid managementis an easy-to-read practical guide which will teach the reader how to think like a professional bid manager. it covers the basics of how to find opportunities, understanding the rules of the game and how to get to know your customer. it also gives essential advice on how to compete with other bidders, present a deliverable and profitable bid, project manage your bid, work out a pricing strategy, clinch the deal and learn from success as well as failure. with an insightful interview with the director behind the london 2012 olympic bid,bid managementuncovers the myths of bidding and teaches all the skills needed to get noticed, retain existing clients and win new ones.

Author Biography

Emma Jaques is a Practitioner member of the Association of Proposal Management and has over 20 years of B2B experience. She has led teams tasked with designing programmes for organizations such as O2, Sainsbury's, the Environment Agency, the Department for Work and Pensions, RSPCA and British Gas and has a personal win rate of over 60 per cent.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. x
Bid jargon explained - what it all means	p. xii
Acknowledgements	p. xvii
Understanding today's task - bid management	p. 1
Why do I need to bid?	p. 2
Bid myths - truth or fiction?	p. 3
Where to look for bidding opportunities	p. 6
Skills analysis - what it takes to win a bid	p. 15
Pre-qualification and the decision to bid	p. 17
Expressing interest and submitting a pre-qualification questionnaire	p. 18
Factors that should affect your decision to bid	p. 21
Weighing it all up and making the big decision	p. 35
Keeping on track: where to start and how to finish	p. 41
Getting started on your bid	p. 42
What to write and how to write it	p. 73
The kick-off meeting - turning ideas into an action plan	p. 74
Preparing a winning Executive Summary	p. 83
Creating the content for your bid	p. 89
How much? Pricing your proposition	p. 93
Budget	p. 94
Price	p. 98
Value	p. 103
The pricing balancing act	p. 105
Participating in e-auctions	p. 109
The case for case studies	p. 113
Choosing the right case studies	p. 114
How to present case studies in your bid	p. 115
What if? (Making the best of what you've got)	p. 122
References	p. 124
Based on a true story ... the Good, the Bad and the Ugly: real-life examples from the world of bids	p. 127
The good	p. 127
The bad	p. 143
... And the ugly	p. 148
It's good to talk - Influencing and persuading throughout the process	p. 151
Understanding your starting position	p. 152
Building understanding with the buyer and other stakeholder groups	p. 155
And the winner is ... (what happens after the decision is made)	p. 165
How winners and losers are notified	p. 166
Feedback - using your experiences to improve	p. 168
Creating a knowledge base for future bids	p. 171
External funding bids and grant applications: applying bid best practice in not-for-profit competitions	p. 175
Types of grants and funding	p. 176
Finding funding sources	p. 177
Deciding which funds to bid for	p. 178
Preparing the case to bid	p. 178
Managing the bidding or application process	p. 182
Proposals - using bid writing skills in proactive selling processes	p. 187
What is a proposal?	p. 187
How to construct an effective proposal	p. 188
Presentation and delivery of your proposal	p. 192
Follow up	p. 192
The golden rules of bidding: things I wish I'd known when I wrote my first bid	p. 195
Look for opportunity	p. 195
Don't bid for everything	p. 196
See things from the buyer's perspective	p. 196
Prepare your bid theme and Executive Summary first	p. 196
Look for showstoppers and important topics	p. 197
Answer all the questions	p. 197
Answer the question the buyer is actually asking	p. 197
Engage, influence and persuade	p. 198
Ascertain your price and know its value	p. 198
Follow the buyer's rules	p. 198
Use case studies to reassure the buyer of your capability	p. 199
Be organized	p. 199
Learn and improve	p. 199
References	p. 201
Index	p. 203
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