I came across a company called Rebidding Solutions today. It was a surprising discovery, as it was the first time I’d encountered an organisation which specialises in helping incumbents to retain their contracts at rebid time. It’s a clever idea. Those of us who help organisations unseat the incumbents should be healthily concerned.
I’ve had this blog entry bookmarked for some time now, with the intention of writing something similar myself. Having read it again, there is really nothing I could add to this excellent advice from writer Sean Platt. Like a good writer should, he’s absolutely nailed it.
While the intended audience may have been short story writers or novelists, the advice is relevant to anyone who wants to improve the effectiveness of their writing – be it for publication, pleasure or when pitching for work.
This will not win you a new contract
Almost every tender submission you undertake will have a section that asks about your environmental policy and practices.
It’s quite an easy section to deal with if you’re already a company that operates within the environmental arena, such as waste management or eco services, but for many organisations it’s a tough call to come up with something beyond the fact that you recycle your printer cartridges.
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Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce recently ran an event, on behalf of the city council, on understanding public sector procurement, bid writing and time management (an important aspect of getting a good bid produced on time).
More than 100 people attended, demonstrating the interest in learning how to secure larger projects and contracts through the competitive tendering process.
I was pleased to be asked to speak at the event, and this five-minute film was produced by Tanglewood Productions. A great summary of the key messages, neatly and niftily packaged.
The event was part of B&H Council’s Ride the Wave programme, delivered by the Chamber, and aimed at providing training and support to local organisations during these straitened times.
Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce is one of the most active chambers in the UK, with a packed calendar of support, events and training to help local businesses survive and thrive. Visit their website here.
I’ve published a quick guide on the BidWrite website for managing a pain-free, winning bid. It’s called Knockout Submissions, it’s free, and you can find it here.
Here are the highlights:
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If you went into business looking for excitement, then taking part in a competitive tendering process probably wasn’t top of your list when it came to the peak experiences you might have imagined.
Not only does it not sound very interesting (and to be frank, it isn’t), but you’ve also probably heard that it involves several late nights writing the equivalent of a small novel, answering questions to which you don’t have answers, while you continue to try to run your business suffering from over-caffeinated sleep deprivation.
The good news is, it needn’t be that bad (or uninteresting), and help is at hand.
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BidWrite 