The Magic Bid Triangle© of Winning Tenders

Now is the time to ramp up the competitiveness of your organisation to win public sector contracts and the Magic Bid Triangle can bring you a winning edge writes Malcolm Gallagher of The Suppliers Academy.

If you have attended my procurement workshops you will have heard me say many times, (too many times??!!) that winning is not about “filling the tender form in”. That’s just paperwork which anyone can do. You need to be focused on winning the contract.

So how to get a winning edge. First you need to get “Get Fit to Compete”. That is just the first of what I term as the three stages of winning. The next two stages are “Competing to Win” and “Aiming Higher” and that’s where I want to take you in this blog.

My belief is that the secret of success lies within what I term as the Magic Bid Triangle©. The triangle is three components which are truly embedded in your organisation.

I’ve arrived at this triangle as a result of our continuous work of interviewing and working with over 100 buyers across the UK and studying winning bids. So the Magic Bid Triangle is not all theory!

The three components of the triangle that need to be embedded in your organisation are:

• ·         Innovation
• ·         Added Value
• ·         Continuing Improvement

When all three come together and shine out of your tender then you are truly about winning tenders. Here’s  just a quick indication of what’s behind each three.

Innovative suppliers or providers are sought by the public sector. Whilst they welcome new suppliers they really don’t want more of the same. Show your difference and what that innovation can do to help improve their services to their customers – internal or external. Innovation isn’t about re-inventing the wheel. It doesn’t have to be revolutionary but it does have to show your difference.

Added Value is a recurring theme within my conversation with buyers. There is always opportunity for you to communicate added value and improve the efficiency of their spend. Do remember that added value is not listing what you do – that’s just “so what”!  Added value delivering that important extra. If you are a training organisation then added value may be where you can signpost the customers of your public sector client to further fully-funded training.

Continuous improvement is the third component in the Magic Bid Triangle and one with which so many smaller businesses struggle. The answer is a clear view of your organisation through the four perspectives of Operational Management, Business Management, People and Customers/Markets. Within each perspective you set performance indicators and look to improve in each indicator perhaps using traffic lights measures of red, amber and green.

If you are serious about winning contracts (including private sector) then embedding and measuring  Continuous Improvement should be a vital part of what you are about.

If you do not have a basic set of performance indicators then send me an e-mail to support@spotlearn.com and I’ll forward you a Small Organisation list in a template format for you to use as a starter.

Putting together a tender takes time and you want a result in the form of winning the bid! The Magic Bid Triangle should give you the edge but do also remember that public procurement is evolving and you need to keep gaining new knowledge.

Do you agree? What challenges you on winning contracts?