Bid or No Bid? That is the question!

Bid or No bid is the crucial question when deciding to tender

Making a good bid or no bid decision is vital to your business success. Bidding is not a numbers game – if you were to rate your bid intentions by the probability of success, discarding bids you were likely to lose, and focus your time and resources on ones you were likely to win you would see your win rate increase. Your bid writing efforts would be much better served. If, however, you waste your time and energy on lots of bids due to their value or your current business levels rather than on whether you can fulfil the contract, then a lack of focus would see your win rate decline.

Points to Consider when deciding if to write a bid:

Can we produce a winning bid?

Does your business meet all the mandatory requirements of the tender, such as insurance levels or turnover values? Does it hold the required accreditations? If not, why waste your resources compiling a bid when you’re unlikely to succeed?

Can we deliver the service or product should we win?

Are you absolutely certain you have the capabilities to deliver? If you’re not certain, or you haven’t planned adequately, or are planning to improvise, this could be your downfall. If you cannot provide evidence that you have planned to actually deliver your proposal, how can your bid be taken as a serious contender?

Do we have the relevant experience?

Has your business done this type of work before? Can you provide references or evidence of similar work? If the service or product is not part of your core business, can you demonstrate relevant transferable skills?

What about logistics, such as location?

Is this a practical proposition for your business? Do you have enough capacity of staff, vehicles, equipment and workspace? Will this work impede existing work? Will the contract be profitable if you have to expand resources or travel excessively? If not, consider whether this is a viable opportunity for your business.

Are we sufficiently competitive in this field?

Consider your competition, for example, is there an incumbent? Does a competitor have another existing contract with the client? Do you have a good relationship with the client? Remember, the bidding process is a competition; you need to take your competitors strengths and weaknesses into account when formulating your own decision.

In Summary

In order to make good Bid or No Bid decisions, you need to make rational assessments quickly and accurately. As a result, targeting your resources means your business only submits bids that you have a chance of both winning and profiting from.