Why Leaders Need to Understand the Bid Process
The RFP process can be a frustrating process for leaders in business. Because in their own words, they just don't get it. Leaders will often voice frustration when they continually lose out on bids. Common blame factors include:
the economy
favouritism
pricing wars
Or simply put clients who "just don't get it". There is rarely a situation where a team sits down and goes - "what did we get wrong" - "how can we improve". From my 20 years in sales and bids working in-house and as an external consultant this is not a conversation I have heard often.
There are always many factors which go into a winning bid response, which is why it can be so hard to predict success. But the issue will always be that as a supplier there is something which does not convince the buyer and makes them not select you as a potential working partner. Business leaders need to look inward to understand where they have failed, not the other way round.
The Leadership Disconnect
Many senior leaders are disconnected from the RFP process. It is often viewed as some kind of "admin" task or indeed like any other function within a business which is easily executed. The reality is that when you just leave people 'to get on with it' instead of being actively involved in all stages of the RFP cycle, do not be surprised when you lose.
The reality is the decisions your team are making may not align with a winning result. You might not have the right skill set, the team might not be working effectively and because of this things are being lost. Too many executives and senior leaders want results but are often too far removed from the work winning function needed in a business. This work which is the most lucrative for any business is then delegated to other teams. The problem with this is that there is often no clear direction, ownership or feedback loops. As well as the fact that those who are experts within the RFP process - the bid team - are often not listened too as effectively as they should be.
This leads to leaders evaluating bids on a win or loss strategy. This inevitably gives the blame to one or more areas of the business. The question asked is usually "Did we win?" when it should probably be "Was this bid strategically aligned with our strengths, client need and market position?" The latter is the correct question because that is how the client will have evaluated your proposal submission.
The bidding process is not a task. Instead it is a strategy. When leadership sees it only as a transactional formality, competitive advantage is often missed.
Understanding Client Need
The days of a winning bid coming down to price alone are very firmly over. Cost will always be a factor (obviously) but it is not a determining one. Quality is. This means value, clarity, alignment and compliance. A winning bid is not just the offer. But crucially the one which solves a client's problems in a way that is easy to trust but also hard to say no too. This is the winning formula.
Often Leaders don't understand the bid process, because they have never had too. Large contracts are increasingly going through the RFP process, and even smaller ones too. Common thoughts from leadership generally reference internal inputs such as:
what the team can do
how good they are
how cheap the offer
These are certainly factors to pay attention too. But the bigger concerns should always be built around the external insights with the client in mind:
what do they need
what constraints do they face
what outcomes do they want
When a business doesn't have a good understanding of client psychology, procurement language and decision making structure those inward-facing documents fail in comparison to persuasive business cases. Often there is too much focus on YOU when it should be on THEM. This is just one of the golden rules.
Strategic Bid Process
In order to win RFP opportunities, team work across the whole business is essential. Opportunities which are complex and high value require input across the team. It is not just the responsibility of the bid team because they can only achieve the end goal based on the information provided. The majority of bids are the product of a repeatable process which includes:
thorough bid qualification
competitor analysis
client intelligence
strategic positioning
storytelling the UVP (unique value proposition)
executive summary highlights
rigorous reviews & editing
pricing strategy which prioritises value offered
When leaders choose NOT to get involved in this process, it often falls apart. The team doesn't work together or prioritise the importance of winning this level of work. Instead the responsibility of this task always falls exclusively on the shoulders of the bid team. For work which requires a cross-team approach, the only option is for management to lead with a top down approach. For they are the only ones who can give the priority and focus.
Many organisations do not have a bid strategy - even those with a team! They will often approach each bid as a one-off with a real lack of consistency in quality or strategy. This often looks like pure disorganisation, rushing to submit 'something', recycling old content (which didn't win last time) and always being on the deadline. And then still asking "why didn't we win?" Really not that difficult when you assess the approach. A well managed business wins work. It honestly is that simple.
The role of leadership in the bid function is to give to same amount of time and priority as you would to any other area of business. If you want to win the work of course. When no priority is given or it is as seen as just filling in a form, you have already lost. With no structure or ownership, no amount of technical excellence can save you.
Reputational Damage Matters
Too many Leaders are stuck in their own bubble. Believing that their business is far better than it actually is. The reputation of your business matters, but it is rarely enough to win business, especially within a competitive bid environment with formal scoring systems. Truth is no-one thinks you are even half as great as you do!
The trouble with the 'bubble' is that leaders often fail to remember that other organisations are also in the running. Often there seems to be this pre-conceived idea that there is no other option but them. When a bid submission is poor, it only makes it easier for a client to choose one of your competitors.
My own ethos for a winning bid formula is to to go over and above in all areas, crafting the best answers and doing all that you can to appeal to the client. Too often I see the absolute opposite of this and really no concept that the client is reviewing more than just one proposal. Just because your sales rep has said "it's in the bag" doesn't actually mean it is.
But also consider the reputational damage with a poorly written bid submission. What impression is the client likely to get from you? A lack of information, attention to detail or a failure to follow instructions can send a very clear message. And it might not be the current bid which makes you unsuitable. A poor bid submission could well be memorable enough for future work also. And not in a good way.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
In order for a bid submission to be successful, it requires adequate team work. It is never won by the bid team alone. My own approach to both bids and sales is simply that it does affect everyone. Simply put if you don't have the business, you don't get paid. So it should become the priority for everyone.
The bid team sits in the middle of every other department, essentially as the pivot which controls the input and project manages the output. I have often found myself with a good knowledge set around marketing, people management, operations, technical, finance and more. All because I have had to have some working knowledge in these areas in order to excel within the bid process.
This success can only come when their is a true team spirit where the bid process is priority number one. If winning high value work isn't a team focus, there is a serious problem. Too often there is no leadership involvement when realistically these are the only people who can motivate all sectors of the business, to give the bid team their focus. Without this and often without a dedicated resource, the bid getting passed around with no one owing the outcome.
Bid Review Analysis
One of the clearest signs a leader doesn't understand is the bid process is through the lack of understanding from the post-bid analysis. Often only caring about the win or loss mentality, blame culture and lack of desire to improve future outcomes. Whether you win or lose there are always many insights which can be gained:
what was the scoring criteria?
what feedback did the client give?
what did the competitors do differently?
did we understand the client brief?
did we justify the pricing accordingly?
Personally, I conduct bid review analysis after submission as an internal control because there will always be things which could have been improved. If there was more time, context, understanding etc. Doing this there can be a comparison between my own review and that from the review panel. But it is also good to consider how all those improvements could be made on a regular basis.
Many organisations skip this stage focussing solely on the end result and not how to make this happen. Unfortunately these wins only happen with collaboration and continuous improvement. When this is ignored, you tend to see repeated mistakes, stagnation and a reduced likelihood of win rates. The best thing a leader can do is understand the debrief, take action and make improvements for both the senior team and the business overall.
False Confidence
False confidence is possibly the biggest killer to any bid process. The overinflated ego of people within a business is often a real problem. This idea that they are better than any competitor, "why would they not choose us" mentality all while putting no effort or evidence into the bid submission.
Everything within business changes. Client expectations. The market. Client need. What always worked for you might not any longer. Business must evolve with the market. Failure to do this often results in a loss. So when leaders aren't ahead of the market, benchmarking against competitors or listening to front line bid teams, the business will lose the edge.
Leadership 101
If you are a leader who wants to win more work, the first step is really to admit you don't understand the process and to take steps to improve your own understanding. From my own experience, I am sure more bid teams would welcome the involvement of leadership because bringing all stakeholders together for the common goal of a bid win is often the hardest task.
Next steps might include:
Understand the process - attend kick-off meetings, strategy & review sessions.
Hire a bid professional - treat the process as a professional discipline.
Feedback loops - review every win/loss & share those insights.
Standardise the bid process - with templates and a knowledge bank.
Train the team - accessible bid training for all, improvement is key.
Strategic action - have a solid bid/no bid process.
Client engagement - be sure to build your proposals around their needs not yours.
There should be nothing more important than a bid win to leadership especially when reporting on the pipeline to investors and the board. When you take actionable steps to increase your knowledge in this area, it can only act as a benefit.
Next Steps
Winning work is not really that difficult. Those businesses with strong leadership and management will always excel over those that don't. They will support the bid team, understand what is needed and make sure it is actioned. I have worked extensively with those organisations which win and those who don't. This is always the stand out difference.
When leaders continue to treat the bid process as an admin function instead of high level sales strategy, will continue to lose. The gap between leaders who think they understand the bid process and those who actually do, is growing by the day. Do the work to close the gap and the results will follow.