This book is a must-have for anyone producing bids and proposals ranging from short covering letters through to tenders for major corporate or government procurement. Sales, marketing, project and technical staff will all benefit from reading the book and keeping a copy on their shelves for reference. It is also useful for business students at all levels. Contents include: The Art of Proposal Writing; The Proposal Lifecycle; Presentation and Format; Corporate and Client Culture.
Managing Bids, Tenders and Proposals shows suppliers and vendors how they can gain competitive advantage by being more effective and productive when pursuing sales opportunities and competing to win new contracts. Suppliers and vendors can also learn how to identify and reduce delivery risk and commercial risk. Responding to requests-for-tenders (RFTs) and requests-for-proposals (RFPs) is frequently a challenging time for the supplier and vendor bid teams. Within tight timeframes, they must finalise their win strategy, determine their delivery plans and create compelling documentation that responds to the customer's questions and requirements. This essential reference work explores what needs to happen when responding to RFTs and RFPs and explains the essential knowledge needed by the bid teams. In clearly written and well-structured chapters, Managing Bids, Tenders and Proposals addresses everything a bid manager or bid team member needs to know. Understanding profit, pricing, value and risk are essential for competitive pricing and profitable business. How customers manage their procurement programmes drives the lifecycle of a sales opportunity. Sales governance based on objective criteria identifies the right opportunities to pursue. Knowing what to look for in RFPs and RFTs helps to structure powerful bid responses. Understanding contracts, finance and business cases protects the commercial position of the supplier or vendor. Mastering these topics makes bid management a complete discipline that places a premium on leadership and managerial skills. Not only are the fundamentals of bid management captured simply and concisely, Managing Bids, Tenders and Proposals also explains how to plan and manage a bid response. Additional chapters define what makes a bid response compelling, as well as how to write and review bid documents to best position your bid, tender or proposal. Managing Bids, Tenders and Proposals introduces the Bid.Win.Deliver Framework, a new and unique approach for responding to sales opportunities. In 16 procedural steps, the Bid.Win.Deliver Framework guides bid teams through the development process from identifying a sales opportunity to developing a compelling and competitive bid response. Any supplier or vendor in any industry that submits bids, proposals and tenders will benefit from adopting the Bid.Win.Deliver Framework. The framework provides a clear roadmap for implementing best-practice bid management at suppliers and vendors in any industry or market. The Bid.Win.Deliver Framework equips any professional with the skills to lead and manage a bid response. For experienced bid managers, the Bid.Win.Deliver Framework provides a common reference for discussion, reflection and professional development.
* Huge scope - covers all aspects of tender writing for public sector, private sector and research funding * Expert guidance from a specialist who has written over 200 successful tenders and proposals * Highly practical approach - based on examples drawn from actual bids and tenders With more and more corporations opting for "preferred supplier" lists, bids and tenders have become a fact of business life. For the small or medium sized corporation without a specialist bids-and-tenders team, the research unit, or the university team, bid preparation can take great amounts of senior management time. Here's where this book comes in: practical and written in an accessible style, it uses examples and checklists to explain how to create bids that are outstanding in both technical quality and value for money, bids that stand a good chance of being successful. Lewis provides "best-practice" advice on every step in the process, including: Bidding for public sector contracts; tendering for the private sector and for research projects; analyzing client requirements; managing, resourcing and researching the bid; developing and writing the bid; defining outputs and deliverables; communicating added value; describing professional experience; producing and submitting tenders; stating the price; understanding tender evaluation; and making presentations.
Acquire the necessary skills to win business through proposals, bids, tenders, and presentations—this hands-on guide is your partner for success You have in your hands the collected knowledge and skills of the professional proposal writer. Proposal writing is a profession — a growing and increasingly important one and an essential part of a broader group of business development professionals who plan and execute strategies for businesses who want to obtain new customers. Proposal writers have a professional organization — the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) — and their best practices are the foundation for this book. Proposal writing is a skill you can learn, practice, and master; you can even go through a professional certification process to prove your mastery. Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies is your no-nonsense guide to finding out what professional proposal writers know and for applying it to your own business. If you're a small- to medium-size business owner, a first-time proposal writer in a medium-size company, or a sales representative, you know that a written proposal (printed or electronic) is still a common, personal, and effective way to win business. Written in plain English, Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies will help you to: Know the difference between reactive proposals (the RFP or request for proposal) and proactive proposals Focus on the customer by going beyond their requirements to address their true needs Know your competition through research and analysis Write persuasively to develop a winning business proposal Plan and use a repeatable proposal process Incorporate a lessons learned aspect to your proposal process Use tools and templates to accelerate your proposals Motivate and lead your proposal team to ensure they're on the same page Use graphics to enhance your proposals Learn ways to automate your proposal development process And a whole lot more Additionally, you'll gain access to ten templates for building a proposal, find out ten common misconceptions about bids and proposals, and add a compiled list of online resources to your toolset. Grab a copy of Writing Business Bids & Proposals For Dummies to start sharpening your proposal writing skillset.
'It has to be said that this is a very thorough and interesting book... [It] covers all aspects of tender writing for public sector, private sector and research funding. Clear and well presented, this book has to appear on the reference list of anyone serious about managing the way they assemble their proposals.' - PS AdvisorThis unique book is a practical guide to winning contracts and funding through competitive bids, tenders and proposals. Written in a crisp, accessible style using examples and checklists, it explains how to create bids that are outstanding in both technical quality and value for money. This second edition extends the scope and content of the book to make it an even more useful and practical guide to successful tendering.New topics include action during pre-proposal stages of business development and market intelligence. There is more advice to help manage the process of proposal writing, including tips on document collaboration and version control.There is also up-to-date information on EU procurement and research funding, giving the reader the benefit of powerful, best-practice techniques.
Finally! The Ultimate Bid and Proposal Compendium is the most comprehensive guide to winning bids, tenders and proposals. It's packed with lots of hands-on examples and best practice guidance. It is designed as a practical reference book for everyone involved in proposal development. It is for new hires as well as for experienced professionals.
These days, most companies find themselves having to tender or bid for new contracts and clients. It's now part of the business landscape -- companies simply have to be good at tendering and pitching if they are going to have any chance of getting new business and clients. This book, written by one of the leading consultants and trainers in competitive business tendering, provides the key principles for winning bids, tenders and proposals. Savvy and practical, the principles are based on the author's extensive consulting experience with large and small companies, helping them to win big-ticket, "must-win" contracts (with a success rate of 86%). These essential principles apply to any company, in all sectors, which are seeking to improve their new business win rate.
This fast-paced book walks you through the entire buying and selling life-cycle in just the first chapter. Chapters 2-7 then provide the detailed process inputs, proven tools and techniques, and desired outputs for all three phases and each of the seven key steps which both buyers and sellers must accomplish to achieve business success. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 each provide a thought-provoking discussion of proven effective best practices to improve buying and selling. Each chapter provides best practices in solicitations, bids/proposals, and contracts in a different marketplace. Chapter 8 addresses best practices in the U.S. Federal Government Marketplace. Chapter 9 provides best practices in the U.S. Commercial Marketplace. Finally, Chapter 10 discusses buying and selling best practices in the Multi-National/Global Marketplace. This one-of-a-kind book provides both breadth and depth of practical guidance, which few books have ever delivered. Plus, the authors have included numerous excellent interviews of buying and selling business professionals, from both the U.S. Government and industry. The interviews alone are worth the price of this book. If you are a business professional involved in any aspect of buying or selling products, services, and/or solutions, then this book is a must buy, read, and do!
Submitting a Winning Bid. Guide to making a Construction Bidding with Examples. If the work or service awarded comes from a faulty bid, you have not earned a job; you have earned a complication. For a construction and assembly industry to be financially viable, it must achieve positive economic outcomes in the work or services it provides. When the work or service awarded comes from a faulty offer, the company is unlikely to become profitable. To start a lucrative business, it is essential that the bidder submit a properly evaluated bid in every tendering process or competition. In the book, Winning Bid Submission outlines the steps to get a reliable bid. This manuscript is particularly interesting owners, shareholders and coordinators of tenders construction and industrial assembly contractors or subcontractors, and all members of organizations performing tasks related to the formulation of proposals or tenders in the context of tenders or price competitions. Submitting a Winning Bid. Guidelines to improve the accuracy of your offer with examples. Bidding at prices away from the market average undermines the proponent's business relationship with the customer. When the bidder presents a budget that is too low and has the misfortune of being awarded the work, it will inevitably have to face negative financial results because expenses will exceed revenues. If the bid has a very high value compared to the competition's proposals, it will probably be excluded from price competition. This situation, although less severe than the previous one, has a negative effect on your assets because of the increased expenses. The conclusion is that when we quote, we need to carefully analyze each stage to submit a reliable offer. Submitting a Winning Bid. The purpose of submitting a winning bid is to give the reader a complete and useful guide to support their budgeting. This manuscript details the main aspects to consider at each stage of developing a proposal in order to achieve the desired reliable budget. To quote, it is necessary to have your own experience in construction and industrial assembly and to use emotional intelligence to reconcile criteria with other colleagues or specialists to increase knowledge of what is being cited. Guidelines to Making Construction Bidding with Examples. This guide is based on the exceptional experience of the writer. The author of this book, worked during a large part of his professional life as a manager and construction director, on site, in different chemical process plants, refineries, gas pipelines, compression plants and thermal power plants in the country and abroad, finally created and presided over a construction and assembly company. Throughout his career, he has prepared and examined hundreds of estimates for the refurbishment of industrial plants and new facilities. Decide to apply the suggestions made in this publication, and your economic proposals will no doubt be more precise.
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 Management is 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 Management uncovers the myths of bidding and teaches all the skills needed to get noticed, retain existing clients and win new ones.
