About

This seminar will ensure your success in critical tender bids by giving you insight into the most effective techniques for selling your solutions to clients.

In today’s highly competitive market, the chances of winning a competitive tender or request for proposal (RFP) bids are becoming slimmer and slimmer. For this reason it is essential that proposals for these bids are well prepared, concisely written and appropriately targeted to the client. Such a process can no longer be taken lightly, with hope for a good result. The techniques and tools must be mastered and effectively used in order to ensure your success in winning the contract.
Preparing, writing and submitting superior tender proposals has been specifically designed to give you the edge in putting your best foot forward and successfully winning a competitive tender/RFP.

Covering the entire process of identifying and evaluating tenders, choosing the most appropriate tender/RFP, preparing & writing the proposal and negotiating a win-win contract, this course is essential for any executive wanting to strategically increase their chances for success in the tender/RFP proposal process.

Your attendance at this essential training-seminar will:
• Assist you in understanding the big-picture process of tendering
• Enhance your ability to select the most appropriate tender/RFP to respond to
• Teach you how to more effectively read and understand the tender document, and gain insight into what the client is looking for
• Help you to more accurately assess your competitor’s strengths & weaknesses
• Give you insight into best-practice approaches for preparing the proposal
• Show you the best ways in which you can write and submit the actual proposal
• Give you the edge in negotiating a win-win contract

Who should attend?
This seminar will be relevant to anyone involved in the process of preparing, writing and submitting tender proposals, including:
• Contract managers
• Bid managers
• Tender managers
• Business development managers
• Operations managers
• Commercial managers

• Quantity Surveyors & Estimators
• Divisional managers
• Marketing & sales executives
• Procurement managers
• Business managers
• Project managers
• Technical services managers
• CEO’s, General Managers & Managing Directors
• Consultants

Agenda

Understanding the Procurement Perspective
Many buyer organisations are now behaving differently from the purchasing office we once knew, and now use ‘procurement’ language.  This session will explore the approach the procurement office takes before getting to tenders and RFPs, and help you understand the buyers view of your business.


Understanding the request for proposal (RFP) or tendering process:
In order to effectively prepare, write and submit winning proposals, you must first understand the nature of the tendering and RFP process. This session will explore the various stages of this process including:
• Quotations
• RFPs
• Expressions of interest (EOI)
• Requests for information (RFI)
• RFI conferences and/or briefings
• The RFP closure process

Selecting the most appropriate tender for proposal:
Creating a proposal for a competitive tender is not an easy job. It is costly in terms of time, money and resources, and it is therefore critical that you select the right tender for which to submit a proposal.
• Understanding your organisation’s offering
• Identifying, understanding and developing your competitive advantage points
• Scanning the market for tenders/RFPs
• Analysing which tender/RFP is most closely aligned with your organisations skills & resources

Reading & understanding the tender/RFP document:
Critical to success of any proposal is an acute understanding of what the client is looking for and what their specific requirements are.
• Typical components of a tender or RFP
• Reading the tender/RFP - what’s important and what’s not
• Understanding exactly what the client is looking for
• Defining the business issues involved and how your organisation can resolve them
• Matching the client’s needs with your organisation’s strengths

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer - the importance of acutely understanding your competition:
In order to create the most superior proposal, and to guarantee success in the tender submission process, you must fully understand who the other likely candidates will be. This session will examine the ways in which you can effectively compete with your competition.
• Identifying the competition
• Understanding your competitors strengths and identifying their weaknesses
• Developing a strategy to compete head-on in your proposal - differentiating yourself from the flock

Success lies in preparation - preparing for the tender/RFP proposal:
Before the proposal is actually written, it is imperative that you fully prepare the way in which you approach the proposal, and the key points you wish to make.
• Developing a winning approach to writing your proposal
• Understanding your unique selling points and the aspects of your product/service that will win the tender
• Researching the client, their company and their history
• Asking for more information - the do’s & don’ts
• Other factors to consider in preparation for the proposal - costing, timeframes & selecting key personnel

The final touch - writing a superior proposal:
The majority of the work in submitting a tender/RFP proposal may be in the preparation, however the writing and presentation of the proposal is vital in getting your foot into the client’s door. This session will highlight the ways in which you can make your proposal stand out from the competition.
• Structure & format
• Providing the appropriate level of information
• The executive summary
• The cover letter
• Key recommendations & pricing
• Presentation & language

Submitting the proposal:
When submitting the tender/RFP proposal, there are a number of actions that can greatly improve your chances of winning the bid. There are also various things you can do to dramatically reduce your chances of success.
• The importance of punctuality
• Creating a positive first impression
• Presenting your proposal - selling your solution to the client
• What not to do - the top reasons why proposals often fail

It ain’t over yet - Negotiating a win-win contract
Once your proposal has been accepted, it is critical that you are armed with the negotiation skills to get exactly what you want from the final contract. This session will teach you how to negotiate your way to success.
• Improving your negotiation skills
• Growing your confidence and credibility
• Effective listening & questioning skills
• Techniques for handling the ‘tough customers’
• Reaching agreement and gaining commitment in the negotiation process - working towards the win-win
• Continuing the relationship in the long term

Probity Issues
You need to be sure that the playing field is level.  This session will discuss the questions you should ask of the buyer, and discuss issues management strategies to ensure you get a fair hearing:
•    Asking questions of the buyer organisation
•    Communications with the buyer organisation
•    The debrief

Facilitator

Bernie Diver, Managing Director, Strategic Sourcing

The Strategic Sourcing Consultancy was created by Bernie Diver in 2005.  Prior to establishing this business Bernie operated as an independent consultant working through a number of established consultancy firms.  Through the establishment of Strategic Sourcing, Bernie has committed to ensuring sustainability for both clients and suppliers through the implementation of the right strategies to deliver the best Total Cost of Ownership possible.
 
Bernie has advised many leading companies in the negotiation of major strategic sourcing transactions.  Some of the clients advised include Air NZ, RNZAF, Carter Holt Harvey, Fletchers, The Rank Group, Goodman Fielder, and the Wellington City Council.  Bernie has been involved in international negotiations with GE, Air France Industries, Boeing, Rockwell Collins, and PMP Pty Limited.
 
Bernie’s focus is to assist companies to approach their negotiations using structure and strategic thinking.  Studying negotiation at Harvard Business School has enabled Bernie to combine his experience and passion for negotiation with the very best of practical frameworks to create value for clients.

Bernie Diver is also facilitating:

• Effective Tender Preparation and Evaluation Techniques

In-house Training