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(see www.luton.ac.uk/cfc) – are much more
successful than others at winning business.
Studies which have been undertaken cover
many sectors, particular sectors (construction,
engineering and manufacturing, IT and telecoms)
and eight professions ranging from
lawyers and accountants to engineering and
management consultants.
The findings are consistent and compelling.
Let us consider the evidence of a study of how
people in 293 companies set about ‘winning
major bids’ (Kennedy and O’Connor, 1997).
A wide gulf exists between winners and losers.
The two groups appear distinct species with
different personalities. Losers are undisciplined,
unimaginative and reactive. They pursue
far too many opportunities, and they
focus primarily upon their employers’
immediate concerns and sales priorities.
Members of ‘loser’ bid teams respond
mechanically to invitations to tender. They are
preoccupied with the practicalities of producing
proposals and problems such as obtaining
cost information and up-to-date CVs from
busy colleagues. They find themselves under
pressure to meet submission deadlines. Yet
they ignore tools that could speed up their
basic activities and free up thinking time.
Little effort is put into distinguishing the
approaches or ‘solutions’ they recommend.
Specific product related information is communicated.
Broader corporate credentials that
might suggest opportunities for a wider relationship
are not presented.
Losers ‘hold back’. They only commit significant
effort when a prospect is ‘seriously
interested’. They describe their roles in terms
of ‘submitting bids’. Although they may claim
to be ‘winning business’ they devote the
majority of their effort to losing potential
business as most of the proposals they send in
are rejected.
In businesses with below average success
rates bid team members are left to ‘get on
with it’. Senior managers may talk of proposal
preparation as a ‘boring’ chore and one best
avoided. They are rarely involved in individual
opportunities.
Losers measure success by the number of
proposals they submit. They make little effort
to learn from either their experience or best
practice. Rejection letters enable them to
‘close the file’ and move onto the next proposal.
Above all, they don’t mind losing.
Failure is accepted as the norm. It is rationalized
with phrases such as ‘you can’t win them
all’ or ‘someone has to lose’.
Winners who submit successful bids and
make effective presentations behave very differently
from the losers just described. They
are far more confident, energetic and proactive.
They identify prospects with growth
potential, organizations that are likely to do
well and which would make good business
partners. They take the initiative. They
approach those they would most like to do
business with. They carefully target their communication.
Winners are very selective. They ruthlessly
prioritize available opportunities. Turning
down some invitations to bid allows more
effort to be devoted to those that are retained
and pursued.
Winners want their customers and
prospects to do well. They think about them.
They become absorbed in their problems
and opportunities. They focus responses
upon the needs and priorities of their
prospects and structure their proposals around
the selection criteria likely to be used in purchase
decisions.
When winners do respond it is with commitment
and clear objectives. They think
through the outcomes and relationship they
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors