Re-bidding: Top Tips to Retain a Contract
If you’re already the incumbent provider for a firm or organisation, you might think you’ll have everything sewn up when the contract comes up for tender again. After all, if you’ve already met their requirements once, doing so again should be plain sailing, right?
Not always. By the time a contract comes up for tender, the business landscape may well have changed. The company’s requirements might be different from what they were the first time round, industry practices and legislation might have changed, or they may have a new management team who are looking to bring in new contractors.
At Your Tender Team, we are experts in tender writing and have put together the following useful tips for success when re-bidding on an existing tender.
Start Early
If you’re serious about retaining your contract, you should be preparing for your re-bid as soon as you’ve won the original tender. What this means, in practical terms, is fulfilling the promises you made the first time around. When it comes to bidding for the new tender, your biggest strength is being able to prove that you can deliver against that bid.
Regular Revisits
Not all contracts run smoothly from day one. As you get up and running, some none-core aspects of your bid might slip to the wayside so you can focus on the meat of your bid agreement. This is normally not a major problem – at least, not at the start. However, it’s important that you revisit your contract at regular intervals to ensure you’re meeting your commitments. Be sure not to leave this too late in the contract term – completing parts of your tender at the last minute will look like a rush job, even if they’re not.
Identify Influencers
It’s worth knowing who will be making decisions regarding the new tender. This includes the people developing the contract structure as well as those evaluating applicants’ bids. Once you’ve identified these people, get to know them – find out what their key concerns are for your role, going forward. This allows you anticipate the sort of details they are likely to include in any future tender.
Shout Out Your Success
Some people believe you shouldn’t blow your own trumpet but, in the cut-throat world of vendor contracts, the opposite it true. Create a regular newsletter that you can send out to your team and to your client, highlighting your successes – new innovations, accreditations achieved, awards won, and so on. This doesn’t need to be a weekly, or even monthly thing, but frequent enough that it keeps you in the bid influencers’ field of vision.
Scope Out the Competition
Knowing who your likely competitors are and what they are up to gives you a significant edge when it comes to re-bidding. You need to be aware of what they bring to the table and how they are viewed by your client. Only then can you work to counteract any advantages they might have.
Embrace New Ideas
No matter how good you are at fulfilling your current contract, you need to produce something different when it’s time to re-bid. This demonstrates that your company is constantly evolving and improving, and that you’re not prepared to rest on your previous successes.
Bring in the Experts
Having someone from outside your company on your bid team is always a good idea. Sometimes you can be too close to your business to spot possible shortcomings in your approach. A fresh pair of eyes can not only highlight areas for improvement, but also identify things you’ve done that should be included as evidence in your bid.
Here at Your Tender Team, we work closely with our clients to help them win contracts whether they are new bidders or the incumbent providers. To find out how we can help you secure your next tender, give the team a call today on 0116 218 2700 to arrange a free consultation.