A year ago, the tendering environment here was very different from today. Work was gushing out of government, tenderers could pick and choose the bids they wanted to respond to, and ChatGPT was new and untested in this environment. By Nick Cowan, General Manager Plan A.
Reality bites this year, and it’s likely to impact contractors for some time yet. Work has dropped away; the emphasis on nice-to-have benefits like Broader Outcomes is being replaced with hard-core proof of competency.
And ChatGPT is proving to be a double-edged sword, loaded with benefits as well as risks.
Competition for public sector work is stronger than it’s been for most of the past decade. Tender evaluators have gone from begging suppliers to respond to tenders (and despairing at higher-than-budget prices) to navigating the complexities and time needed to deal with a large numbers of responses.
Severe budget limitations are forcing no-frills approaches to both services and assets, at least for the year, if not longer.
So, how can tenderers hone their competitive edge to master the skill of winning work in this tough environment? After all, times are tough, and government work, once it’s won, does provide reliable payments and helps with forward resource planning.
Here are five ways that you can make the most of your resources to max out your win rate.
Don’t put a square peg in a round hole
Responding to tenders in ways that get you top scores is a specialised skill. Your operational team understands your business thoroughly, but they may not have the skills or insight needed to translate that knowledge into a winning tender response.
What’s needed is an in-depth understanding of evaluator preferences and scoring systems, as well as industry intelligence that finds the ‘x-factor’ that places your tender in the lead.
Pick your targets
The shotgun approach on tenders will not only waste huge efforts and stress your team out, it also can undermine your company’s reputation for excellence within your niche. It’s worth screening out opportunities you don’t have a solid chance of winning and applying your energy to a limited number where you have serious competitive advantages.
Right from the start
Winning tenders are crafted from a solid strategy that’re developed with input from your senior team, ideally led (and challenged!) by someone independent who has insight into evaluator preferences and industry standards. They’re not thrown together in a blinding rush, and they don’t just recycle legacy material.
Find what makes you stand out
More than ever before, clever solutions and innovations that will drive value, resilience, or accelerate completion are key. And you won’t find these in the public domain. It’s the critique and the intelligence of your internal team that will drive this.
Use software cleverly
ChatGPT is probably what your competitors are using too. For sure, it can generate the same old stuff that makes scoring evaluators yawn.
It will undoubtedly replace some of the cut-and-paste work and pretty wordsmithing that traditionally consumed basic bid-writer time. But, it’s only as good as its inputs. And if those are the same as everyone else’s, your bid is easily recognised for its generic content, which inevitably scores low.
So, how should you put this advice into practice?
The first step is recognising that the procurement power pendulum has changed direction. To win contracts in an increasingly competitive environment, you need to get the best skills available on board.
If you’re typically responding continuously to different tenders, your internal bid writers may need a refresh. It’s almost certain that they don’t know what they don’t know, like what kind of content attracts top scores in today’s environment or what material will likely stand out from your industry’s typical type of content.
Some external input from those who have access to evaluator insights can help. Training in tender writing – either through formal face-to-face or online courses or by working side-by-side with an expert, can help build your internal team’s confidence, understanding and capability to ace the field.
If you’re heading to the CCNZ conference in Invercargill this month, you have a great opportunity to hear what evaluators currently value and how to organise and upskill your people to deliver to that.
You’ll see examples of evaluator scoresheets and get insights into their preferences from Caroline Boot from Clever Buying and NZ Procurement.
And you’ll learn how to embed efficient and powerful bid management and development skills, as well as the secrets of effective use of AI software to bolster your tender wins and take a load off your people.
If you’re unable to join the session, reach out to me at Plan A to explore how we can equip you with the strategies needed to thrive and excel in your niche. As competition heightens in the coming year, positioning yourself for success is key. Plan A is there to help you put these insights into practice.
nick.cowan@plana.co.nz, 021 276 5561.