Bid opportunities are crucial for any company wanting to expand its client base and take on new projects. These opportunities are presented by government bodies, councils, corporations or boards in the form of RFPs or RFTs, meaning Requests-for-Proposals or Requests-for-Tenders, respectively. According to the Australian Government’s Department of Finance, 83,625 procurement contracts were published in FY23, with a combined value of $74.8 billion. While contracts may be available, finding one that suits your company’s capabilities can be a challenge. In this blog, we review how to find an ideal bid opportunity, discover the criteria and methods to find them and walk through some recommendations about how to be successful when responding to a bid opportunity.
The Importance of Bid Opportunities
Bids or tenders present organisations with an opportunity to win new contracts and grow their businesses, increasing company revenue and allowing for additional team growth. Winning a bid not only has benefits within the business, but helps a company gain a competitive edge and improve its reputation within the wider industry.
How to Identify Ideal Bid Opportunities
An optimal bid opportunity should have a clear scope of work to be done, financial or budget expectations, a time frame and a method of evaluation. This way, expectations are well understood between the client and the business.
Finding an ideal bid opportunity involves investigating the market for viable clients, contacting the client and using bid platforms to seek the most appropriate bids. Another factor that enhances the probability of securing a bid is the development of relations with the clients as well as the assessment of their requirements and needs.
Key Factors for Evaluation of an Ideal Bid
When evaluating a potential bid, consider the following key factors:
- Bid Requirements
Read and comprehend all the aspects of the bid specifications and the description of work as well as the mandatory requirements. Check that you have adequate capability, skilled manpower, and resources for delivering the contract. Assessing a bid’s requirements is where guidelines around whether your business has the capacity to satisfy the bid. You must also assess whether the time and effort required to prepare a response would still be a worthwhile exercise in the event that the bid is unsuccessful.
- Bid Deadlines
Carefully assess whether the submission date is achievable for your team’s capacity and schedule your bid preparation time. Ensure that you leave enough time for the research, writing of the proposal, and its thorough review. If you’ve never prepared a bid response before, this process can be greatly aided by an experienced bid consultant like Bid Helpdesk, who will expertly plan your response requirements with your deadline in mind.
- Financial Viability
Assess the project’s financial expectations, such as the budget and payment structure and your expected costs. The bid should be profitable and, of course, not exceed your organisation’s financial capacity.
- Competitive Landscape
Estimate the level of rivalry in the market and your ability to create a competitive advantage that will make your submission stand out from the competition. Tools including SWOT analysis can be useful to find how your valuable strengths could be used to meet the client’s needs. To win a bid, your company must be prepared to compete against other organisations and establish priorities to make the most of your available resources.
- Procurement Process:
It is crucial to familiarise yourself with factors such as the client’s procurement process, the criteria applied to select a supplier, and their decision-making process. When submitting your bid, be sure to clearly address their needs and expectations so they can easily satisfy their procurement criteria.
Successful Bidding Tips
Focusing on your company’s unique selling points and showcasing prior performance records can be a game-changer when submitting a bid. Giving specific details and demonstrating your experience and expert knowledge can help differentiate a business from its competitors. Attaining the help of an experienced bid consultant can make the difference between a good bid and a winning bid. A bid consultant will be able to tailor your company’s capabilities towards the requirements of any bid request and help you highlight why your company is the right choice.
To conclude, recognising what an ideal bid opportunity looks like can significantly impact your business’s bid success. By looking out for the key factors associated with an ideal bid opportunity and understanding whether your business can satisfy these means your company will have a higher probability of finding successful bid opportunities, winning contracts, and accomplishing your growth objectives.