Business Development Tools and Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of things you can do straight away:

Use a bid no-bid decision-making tool to allow you to objectively view whether should even pursue.

If you decide to bid make sure first and foremost you have a compliant proposal. That means checking you have provided all the information requested, in the format required. Ensure the information is stated explicitly.

If you complete lots of tenders, set up a tender library to refer to.

Ensure your bid writers are trained or coached.

Every proposal is a story, make sure your story is worth reading. Put yourself in the client's shoes when reviewing it. Does it make sense? Am I assuming things the client may not understand? Have I really articulated the client's problem or requirements?

Review. Always review your proposal before submitting it. Ideally use a separate person from the author. Fresh eyes make a big difference.

No.

In our experience, a Win Rate target is often set by Managers and Directors either based on past performance or the belief that this year should be better than last year. For example, some assume a 100% win rate is ideal. However, that could indicate you are not ambitious in which work you pursue, only going after the safe bets. Sometimes you may wish to pursue an opportunity with a low likelihood of success (see bid no-bid tool) for strategic reasons. Context is everything when determining a target win rate. 

 It's a tool often used in proposal production to ensure you will submit a compliant bid. You can get a FREE version of a Compliance Matrix here.

It's a tool used when assessing an opportunity to judge the strength and weaknesses of the relationships you may have with a customer or potential client. You can get your FREE Relationship Matrix Tool here.

Simply put it assists in making an objective assessment on your likely hood of winning. A good tool will help you consider:

What you really know about the client.

• What you really know about the project or opportunity.
• Your understanding of your competition.
• Analyse the political, environmental, economic and technological factors.
• What other information you may need to gather.

You can get a simplified version of our sophisticated tool here.

A sales pipeline is a structured way of tracking and progressing your opportunities. Key points:

There are many different definitions about the stages of a pipeline, choose one that suits your business. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software usually includes a pipeline tool. If you don't use a CRM you can set up a basic one on a spreadsheet.

A good pipeline stops you from being over-optimistic about your opportunities. It encourages structured action to take a potential idea through to an order.

When used incorrectly, pipelines often mask the truth and purely used to give a positive impression the boss wants to hear!

No. 

We meet many people with a business development job title when in reality they are sales staff at best, and order takers at the simplest level. Business development is about how you grow your company. Sales is about finding and securing orders.

Prior Information Notice.

This is a warning that procurement activity is going to happen. In other words, it's a "watch this space" message.  Sometimes it includes a request for engagement to gain knowledge. This can be a chance for early engagement.

Expression of Interest.

Usually used in high-value public sector contracts. They usually start the process by inviting you to express an interest in tendering. This may include some pre-qualification questions.

PQQ - Pre-Qualification Questionnaire: 

A way procurement departments and buyers filter out potential suppliers at an early stage. Often this will include formal questions such as financial viability and fraud. More common these days is the use of the ESPD.

European Single Procurement Document or SIngle Procurement Document.

A formal questionnaire to check the suppliers' validity to bid for work in the public sector. Post-BREXIT this is likely to be called the SPD – Single Procurement Document.

Request for Information: 

Similar to a PQQ or ESPD. A way of filtering at an early stage.

Request for Proposal: 

A call to suppliers to offer a proposal. Similar to an ITT. Often used in the private sector.

Request for Quotation: 

Similar to a proposal, but often simplified focusing on price or the specific solution. 

Invitation to Tender: 

A document or set of documents, detailing the tender opportunity and the instructions to complete and submit the tender. It may include terms and conditions, specifications, drawings, multiple appendices.

Best and Final Offer: 

Following the shortlisting of suppliers, and despite the fact you have provided a price, the potential client may ask for a BAFO. This is the lowest price you are prepared to offer. If the tender documents refer to BAFO, remember when pricing, you may be asked again to submit a lower price later on!

Most Economically Advantageous: 

The optimum combination of benefits and price against preset criteria. The criteria are usually published. Often the scoring system is based on a formula, with the lowest price getting full marks and others getting a score based on the comparison against the cheapest. Note: unrealistically low prices can be thrown out.

Common Procurement Vocabulary (Codes) CPV: 

The codes are used throughout the European Union to generically describe products or services. The use of CPV codes by public sector purchasers to define their requirements in a Contract Notice is mandatory. 

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: 

This has a strict definition under European procurement laws and is adopted in the UK. The term SME is often used as a way of preventing large companies from bidding for work.

The current definitions are:

Micro Business = less than 10 employees & turnover under £2 million (sometime £1.75m)

Small Business = less than 50 employees & turnover under £10 million

Medium Business = Less than 250 employees & turnover under £50 million