Installment 52: The Keys to Making Bidding Decisions
*** SELLING TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ***
Welcome to our new "back to basics" series called "SELLING TO
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT." In some cases we touch on issues already
addressed in our popular series "DOING BUSINESS WITH GOVERNMENT," but
with new angles and insights.
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focused, Bidengine eliminates the irrelevant results produced by generic
search tools. Bidengine finds bid and proposal opportunities posted by
international, federal, state, city and county governments along with
universities, school districts and public buying cooperatives.
To learn more visit http://www.bidengine.com/bidProducts/be/
or call 1-888-661-4094 ext 8 for more information.
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Installment 52 - The Keys to Making Bidding Decisions
Preparing a proposal is costly in dollars and in terms of the amount of
personnel resources that need to be devoted to the project. Your best
technical people are needed to write an effective proposal. Often, your
most valuable proposal contributors are tied up with revenue-generating
tasks and are not available to work on the proposal. As discussed in
the last installment, your goal should be to write fewer, higher quality
proposals. Making the bid/no bid decision is the single most important
step in the process. Bid wisely and selectively. A decision not to bid
can save your business a great deal of money and resources.
Company management should be the focal point for making bid/no bid
decisions. Decisions should be based on information learned about
the customer and the competition during the sales process. If a
decision is made to bid on a Request for Proposal (RFP), you must
be one hundred percent (100%) committed to producing the best proposal
possible.
Indicators that you should bid on a RFP:
* Your company gathered background information concerning the
procurement's history, spoke or met with the agency's decision
makers and has a strong indication that your proposal will be
positively received.
* Your business has the capabilities to handle the work described
in the RFP. Keep in mind that if you do not meet all of the
procurement's qualifications, you can hire a subcontractor to
fill in the gaps. It is becoming increasingly common, at least
with respect to large, technology contracts, for bidding consortiums
to submit proposals. Many of the companies submitting proposals
for these types of contracts are also inviting subcontractors to
join the process.
* You know that you can offer a bid with a very competitive price.
Indicators you should not bid on a proposal:
* You are bidding blindly on a public procurement and all the
information you have concerning the same was gleaned from the RFP.
* You are attempting to stretch your qualifications and capabilities
to meet the requirements.
* There is an incumbent contractor. Most incumbents win the contract
renewals. Your company probably shouldn't bid unless you know the
customer is unhappy or you have special knowledge concerning the
procurement.
Spend time and money in gathering information for the bid/no bid decision.
It will be far less costly to spend the time and money up front than spending
it on losing proposals. If you decide to go forward, begin immediately. Do
not wait until the last minute to prepare the proposal. Choose your proposal
leader carefully. This person should be an experienced proposal writer/manager
and must be fully informed about the customer. If you can't find this
all-in-one superstar, go with the experienced proposal writer and support this
person with the people who know the customer best.
Learn How to Write Winning Proposals:
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/writingProposals.php
Learn How GSA Schedules Can Be Used to Avoid Expensive Proposals:
http://www.fedmarket.com/productTour/seminar/GSA.php
/-------------------------advertisement---------------------------
Bidengine is a specialized search engine that scours thousands of procurement
pages containing opportunities to sell products and services. Intensely
focused, Bidengine eliminates the irrelevant results produced by generic
search tools. Bidengine finds bid and proposal opportunities posted by
international, federal, state, city and county governments along with
universities, school districts and public buying cooperatives.
To learn more visit http://www.bidengine.com/bidProducts/be/
or call 1-888-661-4094 ext 8 for more information.
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Thanks for reading and, as always, best of luck in your business.
Feel free to contact me with thoughts or suggestions. If you need help
with product sales, call or write as follows: (888) 661-4094 x8,
sales@fedmarket.com.
Regards,
Richard White, President
Fedmarket.com
rwhite@fedmarket.com
(208) 726-5553 X18
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