5 Ways Your Tech Start-Up Can Win More Bids
Winning bids or tenders can provide a welcome source of revenue to a tech start-up, be it through public sector contracts or commercial contracts. We detail the 5 ways your company can win more bids, from qualifying the bids in or out, to hiring the right talent so you can excel at winning more business and take your tech enterprise to the next level of growth and success.
1. Qualify your bids in or out
It takes time and effort to win more bids. Knowing which bids to pass on is critical in helping the long-term success of your bidding strategy. It’s important to know what an ideal project looks like for your company. You may consider the size and length of the project, the type of client or the type of work needed to fulfil the bid. Knowing which bids NOT to bid on is just as important as deciding which ones to bid on. You’ll increase your chances of winning more bids by qualifying out those that aren’t suited. Avoiding bids that don’t create value for your company will save you time and effort. This means that resources can be redirected to relevant bids and overall, you’ll increase the likelihood of winning more bids as you will have selected bids that are best suited to your company’s capabilities, values and strategic focus.
2. Write with your evaluator in mind
We’ve taken inspiration for this point from the Government guidelines on how to bid for government contracts effectively. When writing a bid response, it’s important to guide your evaluator through your answers in each bid and make it easy for them to score your responses. Knowing when to be short and concise matters in a bid. It’s equally as important to tell a story to the evaluator. If you ensure a logical flow and transition from one sentence to the next, the bid will be more easily read and assessed by the evaluator. Don’t assume the evaluator has prior knowledge of the subject at hand and be sure to explain key concepts succinctly. Try to avoid using jargon and acronyms in your bid. If your company wants to win more bids, implement the Government guidelines to improve your bid responses and the chances of winning more bids. They are there to help you!
3. Put processes in place
A tech start-up is likely to have processes and systems in place for a whole plethora of things. But does yours have processes in place for bid writing and management? By having set guidelines and processes in place, you’ll make bidding just that much easier and more effective. Some elements of writing a bid can be repetitive and tedious. Formatting a bid for instance can be time consuming. If you can have a template or checklist for this, it’ll make your job a whole lot easier. Try and monitor the repetitive tasks in the process and come up with a system or process to help you save time from one bid to the next. If you can save time and effort in the bid writing process, you can focus on more value-add activities and ultimately, you’ll be more likely to win more bids.
4. Hire the right talent
As we know, a Bid Manager’s role is multi-faceted and very demanding. There are so many different tasks to juggle and priorities to manage. Your tech start-up may not have a complete bid management team in place so whoever you bring in may need to manage a lot of different aspects of the process. By hiring the right people in your team who know your sector through and through and can write and manage bids confidently, you will be more likely to win more bids. In case you don’t know already, Bid Specialists is a hiring platform that connects tech start-ups with exceptional talent in the bid and proposal industry. The platform gives employers access to permanent, fixed term or freelance sector and industry-specific talent who have the skills to deliver impactful and winning bids. Having the right people in place will ensure you can deliver and win more bids effectively and consistently.
5. Invest in your people
Investing in your team’s skills and expertise will put you in good stead for the next bids on your radar. For instance, Shipley offers certification for business development and a comprehensive curriculum of public workshops that can provide your proposal teams with the skills, tools, and hands-on training needed to improve your win rate. Also, the APMP courses offer a great way to develop and hone Bid/Proposal Managers’ skills at bid managing, proposal writing and development.
It takes focus and dedication to win more bids, but if you follow the above steps, we hope you’ll excel at winning more bids and supercharge your success as a tech start-up! To find out more about how we can help you, visit www.bidspecialists.com
