Remember my 3 top tips? The first one happened recently with a client. I will set the scene. The bid was definitely in their area of expertise. They had partners to join them, evidence of past performance and references. All sounding good.
We had a meeting to discuss the opportunity. We had 2 weeks to submit. The application form was intensive – there was no pre-qualification questionnaire stage (a filtering stage often used by Local Authorities), so all of the information (financial, history, deliverables, policies and procedures etc) was required.
It would be in a new area – they would need a new base and staff. Due to budget cuts, they had already reduced their current staffing levels. The more we talked, the more we realised that not only was the timeline tight, but delivery would be a huge challenge, with many variables outside of their control.
To cut a long story short, they took the very brave decision not to bid. Brave because turning down the opportunity for work is hard. They were right though. And right around the corner came another opportunity, in their locality which was a better fit. Fate? Maybe. But also a better business decision.
