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Wouldn’t it be great if there was a tick list you could follow that would ensure you win every public sector tender you go for?

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees and it would be remiss of me to suggest otherwise. There will always be variables beyond your control that can tip the balance – sometimes it may tip in your favour, other times those variables will work against you.

What I can offer, however, is advice on how to ensure your tender is at least in the running and has the best chance possible. So, from my experience, here are my tips on tendering success.

Be choosy

The art of successfully winning public contracts is being ruthless on which opportunities you pursue. Read notes thoroughly, and make sure you fully appreciate the requirements of the work before even thinking about submitting anything.

All contracts worth over a certain amount have to be published OJEC and OJEU which means they will be seen by lots of businesses, and you’ll probably face stiff competition from quite a variety of companies.

Don’t be unambitious, but do be realistic about your capabilities and resources to do the job. The financial rewards can often tempt companies to apply for contracts they cannot really win, and which therefore, waste everyone’s time and money.

Ensure your figures add up

Your finances are important as they are often used in the process to judge your capabilities, and determine whether you can really carry out the job successfully. It’s worth a sit down with your accountant to go through your figures, and ensure everything is clear and well-documented.

Quote realistically

Remember that the tendering process won’t allow you to negotiate on price, something you’ve probably grown accustomed to doing working in the private sector. If you’re used to inflating prices, ready to reduce them after some bargaining – think again when it comes to the public sector! You really do need to submit your best and last price. Don’t go so low that you can’t make money from it, but cutting your profit margin a little in order to win a prestigious contract could make great business sense in the long run.

Use your strengths to stand-out

How do you make yourself appear so much better than the competition on a piece of paper? You may have relied on your charm and sales skills in the private sector, along with word of mouth recommendations, but this doesn’t really fly in the tendering process.

The main thing that will shout out loud about your potential is any relevant industry standards and accreditations you have. Gaining these kinds of accolades can be time-consuming and costly, but ultimately, they will show you have the credentials to do what you say you are able to do. Where public money is being spent, it is very important to have credible companies working on a contract, so accreditations will be a huge help.

You can include a cover letter with your submission, however, so use this wisely. If there is anything you particularly want to draw attention to, this is the place to do some extra selling.

Offer added value

What you can do to help separate you from the crowd is offer added value. This may take some creative thought, but can often be all it takes to turn a no or a maybe into a definite yes!

Think about what else you can do, other than the job requirements detailed in the tender document, that will be of use to the client without it costing you anything to provide. For example, as part of a quote for security guards to patrol offices, you could offer to collect all confidential waste throughout the night.

This won’t incur additional costs for you as the security guard is already on site and being paid to walk around the building. It does show your willingness to go over and above in the service you provide, however, and gives added value to the client.

The chance to tender

Once all the companies meeting the necessary specifications have been identified, they’ll be sent an Invitation to Tender (ITT). Remember all the work that has helped you reach this point, and ensure you put together a tender which helps you stand out for all the right reasons. Being confident you can do something is not good enough now – you have to prove it and show that you have the experience. You need to offer firm assurances that you can deliver what you’re promising.
Is it worth it?

It’s not for everyone, obviously, but if your company has reached the right size and stature – absolutely it can be worth it. If you are at the start of your journey and want some guidance, or perhaps you’ve already begun, but faltered, I can help set you on the right road. It can be hugely rewarding, and offer your company the kind of financial stability you’d only dreamt of in the past. Be bold!

Although there have been sweeping cuts across the board within the public sector, their operational model is still largely based on outsourcing project work to experts in their field and contracts can still provide a lucrative revenue stream for businesses who are equipped and able to do the work.

Before you start searching for available opportunities and launching headlong into the tendering process, however, you do need to weigh up the pros and cons of whether this will be worth it for you.

Public sector contracts can sound like the golden egg you’ve been waiting for, holding many advantages over work within the private sector. They invariably offer longer term contracts, usually of three years and often with the potential to extend that to five, and once that contract is in place, it is pretty secure. Together with the reliability of pre-determined payment terms, this can provide a business with much sought-after financial stability.

But this security does come at a cost. Here are some of the main issues you need to consider before starting the process.

The Pre-Qualification process

The biggest difference between the public and private sector is the tender process. Unlike commercial organisations who have more freedom to choose their suppliers based on a company’s USPs, ethos and whether they establish a rapport, if you’re looking to win public sector contracts worth over £100,000, you first have to go through a pre-qualification process.
The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) is a lengthy document in which you have to prove you have the capabilities to meet the contract’s specifications. You will need to demonstrate everything from your financial stability, to environmental and CSR accreditations and standards.

This can be restrictive, particularly for smaller companies.

Investment

Ensuring you comply with the PQQ can be a costly affair. Having all the correct policies and standards developed and in situ can mean a large initial outlay. Attaining ISO 9000 standards alone can cost upwards of £5,000, for example, which is a considerable investment for a smaller firm. But there’s no denying either that this kind of investment will benefit your company, and stand you in good stead not just to win these contracts but to deliver work for both the public and private sector.

Time and man-power

Believe it or not, there is often little difference in the time it takes to pursue a private sector sale and complete a public sector tender, but the way in which you allocate time and man-power to each is quite different.

The sales process in the private sector can be spread across weeks or months with the prospecting, the meetings, the sales pitch, the proposals, the negotiations etc. A sales team can spend considerable time attempting to convert leads, without any guarantees of success.

Whilst the public sector tendering process may appear complex at first, the time-frame is condensed and the process is actually quite transparent. There is a routine which you will become used to, the more tenders you do and providing you meet the pre-qualification criteria and submit a quality proposal, you have as much chance of winning a tender as you do a private sector client.

It’s important to note, however, that much of the tendering process is actually an administrative rather than sales-led task. It is imperative that you follow detailed guidelines on how your proposal is presented, ensuring all i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. Collation of information to provide evidence of your suitability is as important as ‘pitching’ why you are the best company for the job.

Some thought does, therefore, need to go into how you allocate the tasks amongst your team.

Changing contracts

I stated that one of the biggest advantages of winning public sector tenders is the stability this affords, but it is important to note that big government contracts can change with political power. You may win a four-year contract but often these are subject to political changes which means they can still end, or alter, without a great deal of notice.

Whether you deal with public or private sector contracts, every business needs to be prepared for change. This means doing everything you can to expect it before it comes, and reacting in a strategic and intelligent way when you’re faced with it.

So, in conclusion, is it worth it? As long as you are fully prepared for the process, understand that you won’t win them all and don’t hinge your business on one big contract, public sector tendering can bring real rewards and benefit your business.

If you want to discuss how you can develop your business to enable you to pursue public sector contracts, get in touch.

Our short term goals should be chunks of our long term goals. But we need to know our starting point first when setting these goals.

Ironically, this starting point is our finishing point; by this I mean it is where we want to be in 5, 10, 20 years time. If you cannot envisage where you want to be in 20 years time, then start a little closer to the present.

As I mentioned in the last article, knowing what you are aiming at is the first and most important step, and your personal goals are the ones that you need to put out there in front of you to aim at. Then you set your business goals to facilitate these personal goals.

So, start from the end. What motivates you? What inspires you on a personal level? If the Swiss chalet and the time to ski for six months of the year while your business takes care of itself is your dream, then start from there. Work backwards, deciding what you need to do to get there. Work out how much this will cost, how long it will take, work out all the smaller steps that you need to achieve to reach this goal. These are your medium term goals. Then break these goals down even further to arrive at your short term goals. These need to be very short term; even to the point of being daily achievements. They are your stepping stones. If you don’t set these short term goals it is unlikely that you will reach your long term goals.

The key here is to have goals! Sounds obvious, but think about it. If you don’t have a destination, how are you going to get there? It’s a bit like getting in to your car, getting to the end of your driveway, but not knowing which way you need to turn. And even if you made the decision to turn left or to turn right, if you haven’t got a final destination in mind, and a planned route by which to get there, then it is highly likely that you will be driving round in circles only to end up back in your driveway again!

If you have a destination (your long term goals), you can plan (your short term goals). You can plot out the stages of your journey. Turn left out of your driveway, drive to the airport, get on the plane, fly to the Swiss chalet, and chill! Without knowing where we are going, we will never get there.

Once you have decided on your goals, and your key objectives, write them down. Have them visible so that they are constantly in your mind. Get yourself into a Mastermind group and become accountable to others in achieving those goals.

As business owners we tend to be optimists. We set up our business with a vision of it providing us with the beautiful lifestyle of our dreams. That is what we are working towards. And we work damned hard at it. But this optimism can cloud our factual judgement sometimes.

Setting goals – short term and long term – can be a very sobering process. It may mean us having to refocus on our business in a way that we have not done before. But without that focus, how are we ever going to move forward?

Business goals and personal goals; are they the same thing?

Quite often I will ask a client… “What are your personal goals?”

They invariably talk about their business goals. So what is the difference? And why do we need to distinguish between the two?

Business owners tend to focus on their business goals. Not surprisingly, as our business is what we do and it is imperative to have business goals. But these are just a conduit to achieving our personal goals.

It is coming to that time of the year when we all think about setting goals for the New Year ahead. It is important that our business and personal goals are aligned, but separate. Our personal goals are the goals that need to be set as a priority. Our business facilitates our personal goals. By setting our personal goals we become more focused. They mean more to us; they are the goals that will keep us persistent, assured and motivated. They are not broad. They are specific; they come from a personal place and have personal meaning.

For example, a personal goal might be to own a beautiful chalet in the Alps where you can spend much of your time in the skiing season doing your favourite sport while your business takes care of itself. The business goal might be to earn £100k per year and have three management staff in order to facilitate this personal goal. Do you see the difference? The personal goal will inspire and motivate you, whereas having £100k per year and three management staff are merely figures; business goals that you need to achieve to make your personal goal possible.

By setting the personal goal of the Swiss chalet you can work out what you need to achieve this goal, eg. the cost of the chalet, the time of year that you want to be there, the skiing gear that you will need to buy, and the cost of flights etc. Then you will utilise your business to obtain these wants.

Your personal goals need to be more focused; they need to be realistic and attainable. Make sure you get to the core of what your goal is. Work out how your business goals will get you there. Be clear and concise about this and set your targets alongside your goals.

When setting goals we often keep them to ourselves. By telling someone about our goals, all of a sudden we become accountable. This may mean the difference between achieving them or losing focus. Telling friends and loved ones about our goals means that we are more likely to achieve them. They can help with motivation and keep our dreams alive.

For goals in our working lives I would recommend going one step further than sharing with family and friends. The technique of masterminding is one that I have used successfully for many years. It involves meeting on a regular basis with a group of like-minded people, usually from similar experience and career achievements; setting goals, brainstorming problems, setting targets, and re-assessing previous targets with the aim of moving forward each month. By masterminding with people who are detached from your business and personal life, who can look objectively at your business and give helpful suggestions, and being accountable to these people, we are much more likely to stick with and achieve those goals – personal and business – that we set ourselves for our future.

In the previous article we looked at following our intuitive voice. It is important to distinguish, however, between our positive little voice, and the little voice on our other shoulder which is negative intuition.

This is the “I can’t do,” “I’m not capable of doing that,” little voice. It is the pessimistic voice of limiting self belief. It is very often based on false information from our past. And this negative voice can not only stop us in our tracks, but can prevent us from achieving. We must learn to recognise it, realise it is our negative devil, and learn to ignore it.

This is easier said than done, however. Often we might hear our positive little voice chirping in with a great idea, only to be immediately drowned out by the negative voice that we are so accustomed to. This limiting belief is stopping us from acting in ways that may well further our success.

For instance, how many of us have phobias? Fear of heights is common and can sometimes be debilitating. Our negative voice plays on fear. It defies logic and controls our emotions – if we let it. Standing in a high office block, in a room surrounded floor to ceiling by glass, and knowing logically that the possibility of falling out of the room is remote, we still let our inner voice fill our heads with ridiculous thoughts of plunging to our deaths!

So how do we control this negative inner voice and let our positive intuition guide us? What techniques are at our disposal? How do we become masters of our inner thoughts for our benefit?

The first thing is to learn how to recognise those thoughts. Mindful Meditation is the practice of being in the present. To be able to stop ‘doing’, become aware of the present and just listen to our thoughts is the beginning of this meditative process. Don’t try to halt your thoughts. Simply listen to them. Become aware of them. Let the voices ramble on. Recognise the negative voice and distinguish it from the positive voice.

Taking time out each day – even for a short time – to sit in a quiet space away from distraction and practice mindful meditation will eventually lead to the ability to be far more aware of your thoughts. With practice, meditation allows you to pick up on those negative thoughts as they come and stop them in their tracks. It allows space for the positive little voice. Like anything, with more practice you will become better in time.

You will begin to manage the voices, pick up, analyse, and work with the negative; not only during meditation, but throughout the day.

Our intuition, or ‘gut feeling’ can be our ally. Whether warding us from danger or appearing as an ‘aha’ moment, we need to listen to it. We need to be able to hear it, recognise it, distinguish it from the negative demon, and use it to our advantage by acting upon the insight it gives us.

How does intuition relate to business? We are accustomed to following standard business procedure, and this must be done in order that our business grows. But do not rule out intuition.

Intuition is defined as: ‘A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.’

Our intuitive voice is that little voice within our head that is trying to tell us something. Sometimes referred to as ‘gut feeling’, it can also be the momentary butterflies we experience in our stomach. Life isn’t black and white. Sometimes that little voice is giving us direction so we should listen and follow, or at least explore.

How many times have you thought to yourself…”That’s a good idea,” or “That looks like a good opportunity”?

Well this is intuition kicking in. Have you ever been out on business, visiting an unfamiliar place, only to find yourself lost trying to follow street signs to your destination? Then you see a street which you know is the right way to go. This is intuition.

Equally, as business owners, we need to go with our gut feeling at times; we need to follow our instinct on where and how to take our business forward. A client once told the story of how he had been walking passed a book shop on one occasion and felt the urge to go inside. On looking around, his eyes were drawn to a book on the bottom shelf of one of the bookcases. It was as though this book just jumped out at him. It was a marketing book from the 19th century and it was absolutely full of useful information relevant to his business which he has used to this day. Had he not listened to that hunch, he would never have entered the book store.

We should be inquisitive. When our little voice speaks up and tells us to take note of something – “That looks interesting,” and “Let’s look into that,” – we should investigate further. Our exploration of the fact will more often than not lead to something good. We have all more than likely experienced this or heard stories of this happening.

You don’t have to be a psychologist, or a philosopher, or indeed a psychic; just listening to your inner voice and acting on an inkling could lead you to a gold mine. And if you don’t explore the possibilities, you will never know. A great opportunity may have been missed.

Obviously one shouldn’t use intuition to replace standard business processes or procedure. But you should listen out for your positive little voice and let it lead you to otherwise unchartered territories; to more success in business as well as in life.

Do people actually know what it means to think out of the box?

This is a statement that is regularly made by various coaches, business advisors, mentors and business people in general. We have all come across it at some point, whether we have been advised to do it, or whether we have advised others to do the same. However, when a number of people were asked what their idea of ‘thinking out of the box’ actually means, there were a number of varied responses.

For some, it simply meant expanding one’s ideas to gain a different perspective. For others it related to a process of thinking differently to the way a person had ever thought before. Another thought was that it meant looking at the bigger picture. So let’s explore this a little further.

Here’s a great example. There is a myth that owls can turn their heads a full 360 degrees. However, according to one falconry expert, this is not the case. An owl can turn its head 270 degrees in each direction, but not all the way around. Now, if you look at this from a different perspective, the fact that the owl can look to the left by turning its head 270 degrees to the left, then look forward, then look to the right by turning its head 270 degrees to the right, means that it has in fact done a total turn of 540 degrees! So by thinking out of the box, by looking at the scenario from another perspective, we get a totally different result.

To relate this to a business, thinking out of the box could infer looking at a business problem from a different perspective. It could mean looking at the way in which you operate from a different angle. Instead of looking from the inside – your comfort zone – get out of the box and look at the problem from the outside in. Maybe you could look at it from the client’s stand point. Maybe consider the point of view of your employees. Whichever way you choose, get out of your comfort zone and take on board others’ viewpoints.

Another interesting interpretation of ‘thinking out of the box’ is to look at the bigger picture. Again, get out of that small box we create for ourselves. Look at the wider picture, the longer term view, and adjust to bigger thinking.

Others have interpreted ‘thinking out of the box’ as getting out of your comfort zone. Public speaking is probably the best example of getting out of one’s comfort zone for most people. Well, think out of the box. Consider doing something that is uncomfortable. Think about doing an aspect of your business in a totally different way.

Thinking out of the box can mean any of these explanations. Basically it means looking at a problem from a differing point of view. It doesn’t matter how you go about this, but by looking at another solution, even if uncomfortable, and doing something different, you may come up with a solution to solving the problem and moving forward.

Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity should be ‘doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.’ In other words, do something different if you want a different outcome. Look and think out of the box.

So how do you ‘Think out of the Box’?

In the previous article we looked at what was meant by ‘thinking out of the box’. It has been interpreted in a number of ways; looking at a problem from a different perspective, looking at the bigger picture, or getting out of one’s comfort zone to solve a problem. But how do you get out of that box to start ‘thinking out of the box’?

There is a corporate expression – ‘Blue sky thinking’ – which relates to thinking that is not grounded or in touch with the realities of the present. In other words, open-minded thinking. Let’s have a look at how to think out of the box.

Brainstorming is a term that was popularised by the American advertising executive and author, Alex Faickney Osborn in his 1953 book, ‘Applied Imagination’. He defined it as a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members. It involves expanding your mind with the aim of looking at things from a different perspective.

Using this brainstorming technique and working in a group often results in new solutions to problems. Invite people from differing backgrounds, or even other companies, who are willing to spend half an hour to an hour of their time to explore the problem. Make sure someone is recording the process. Pose the question and look for ways together in how to go about solving it. Let the ideas flow. They can be as wacky as they come. Any idea is good. Have fun in the process. Some wacky ideas can trigger off others and become the catalyst for great ideas that can be implemented into your business. Never underestimate the power of brainstorming.

Brainstorming is an excellent way to bringing about ‘thinking out of the box’ thinking. Another method is the Survey method. Ask and gain the opinions of your customers or your employees on a specific issue. Ascertain how they would deal with the problem. Take advice from trusted colleagues from different backgrounds. Gain their perspective.

Another method of thinking out of the box is the Mentor method. As a mentee you would seek the advice and guidance from a person or friend who is accomplished in the area that you want to achieve success in. They have already reached your aspired levels of success. A mentor will guide you as the less experienced person towards modelling their positive behaviours, and therefore their experiences. A good example of this would be in the field of sports where a mentee would take advice and follow the positive behaviours of a gold medallist in his sport. They would study their techniques, take advice and look and think about the sport form their perspective.

A word of warning! All these methods of thinking out of the box have proved to be incredibly powerful. They have resulted in great ideas and positive results. But when the brainstorming session is over, or when the survey is complete, or the advice has been given, you must TAKE ACTION!

From time to time I have been asked to help someone start a new business and each time I have asked them ‘why’?

This question has raised numerous answers; because they feel they are unemployable, they want to help people or they are charitable in their outlook and believe they want to share their ideas.

However each time when drilling down on this question it effectively comes down to the need to make money.

So for all the good intentions and the philanthropic reasons behind it, the fundamental basics is just the want to make money. So, whether that’s making money in order for you to survive (i.e. making a job for yourself), setting up for a business that can eventually be sold/handed onto the children, or it can still makes sufficient money whilst retired, it still all comes back to the nitty gritty of making money.

In order for a business to be successful it needs to cover bills, wages and running costs otherwise, of course, you go out of business. It comes back to the fact that a business has to make money for it to survive. So, putting all the sentimental reasons to one side when wanting to start, just ask yourself this: can this business idea make any money? If it can’t then don’t even start.

The next question is who is the target market for your product or service? If it is a product then who will buy it and if it’s a service then who will want it? Again, this is a fundamental basic because if you set your business up in such a way that you are not reachable by your target market then you will fail.

So back to the questions in hand: can you make money and who is your target?

If you can answer yes to the first question and define the second then congratulations, you have a great business idea! Of course you then have to do things to get the business up and running but no point if you cannot answers those questions in the first instance.

Having decided that your business idea can make money and there is a market that you want to reach then the next thing is setting your goal. Simply put, its time to get your goals sorted. Then ask yourself: “What do you want to achieve?” “Where do you want to be in 10-15 years?” Then and only then can you put in some structure for the business as then it will start becoming achievable.

Starting a business requires making sure you know where you want to take it. What is your end goal? Knowing where the end of your journey is, it allows you to plan on how to get there.

Top Tips

• Don’t be afraid to ask yourself why do you want to go into business?
• Be aware of your product/services and the potential for customers or target market.
• Assess your own goals of where you want the business to take you. Retirement? Holidays? New home?

So often in the workplace you hear grumbles about the boss and everyone has an opinion about the goings on of the workforce, work place and how it is run.

No matter how big or small the company is, people will always have an opinion about the work management. But normally in and amongst those if you ask them about their boss or line managers, they may say they are okay and they like them however they still generalise about management not functioning properly.

This is because a good manager is someone who works with the functionality of people and treats the staff as individuals as everyone is unique.

Everyone is different and people have their own life situations going on outside of work and people motivated by different things. So, as a manager they need to understand the individuals and support them, rather sitting and issuing orders. There are times when a manger has to take charge and issue orders and when they demand things, they should in theory get done.

There are also times when the boss will have to step up and support and look after the staff to enable them to get the job done. He/she should then recognise and reward their achievements and treat them as individuals throughout the whole process.

Top tips

1. Support your staff rather than issuing orders
2. Reward good performance
3. Treat staff as individuals and be empathetic to their own personal situations.

This is a very interesting subject because men think they make better bosses…but so do women!

However, interestingly enough many women do not like having a woman boss, so having asked the women who makes the better boss, they tend to say women of course but actually the majority prefer a male boss.

On the other hand when asking a man, the natural reaction is of course “men make a better boss” and we don’t see the same reaction when it comes to women because when you get down to it most women actually prefer male bosses. It could be that there is a stigma attached to a man taking orders from a women, certainly maybe less nowadays but it is still there to a degree. plan a route For a woman they see a strong female boss as a possible threat, the claws come out and they can get catty. However before everyone jumps down my throat I realise this is only a generality so don’t kill me…please!

So let’s address the issue, it doesn’t matter, male or female because it is actually about how you manage!

And it doesn’t matter really whether you are a man or woman whether your boss is female or male. The question should be do they manage correctly? Do the employees feel valued? Do they give the employees enough direction as well as keep them motivated and supported? Because if all those things are being done correctly it doesn’t matter if they are male or female.

So the original question doesn’t matter, it will always be about the skill of the manager. So the person who makes the best boss is the one who makes the best manager, who looks after them, acknowledges them and develops them in the work place.

So in summary and to answer the age old question the answer is neither! It is about the individual regardless of gender.