A brief look at what is required for a successful Bid Centre

1. SS
Ten Slides in Ten Minutes:
The Bid Centre
[Capturing the Hearts and Minds of Prospects & Clients]
Presented by:
Bill Graham APM.APMP
bill.graham@sales-synthesis.co.za
December, 2013
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2. Typical Bid Process Failures
• Misalignment of the process to the organisation’s way of working and other processes
• Too complex a process with the perception of little value being added
• Lack of training of the process across the organisation
• Lack of discipline and commitment by staff
• Senior management not enforcing sound governance
• Too cumbersome a process for the average time to compile submissions (overhead)
• Not integrated with other sales support functions.
Sales Services is the glue for all of the sales activities
Sales Services = Sales Operations + Bid Centre
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3. Sales Services enables a Salesforce to Win
Sales Services is the ‘coupling’ of Sales Operations and a Bid Centre to support both sales
leadership and the entire Salesforce in their endeavours [It is usually a Shared Service]
‘Typical’ Sales Services
Bid Centre
[Custodians of the Bid Process]
•
•
•
•
Bid Managers
[actively managing
proposals]
Proposal Coordinators [Standard
content, Collation of
additional content,
final formatting ,
printing etc]
Content Providers
(virtual)
Quality Assurance
[External –
Independent]
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4. The Bid Process must not be fragmented & needs a Custodian
Regions
Bid Management
Sales
Partners
Cost/Price
Prospect
Lead gen.
Solution/s
Architecture
Craft Bid
Qualify
Review
Specialists
*SMM/SME
Sales
Pricing
Technical
Design
Design
P&L
Finance
Legal
Submit
Regulatory
Finance
Legal
Expert
Involvement
* Subject Matter Master / Subject Matter Expert
4

5. Bid Centre Resourcing
Bid Centre
Manager
Custodian of the
Bid Process
Proposal
Co-ordinator/s
Bid Managers
Strategically manage bid
responses. Key activities
are:
Resources based in a Bid
Centre. Key activities
are:
• Building and managing
the Bid Team & Bid
Control Plan (BCP)
• Building the proposal,
ensuring customer
focus and clear
articulation
• Risk management –
ensuring all risks are
understood, mitigated
or accepted
• Ensuring that
applicable reviews
occur during the bid
process.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Submission content
collation
Formatting of
content
Ensuring alignment
to branding policy
Graphical
representations
Lodging of
submission
Update of templates.
QA Consultant
Final Quality
Assurer
External resource/s:
•
•
•
•
•
Alignment of
responses to client’s
questions
Grammar & spelling
Presentable format
Quality deliverable
Trusted advisor.
Professionally
accredited
resources
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6. Bid Centre – Resource Accreditation
The Association of Proposal Management Professionals® (APMP®): the global
association of record for Bid, Proposal, Business Development, Capture and
Graphics Professionals.
The Three Levels of APMP Accreditation:
Foundation: 1-3 years’ industry experience
Practitioner: 3-7 years’ industry experience
Professional: 7+ years’ industry experience
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7. Bid Centre [Typical Physical Infrastructure]
War Room
#1 *
Printer/s *
Store Room
[for
large/complex
bids]
Bid Centre
Manager*
Collation Area
Secure Area #1
War Room
#2 *
[for
large/complex
bids]
Collation Area
Hot Desks *
Secure Area #2
Proposal
Co-ordinator/s*
Bid Centre functionality should not be situated in open plan !
* Equipped with wireless/wired LAN connectivity
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8. Bid Process Maturity & Positioning [Key Focus Areas]
‘One Man’
Concern
Small
Business
Medium
Company
Self
Secretary
Proposal Coordinator
Proposal Coordinator
Proposal Coordinator
Bid Admin.
Self
Owner
Manager(s)
External QA
External QA
QA
Self
Owner
Manager &
Partners
Business Units &
Formalised
Alliances
Professional Bid
Team
Bid Structure
Self
Owner
Manager
Dedicated Bid
Manager
Professional Bid
Manager
Bid
Management
Self
Owner
Manager(s)
Subject Matter
Experts
Subject Matter
Experts
Content
Providers
None
Ad-hoc
Limited (some
documented)
Well Defined and
Certified
Integrated & ISO
Certified
Processes
Self-Assessment Indicator
Large
Corporation
Global
Enterprise
Key
Focus
Area
8

9. Bid Process Maturity & Positioning [Key Impact Areas]
‘One Man’
Concern
Small
Business
Medium
Company
Self
Secretary
Proposal Coordinator
Proposal Coordinator
Proposal Coordinator
Doc. structure
Self
Owner
Manager(s)
External QA
External QA
Content Quality
Self
Owner
Manager &
Partners
Business Units &
Formalised
Alliances
Professional Bid
Team
Role Clarity
Self
Owner
Manager
Dedicated Bid
Manager
Professional Bid
Manager
Winning
Potential
Self
Owner
Manager(s)
Subject Matter
Experts
Subject Matter
Experts
Relevance to
Client
None
Ad-hoc
Limited (some
documented)
Well Defined and
Certified
Integrated & ISO
Certified
Timeous
Deliverables
Self-Assessment Indicator
Large
Corporation
Global
Enterprise
Key
Impact
Area
9

10. Client Centricity permeates a Sales Organisation
“Developing a clear, comprehensive picture of what the client is seeking is the
single most important part of your whole proposal preparation process - if you
get the requirement wrong, you’ll get the solution wrong.”
- McCann
Sales Services is the glue for all of the sales activities
Sales Services = Sales Operations + Bid Centre
Courtesy: Kristen L. Sweet & Sales Synthesis
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