benefit from london 2012 business opportunities

Benefit from London 2012

business opportunities

2012

Chas Morrison

Adviser Manager, Business Link

An opportunity for your business

• 75,000+ contracts

• One web site

• An opportunity spread over up to eight years

• Simple systems

2012

• Business to Business

• Business to Consumer

• Goods and services

• Think “small town”, rather than a “sports event”

www.businesslink.gov.uk

•Cargo Services

•Carpenters and Joiners

•Carpet Cleaning Equipment

•Carpet Fitters

•Carpet Accessories

•Carrier Bags

•Cartons

•Carvers and Gilders

•Case Makers

Statistics

• The Olympic Park, Stratford - The 2012 games will

feature 10,500 Olympic athletes, 4,200 Paralympic

athletes and will attract 1.2m visitors. After the games

9,000 new homes will be built and the area will benefit

from state-of-the-art sporting venues

• In Beijing, around 7,000 breakfasts were served daily

in the Athletes’ Village in the space of one hour

Statistics

• The organisers of London 2012 have announced an

ambitious series of cultural events to run alongside the

Olympic Games

• Some 500 events costing at least £40m and

culminating in a festival of culture are promised – at

various locations across the country

www.competefor.com

• Register as a supplier

• Register for e-alerts

• Register for sector-specific project alerts

www.competefor.com

It acts as a brokerage service between buyers

throughout the London 2012 supply chain, and potential

suppliers. CompeteFor also provides access to business

support services; building skills and capacity to ensure

that businesses across the UK can access opportunities

linked to the hosting of the London 2012 Games

DON’T MISS THE BUS!!!

Supplier Matching Service

Jayne Westwood

Business Growth Adviser

Business Link

What is the Supplier Matching Service?

The Supplier Matching Service helps

small businesses solve their problems

by supplying them with a shortlist of

the best-fit experts that we can

identify that most closely meet their

requirements.

Key points

• Providers of B2B services register their details for free

along with 2 customer referees

• We check and validate suppliers before making their

details available for searches

• You are prompted every 6 months to update your

registration to ensure your information is accurate

• The service is free to customers looking to source help

• A search is made on our database to identify the ‘best

fit’ service providers

• The customer selects which suppliers they wish

to contact from the shortlist we provide

What are the benefits?

• The opportunity to market yourself to potential

customers in the SME sector across a wide area

• Control over the content of your record which you can

update as necessary

• Referrals are in direct response to a customer

need

• We can provide guidance on how to optimise your

details if you need it

• Simple, online, free registration

www.suppliermatching.co.uk

Garbage in . . . .

• Assistance in the form of FAQs, Guide download and

from Business Link will help you prepare a positive

profile

• Concentrate on your 3 key skills you wish to promote

to SMEs

• Use company description to cover additional skills or

experience our customers are likely to be interested in

Top 10 Searches in quarter one

Website design 193

Accountant 141

Marketing (strategy, advice, services) 72

Legal issues - general 66

Book keeper 44

Business Consultant/advisor/plan 30

Human Resources 29

Public Relations 29

Quality, ISO 28

Office/Secretarial/Admin/PA services 24

Rob Walker

Xcite Digital Ltd

07810 564 064

www.xcitedigital.com

What to do next . . .

• Visit www.suppliermatching.co.uk

• Talk to Business Link if you need more

information

• Register your company

• Complete your profile and details of

customer referees

• Keep your details, skills and

experience up to date

PRESENTATION BY TIM COLMAN

Business Link Seminar

“Benefit from London 2012

Business Opportunities”

Aldershot 2nd October 2008

TENDERING and QUOTING

THE TEN GOLDEN RULES

OF

BID WRITING

Introduction

The following presentation briefly outlines some

basic tips and techniques that should help you to win

more business when competing in the tendering

process.

These tips apply equally to all Public Sector

Projects – including those for London 2012 - and

are valid for formal tenders and RFP’s

Introduction

The rules are not merely theoretical – written by a sales

and marketing “guru” who has never actually completed

tender documentation

They are a very practical guide that works – based on 30

years of success in bidding for Public and Private Sector

projects.

Following these rules I have personally led bid teams

that have won 80% of the projects we bid for!

The Ten Key Rules Of Tendering

1. Before you start typing…….

2. Don’t lie!

3. Go through commercial conditions with a fine toothed comb….

4. Timescales

5. Know what your client really wants

6. Know your competitors

7. Plan the bid presentation and make it look good.

8. Spend serious money if working on a serious bid!

9. Don’t bid if you can’t cope…..

10.Finally – what to do if you don’t win…..

BEFORE YOU START TYPING

Quite apart from the tender documents themselves, there will be some instructions on exactly how the tender should be handled.

Very often this information is only mentioned in the covering letter that accompanies the main tender document.

BEFORE YOU START TYPING

The type of issues that could be mentioned are:

Acknowledge of receipt

The return envelope

Time limit for questions

A pre-tender meeting or site visit

The number of copies of the bid itself

DON’T LIE!

If you don’t meet the exact specification given in tender

documents – then admit it.

Don’t pretend you meet all the requirements if you don’t

– you will simply get into trouble later. However, don’t

simply say “I don’t comply” – stress the benefits of your

solution.

Go through commercial conditions

meticulously

Don’t cut corners.

If there are many pages of technical or commercial

conditions then go through each one line by line and put

“confirmed” or “comply” by each one you accept and

explain any that you do not or cannot meet.

This will save you problems in the future and will also

demonstrate to the client that you have taken the bid

process seriously.

Timescales

Many official tenders – particularly in the public sector –

will have very tight deadlines.

Sometimes they will only give a few days to prepare the

bid itself and will then promise to make a decision

quickly and – in turn – place an order very quickly.

Invariably this does not happen!

Timescales

So don’t be bullied into accepting a risk on materials cost

and exchange rates based on the assumption that

everything will be settled in a few days.

Make it clear that your price and delivery schedule will

depend on the client meeting his own deadlines.

Timescales

Tied into this is the issue of penalty payments for late

delivery or failure to meet specifications.

Do not accept unrealistic penalty clauses.

(These are typical in the construction industry)

Know what your client really wants

You must understand the tender documents.

If you don’t understand – then ask.

Getting it wrong may mean you are too expensive - but

winning the job and not understanding what is really

required could bankrupt you!

Know your competitors

If you really know your competitors you highlight their

weaknesses to your benefit.

Don’t “name and shame” - but if they have a weakness

then stress your strength in this area.

If they have a strength, then explain why your way is

better.

Plan the bid

If the bid is substantial then plan the presentation of

documents before you start.

You may need to present special drawings or plans so

consider reserving some Drawing Office time in advance.

Plan the bid

Don’t merely fill your presentation with photocopied

brochures. If they are relevant then include them – but

never copies.

You may want to incorporate 2 or 3 technical or

commercial options and alternatives – make sure that

this is obvious to the client.

Serious Bids cost Serious Money

If it is a big project then expect to spend serious money

on the bid itself.

The London 2012 Olympic Bid (which was actually a

response to an RFP) cost more than £80 million.

Whatever some may say it is a £20 billion project!

Don’t bid if you can’t cope…..

Many companies have been bought to their knees by

successfully bidding for big projects.

They may have missed commercial or technical issues in

the tender document.

They may not be able to actually raise enough money to

finance the project.


They may have a client who goes bankrupt on them.

They may simply be unable to cope with the size of the

project or could have underestimated costs.


Making more of a product does not necessarily reduce

unit costs.

There come “break points” in manufacture where you

may need to invest in another production line or even

factory.

You may need to employ specialist project managers or

pay higher salaries to attract more staff.

If you don’t win…..

The other issue is influencing the specification of a future project.

By entering a non-compliant, yet financially interesting, bid there are several potential outcomes.

The whole tender may be cancelled, the specifications changed, and then the tender re-opened.

If it is a multi-stage project, your specification may be very seriously considered for the next phase.

Closing thoughts…..

Winning a tender is not a matter of the lowest bid or

necessarily the best product.

The following factors can also influence the final

decision…

• Professional presentation

• A demonstrable understanding of the clients needs.

• Service and reliability of the product offered.

• Innovation – or the opposite (tradition)

• Quality

• References

• Client trust and personal relationships

• Going the extra mile……

A Few Thoughts on Olympic™ Bids

Do not expect to win any Olympic™ contracts (ODA or

LOCOG) unless you are “bid ready”.

This means that you need to have certain key policy

documents in place before you bid.

A Few Thoughts on Olympic™ Bids

These include:

• Health and Safety Policy

• Equal Opportunities Policy

• Environmental Policy

• Quality Management Statement

The Winning Formula

Over the past twenty five years I have either personally

bid, or led bid teams, for around 600 projects – maybe

more.

We have won more than 80% of them – but “should”

have won about 50% - 60%.

Getting the response documents right moves the odds in

your direction.

The Winning Formula

Think of roulette – the odds in favour of the bank are

really quite slight (depending on the use of one or two

zeros on the wheel).

But that slight benefit is what keeps casinos in business.

Tim Colman

Tim has thirty years experience in bidding

and can work with you and your clients to improve

your chances of winning at the right price.

Tim Colman

0845 257 7213

07780 601523

[email protected]

www.timecheckconsulting.com

Timecheck Consulting

A Division of Abacus HR Limited

Worting House, Church Lane

Basingstoke

Hampshire RG27 9SA

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