By Keith Parker - Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

The Top Five Biggest Mistakes Vendors Make When Trying To Win Government Business

There is a difference between being the best and having the best proposal

You are at the top of your profession, internationally recognized for having the best product or service or for having world-leading knowledge and skills. It’s a given that your local, provincial, or federal government will hire you whenever it needs related goods or services. How could they not pick you when there is no one else who could possibly be as good?

Actually, it is quite easy. What’s worse is that I have seen many companies fall prey to erroneous assumptions that give the buyer valid reasons to choose someone else. Here are the top five mistakes that I see highly capable vendors make:

#5 – “We’re great and they know it.”

You have a relationship with your potential client. They’ve “oohed” and “ahhed” over your offering. Your name has been splashed all over the local and national media as a success story. The industry publication, which you know your client reads, has just profiled your product or service and indisputably crowned it best in class. You’ve already been in to speak with your potential client and they have a clear understanding of the benefits to them. The proposal is just a formality, right?

Wrong. Most public sector organizations in Canada must run competitive solicitations with clear and auditable steps. Pre-RFP (Request for Proposal) marketing is primarily useful for two main reasons: (1) to ensure that the specifications or criteria in their request reflects your strengths or at the very least do not restrict you from bidding, and (2) to gain insight into your client’s wants and needs to help you better respond to the RFP.

#4 – “We can do that.”

I’m sure you can, but it won’t get you a contract.

Most public sector buying is not based on what you can do but on what you have done. Chasing an opportunity because you can do it is futile if there is a requirement for past experience that you cannot meet. They don’t just give you a pass because you can probably do a good job.

Depending on the criteria, there can be many ways to link past projects to a current opportunity even if there isn’t a perfect match. Hoping that they will make the connection between your past experience and their current requirement will not cut it. For subjective requirements you have to make the connection for the evaluators. For objective requirements, you have to clearly meet them.

#3 – “We’ve used this proposal before and had success so let’s change a few words and the cover page and submit it.”

Boilerplate can be useful, but each bid is unique. You must ensure that you respond to the criteria in the request or else you will not get full marks.

#2 – “I know what they’ve asked for but they’re wrong. I’ll show my value by telling them what they really need.”

A funny thing about buyers is that they think they know what they want. Usually an RFP is issued only after much internal negotiating about what is required.

The time to influence a client’s decision about their requirements is in advance of the RFP. Sometimes this is informally done through meetings and presentations made to decision makers and staff, while other times there is a formal Request for Information (RFI) process where suppliers are asked about the product or service solutions they can provide. Once an RFP has been released it is difficult to change a requirement; only carefully thought-out and well-crafted enquiries and suggestions have a chance at effecting change. And if the RFP isn’t changed before the due date, do not waste your time–a non-compliant proposal will be tossed before your client even gets to read your superbly articulated alternative.

#1 – “We’re the experts in the field so we’re going to use our tried and true corporate processes to complete the project.”

Clients, especially the federal government, believe that they know best how things should be done. When a client wants a project or service provided in a certain way you must adapt to their requirements or they will move on to someone else.

For example, if they want an item shipped on Tuesdays and you ship on Wednesdays, you’re the one who will change your process or you won’t be doing business with them. A more complicated example is in the area of professional services where the government typically outlines their desired approach, while companies have their own tried, tested and true approaches. Guess who has to adapt? It won’t be the buyer.

There are ways for companies to present their offering in a way that mirrors what the government is asking for while preserving the key parts of their corporate or personal approaches. If done right, this can be viewed as a value-add to the buyer and increase your odds of winning. But if done poorly, you will be judged as not understanding what they have asked for.

Conclusion – Have respect for your buyer

The key theme common to each of the bullets above is to have respect for the care and thought that went into creating the RFP. If you don’t take the time to properly understand and respond to specifics in the RFP, you will miss your mark. Conversely, by building your response to address the specific requirements as outlined in the RFP you will greatly increase your likelihood of success. There is a method to the buyer’s perceived madness!

Note:  “This article was first published as a Business Matters column at the Ottawa Business Journal. For more columns by Keith Parker please see http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/businessmatters3.php”

Category: Expert Advice.
Industry: Services
Functional Area: