Jeans Successful Quoting and Tendering for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Nonprofit Organisations
Jean
This e-book offers Jean’s 14-step procedure for successful quoting and tendering.
Email jean@jeanroberts.com.au if you would like a free pdf of this publication.
1. The Corporate or Organisational aim of quoting and tendering is to be and remain supplier of choice
2. Identify your (i) target market, and (ii) unique selling point which is not just what you produce, create, supply or provide – it includes the impact and benefit of what you produce, create or provide to purchasers
3. Identify your strategic priorities – to ensure the company’s viability, sustainability and credibility
4. Quoting/tendering are accepted and treated as a core business function to achieve measurable improvements, viz:
a) Increase your strike/success rate through quoting/tendering,
b) Decrease the real cost to your company of quoting/tendering, and
c) Increase your company’s revenue/profit/market share through quoting/tendering
5. Endorse an internal procedure to ensure consistency in all quotes and tenders, which includes appointing a quote/tender writing person or team to commence the process of preparation
6. Develop your offer or bid
a) Ensure compliance with all specifications and mandatory requirements,
b) Consider your best offer – which should include an ‘added value’ over and above their expectation
c) Carefully negotiate agreements with your own suppliers or sub-contractors for the job or contract, and
d) Treat quality and risk as ‘two sides of the one coin’
7. Prepare and package the quote/tender document, following the endorsed ‘corporate style’
8. Lodge the document in accordance with stated requirements
9. Responsibly negotiate to win the order or contract
10. Order number/contract is confirmed
11. Commence procedures to manufacture, supply, deliver/install, according to the order or contract
12. Ensure sound project management throughout the transaction or contract period to ensure that:
a) what you are delivering is what you have agreed or contracted to deliver,
b) your company‘s integrity and reputation are enhanced throughout the transaction or contract period, and
c) the relationship with each client is, and remains, positive,
13. Carefully monitor reporting and payment schedules
14. Completion has three possibilities:
a) According to plan – which positions your company for repeat orders or opportunities
b) With variations – back on track through renegotiation, with possible repeat orders or opportunities
c) Failure for whatever reason, allocation of faulty, penalty – with possible black-listing for repeat orders or opportunities, therefore requiring urgent relationship re-building
The underlying premise is that quoting and tendering are core business activities. They are a means of winning:
- new or repeat orders or contracts,
- providing an existing or expanded range of goods or services,
- increasing sales,
- increasing market share,
- expanding your client base and market-share, and
- enhancing your company’s reputation, credibility and integrity.
A successful quote or tender will include validated and sufficient detail on cost, quality, delivery and timeliness to convince the assessors of your company’s credibility, capability and commitment to a consistent and superior quality of goods or services.
An effective request-for-quote or tender brief will provide sufficient and accurate detail on eligibility, specifications, quality, timelines, assessment/evaluation criteria, selection procedure, confidentiality, negotiation procedures and contractual obligations.
There is an art to preparing quotes and tenders – always start with what you are offering to deliver, complete with costing, budgeting and scheduling of all related activities. Then, and only then, can you draft and refine a positive, powerful and persuasive document and ‘corporate’ image.
Contents
About this e-book
About Jean Roberts
Introduction
Definitions
There are two distinct stages in preparing a quote or tender
Schedule of tasks presented to guide preparation of a formal response document
Chapter 1: The Corporate or Organisational aim of quoting and tendering is to be and remain supplier of choice
Aim to be and remain supplier of choice
The business of quoting/tendering
Improve your strike/success rate by treating quoting and tendering as core business activities
Competencies associated with quoting and tendering
Critical Success Factors in quoting and tendering
Chapter 2: Identify your (i) target market, and (ii) unique selling point
Target market
Unique selling point or proposition
Chapter 3: Identify your strategic priorities
Chapter 4: Quoting/tendering are accepted and treated as core business functions
Carefully read the request for quote, tender brief and relevant specifications
Examples of evaluation criteria by which quotes or tenders can be assessed
Chapter 5: Endorse an internal procedure
End-users
Quoting and Tendering Critical path
Key Principles underlying this process:
Chapter 6: Develop your offer or bid
How do ‘quality’ and ‘risk’ relate to each other?
Tasks 5, 6 and 8 from the Schedule of Tasks detailed in Chapter 4:
Chapter 7: Prepare and package the quote/tender document, following the endorsed ‘corporate style’
Preparing response documents
A final editing checklist
Chapter 8: Lodge the document in accordance with stated requirements
Chapter 9: Responsibly negotiate to win the order/contract
Negotiating skills
Chapter 10: Order number/contract confirmed
Chapter 11: Commence procedures to manufacture, supply, deliver/install according to the order or contract
Chapter 12: Ensure sound project management throughout the job or contract period
Chapter 13: Carefully monitor reporting and payment schedules
Strategic implications:
Financial implications:
Chapter 14: Completion has three possibilities
Some traps to watch out for! Note that each of these traps is a warning of ‘what not to do’.
