EPC Contractors Tendering Winning Lessons
Andy Here.
I was updating my CV and was reminded how (for Tier 1 Contractors) I was asked to pursue and then tender 12 contract awards. Most being low probability and sometimes fairly ‘unique’ scopes. Out of those 12, we won all of them. 100% win rate!
I’ve discussed this with various people, who have been amazed by such a success rate, especially for low probability opportunities, so I have tried to briefly summarise below some lessons. Apologies if I’m stating the obvious, these are very much ‘off the top of my head’:-
• Pursuits/Middle game and its associated Intel is key to winning. Allocate a manager well before issue of the ITT. Speak to the decision makers, balance opinions and views and react to the good intel. Guide the client to clarify and align with your benefits/differentiators (or at least allow those as options in the ITT).
• Listen to your Clients - They will tell you what they’re looking for, if you approach them correctly (it’s not always clear in the ITT) and don’t let your preconceptions or company culture, override that message. One BD strategy I came up with, was simply to develop a range of clever solutions; reduce cost through Innovation. The favourite of the competition simply missed the point and rolled out the same old minor differentiators and understandably showed little belief or passion in that proposal.
• As always, it’s down to the humans driving it. Confidence and determination to win, and the ability to communicate that internally (motivate), is essential. You’ll bring the organisation with you on the Journey and get the support you need.
• Skin in the Game. This is two fold:-
o Those manging the pursuit need to be committed to the scope, on winning. I believe, they must be involved in the delivery (discussed below). It’s then key to have the right experienced people, who can balance risks and gain consensus and board approval.
o Shared risk – It’s not just about the cost, having some solid commitments, that once adjusted in the operators scoring, makes a difference.
• Manage internal stakeholders – If you want to win, you may need to convince/motivate a lot of people and the key is to have clear support, but at the same time not dilute the proposal to the point where you’re unlikely to win. It’s a fine balance, typically boards have different personalities and a healthy discussion of risks, will inevitably come to the correct conclusion. I was once told “If you’re going to spend £1M on a tender though, make sure you win it!!”. Joking aside, you need to engage the right people and approval process to ensure the proposal ‘ideas’ are effectively realised.
• ‘We’ – leverage the wider organisation to help you. One strong memory I have is once a Commercial Director was convinced, I wasn’t just a dreamer, he got on board, flew over and made the cost base efficient and attractive. He made the difference and also gained internal approvals.
• Tender to win – be clear on Features, Proofs and Benefits. Put them in boxes, make them unavoidable. Use detailed SWOT’s on the competition. Be brazen. Use the ‘So What’ and bring out those real differentiators/ideas/solutions.
• Get you risk/price right – You will frequently require the client to normalise the quote, make that clear, understand their process, steer them to accepting those normalisations, make the value clear. Be compliant but also add unsolicited approaches, if appropriate. Effective risking of costs, ensure you know where the allowances/productivities are. Don’t allow others to ‘double’ up on risk. I don’t think that for any of my tenders, we were the cheapest (I could be wrong, can’t quite remember all?) on rates, but once the value was included…..
• Nominate the right key people, in the proposal. Make sure they are fully prepared for interviews and discussions with the client (prep sessions and guidance notes). Make them enthuse about the opportunity. Involve them in writing the proposal, if possible. If they’re not committed, find someone else. In the age of the Industry committee/conference/workgroup, being able to communicate effectively to potential clients, is key.
• Have the right Tender manager (and team) – My preference is for that to be the project manager/director who will deliver, but if not available then they must be highly engaged and consulted. I’ve only tendered jobs, I had planned/wanted to deliver, so would be interested in others’ views. I seemed to get asked to take these scopes on, as the existing teams or Tender managers, were not convinced of the opportunity. Having PM/PD without portfolio, who tender until they win, needs to be based on swift successes. I have seen one tender after another being lost, by such teams, and to keep doing the same things and expecting a different outcome, well……
• New markets need a new approach. To apply Development solutions to decommissioning or from one sector/country to another, will only work if they’ve been heavily challenged and bespoked (where appropriate) to suit.
• Clients are looking for (well) above (not slightly above) average. Difficult subject to summarise in a few lines, but in a saturated market, where everyone is striving to be above average, it’s difficult for clients to differentiate. We’ve seen examples, that when the market becomes challenging, those companies then fall at the wayside, as they’re not sufficiently robust or performance based. Drastic changes or options to distance or dilute a company’s history always struggles through governance for just one tender, but if it’s a new market (for example decommissioning) it may be essential for market entry.
• Etc (I may come back to this and edit and add more)