Securing a new contract is a big deal; especially one from a high-profile client in the city. The cost in effort, time and stress, not to mention manpower, is all worth it right? Especially when we (as we do at APM), ring the bell and pop that cork, celebrating the most recent, hard-fought team win. Sometimes however, all that glitters is definitely not gold, and those sought-after contracts, are only such as there is competition – varying companies vying for the top spot and the kudos which comes from the publicity, following a win from a much talked about new kid on the block. We found this out recently, to our detriment. As a team, blood, sweat and absolutely tears, were poured into a significant tender and win we did; celebrating, shouting about it and … [Read more...] about When a WIN becomes a LOSE
tenders
Tenders are a minefield; everyone knows this. With some help, I feel I have just about mastered the process (if not always the pricing!) and APM’s wins have been big; all very positive for myself and the business, where my efforts are focused- to reach the next level. Sometimes the wins outshine the reality however, and I have found that it is just as important to recognise when a contract is just not right for your business and does not fit with the route you wish to walk. Having recently won a large contract, following much research, team effort, time and submission of a completed bid, team APM celebrated as we always do and then set to work on mobilising the teams responsible. Several weeks later, after closely monitoring the contract, I made a … [Read more...] about Navigating that 2-way street!
From bid writing to due diligence meets; the process is reasonably long and very time consuming, however, the wins are worth it and the learning curve, in our experience, is a valuable, albeit bumpy one! At APM we recently took references for a new bid writer, all of which came back as exceptional; said person having a very distinguished career at senior management levels. However, for us, the testimonials proved worthless, as in this case, the writing was substandard, late and ultimately cost us a contract. * You do however, ‘live and learn’ and we have since moved on to an exceptionally good, dedicated bid writer…worth their weight, for the quantity and quality of work produced, coupled with experience which could make the difference in securing a new … [Read more...] about How do you find the tender process?