Boost Your Bids is a bid management training programme that helps your business development teams improve their win rates in public and private sector procurement competitions.

As it’s a significant investment in time and money I’ve created this blog post to help you understand everything you need to know before buying it.

I want you to have all the information at hand so that you can make the right choice.  So this article is an unbiased look at Boost Your Bids to make sure it’s right for you. 

1. What is the Boost Your Bids Training Programme?

Boost Your Bids is a training programme that builds your business development teams’ skillsets so that they can increase their win rates in public and private sector procurement competitions.   The work focuses on improving performance across each phase of the business development performance cycle, not just during the bidding phase.

2. Why I created the Boost Your Bids training programme

After helping clients with bids and tenders many of them asked me for some ad-hoc training in order to give their teams a shot in the arm so that they would do better next time around and not have to use me.  That’s fair enough and I’m all for that.  There’s no fun in going back over the same ground every so often.   In the long run it’s better if my clients are self-reliant and can do the heavy lifting themselves.  In that case I’m best used as an independent voice who can help you prepare as well as assessing the work done.

I also noticed that the majority of organisations sleepwalk their way into procurement competitions and do little or no preparation – meaning that they’re often rehashing the same old material.  They get the fright of their lives when the work is awarded to a hungrier competitor and rage against the fact that the world has moved on while they have not. 

Boost Your Bids is my way of helping clients prepare properly and think strategically about what is one of the most important things they will do – win business so that they can stay in jobs and keep doing business.

3. What is included in the programme?

The programme is structured around the four phases of the business development performance cycle – see below:

Phase 1: Build

• Building trust in the market
• Value proposition design
• Team: Structure and skillsets
• To bid or not to bid – prequalifying opportunities.

Phase 2: Tune

• Competitive analysis
• Understanding your buyer
• Proposal strategy
• Renewals.

Phase 3: Perform

• Words That Win: How to write and structure proposals
• The executive summary
• Bid management: roles, tools and techniques
• Pitching.

Phase 4: Review

• Conducting debriefings.

4. Is it possible to tailor the content?

Absolutely.  There’s no point in me covering areas where you’re already up to speed. 

Any debriefing feedback or internal reviews will give me a good idea of where there are issues. If you have carried out a recent training needs analysis that too will help.  Also, you may have already carried out the business development health check, and if you haven’t already please do as it will quickly provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your business development operation.  

You may only want to focus on improving your team’s writing.  In that case we can address the material in “Words That Win” – which is also a stand-alone writing workshop. 

5. What problems does the Boost Your Bids Training Programme solve?

The training programme is right for you if you are suffering from all or a number of the following problems:

• You aren’t winning any contracts
• You have a scattergun approach to bidding and are going for every opportunity
• Your proposals look like a dog’s dinner
• Your proposals all look the same regardless of the client
• Your prospects aren’t taking you seriously
• Your team are exhausted and aren’t working well together
• You are in danger of not having a contract renewed
• There is no defined process, and nobody is clear on their role
• The wider organisation is not supporting your bids
• You are not getting feedback from the client and learning from your mistakes.

The list goes on…

6. Who is this for?

This isn’t for everyone.  Business development teams, bid managers and business owners will benefit from the programme if:

7. Who is this NOT for?

This is NOT for you if:

• You want a quick fix approach and are throwing all your eggs in one basket for an upcoming  opportunity
• There are little or no consequences for you if you lose a bid
• You see bids as only being a matter of “filling out forms” or “paperwork”
• You are unlikely to ever work on a bid
• You want to give your team a bit of entertainment.

8. How long will it take to go through the programme?

The length of the programme depends on your training needs and requirements.

It usually takes two days to deliver the training in person.  It can take place over a serious of two full days or four half-days.

In a virtual set up it can typically be delivered in a series of six two-hour sessions – once again this varies depending on your requirements.

9. How many can attend the workshops?

In person: Up to 15 participants.

Virtual: Up to 20 participants.

10. Who is delivering the training?

I, Dara, will be delivering the training.   I’m an experienced bid specialist and I’ve worked as a management consultant for nearly 20 years.  I train and support business development teams to improve their performance across the entire commercial cycle in order to increase their win rates. I’m also a trained executive coach and help senior managers and executives transition into and perform in very challenging environments.  As a keen sportsman I get a kick out of performing as well as I can, whatever the circumstances.  I provide my clients with the environment and tools that helps them find their form. My vision for them is that they win by taking responsibility for their own success.

11. What results can I expect?

If you consistently apply what you learn you can expect the following results over time:

• You will improve your relationship with buyers as well as your ability to influence them.
• You will develop the ability to anticipate your competitors’ approaches and adapt accordingly.
• You will increase the clarity of your submissions, making them easier to understand.
• You will stop wasting time, money and resources on meaningless pursuits.
• You will build your portfolio of prestigious contracts.

12. Want to know more?

If you like what you see here and want to know more I’ve written an article that details the next steps. Otherwise, click on the link below to arrange our first call.