1 What is the scope of the project?

If the project involves several different functional elements, then it is important to know what these are before the bid is released to the marketplace. Knowing as much as possible about the project in advance can help you to take appropriate steps to ensure that you are fully prepared to make a successful bid.

2 Are there any gaps in your ability to fulfil the requirements?

The client may have some particular requirements with respect to your capabilities. You may have to demonstrate particular experience in similar projects, of similar value and, possibly, in a certain geographical area. If you are unable to satisfy these minimum requirements you may have reason to doubt the probability of success and decide not to bid.

3 Are you able to fill any gaps in capabilities through association with others?

If you become aware of any gaps in your capabilities sufficiently early in the process, there may be an opportunity to address them. By associating with another firm you may be able to offer the specific experience, resources and skills to fit the contract requirements.

4 Which previous projects will you use to establish your credibility?

To improve your chances of preparing a winning bid you will need to demonstrate that you have the relevant experience and capability. There is no better way to do so than by referring to recently completed buildings similar to the one being considered. Having sufficient advance notice of the project, and any particular requirements, will allow you to prepare project profiles or case studies to demonstrate your ability.

Make these project profiles or case studies specific to the opportunity being pursued. If, from your research, you find there are, say, three key issues that will determine the selection of the consultant, then bring these points out in the project case study and feature them in the appropriate order of priority. For instance, if the client is looking for a consultant who can handle a multi-floor office refurbishment while some areas of the building remain in occupation, then you should highlight that aspect of your abilities in the reference projects you select to showcase.

5 Do you have the relevant third party endorsements to provide credibility?

Clients like, and are reassured by, third party endorsements. If you are able to obtain good, relevant client endorsements then this will give your bid more credibility. Again, knowing about particular aspects of the project in advance will give you sufficient time to obtain the relevant client quotes.

Wherever possible, make the endorsements relevant to the project being targeted. Perhaps ask your clients to highlight certain aspects of your service. If the project for which you are bidding requires the refurbishment of a Grade II listed building, then ask a past client to comment on how successful you were in refurbishing their Grade II listed building. This commentary might feature how well you managed the planning approval stage, your devotion to historical detail or other key aspects of dealing with listed building projects.

6 Who are the internal and external experts who may need to be involved in preparing the proposal?

With sufficient advance notice of the bid, and detail about the proposed project, you will be able to earmark the relevant internal resources to create the bid. There may also be an element of the project that will require external input. This could be in preparing graphics, taking professional photographs of reference projects or ensuring that key individuals are available to write relevant sections of the bid.

There may be a need to call in some external experts to give you a competitive edge – perhaps industry experts who will be available to help the client during the briefing stage or an external consultant with a niche skill set.

7 What is driving the client’s procurement programme?

Some projects may have extremely tight programmes and it is useful to know what is driving these deadlines. Sometimes, however, the client wishes a project to be designed and built quickly but might not realise that this may have cost implications. Some clients may relax the programme if there is a demonstrable cost benefit.

Where a tight programme is unavoidable, then being aware of this before the bid opportunity is released may allow you to do some preparatory work. This preparatory work could give the client the impression that you would be able to start the process more quickly than your competitors, thereby giving you a distinct advantage. You may also be able to prepare some advice on various procurement methods that could lead to an earlier completion date. The more proactive you are seen to be, the better your chances of winning the bid.

You might give some thought to certain design elements of the project being able to use off-site construction, enabling them to be brought to site and installed at the appropriate stage in the project’s completion. Alternatively, there may be an opportunity to take elements of the project with long lead-in times off the critical path, thereby reducing the overall programme. Consideration of such innovative options may impress the client when evaluating your proposal.

8 What are the key milestone events within the client’s procurement programme?

Many projects have important milestone events that drive the procurement programme. Perhaps there is a need to complete elements of the building within a certain time so that the client can qualify for a government grant. Alternatively, some buildings projects are driven by their use. Education projects may have to be ready for the new intake of students. Other projects may have funding available only within a certain financial year.

Some of the reasons for milestone events may not be obvious in the bid documents. The more you know in advance, the more fully you will be able to address these issues during the bid preparation stage, which will help to differentiate you from your competitors.

9 When will the tender or pre-qualification documentation be released?

Knowing when the bid documentation will be released will enable you to keep a close eye on its progress. Knowing when to expect the documents may give you the opportunity to:

• arrange a meeting with the client before the documentation is released in order to obtain more detail about the project, thus giving you an advantage over your competitors
• give a presentation to the client team, especially if you don’t know whether you have made the shortlist
• keep your bid team informed of any delays in bid document release or postponement of the project.

Some public sector projects might require you to formally express an interest in a project by having to reply within a certain time limit to an official notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

10 How much time will there be to prepare the proposal?

Knowing how much time there will be to prepare the bid proposal will help you to manage your internal resources. This is particularly important during busy times, especially holiday periods.

Sometimes, if there is already an incumbent consultant on board, who will also be competing for the project, only a short time may be allocated to preparing the documentation, which may be a deliberate strategy to give the incumbent team an advantage.

Knowing the schedule in advance may give you the opportunity to lobby the client for additional time. This might be more acceptable for the client to agree before the documents are released.

11 What is the client’s approach to procurement?

It would be advantageous to know if the client has a preferred approach to procurement. This may be driven by:

• level of risk that is acceptable
• the need to have a firm fixed price
• the desire to have a single point of responsibility (as in the design and build approach)
• a need to complete as fast as possible
• the ability to select consultants separately from the selection of the building contractor.

Once you know what is driving the procurement strategy, you will be able to write your bid accordingly. Do not attempt to change the client’s approach. If you believe there is a better way to undertake the project, which has client benefits rather than being merely your preference, then by all means show this as an alternative. You will then be able to set out the benefits that the alternative has for the client over the original procurement method. If you only put forward the alternative, then the client will not know how your proposal compares with the original approach and may doubt your motives.

If the client is silent on the approach to procurement then consider whether you need to address it. If certain outcomes are required, such as a single point of responsibility, then you may feel the need to put forward the design and build approach (with or without your novation for continued involvement). Always consider how the client will view your proposals and always spell out the advantages and benefits to the client.

12 Is the client assisted by external advisers or consultants?

It may be necessary to adopt a different approach to your bid if you are aware that the client is being assisted by external advisers or consultants. Once you become aware that these advisers or consultants exist, you must establish whether:

• they are to play a role after your appointment – if so, what will their role be?
• they have strong links with any of your competitors who might also be putting forward a bid – if so, do you consider that the selection has already been made and the client is just going through the process of obtaining additional bids?
• these external advisers and consultants have a preferred way of working that may influence the selection – if so, then address these points and preferences in your bid.

13 Do you know who your competitors will be?

It is very useful to know if you will be in a competitive environment or if certain competitors are already being considered. Try to establish:

• whether there is already an incumbent competitor – if so, consider why the client might be considering others. Is it to test the market on price in an attempt to reduce the incumbent’s bid?
• whether your competitors have a better relationship with the client?
• if you can detect any bias towards your competitors?

If you are not aware of any competitors and you suspect that you are currently the only firm being considered, it would be best not to ask about competitors as this might prompt the client to consider others. This is particular relevant in smaller projects where clients are more likely to negotiate with a single consultancy and not seek alternative bids.

14 Is there a formal selection process and evaluation criteria? If so, what are they?

Some bid documents will declare the evaluation method. The most common is a combination of scores for technical competence (determined by how well you answered the questions), cost (your fee) and possibly how your team performed at a presentation.

There might be a three-stage process where the first stage is based purely on your suitability and how you have addressed the technical questions (the quality of your bid submission), followed by a presentation and then negotiation of fees with the preferred consultant. An example of award criteria is shown in Figure 2.1.

Knowing how the bid is going to be marked is very valuable information. In the example shown in Figure 2.1, it is clear that the client places a high value on quality, service and technical ability. So, if you are well-established and can demonstrate those qualities, this would be the ideal project to pursue. Alternatively, if your quality, service and technical ability are not as good as your competitor’s, then perhaps your time would be better spent pursuing those contracts where the value for money rating is much higher. This type of contract would be ideal if you have low overheads and believe you can deliver the right level of quality, service and technical ability at a lower cost than your competitors. Notice the need for financial stability highlighted in Figure 2.1. If you have a poor set of accounts then perhaps this contract is not for you.

Individual questions will probably have marks allocated to them. If you know the scoring matrix, then your submission should reflect this. Your answer for a question where the answer is only allocated five marks will be shorter than an answer attracting a score of 25 marks, especially if there is a page or word limit.

However, no matter what score the question attracts, give your best possible answer. It might just be that only a few marks will separate you from your competitors.

Figure 2.1: Example of award criteria

15 If there is no declared selection procedure, what are the client’s unwritten selection and evaluation criteria?

Not all bid documentation comes with an indication of the selection criteria. Therefore, before the bid documents are released, meet with the client, or their retained advisers, to establish how they will select the consultants.

If the client has retained advisers there will almost certainly be some sort of selection criteria, although they might not be prepared to disclose it. If no evaluation criteria are apparent, when speaking with the client try to establish their preferences. Perhaps even prepare your own selection criteria to table at the meeting so that at least you can establish levels of priority. This knowledge will help you to reflect the client’s levels of priority in your bid submission. Also, by tabling your own criteria you might be able to influence the client to take on board some of your suggestions. This can be particularly useful if it gives you an advantage. For example, you may be local to the project and be aware that your main competitors are not. You might be able to persuade the client to consider the various benefits of having someone with local knowledge.

16 How are you positioned in terms of the evaluation criteria?

Do an analysis of the evaluation criteria and take a realistic view of your potential to win. If you are lacking in relevant experience and that is the key element in the evaluation, then you need to question whether you should waste time and money submitting a bid.

You should have a ‘bid or no bid’ review at this stage. Also, consider if your best team is available to undertake the project.

17 Are your competitors better positioned in terms of the evaluation criteria?

As part of your ‘bid or no bid’ review, consider how you are positioned with regard to your competitors. Do the evaluation criteria and scoring matrix favour you or your competitors?

It would be beneficial to score yourself and your competitors according to what you know about the client and their advisers, bearing in mind any known preferences or incumbent competitors. Taking a realistic view at this stage will help to determine your probability of success.

If you don’t know who your competitors are, then score yourself against an imaginary competitor who might also be pitching for the project.

18 Are you able to influence the client’s evaluation criteria by bringing some additional added value?

The key to scoring high marks, and thus being successful in your bid, is to answer fully all the questions to the best of your ability. But to differentiate yourself and increase your chances of success, always try to include additional, but relevant, information. This additional information should demonstrate some sort of added value or additional benefits to the client. For example, the bid might ask you to list all your relevant experience in the same sector. Having answered this, you may go on to say that you also have wide experience of the same building type but in different sectors. For example, you may be pitching for a university laboratory and research centre. The fact that you have additional experience in designing laboratories for the pharmaceutical industry will also be relevant, as long as you explain the benefits. In this example you could suggest that your knowledge acquired in working for the pharmaceutical sector would bring current thinking and best practice to the design. Always be on the lookout for ways to demonstrate your transferable skills and experience to the benefit of the client.

19 Is funding in place?

Most projects are driven by funding. If no funding is in place then the project is unlikely to proceed. Consider the following points:

• The client might be a building contractor and is asking you to do work up front on a ‘no job, no fee’ basis.
• The project might be speculative and would require some grant funding from a government body.
• The project might not be able to attract funding unless a certain level of development is achieved and this might be dependent on planning approvals.
• Funding may only be available within a certain time period. The start and end dates of the project may determine funding availability.

You may consider the opportunity to be involved with a particular project, even though it might not proceed, to be a worthwhile objective. There might even be a limited fee available for initial work.

Once you have decided that it is worth bidding, use the financial information to your advantage. Perhaps feature your experience in preparing designs that are capable of attracting grant funding, or your ability to have the building completed within the relevant time periods to be eligible for funding.

Always look at what is driving the project and, where appropriate, show off your skill and experience to secure the project for your team.

20 What is the estimated value of the project?

The value of the project might have a bearing on your chances of success:

• The project might be too big – if the value is several times greater than your biggest previous project, the client and their advisers might consider it too risky to place the work with you. This would be particularly true if your competitors have experience of buildings of similar value to that under consideration.
• The project might be too small – your firm might be geared up to handle medium to large buildings and your fees, due to overheads, might reflect this. If you suddenly decide to pitch for work much smaller in scale than you normally undertake, your fees might be too high. Also, smaller projects might attract different competitors who would be able to work at reduced fee levels.
• Larger projects may require more professional indemnity insurance cover with additional premiums – consider whether this will be a one-off large project or if it will be a business objective to pursue bigger schemes in the future.

21 Is it possible to vary the scope to reduce the budget?

As part of your bid you might be able to offer suggestions on how the project could be reduced in cost and still retain its function. This will be particularly relevant if you are pitching in a design and build situation with the contractor as your direct client. Often, design and build bids come with a scheme, which will need to be worked up.

If you are able to introduce some innovative ideas and offer some alternatives, then you might be able to make your proposal more attractive.

22 Have you identified the key decision makers, influencers, stakeholders and external advisers?

Very early on in your dealings with the client you should find out who all the relevant people are. Few, perhaps only one person, will be able to make the final decision. However, there may be others who may be able to influence that decision. There will also be some people who will be involved in the process, perhaps just at the briefing stage, whom it would be good to have on side.

During the relationship-building stage it is important to find out the aspects of the project in which each relevant group or individual has an interest. Once you are able to identify their interests or concerns, you have an opportunity to address these points in your bid and, in particular, at any follow-up presentation.

Once you have identified each person, build up a person profile. You may be able to ask for their curriculum vitae (CV) or career details. This information may be available on the internet (on sites such as LinkedIn). If the client is a company that produces an annual report, a given individual might contribute to that report, especially if they are the managing director or another key director or chairman. An annual report will often also contain potted biographies of directors and key senior managers. Take the time before

Figure 2.2: Example of client record showing key interests of those involved within the client organisation

the bid documents are issued to find out as much as you can about these individuals and discover what you could say in the bid documents that would favour your selection.

23 How good are your relationships with the key decision makers and influencers?

Take some time to evaluate your relationship with the client. This may influence your ‘bid or no bid’ decision. Record information in your client relationship management (CRM) package There are many off-the-shelf CRM packages that enable you to record key information about your client and ongoing relationship development. Alternatively, create your own record to suit your specific needs. The type of information that would be useful to record is shown in Figure 2.2, in which the following can be seen:

• There are four levels of individual involvement within the client organisation. These being sign off, technical evaluation and selection, end users and influencers. Each will have a contribution to make in the final designs and may be involved in the selection process.
• The comments section clearly shows the key issues that have been uncovered so far. It would therefore be wise to cover these points in the bid documentation and demonstrate, with project profiles or client endorsements, the experience and capability available within the consultancy to address these issues.
• A good relationship has been established with Henry James. There is a need to improve the relationship with Mary Jones (managing director) and the former managing director, Dan King, who may be a key influencer in the selection process.

From Figure 2.2 it can be seen how useful it is to record information about your potential clients. Although not shown in the example, it may also be useful to record their outside interests. For example, if you find out that the key decision-making person plays team sports, then the language of your bid might reflect the team ethos and winning strategies. Using language that your clients can latch on to is a valuable ingredient in your bid-drafting process.

Given that there may be several people who are either decision makers or key influencers, reflect all their individual characters in the bid. For example, the managing director might be focusing more on the big picture and brand value, the financial director on cost certainty and value for money and the operations director on completing on time and according to programme. This will give you an opportunity to use slightly different language in each section. Obviously, each section will need to be similar in style and format but language could tend to reflect the targeted readership of a given section.

24 Are there opportunities to enhance the relationships prior to the documentation being issued?

Having identified who the key decision makers and influencers are, try to enhance the relationships prior to the bid process. This can be achieved in the following ways:

• Request an opportunity to meet and get to know more about the project. If the client refuses, or says the approach is premature, then obtain permission to keep in touch so that you are able to track developments. If this is again refused, then you should seriously question your chances of success.
• Once you know more about the project and the client, contact them and request an opportunity to present your capabilities, either in a formal or an informal presentation.
• If you have identified particular projects that you have undertaken which might be relevant to the proposed project, try to organise a client visit to these projects. During the visit try to arrange for your past client to meet the potential client so that they can endorse your capability and suitability. Client endorsements are very influential.
• Send the potential client newsletters, project profiles and other relevant literature that raises your profile. Be careful not to overdo it and be selective in what you communicate. If you send information which is not relevant, it will dilute the message you are trying to convey. For example, if you are hoping to bid for an office project do not send information about a school project unless there is a very relevant aspect that will be of interest to the client.

25 What are the lines of communication?

During your interaction with the client, take care to establish the correct lines of communication. If you have developed a rapport with someone in the client organisation, do not then communicate with others without the approval of the first contact. You might find out that your initial contact has to report upwards internally and you may be tempted to start communicating directly with the more senior person. Handle the situation carefully. The last thing you want to do is to alienate your original contact.

If necessary, create a chart of the client organisation and determine who reports to whom and their individual responsibilities.