TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL BIDDING : What to do and what not to do.

Just hope that someone finds my...

Hope that someone finds my...

Just hope that someone finds my..."MESSAGE IN A     BOTTLE"

..The Police

That will indeed be extreme i.e. you are so screwed up with your sales targets and actual results that you send a ‘message in a bottle’[ by the way did you know that Sting actually sent a message in a bottle..No? Well I’ve never heard of it too]. So now that I have your attention, let me give you some juicy and tender tips which if you know will boost your changes to win the tender. . Now, I don’t say win the tender but your chances to win it. And for those who are coming in just now, please note we are talking of Government and Public Sector Tenders.All these are stand-alone tips and this means you can do all or do one..it won’t matter excepting your chances will be enhanced to the same level.

So ready friends, here we go then:-

1. You may not have prepared the tender..maybe your sub-ordinates prepared it, maybe your boss prepared it..whatever. Do insist on your complete copy compiled exactly like the original. Go through the copy and and check if you understand each and every sentence. The key word here is understand  not agreement with. If say, you do not understand a particular sentence in the context, ask who prepared it continuously till you understand. Check the commercial terms basics. If the project is a big one and likely to take up time, checkup whether you have made your battery limits clear

2. Go through the RFP and ensure that your bid is exactly like it. Say, in the qualification criteria, there is a small hitch in your documents, make up a number ( two is enough) of replies if this is pointed out. Let us assume that you are 90% sure it will not come up, still do not ignore it.

3. If the ad says the closing time is within 1400 hours and you find that one tender has been dropped, yours is going to be no 2 then wait in the boss's office. Drop your tender in at the stroke. Say at 10 minutes past, somebody turns up huffing and puffing, he missed the bus and had to run…dept says well…but you say no.. stand in the way but if the department wants to allow him. You also allow but say that you’ll make a note in a semi-serious manner. All these varies actually depending upon your relationship strengths in the department. If you find that the tender's postponed at the last minute, go back with the tender collecting a copy of the notice. Do not drop the tender before time cos baby, that's what losers do.

4. The tender opening process. Don't try to say" Please once more" twice. You need to have your own shorthand system ready to note down the salient points. During the techno-commercial, ask questions to get to know your competitor's bid. You are entitled to know. Not everything needs to be noted down

5. The Ace card : Most Indian firms send their junior most people to tender openings which is an ace-in –the –hole card for you in two ways. You are the General Manager, and you are there whereas your competitor has only two Sales guys. The Boss-man has to be there-it is probably his office in the first place..he will love you. He won’t say anything but you and him are more similar in experience etc. and you are showing him respect. That’s an ace right down the middle: an enormous plus in your favor.  What you say or do will carry more weight now. Experience counts however but what if the boss is very close with the your competitor’s boss, sometimes it may not matter. Make it matter or give a complicated explanation to something which the other guys cannot participate in.

6. The tender opening of part 1 is complete. Everyone will start signing on the papers opened. They will bring a sheet to you to sign as the rep of your company. Here, refer back to point 3, and jokingly say that you are going to write a note, how X party was late and write it. Sometimes it is not necessary, but all those can be learned only with time.

Shake hands again, make small talk and then take your leave. Ensure your competitors leave before you

So next time we will see what is the next part ..For fun lets consider this day as Day 01. (Here day means calendar day, not a working day)

Bye then, till the next time

BILBO

NB: I don’t know what your philosophy of tendering is dear reader but mine is “ GET THE JOB AT ALL COSTS”. But no one can do that . Even DiMaggio’s streak had to end, so just add this line” IF I DON”T GET IT , I’LL ENSURE THAT NO OTHER S.O.B. GETS IT”. I have told you this because my blog posts will move as per that line. You should be knowing this beforehand, that’s what I feel.

Bye till the next time

The Chutzpah of "Commercial Terms"

The Chutzpah of "Commercial Terms"

Ask any fresh engineer who wants to make it in Sales & Marketing, his or her 'opinion' on Commercial Terms. And the chances are there that he or she will look wary all of a sudden. A look which without saying anything conveys all the ridicule in the world on your chutzpah. When I first started working, my General Manager (a gentleman indeed) tried to explain it to me. He said "Ok-imagine you are in this restaurant and you want to have some fried chicken, the chicken is the technical part and the bill is the commercial part"! Do you understand? Well I didn't -I thought what's engineering has to do with a chicken tangri kebab. But I said "right sir.. I do" .Mr Ghosh looked skeptical but left it at that.

Today if he asks me I would say " Commercial Terms! It's the all in all of what I do" for a living. (But  unfortunately, it appears that he has gone to never never land-so my repartee will have to wait)

Have you ever come across the word "techno-commercial"? You must have. "Commercial terms" is the commercial part of your proposal, quotation, offer, Tender etc. which is equally important as the technical, if not more so. 

Let us suppose that you have talked in detail with the decision maker and both of you have come to a conclusion that you are going on for a sale. How do you proceed now? You submit a proposal. You start by stating in it the inputs from the customer. Then, you state the discussions i.e. a summary of the system which your customer wants to buy so that the input conditions match (you have already written down the inputs) . You state your price. Is that it? No friends, I'm sorry to say that that's not it.

Your proposal will as effective as a "one-eyed french speaking, laughing hyena" for selling, as there is plenty of information missing. The following are just a few areas of information missing.    

1.     Price basis : The prices that you mentioned are with included transportation costs?
2.     Delivery: You propose to deliver the material in what time period? Immediately.. in 1   month? After three months?
3.   Payment Terms: How do you want your customer to pay you. Do you want an advance? If so can you give a bank guarantee for that amount. How about the rest? Do you want the balance on a C.O.D basis or through Letter of Credit. Etc etc...
4.  What happens in case of delay i.e. You delay the material delivery or the customer delays to pay you.
5.    Validity : Say the customer calls you up or the customer’s purchase department. places the order after a year, can you accept it? Of course not but have you mentioned the validity  of your offer anywhere in your original proposal. Validity should be always mentioned. Some people think that a proposal should be like a telegram, but I always like to be clear in all aspects.

All these points regarding the sale and which you propose to your client to be applied against the sale are called Commercial Terms. Remember, you sell only when you get your money. Say you have sold three high priced machines (total price 10 million Euro) but all of them have inherent credit for a year. Then start hunting for a new job, as you'll get the pink slip, without fail.

Your commercial terms should be so thorough and you should know them like the back of your hand. With one reading, you should know what conditions govern the sale. Your success or failure depends upon commercial comprehension as well. COMMERCIAL TERMS should arouse in you the same interest as the technical system you are selling. If they do not, then either develop it or get the hell out selling, dude!

The commercial terms section is the area where you can use your experience and make your offer the most attractive. Here, there are no guidelines and how you do so depends from case to case and your experience. For high value capital equipment, commercial terms generally vary from client to client.

So we have more or less finished commercial terms, 

See you next time then friends

And till then,

Love

Bilbo