Recently we were asked – “So how do companies win contracts with councils and housing associations?” It is a very straight forward question so we thought we would share our very straight forward response.
If we put PQQs, ITTs, RFPs, win themes, USPs etc. to one side, what is important and what leads to a company winning a contract with a public sector buyer is the:
- Solution - how they can manage the requirement better than anyone else and how can they evidence and demonstrate this, which will include everything from staff and training, to locality, management systems, added value, social value.
- Price - of course crucial but has to be sustainable.
- Reputation – evidencing experience working in the public sector or with similar contracts in the private sector.
- Relationship - building relationships with procurement teams, business managers and key stakeholders can add value to your bid and provide an advantage over your competition.
- Ability to get this across in a bid - to be able to fully answer the questions and sell all of the above effectively.
