Tendering for event management is a risky and time-consuming business. You need to start by positioning yourself against other companies. Make some research and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you plan your offer so as to outclass your rivals. You also need to be sure that you have enough staff and experience to manage a given event. It is especially important for a beginner agency to perform in a high-quality manner. As a result, it is sometimes best to make two smaller meetings and succeed than challenge yourself with a prestigious yet complex one. The final step is to decide whether a given event bidding is worth it or not.
Let’s imagine that you have decided to bid for one of the tenders. You have received a briefing from a potential client. How to avoid 5 common errors and win the deal?
Mistake No. 1: NO DEDICATED OFFER MANAGER
Problem: It seems fairly obvious that a proper offer management is critical. Not having the right person dealing with the correspondence can be a recipe for disaster.
Solution: The key to winning a tender is appointing one colleague from your team to be a dedicated contact person for your potential client. You can work together on the proposal but the exchange of emails and calls should go through an individual. This is a comfortable solution to both parties. It also minimizes chaos.
Mistake No. 2: NO CUTTING-EDGE ELEMENT
Problem: For some companies technology is very important. They try to outclass competitors and impress their audience with new solutions. A proposal with no innovative solution may lead you to failure.
Solution: As a professional event planner you need to be accustomed with event technologies including indoor navigation, ticketing, event apps and live streaming. Your potential client may not know these solutions and benefits that come with them. Such solutions will make your proposal shine. This post gives you more insights on this topic.
Mistake No. 3: LACK OF THE WINNING MARGIN
Problem: It is common that potential clients send a given briefing even up to 15 companies. The average number of competitors is 8. This means your offer needs to be better than 7 remaining ones.
Solution: Firstly, your goal is to establish a clear vision. This allows people to understand why your ideas are a match and what are the benefits from investing in your services. Then, your greatest challenge is to find at least one distinctive feature. This has to be something that will stay in your potential client’s mind for a long time. Remember that he goes through tones of materials before the final decision.
Mistake No. 4: NO BRIEFING MEETING
Problem: Communication between service providers and clients has changed. Nowadays emails and chats are the most popular tools. It is super convenient for potential partners as they do not have to interact with sales people. However, the lack of face-to-face meetings makes it more difficult to understand the company’s exact needs. That is why, selling is such a challenge these days.
Solution: You should try to arrange a briefing meeting. This is a perfect chance to confront your initial ideas and grasp the unstated requirements. It will enable you to boost your offer before you place a final document. There are significant advantages of the live communication. It allows you to get more insights and test how your interlocutor feels about a given idea. Sometimes, however, live conversation is not possible due to time or location constraints. Alternately, you should schedule a video call. This still gives you far more opportunities than a written word.
Mistake No. 5: OFFER READY JUST BEFORE DEADLINE
Problem: It is very time consuming to prepare an offer that is not based on the same template. However, the biggest challenge is the fact that it has to be ready for the final check up long before client’s deadline.
Solution: It does not matter how busy you are with everyday duties. A bidding proposal has to be truly dedicated and based on the thorough analysis. That is why, the preparation process is usually time-absorbing. Remember that, you need to have the offer ready long before the deadline. As it is quite complex begin with a work schedule. Assign a final date for each task. This will help you plan everyday workflow. You should always start by a detailed research. Get as much information on your client’s company and the event itself. Then, you should look for i conspirations. They will stimulate your creativity. Later, write down all ideas and share them with your team. Brainstorming will help you decide what might work for a given event. Finally, it is the right time for putting this on paper. You should be clear and concise.
Hope you find these solutions useful. If you have any extra ideas, feel free to share your thoughts via comments.
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