Every business sector has its own language, and the bidding profession is no exception. It’s packed with endless acronyms that can trip you up before you’ve finished reading the RFP/ITT/ITB (see what I mean?)
So, we’ve taken some of the most common bidding terms and explained what they mean to you – in plain English. For extra value, we’ve also provided some practical guidance around each that may improve your bidding process.
RFI (Request for Information)Expression of Interest (EOI)
In its simplest form, an EOI is your opportunity to express interest in bidding for the contract. By doing so, the buyer understands your company is interested and considers you for their shortlist of qualified bidders.
The process of submitting your EOI can vary depending on the buyer. For example, public sector buyers may have a specific portal which details the opportunities and provides instructions on how to express interest. Private sector buyers may ask you to contact them directly with a brief overview of your capabilities.
This is an important stage in the bidding process. Your EOI helps to increase the chances of you getting shortlisted and invited to bid.
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)
Many organisations use a PQQ to assess businesses that have submitted an EOI. To throw a few more acronyms into the pot, a PQQ can also be call an SSQ (Standard Selection Questionnaire).
Wouldn’t it be simpler if there was a single term?
The PQQ will most likely ask questions about your company, your financial standing, and your capabilities. It may also check you have the necessary accreditations or experience.
Answer the PQQ as fully as possible. Not only does this improve your chances of being shortlisted, it also prevents you being invited to tender for something you may not be able to deliver.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
So, you’ve been selected to tender for the contract. Well done, that’s an important step. Now, you must create a compelling proposal.
We’re going to talk about the RFP here, but if buyers know specifically what products or service they need, they may provide an Invitation to Tender (ITT) instead. ITTs tend to be more prescriptive, whereas RFPs can be much broader.
Your RFP gives you deep insight into the buyer, the scope of work desired, and the project requirements. That’s just the start though. So, read each section in detail and communicate your findings to others involved in the bid.
Typically, an RFP will contain:
- Introduction to the buyer
- Project background
- Project scope
- Budget
- Project timeline
- Bid evaluation criteria
- Submission guidelines
From the RFP, you’ll be able to identify the questions you need to answer, then use the evaluation criteria (likely to include question scoring) to weight your response accordingly.
We cannot over-emphasise the importance of answering the questions. Essentially, that’s what your buyer wants you to do. So, make time to review the RFP in detail and get crystal clear before you draft your response.
Clarification Questions (CQ)
Having understood what RFP and ITT mean, let’s look at CQ. The buyer will provide a lot of information at the outset of a tender, so it’s inevitable you may have questions. It’s crucial you ask the buyer to answer them so you’re absolutely clear on their requirements.
Tender documents will often suggest a window to submit CQs. If provided, follow their process correctly and consider your questions carefully to gain everything you need.
Common CQs concern:
- Conflicting information
- Process clarification
- Technical specification clarification
Don’t be surprised if the buyer follows up with their own questions. So, be on hand to continue the conversation, then communicate the eventual answers to your bidding team.
Best and Final Offer (BAFO)
Following the submission of the response to the RFP, the buyer may have difficulty in making a decision or certain criteria may have changed.
To help them make a decision they will issue a BAFO, sometimes known as Revise or Confirm. They will issue a revision to the RFP which will require either a full response or a selection of questions.
SMEs
Not to be confused with ‘small to medium-sized enterprises’, SMEs in the bidding profession are your subject matter experts – those with the knowledge and experience to help you create the bid proposal.
SMEs are busy and brilliant people. They’re the revenue-generating experts across your organisation who enhance your operations and ensure business growth. So, you want to develop a tendering process that extracts their knowledge without bogging them down in the bid creation.
An efficient bidding process will assign SMEs to specific questions, so they know what knowledge and information you need from them. Someone in the bidding team, perhaps one of the bid writers, may interview them as well. From there, let them get back to being brilliant, and NEVER ask them to write the bid proposal.
Win themes
Also sometimes called Hot Buttons, win themes are the reasons why you believe the buyer should choose you as their supplier. They relate to your value proposition and should form high-level key messages.
A handy structure to help you identify your win themes is to consider your most compelling features, then establish the benefit each provides. It’s always a good idea to document proof of this feature (and benefit) to ensure your win themes are well-founded and not assumed.
Establish your win themes at the outset of a bid. We’d recommend doing this collectively with sufficient thought from various departments or people. Once identified, naturally weave your win themes into your proposal to reinforce why you’re the best choice.
Red Team
This is just one of the suite of processes and reviews that are identified by a colour. Still frequently identified as part of the bid process their purpose is often misunderstood.
It is intended to be the review of the completed proposal done through the imaginary eyes of the evaluators.
Other colours are available!
Capture planning
Sometimes called ‘opportunity planning’, this is how companies increase their chances of winning the bid before actually bidding.
Once you know a tender is imminent, you can start strengthening the position of your company by carrying out various actions:
- Intelligence gathering: understand what the buyer is likely to need
- Competitive analysis: know who else is likely to bid for the work
- Relationship building: connect with key decision-makers within the tendering company
- Strategic planning: develop a clear position for your likely offer
These actions help to shape your capture planning. You may scan the market for further potential opportunities as part of your process too.
By prioritising capture planning, you’ll be more prepared when the bid is published. Having already assessed the opportunity, you’ll need fewer resources to prepare the bid documents and will position yourself with knowledge of likely competitors and specific buyer needs.
The result? You’re far more likely to win by preparing in this way.
You’re now far better informed about common bidding terms and acronyms you’re likely to see. And you have some guidance on how to better manage key aspects of any bidding process.
We’re here to help you with anything to do with the bidding profession, so should you find other terms not familiar to you, please let us know. We’ll happily explain them, and their role in the bidding process, in plain English.