Usain Bolt and Bid Management

Usain Bolt did it again last week in Berlin, smashing another world record and winning another gold. The guardian wrote, 

Bolt got off the blocks quickly and opened up an easy, early lead. He had time, towards the end of the race, to appear to check the stadium clock before he crossed the finish line.

Why did he win?  Of course, he ran fast and of course he trained hard, but to me, he won so handsomely because he got off to this rockety start.

Bid Managment is something like a race, and the start is the most important time in the race. In a bid, it is what you do with those first few days that makes or breaks a bid. After that, it is often difficult to catch up especially when you have solid competition. Of course, I mean those first few days in each stage of the bid i.e. after the RFP arrives, again after the client invites you for the defense meeting, then when the contract negotiation date is set, and so on.

If you use those first few days well, then your bid will be off to a running start. That is the crucial period when you can influence which way your bid will go. Let me illustrate with an example:

You get the RFP on a tuesday and you despatch it promptly to one part of your organization which you think can help you make a good bid. You don't consult anyone since it seems like a straightforward requirement. You also dont consider any alternate groups who could support you. You of course dont schedule an immediate quick review of the opportunity with your boss whom you hate (you conveniently forget that his one strength is that he actually knows who does what best in your company). 

You just go with your hunch and send the RFP off to your contact. You wait for 24 hours and then give your buddy a call. He tells you he is yet to look at it since he is working on another proposal which would be done in just a couple of days more - by thursday! He asks you what the RFP is all about. You say it is something right up his alley! He asks how much time do we have. You say 3 weeks. Then he says, great...I will look at it the day after and surely come back to you before monday. You feel satisfied having spoken to the right guy and happy that he will start work at least on day 4 after the RFP has arrived.  You also dont bother to read the RFP in too much detail since you feel so comfy and confident in your friend who has yet to read the RFP!  

Now, sometimes there is a happy ending to this story. Mostly, there isn't. Murphy's law makes your contact hard to reach on monday and I dont have to tell you the rest of the story... 

Anyhow, by monday lunch time, you are just one day away from the RFP deadline for questions, you are dealing with a nasty new group which is asking why you delayed getting the RFP to them, an angry boss who is screaming murder...and most importantly, you realize you have probably already lessened your chance of winning the deal... 

Maybe Usain Bolt would have done this differently.