It is quite safe to say that most clients dont read proposal documents end to end. At least, they dont read all proposals end to end. They do read some parts of the proposals, without which they surely cant decide on whom to award the bid. Why dont they read all parts of the proposal? The most significant reason is surely the size (100s of pages) and then the complexity and drabness of the format (WORD document).
An average person can probably comprehend 200 words per minute (much less for non-native speakers like the French or the Japanese) and an average A4 size page has maybe 1000 words. How long would it take for a person to read an average vendor proposal of 100 pages? 500 minutes or 8 hours!!!! Now, the client has to read 5-10 proposals! He now has to find an average 7 x 8 = 56 hours to read all these proposals!!!! Of course, you will argue that different people at the client end read only the sections relevant for them but the problem is still not insignificant.
Wait a minute. But we get called to defense meetings often only two days after proposal submission!!! How is that possible? Surely the client didnt have time to go through our proposal completely? Maybe he didnt read the good parts of my proposal which is why I didnt make it this time....surely, it is a reading lottery out there and we thought we were in a logical world...
What do we as bid managers do? One small change you can make is this - whenever the client does not explicitly ask for a WORD document proposal, try making a Powerpoint presentation.
A PPT of 50 slides can easily represent all the important stuff we have in a 100 page proposal.
A PPT of 50 slides can be gone through in 1-2 hours maximum.
A PPT of 50 slides saves effort for us in that we dont need to make a defense presentation separately.
A PPT makes us think concisely.
A PPT prevents us from filling pages with meaningless words.
On a PPT, mistakes can be easily caught so review becomes easy for us.
A PPT automatically demands more visual elements, so we make our proposal better automatically....
and lastly, in this Copenhagen season, you can even preen in your greenness with all those trees you have saved!
So, next time, if the client does not specify a format, go forth boldly and make your proposal in PPT!!!! If you want to be doubly sure, ask them in the Q & A and believe me, most clients would be relieved to be given PPT proposals.
Is this the future then?. Of course not...this would at best fly for the next couple of years.
In 2011, yes just two winters more, I believe we will be submitting video proposals where we will show the client what we can do. WEtube will provide private areas where a client can get his vendors to post their proposals. Then the client will leave video feedback and the vendors can enter into a video dialogue...
remember, you read it first here on 'Bid Runner'!
Who's listening?
I agree with Bronwyn Fryer over at HBR Blogs who writes that listening is becoming an endangered skill. However, I am not a big fan of the four processes he recommends we must follow (i.e. think ahead, weigh the evidence, review periodically and listen between the lines - all while the other person keeps talking) which also I find distracting from truly listening and connecting to someone - the kind of total listening experience that is required to a) understand and b) connect with another person or persons especially those who have a problem or need that our product or solution or service must address.
Indeed, nothing else, I mean nothing else, is more important to a bid manager than listening well.
Indeed, nothing else, I mean nothing else, is more important to a bid manager than listening well.
Evergreen Deals!
HCL today signed what has been called by them (or is it the media) an Evergreen deal with an insurance company. A deal which runs for ever? Not exactly, but for a very very long time of 30 years. Further, it seems like they will be paid based on a business metric (number of policies).
What do I think of it? Interesting, certainly. Creative, obviously. Trend-setting? Maybe. The future of outsourcing deals? Unlikely, since most clients these days hesitate to sign even 5 year deals leave alone 7 or more years. So, it would be interesting to see how this one pans out.
What do I think of it? Interesting, certainly. Creative, obviously. Trend-setting? Maybe. The future of outsourcing deals? Unlikely, since most clients these days hesitate to sign even 5 year deals leave alone 7 or more years. So, it would be interesting to see how this one pans out.
Meeting Tug of War
I am talking about meetings with the client in particular, here. If you have eight people from your company and five from the client, that is actually a conference and no longer a meeting.
Why do most of us mostly have more people than needed for most meetings?
Is it because everyone is needed in that meeting to represent their unique specialities?
Or is it because we cant find that one person who can integrate it all and present our company perspective?
Or is it because we all feel we must contribute something to everything that passes us by and say 'amen!' to all that we encounter?
Is it that we feel so insecure about our capabilities that we take courage from company and feel comfortable in a crowd?
Or is it that we involve lots of people so no one is accountable and everyone can survive a failure?
Why do most of us mostly have more people than needed for most meetings?
Is it because everyone is needed in that meeting to represent their unique specialities?
Or is it because we cant find that one person who can integrate it all and present our company perspective?
Or is it because we all feel we must contribute something to everything that passes us by and say 'amen!' to all that we encounter?
Is it that we feel so insecure about our capabilities that we take courage from company and feel comfortable in a crowd?
Or is it that we involve lots of people so no one is accountable and everyone can survive a failure?
Changing My Blog Template
I am struggling to update my Blog Template so please bear with the strange appearance of my blog. I will figure this HTML thing out in a day or two.
What is India's India?
Some five years ago in a Delhi Hotel, a senior french executive asked me the question 'What is India's India?'
I blinked, of course, not knowing where he was going.
He explained 'I mean, where would India outsource its work since your growing costs seem to be unsustainable..would you go to China, Philippines, or Africa perhaps?'
Having not thought about such a topic in advance, I mumbled something about how India was still competitive compared to USA and Western Europe and how we would not have such an issue for another 10 years.
There was a better answer and that lay in small-town and rural India. Here costs were (and would likely continue to be) as little as 20% of what it is in big city India (Bangalore, Chennai, and so on). Of course, Indian outsourcers would slowly but certainly tap into this vast and almost untapped resource pool when the need arose. There would be no need for Indian companies to go to China or Philippines for cost reasons. India could vertically integrate itself across the services value chain and not have to look elsewhere for cost reasons (I stress cost reasons, because there are other good reasons to deliver services out of China or Egypt for example).
This recent story from the New York times shows one such initiative and the fundamental changes it is bringing to people's lives in small Indian villages.
This recent story from the New York times shows one such initiative and the fundamental changes it is bringing to people's lives in small Indian villages.
The Individual RFP
In 2019 or 2020, we will see the first of the RFPs issued by individuals for truly small things.
Of course, already rich and middle class people probably bid out construction of their houses or interior decoration or wedding arrangements. In future, they might even bid out small purchases like Hair Cuts ( Hi there, I am going to be downtown between 3 and 5 this afternoon, who can give me a hair cut and wash for less than 10 bucks?) or small services (Hi, how much would you charge for helping me move this fridge from Wal Mart to my home in 20 minutes).
Once technology becomes all-pervasive (doesnt it feel like it already is), everyone would be on C-2-P Portals (Consumer to Provider) which connects individual consumers to mostly individual providers. Request for bids will be published, bids received and orders issued in a matter of hours if not minutes.
TPAs - Midlife Crisis?
Third Party Advisers (TPAs) have surely seen better days. The leader TPI launched TPI Momentum a year ago to also start working for sellers of outsourced service providers breaking their long tradition of advising only buyers of outsourced services. This Irish TPA says outsourcing is the silver bullet you have been waiting for but dont do it without their help. TPAs have also faced some criticism from insiders and outsiders about potential conflicts of interest.
Does the world need TPAs? I would say YES emphatically. Outsourcing advisers often bring a world of order and discipline and process and objectivity to a deal. Without them, some clients would really struggle with their outsourcing initiatives.
Can TPAs do a better job? Absolutely. My guess is that for every good TPA out there, there are three mediocre ones. Many of them are leading their clients down the garden path to failure.
Can a client rely only on the TPAs to get it right? No. The client needs to hear the vendor views in equal measure. The real interesting practical ideas (which are implemented) often come from the vendors. While the TPAs have seen many deals and can bring best practices, the vendors have actually executed the post-deal projects and know what happened well after the TPA took their money and kissed goodbye; we all know experience counts more than knowledge.
Are TPAs needed on every deal? Of course not. Use them for complex stuff. Dont use them if you just want their templates. Any good vendor can give you those and you can pick and choose what you like.
Like all management consultants out there, TPAs are feeling the pinch from the struggling world economy. They are often dispensed with, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. Some other clients have smartly saved money that would have gone to TPAs and retained some of their own people instead.
I think TPAs will bounce back since outsourcing is here to stay. However, I think there will likely be a shakeout which will see some average firms disappear. Some of them will transform themselves and create for themselves a more accountable (for outcomes rather than deals) role.
Does the world need TPAs? I would say YES emphatically. Outsourcing advisers often bring a world of order and discipline and process and objectivity to a deal. Without them, some clients would really struggle with their outsourcing initiatives.
Can TPAs do a better job? Absolutely. My guess is that for every good TPA out there, there are three mediocre ones. Many of them are leading their clients down the garden path to failure.
Can a client rely only on the TPAs to get it right? No. The client needs to hear the vendor views in equal measure. The real interesting practical ideas (which are implemented) often come from the vendors. While the TPAs have seen many deals and can bring best practices, the vendors have actually executed the post-deal projects and know what happened well after the TPA took their money and kissed goodbye; we all know experience counts more than knowledge.
Are TPAs needed on every deal? Of course not. Use them for complex stuff. Dont use them if you just want their templates. Any good vendor can give you those and you can pick and choose what you like.
Like all management consultants out there, TPAs are feeling the pinch from the struggling world economy. They are often dispensed with, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. Some other clients have smartly saved money that would have gone to TPAs and retained some of their own people instead.
I think TPAs will bounce back since outsourcing is here to stay. However, I think there will likely be a shakeout which will see some average firms disappear. Some of them will transform themselves and create for themselves a more accountable (for outcomes rather than deals) role.
The Lessons from Magna
The canadian company Magna failed to win Opel from GM (after having failed to buy a stake in Chrysler couple of years ago) and now say they wont pursue Automakers anymore and would instead focus on their core auto parts business.
Should they have won? Investors in Magna dont think so. They feel Magna is better off without Opel since Magna would have had issues keeping some of its parts business customers who would have seen it as a competitor.
Should they have bid for it in the first place? I, for one, think so. Unless you bid for some opportunities, you don't learn. What can one learn from occasionally (this is the operative word) bidding for unwinnable, unconnected or unwanted opportunities?
- What are potential new business opportunties worth pursuing in future?
- What is the new marketplace looking like?
- How do we solve unfamiliar complex problems when we must solve them?
- How is our company perceived in the market?
- How quickly can we change our company's DNA?
- Do we have the leadership skills to lead us into the future?
- What is the return (positive and negative) on risk taken?
I am not saying Magna bid for Opel for these reasons. They must have had their own set of good reasons.
What I am saying is that sometimes, it makes sense to bid on opportunities which dont seem winnable, desirable or relevant.
Conversation
Customer: Why do you provide no case studies in your proposal? Have you not done this type of work before.
Vendor: Since you did not explicitly ask for it, we did not provide it.
Customer: Can you provide it now.
Vendor: Well...actually...what kind of case studies would you like to see.
Customer: Relevant case studies.
Vendor: Do you need it immediately?
Customer: I guess...
Vendor: We cant disclose some confidential information.
Customer: Remove them.
Vendor: We need to check with our clients.
Customer: About what.
Vendor: Whether we can send their case studies to you.
Customer: Alright. I get the point.
Vendor: Thanks for your understanding.
Customer: All the best for the next RFP.
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