Public sector markets are difficult to understand and the procurement processes which public sector buyers use are labyrinthine in their complexity.  Many of the rules are prescribed by European law and intense competition, detailed solutions and long proposal documents are the norm.  Selling to the public sector is thus very different to selling to the private and can easily trap the unwary.

The challenges are greatest for those unfamiliar with the sector, and many a company with good products and services and a strong track record in other markets has found the public sector difficult to enter.  But even experienced sellers to the sector find that they can benefit from external help and support, particularly for major and especially complex tenders.  In addition, a growing number of public sector organisations are faced with the challenge of bidding for contracts, both within their host organisation and outside it.

Our consultants have more than 15 years experience in the support of organisations which want to improve their public sector sales effectiveness.  This support had its origins in the Competing for Quality and Compulsory and Voluntary Competitive Tendering initiatives of the early 1990s, when a number of our consultants worked with both in-house teams wishing to retain work and external tenderers seeking to enter public sector markets.  Since then our team has not only worked as consultants with a wide range of companies, but some of our consultants have held senior positions in a variety of sales, solution design and business development roles within outsourcing and public service companies.

The services we provide include the following:

• Sales and Bid Process Development and Support.  We advise companies on best practice in marketing, sales and business development, and bidding to public sector organisations.  We also develop “best practice” sales and bid management structures and processes in companies and organisations that wish to enter, or improve their performance in, public sector markets.
• Specific Bid and Proposal Support.  We help organisations respond to specific tendering exercises including facilitating and supporting solution design, managing bids, and authoring all or part of proposals.
• Reviewing Bids.  We conduct “Red Team” reviews of clients’ proposal documents.  These provide independent challenge of both the content and presentation of documents and suggest ways to improve them.

Our case studies section includes a recent example of our work in this area.