The Ultimate Bid Management Guide for Capture

The Ultimate Bid management Guide for Capture

If you had more time in bid management, what would you spend it on? Exactly, the strategy.

How to develop a strategy and forecast for tenders and RFPs

For commercial organisations aiming to elevate their bid management department, an action plan, accurate forecasting, and a strategy for each account are essential. However, in practice, this often doesn’t happen.

Every month, Altura organises a Masterclass  at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, led by the top bid management experts in the Netherlands. These sessions bring together bid professionals to learn and network.

At one of our events on AI in bid management, a bid manager said they would spend their time on the capture phase by saving time through automisation. 

The capture phase, or strategically influencing and forecasting bids, is the most overlooked stage of the bid process.

This Masterclass inspired the Altura team to create the Bid Management Guide: capture phase, based on insights and feedback from bid managers.

In this guide, we provide instructions and examples, from setting commercial strategic objectives to forecasting and developing account-specific strategies, so you can finally optimise your capture phase. We build your capture in 3 steps:

Step 0: Lay the foundation for a commercial strategy and use it for your bid management strategy.

Step 1: Create a forecast for tenders and RFPs.

Step 2: Develop an account-specific strategy based on your forecast.

Step 0: the foundation – creating a commercial and bid management strategy

To effectively approach the capture phase, you first need a commercial strategy. For the entire commercial organisation and, subsequently, for the bid management department.

This strategy outlines the path to achieving commercial objectives. With a well-defined strategy, bid management teams can focus their efforts on the most profitable verticals and clients. Without a clear direction from the commercial organisation, efforts may lack focus.

Focus efforts to achieve goals

Where does bid management fit within the commercial strategy? Think of the bid management department as the of your strategy. If this department isn’t utilised optimally, you won’t be fully prepared for the journey ahead. Without a clear strategy and in-depth analysis, you risk wasting efforts on bids with a low probability of success.

A two-step SWOT analysis for strategic clarity in bid management

To start building a commercial strategy, you first need to reflect on the past. Use a SWOT analysis to understand and improve your strategic position.

Step 1: Analyse verticals and accounts

• Identify which sectors generate the most revenue.
• Use data analysis tools and review trend reports.

Step 2: Calculate your commercial organisation’s market share

• Estimate your current market capitalisation.
• Calculate your current revenue within that industry.
• Gather market capitalisation data from competitors.
• Read market reports.
• Create an overview of your resources and growth capacities.

Building your bid management strategy requires 3 pillars from the commercial strategy. Let’s dive deeper into these.

These 3 pillars from the commercial strategy are necessary to define your bid management strategy

Pillar 1. Analyse the tender intensity of the industry

Formulate answers to the following questions:

• How reliant is your industry on tenders?
• What is the ratio of public to private parties?
• What do the trends indicate about tender intensity? Is it increasing or decreasing?

Pillar 2. Make sales data transparent and discover opportunities in your funnel

• Calculate the biggest growth opportunities per vertical.
• Consider the specific characteristics of the industry and your organisation:some text
  • Do you want to expand your market share in this industry?
  • Is significant investment required for this?
• Do you want to focus revenue targets on new business or existing business?
• Determine which verticals you want to focus on for the coming year.
• Select top target accounts (prospects).

Pillar 3. Define revenue objectives for each commercial team

Marketing team:

• Lead generation
• Lead quality
• Campaign ROI

Sales team:

• Sales targets
• Conversion rate
• Customer retention

Bid management team:

• Revenue from bids
• Win rate
• Number of submitted bids
• Bid/no-bid ratio

These pillars of the commercial strategy lay the foundation for your bid management strategy. If your organisation does not have these, or if you cannot find the strategy, make sure to consult the commercial director to create it together.

The bid management department needs to know which verticals to pursue to work as efficiently as possible. Additionally, the department benefits from a clear budget for external hires, such as freelancers or consultants, and for managing resource allocation effectively.

But how do the strategies of the bid management and sales departments align with the commercial strategy? To do this, you must systematically translate the commercial strategy. Here’s exactly how you can do it.

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How to create a bid management strategy based on 6 pillars

In the commercial strategy, measurable goals have been set. This allows bid management teams to start working effectively. 

These are the 6 pillars of bid management.

What to remember: bid management is an extension of sales. It enables sales to close deals. Without bid management, sales operates blindly when pursuing bids. 

Effective presales ensure a clear understanding of client needs, allowing bid management and sales to target bids with the highest win probability.

1. Objectives

Define clear and measurable objectives for both bid management and sales. Establish revenue and win rate targets.

This is the most critical step in your strategy: laying out revenue goals for the bid management department. For example:

New business

• €20M from new clients
• €5M from new sectors

Existing business

• €3M from existing clients
• €2M from contract renewals

Geographic objectives

• €20M from European tenders
• €15M from Dutch tenders

Product- or service-specific objectives

• €3M from IT services
• €15M from consultancy services

Set these goals using two principles:

Win rate
Your organisation should only pursue bids with a high win rate. Opportunism will hinder your ability to win the right bids and grow in bid management. Avoid bids you cannot win or that do not align with your goals.

Past bids
Learn from past submissions. A fundamental but crucial question: where do you win the best (highest revenue) and easiest bids? Focus on these.

2. Define KPIs and set goals for each KPI

KPIs allow bid management activities to significantly contribute to the commercial strategy. These insights help make informed decisions about resource allocation and process changes. Assign specific goals to each KPI.

The 8 KPIs for bid management are:

• Win ratesome text
  • The percentage of bids won compared to the total number of bids submitted.
• Lead timesome text
  • The productivity of the department, measured by the time needed to complete a bid.
• Bid/no-bid ratesome text
  • The percentage of opportunities qualified for bidding versus those rejected.
• Return on investment (ROI)some text
  • The ratio of bid process costs to the value of won contracts.
• Bid qualitysome text
  • Measured through internal evaluations or client feedback.
• Revenue growthsome text
  • The increase in revenue resulting from won bids.
• Profit marginssome text
  • The difference between estimated and actual profit margins on won projects.
• Client satisfactionsome text
  • Feedback from clients on the bid process and proposals submitted.

3. Strategic verticals and account selection

Verticals
Decide which verticals bid management will focus on. Identify the sectors and types of organisations where you achieve the highest win rates and scores. For example, a focus vertical could be: ‘All municipalities with 100,000 residents in the Randstad.’ Vertical focus is determined by bid and sales teams.

Target accounts
Identify and select the most valuable accounts that can have the greatest impact on your business objectives. This step can be part of your bid management strategy or during the forecasting process. Prioritise verticals and accounts based on their potential.

4. Resource allocation and capacity planning

Efficient resources
Ensure proper allocation of resources, such as personnel and budget, to support the most promising bids.

Capacity planning
Plan capacity to ensure your team can manage multiple bids simultaneously without sacrificing quality.

Team analysis
Evaluate your team's bid maturity level.

5. Process optimisation and technology

Automated processes
Leverage technology and automation to reduce manual and repetitive tasks, enabling your team to focus on strategic initiatives.

Tools
Utilise advanced bid management and sales tools like Altura to enhance efficiency and gain insights. Interested in how Altura works? Schedule a conversation with our team.

6. Collaboration and communication

Internal alignment
Foster close collaboration between bid management, sales, marketing, and other commercial departments to develop a cohesive strategy.

Feedback loops
Create feedback mechanisms to drive continuous improvement and ensure insights from previous bids are applied to future ones.

Use data insights to build a data-driven bid management strategy

Data is the key to successful bid management. We know data is often underutilised. Don’t worry. We have outlined a process for you to implement a data-driven approach to bids.

Read how to implement a data-driven approach to bid management in 6 steps.

Cheat sheet for data-driven bid management

These are 18 ways to automatically collect bid management data. This data can be used to create forecasts and define strategies. The cheat sheet was created in collaboration with Mark de Bruijn. Download the cheat sheet here.

The 5 types of data crucial for bid management strategy

1. Public data
Tenders require a lot of public information. Knowledge of this data is essential for bid management:

• Government announcements
• Awarded contracts
• Market and sector reports
• Public regulations

2. Performance data
After participating in a tender, you receive detailed performance data, including information about competitors. Analyse this data alongside your proposal to identify differences in expertise, experience, or pricing:

• Award decisions
• Debriefing sessions

3. Qualification data

By accurately tracking why you choose bid or no-bid, you learn whether your opportunity assessment is accurate. Analyse no-bids to identify areas for improvement:

• Bid/no-bid decisions
• Product feedback
• Client interactions

4. In-process data

You receive feedback from the contracting authority for each text and quality criterion. In addition to numerical data, qualitative data is crucial. Track the following:

• Client pre-meetings
• Debriefing sessions
• Client retention and feedback

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How to determine which verticals are the best fit and create account lists

Identify which industries and markets best align with your organisation: this is the next step in refining your commercial strategy. Do this based on the following three principles:

1. Market analysis

• Research which sectors have the highest tender intensity and where the largest budgets are available.
• Analyse market trends and growth rates within various industries to identify the most promising verticals for your organisation.

2. Competitor analysis

• Evaluate the performance of competitors in different verticals to understand where they succeed and where opportunities may exist for your organisation.

3. Internal strengths

• Consider the sectors where your company has strong competencies and experience. Include these as potential verticals.

Create account lists per vertical (public and private)

Once you’ve identified the key verticals, the next step is to create account lists. These are lists of potential companies and organisations you want as clients within the verticals outlined in your strategy, both in the public and private sectors.

Public market (tenders):

• Government institutions
• Educational and healthcare organisations
• Infrastructure projects

Private market (RfX’s):

• Large companies and multinationals that regularly issue large contracts via Request for Proposals (RfP), Request for Quotes (RfQ), and Request for Information (RfI).

Research companies within the chosen verticals that may need your products or services, such as IT, consultancy, or manufacturing.

Create account lists using a lookalike audience

An effective way to create account lists is by leveraging a lookalike audience. This method helps you easily compile account lists by analysing which accounts have the highest revenue potential based on your previous successful bids.

Analyse past clients

Start with an in-depth analysis of past clients you’ve won through tenders or RfPs. Identify what these clients have in common, such as:

• Organisation sie
• Objectives
• Pain points
• Budget or revenue

Identify common characteristics

Use the information from your analysis to pinpoint shared characteristics. This helps you create a clear profile of your ideal client. Examples might look like this:

• Schools in the Randstad with at least 500 students
• Small municipalities with 50,000 residents
• Private sector banks with a minimum of 10,000 employees

Create an account list

Use the common characteristics to create a lookalike audience. These are potential clients similar to your existing successful clients. For example:

• Top 50 schools in the Randstad with at least 500 students
• Top 20 small municipalities with 50,000 residents
• All private sector banks with at least 10,000 employees

Use Altura’s analysis function to see what competitors are doing and how it impacts your business.

Common pitfalls in a bid management strategy

Lack of focus
Targeting too many sectors or accounts spreads your resources too thin, making your efforts less effective.

Insufficient data analysis
Always base decisions on thorough data analysis and market research. A small oversight can lead to significant errors.

Poor collaboration
Ensure close cooperation between sales and bid management. Sales and bid management must regularly share market insights and client information with each other.

By following these steps and avoiding these pitfalls, you can build a strong, focused bid management strategy that aligns with your organisation’s commercial goals.

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Step 1: Forecasting in 4 steps for RfQs, RfPs, RfIs, and private tenders

A bid manager can often feel frustrated about forecasting. Why? Forecasts are frequently created in an Excel sheet that no one ever looks at again.

Without a reliable forecast, you’re like a captain without a compass. Collaboration between bid management and the sales team is crucial for creating a forecast. Ideally, bid management connects with sales four years, and at least two years, before a project ends.

They send a signal, prompting sales to gather information and identify when the bid will occur. This is all stored in bid management software, which then sends reminders when it’s time to take action.

Create an accurate forecast per account in 4 steps

From your account lists, conduct research to build a forecast by following these steps:

1. Desk research
2. Organisation research
3. Process insights
4. Monitoring

Forecasting: public vs. private tenders

The process of creating a forecast is similar for the public and private sectors (tenders vs. RfPs). The main difference is that public tenders are republished every four years.

Altura allows you to create a forecast automatically for tenders based on this data. However, there are tenders that can only be forecasted through client conversations.

In short, send sales out for coffee meetings!

Step 1: Desk research

Conduct desk research to gain insights into public information about upcoming opportunities. This includes:

• Procurement policy analysis
  Understand the general procurement strategies and guidelines for the accounts.
• Trend reports
  Identify market trends and technological developments.
• Regulations
  Consider relevant laws and regulations.
• Future opportunities
  Identify upcoming projects and their timelines.

Step 2: Organisation research

Send the sales team to engage with accounts on your list to identify upcoming bids and understand client needs. This includes:

• Future opportunities
  Identify upcoming projects and their timelines.
• Client needs
  Understand the client’s specific challenges and goals.
• DMU (decision-making unit)
  Map the internal decision-making structure of the client.
• Examples and opportunities
  Identify client pain points and opportunities for upcoming RfPs, RfIs, RfQs, and private tenders.

Step 3: Process the information

Gather and process the information to create a preliminary list of potential opportunities. This includes:

• Opportunity list
  Compile a detailed list of all potential opportunities, including expected publication dates, deadlines, and requirements.
• Forecast in bid management software
  Input all details into your system, such as Altura, including deadlines, requirements, and assigned team members.
• Strategy per account and opportunity
  Develop a specific strategy for each opportunity, including responsibilities and objectives. (The next chapter explains how to do this.)

Step 4: Monitoring

Ensure regular reviews and adjustments based on new information and changing circumstances. This includes:

• Sharing information
  Share relevant information in a standardised template and log it in your CRM or Altura.
• Adjustments
  Update the forecast based on feedback and new data.
• Long-term planning
  Plan forecasts at least 12 months ahead, preferably 2 to 4 years before contract expiration.

Modern bid experts use Altura for forecasting

Altura helps you know exactly which tenders are upcoming. Its dashboard provides a clear overview of future bidding opportunities.

You can set notifications for projects expiring in six months, two years, or four years, whatever suits your planning needs. Additionally, Altura automatically adds tender republications to your calendar, ensuring you never miss a key deadline.

Want to see how this works in Altura? Schedule a meeting with our team.

Common pitfalls of forecasting

Creating an accurate forecast takes time and can be complex. Many organisations struggle with data accuracy or fail to use it effectively due to these two common mistakes:

1. Inadequate data logging
   Poorly logged data makes it challenging to find information quickly and efficiently, hindering real-time collaboration. Ensure your system is updated with forecasts and strategies per account.
2. Over-focus on technical specifications
   Overemphasis on technical details during client conversations can cause you to overlook broader business and strategic goals, limiting your understanding of client needs.

Develop a strategy per account

Does this sound familiar? Time and resources are wasted on bids that later prove hopeless, while real opportunities slip away.

Once you’ve built a solid forecast for your account lists and identified future bids, the next step is to create a strategy for those bids. Without a clear account strategy, bid management and influence efforts lack commercial value.

A consistent approach for tenders and RfPs

While the specifics may vary by client, the core strategy remains consistent for both tenders and RfPs. This means applying the same methodologies and best practices to create high-quality, winning proposals, regardless of the type of request.

Bid management facilitates the account strategy

Bid managers act as facilitators in the process. They coordinate input from sales on the accounts, gather the necessary information, analyse it, and process it in the bid management software for use during the proposal stage.

Account strategy in 2 steps

An account strategy is always built on two principles. Stick to these:

1. Desk researchsome text
   • Conduct desk research to gain insights into procurement policies, trend reports, and relevant laws and regulations.
   • Identify long-term trends and market developments.
2. Organisation researchsome text
   • Send sales to meet with clients and uncover the needs behind their requests.
   • Map the internal organisation of the client, including the DMU.

The cornerstone of an account strategy: the DMU

The cornerstone of any account strategy is understanding the decision-making unit (DMU)—the key decision-makers. Learn the dynamics and interactions within the DMU to position your products or services effectively.

• End-users
  Individuals who will actually use the product or service.
• Influencers
  Individuals who impact the decision, such as technicians or managers.
• Deciders
  Individuals with the ultimate authority to make the purchase decision.
• Gatekeepers
  Individuals who control access to other DMU members, such as secretaries or assistants.

Analyseer de besluitvormingsprocessen

• Analyse decision-making processes
  
  • Understand how decisions are made within the client organisation.
  • Identify the key criteria on which decisions are based.
  • Analyse the internal dynamics and politics within the client organisation.

Build an account strategy with these 4 pillars

Now that you have the foundation for your account and understand the DMU (decision-making unit), it’s time to create an account strategy based on the following 4 pillars:

(A) Client pain points

Step 1: Identify the client’s challenges

• Start by mapping out the obstacles and problems the client is facing. These can range from inefficient processes to failing to meet strategic objectives.

Step 2: Identify the ‘real’ problems

• Ask deeper questions to uncover the root causes of visible problems. For example, a client may struggle with regulatory compliance, but the underlying issue might be a lack of internal resources or expertise.

Step 3: Uncover the question behind the question

• Don’t stop at surface-level answers. By digging deeper, you can expose the real pain points. For example, a client may say they struggle with timely project delivery, but the root cause could be a lack of effective project management tools or insufficient staff training.

(B) Client objectives

After identifying the client’s pain points, the next step is determining their objectives. This helps you understand what the client aims to achieve and how your product or service can help them meet these goals.

It is important to identify both the organisational objectives and the personal goals of key stakeholders. Here are concrete steps to achieve this:

Step 1: Understand the client’s strategic goals

• Engage with client representatives to understand their strategic priorities and motivations. 
• For instance, a construction company may struggle to meet government sustainability requirements, which hinders their projects.
• Don’t forget the personal goals of stakeholders. For example, if they want to appeal to a younger audience, your proposal should reflect a fresh and modern approach to show you understand their needs.

Step 2: Analyse company documents and public sources

• Review annual reports, news articles, and industry studies to gain additional insights into the client’s market position. 
• For instance, if a bank is missing its revenue targets, it could be due to outdated technologies or inefficient processes.

(C) Capability

In this step, assess what your organisation can deliver and understand the client’s functional and non-functional requirements.

Where do you want to accommodate the client? In some cases, this involves taking a risk, which can differentiate you from the competition. Strategically address the requirements and demonstrate your willingness to collaborate and think along with the client.

Step 1: Understand the requirements

• Identify specific functional requirements, such as technical specifications.
• Understand non-functional requirements, such as sustainability and compliance.

Step 2: Make strategic decisions

• Decide which product features and services to offer
• Support these decisions with clear arguments and data in your proposal.

Step 3: Provide solutions

• Describe in the strategy how your solutions help overcome specific pain points and achieve the client’s objectives. For example, if a company needs to relocate, emphasise how your project management services can ensure a smooth and efficient transition. 
• Support your arguments with concrete data and examples. If a client is struggling with sustainability, demonstrate how your technology can reduce their energy consumption and help them comply with government regulations.

(D) Competition

A thorough competitive analysis shows where your product or service outperforms the competition. This insight forms the basis for a compelling proposal.

Step 1: Identify the competition

• Analyse key competitors for this account. If a competitor is already providing other products or services to the client, you’ll need to clearly differentiate your offering.

Step 2: Compare strengths and weaknesses

• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your product compared to competitors.
• Highlight unique selling points (USPs).

Step 3: Define your competitive strategy

• Develop a strategy to emphasise your product’s strengths and highlight competitor weaknesses. 
• Use existing relationships with the client to leverage strategic advantages.
• For example, if a competitor is already supplying printers to a municipality, assess the likelihood of your organisation providing the paper for those printers.

The best account strategy: from A to B, via C, keeping D in mind

With thorough research and careful planning, you can avoid wasting time and resources on bids with low win probabilities. A consistent approach to tenders and RfPs helps create winning proposals. Bid managers are facilitators who process and coordinate sales input within bid management to develop a strong proposal.

An all-in-one solution with Altura

Choose Altura as the complete solution to optimise your bid management department without requiring additional resources. Our full-cycle bid management system automates manual tasks, allowing bid teams to focus on strategic activities.

Modern bid management organisations rely on Altura for managing, drafting, and optimising proposals, helping them win more tenders and RfPs. Altura also offers advanced document analysis and integrated planning tools to boost efficiency.

Schedule a free, personalised demo today with one of our representatives and experience the benefits yourself.