Kick-off Meeting

Preparing a competitve tender submission is labour intensive, costing money and time; so you want to make sure you are there to win!

One of the fist steps in the tendering process is having a Kick-off Meeting. So, what is a Kick-off Meeting?

The kick-off meeting allows the business to:

1. Evaluate the advertised tender, including the sample contract

2. Identify potential risks

3. Decide if the tender is a good fit for the company

4. Identify resources needed to successfully deliver the project

5. Identify competitors and

6. Plan effective strategies to Win!

   By having a kick-off meeting, the business can make sure that they are making the right decision and are taking the necessary steps to win the tender!

   Here are some questions to discuss at your Kick-off Meeting.

1.      How well do you know the buyer? Do you have an existing client relationship with the buyer?

• How did you hear about this tender?

NB:  It is critical that you have an existing relationship with the buyer.  It is widely accepted that in business, people buy from businesses they know and trust. 

2. Who are your competitors?  Which of them might be tendering for this contract?

• Prepare a SWOT analysis and rank yourself against your competitors.

  Here are some questions to get you started.

• How is my product or service different from my competitors? What makes my product / service unique? What makes me stand out from my competitors? Is it our specialist equipment, technique or methods that will result in cost efficiencies?

• I use a grid with a list of question (qualitative criteria) on the left and across the top I list the names of my competitors.

3. Have you got the experience to deliver the project? 

• How strong is your team’s experience?

• How recent is your company’s experience on similar projects?

• Have you got recent case studies to support your claims? 

4. Have you got the capacity and resources to complete the project?

• Do you have sufficient staff to deliver the project? 

• Can you reassign staff to this project or will you need to recruit specialist staff? 

• Do you need a Joint Venture partner? 

• Have you got the finances to deliver the project?  How is your credit rating? 

5. Can you win and make a profit? 

Depending on your answers, you might decide not to tender for this contract… and that is OK.   By being strategic and not chasing every tender, you will improve your win rate and in the process save yourself time and money.