5 tips for missing a tender 👹

There are a number of methods to respond well to a tender.
But admit that it's still more fun to list what would actually make it possible to miss a tender 🙂
5 basic tips to follow in order to get scared and therefore miss a call for tenders:

Read: What are the six purchasing levers to activate for a good strategy?

1

Buying at the last minute is safer

Besides, it's very simple, when you do it at the last moment, everything is simpler. Not to mention that any product presented last week by any salesperson is more than enough, let's take this supplier!

And yet... Giving yourself time to plan means giving yourself time to organize yourself well Source your references (or having to recharge your resources if you realize that these references are not in the required scope) and not be in a hurry for the final negotiation, in order to avoid missing a call for tenders.

Not to mention that the interlocutor SENTS when the prescriber is in a hurry and that it is an excellent argument FOR HIM not to give up on his rates, especially since we did not put other suppliers in the loop to compare the TCO for example...

2

Overquality is hype, but beware of the risk of missing a call for tenders

Let's add functionalities that will be useless, they will probably be very useful one day. And then this tool with all these flashing options, it sucks, anyway.

The purchaser, it is especially useful for negotiation, we will integrate it into the project later...

And yet... Bad luck, the more you go through the tendering process, the lower the savings opportunities.

Determining what is essential and strictly necessary at the outset (so early in the project, before any consultation) is much more profitable for the final bill (although not very visible or quantifiable from a point of view). Saving) than a simple negotiation on which, very often, the margin to be won will only oscillate between 5 and 10%.

3

Let suppliers respond with their own documents (and risk missing a tender)

Obviously, when shopping, you have time to unpack 268-page commercial proposals (to be multiplied by the number of proposals). So let's kill trees during tenders and finish off the buyer at the same time 🙂

And yet... Asking suppliers to respond to the AO on a pre-established template means saving yourself a lot of trouble sorting to compare. And to free up your time, energy and especially your added value by highlighting and putting into perspective the different levels and characteristics of the offer.

Naturally, the better the file has been put together beforehand (understand the more the categories of information required have been analyzed), the easier it is to produce a template for the response, because it is based on the tender document. And if your interlocutor tells you that his response is largely automated (which is true, there are dedicated tools in which “generic” corporate and product information is already fed), ask him to complete your document anyway. Otherwise, you will not be consulted.

4

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Let the salesperson do his short appointments in his area

This way, the salesperson has plenty of time to pollute and work the prescriber who will swear by the product or service presented. At the risk of completely overshadowing the need initially expressed.

And yet... Clearly delineating the scope of intervention and the single point (you) of entry into the company is a way of framing the supplier and a way of making him understand that consultations take place according to your rules. And not the other way around.

Use with finesse, however, because to suffocate the partner too much means depriving yourself of privileged presentations, innovations or competitive advantages on their part, from which you would greatly benefit by integrating it into your own productions.

5

Do not give feedback and explanations to your suppliers in case of a negative response

After all, sales are used to being cut short, so one more or less NO...

And yet... Giving feedback to your contact is essential. Out of respect for the work provided beforehand, of course, but to also ensure its future collaboration in a future call for tenders. Not giving feedback means taking the risk of no longer being able to consult the partner, which is conceivable in a competitive market but much more annoying in a market with 3 players, for example.

And to be really sure to sink in and miss your purchase...
Establishing ultra-exhaustive specifications in terms of details...
... and try to make it part of a very standard solution that reassures everyone.

Be deceived by empty jargon about the proposals without validating the proposed concepts

Leaving aside the multi-cultural aspect of a team that expresses a need by imagining that everyone has the same vision of the product/service to buy regardless of the country and without revalidating the nature of the initial need
Multiply the reference documents (technical document, plan, call for tenders, response to centralized tenders...) and arrange so that all the parties involved do not have the same versions.

The list is really not exhaustive to miss a call for tenders.

And you, what are your tips for not satisfying internal customers?

Listen to our podcast episode on tenders