Chapter 9: Talking to the Client


Overview

The bid specification will normally tell you whether making contact with the client is expected, encouraged or forbidden on pain of disqualification. In many fields of public sector procurement, direct contacts by the bidder are restricted to the submission of written questions seeking clarification on matters of fact or the meaning of items in the bid specification (Chapter 7): the option of meeting the client to talk about the work is ruled out on the grounds that it might be interpreted as infringing the principles of transparency and even-handedness. But in most other contexts, prospective clients will expect you to want to meet them - provided of course that enough time is available and the contract value makes it seem worthwhile. It is not unusual for a client to require bidders to visit its office so as to obtain first-hand information about the project and talk to the people handling the work. There may be a pre-tender briefing session that prospective bidders are expected to attend. You have to read the bid specification carefully to see what the client has said on this point, and then make the most of what opportunities you have.

Depending on the nature of the work and the degree to which you are familiar with its background, you may still find it advantageous to do local research for the bid even if you are not allowed to approach the client. Talking to other people and organizations that have interests related to a project may give you insights, ideas and information that you can put to good use in the bid and that you would not have obtained by staying at your desk; and if the work has to be done elsewhere than in your offices, you will want to see the location for yourself.

If the client has arranged a briefing session, confirm your intention to attend. If it is you that is arranging the date rather than the client, give as much advance notice of your visit as possible. The timing of a meeting with the client has to be finely judged: it should not take place too early - before you have enough information to know what questions to ask, or too late - when there is too little time to make effective use of its results. In many instances the right moment will be about a quarter or a third of the way into the time available for preparing the bid: ie if the invitation comes in on a Monday and the bid has to be submitted on Friday, then Tuesday would probably be the best day to see the client.

Most of the following points of guidance may seem common sense, but experience confirms that they are not always put into practice. It's all too easy for contractors to shoot themselves in the foot on these occasions.

  • To make the visit, choose someone who can contribute input both to the bid and to the contract and is able to speak knowledgeably about the technical aspects of the work - for example, the person nominated as team leader.

  • Before the meeting try to foresee what questions the client may want to ask, as well as preparing your own questions.

  • Make notes while information and impressions are still fresh in your mind. After the meeting write up a record of the discussion and your observations, plus an outline of points to be emphasized in the bid.

  • If you are meeting the client as a team, introduce yourselves; do not assume that the client must know who you are. Exchange business cards. If other people come into the meeting, record their names and posts correctly.

  • Develop a dialogue with the client: don't focus just on what you have to say, or monopolize the conversation. Listen actively to what the client tells you; this means following up the client's remarks with questions that allow you to go into more depth and confirm your understanding, and using body language that reinforces rather than weakens the impact of your words.

  • Remember that you are aiming to impress clients with your professionalism and integrity, to give them the feeling that you are the right people to work with. When talking about your professional experience, do not disclose matters that ought to be kept confidential or comment on the internal affairs of your past or existing clients. The people you are meeting may form the opinion that you are likely to gossip about their business too.

  • Try to get copies of whatever relevant documents are available - for example, corporate policy statements and business plans, reports of studies and statistical data. Among the most useful items you can obtain are internal contact lists with phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses, and information on how the client organization is structured in terms of departments, units, management posts and responsibilities.

  • An important point to find out is the likely structure of the evaluation panel. Will the bids be assessed just by technical personnel or by a team combining technical experts, managers, procurement specialists, contract administrators and other professionals?

  • Be alert to any warning signals about the contract. If client personnel are unwilling to discuss the bid specification or appear hesitant about the work, it may be because matters were arranged hastily and they are not certain what they want. Or perhaps the project you thought was real does not in fact exist, and the request for bids is no more than a trawling exercise.




Bids, Tenders and Proposals. Winning Business Through Best Practice
Bids, Tenders and Proposals: Winning Business through Best Practice (Bids, Tenders & Proposals: Winning Business Through Best)
ISBN: 0749454202
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 145
Authors: Harold Lewis

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