Stand by for changes in the pitch process

Will it really happen? There seem to be two movements that might help us with this. The first was the government recognising that small firms are excluded from the pitch process for government tenders through no fault of their own. A great wake-up moment was provided by Fubra - a small website company - that recognised how it could save their government client 97% on the Businesslink website but they were rejected and lost in the bureaucratic detail. See The Telegraph story by Richard Tyler 15.11.2010

Vince Cable appeared to recognise the problem several months ago and then David Cameron has given a personal message to SMEs in February at the SMEhub website indicating that 25% of government tenders should be aimed at SMEs and doing away with the prequalification process for lower tenders.

Is anyone seeing a difference? By the way, there's a contract finder government link in that SMEhub page that some might be interested in.

Also, you are encouraged, if an SME, to voice your views to the OGC (Office for Government Contracts) as part of a wider EU procurement initiative to modernise EU procurement processes at the Win Tenders web site.

The second movement that might have an impact on the problematic pitch and tender process is a new set of guidelines devised by the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and ISBA (Incorporated Society of British Advertisers) and showcased today at the ISBA Annual Conference, The pitching conundrum... a better way?, and at the IPA website in The need for a new pitch process. This will link you to The Marketing magazine for a fuller explanation but you'll have to register there (registration is free).

The pitch and tender process for digital contracts had difficulties over and above normal contracts so I hope the involvement of agency CEOs in the development of these new guidelines have taken that into account. It remains to be seen. We have noted many times how digital SMEs are hostages to fortune in the older style agency pitch processes. But now agencies have had to embrace rather than marginalise their digital colleagues as the sector has become more mature, hopefully these new guidelines will help. Who knows! But watch this space.

Winning Web Design Proposals

Clients are becoming choosy in the recession about who they want to develop and maintain their digital media offerings. Maybe it’s time to review your company’s proposals because it is at the initial stages that you can win new business with new clients who won’t make your life hell. How’s that, you may well ask? You need to cover all the bases in the questions you ask upfront to ensure that the new business doesn’t hide any nasty dark corners that you haven’t costed in the quote. Equally, the clients need to have complete understanding of the processes you’ll employ and then you ought to have a relatively easy ride.

It’s the misunderstandings that cause the problems. So, if you clearly explain upfront how you will assess the needs, how you will develop, what you will develop, how you will communicate the process to the client, and what their role is, you will start on safer ground.

SpeckyBoy Design Magazine has put together a really good set of resources to help you with web site proposals. It came out on 18th Jan 2010 and has already had lots of positive comments posted. Worth a long hard look.

See: speckyboy.com