We’ve all read them when editing bids. Let’s be honest, we’ve all probably written them occasionally (if only in first drafts – honest).
Vague statements or assertions masquerading as benefits are all too common in bids.
Over the years we’ve seen some repeated in some form or another by incumbents – when they attempt to assure the customer their incumbency offers real benefits that competitors’ bids can’t.
And it’s true, your incumbency can offer real benefits to the customer. If you’ve used your time as incumbent well.
And if you’re not relying on it to keep the contract, without offering real changes and improvements for the next contract that fit the customer’s new specification and future needs.
But just using variations of ‘trust us, we’re the incumbent’ won’t work.
You need to provide evidence you’ve used your incumbency to deliver, learn and create a better new solution than your competitors could. Evidence and detail matter to evaluators.
Here are some statements we’ve seen made in rebids by incumbents. And what evaluators are thinking when they read them.
Use these to check when you’re writing or reviewing your next rebid – to avoid the vague, and include the specific.
| Example statement | What the evaluator will be thinking |
| “We have (X) years experience of delivering this service to the customer” | What did you learn in these years? What unique insights into our situation or needs have been presented in the rebid document because of this? How has this experience informed the solution presented- what relevant and compelling examples are shown in the rebid document? How does this translate to you delivering better and more robust performance than the competition over the coming period? |
| “Our staff are highly experienced in delivering to the customer” | Will these staff be used in the coming period? How has their experience increased their performance for us over other staff? What does this experience mean in terms of benefits for us in improved performance? Won’t the staff be transferred under TUPE to whoever wins so their experience will be used by whichever competitor wins? |
| “As the incumbent we understand the customer’s needs” | Have these needs been explained in the rebid document more clearly than the competitors? What has the incumbent done to meet these needs to date? How does the solution presented deliver on these needs over the coming period better than the competition does? |
| “Our solution has been successfully delivered for (X) years” | Show me how – where are the numbers or examples in the document that convince me it has been successful for us? Surely the solution has developed and improved over the past (X) years – tell me how and to what effect? But how will this solution meet the needs we have over the coming (X) years? Convince me how this success will continue to be delivered over the coming period. |
| “Our solution is based on the experience we have gained during the current contract” | What specific experience do you mean? How has your experience influenced the new solution? What examples can you show me of how this experience has made the solution better for us? But what about our next contract? Our needs are changing, how does your experience of what you were delivering help with our new needs? Have you just repeated your present solution? |
