Shipley Asia Pacific Blog

Defence organisations are commonly known as the best capture people. 

Defence companies tend to have the most mature bidding processes. Their whole marketing and sales organisations are focused on capturing their target! They can spend years capturing business with Governments worldwide long before a tender is released. 

So, what can professionals in other industries learn from the approach of the business-winning processes by the more mature defence bidders?

When it comes to (witch)crafting a winning proposal, the Shipley method identifies seven critical elements that you don’t want to forget. One could argue that these seven characteristics can be applied to something more frightening than a bid… a scary story. In the spirit of Halloween and the spooky season, let's explore these seven characteristics in the context of both proposal writing and some classic horror movies. 

Why do companies keep telling me that they lose their bids on price?

I’ve never liked talking about “pursuit” in Business Development. To me, pursuit means following and not catching up. I’d rather prepare teams for capture than for pursuit.

It doesn't matter if you're buying consumer goods or professional services. Whether your purchase is simple or complex. Not every buyer assesses cost and price the same way. To understand what this looks like, let's take a trip to Bunnings. 

Three people order the same flatpack entertainment unit from an online retailer. The units arrive, and all three realise the scale of the task ahead of them. The poorly pre-drilled holes and countless screws will need more than a Phillips head screwdriver and some elbow grease. For this task, a drill will be essential.

When I was at school, I read my way through all the Sherlock Holmes stories, instilling in me a lifelong love of the genre and the annoying propensity to solve the mystery in TV crime shows before my husband.

In most companies, senior management encourages focus on the sales opportunities that are landing this month or this quarter to achieve targets and fulfill the expectations of key stakeholders, shareholders, and the broader investment community.

For those of you unfamiliar with the extensive list of colour team reviews, the White Hat is particularly special. It is a formal time for reflection on the result of your bid. Some bad proposals win and, occasionally, great ones lose. This review offers the space to get to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind your bid outcome, regardless of the result. The goal for the session being to improve your organization’s business development operations.

Getting your Christmas wishes fulfilled might take more than a letter to Santa.