Consider this scenario. You have going through the latest project listings you received by email from Project Calls, and there is at least one project opportunity that has piqued your interest. You review the requirements, but you are not sure whether to prepare and submit a response. Below we have collated a few pros and cons of responding to a tender or other project opportunity, which you ought to consider.<\/p>\n
Generally, the benefits of responding to a tender are realised only if you win it.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 The contract can be quite lucrative.<\/strong> Winning a contract can improve your cash flow considerably, and so allow you to be in a better position to manage your business. Generally, working as Consultant or Vendor can be a \u2018feast or famine situation, where either there is a lot of money coming in, or none. Being in a position where you are getting paid, is (almost) always a good thing.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Winning one contract can position you to secure subsequent work<\/strong>. It is human nature for people to prefer working with people with which they are comfortable. Hence if the client is pleased with the work you did on the first assignment, it will be more inclined to invite you to work on other projects \u2013 and those projects may not even need to go out to tender. In having that experience of working with you, and being happy with the outcome, there can be some justification made for handpicking you for subsequent projects. But, it means that you need to respond to the solicitation and hopefully win it.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Winning a contract can raise your profile<\/strong>. By a winning contract, you are not only increasing your profile (and that of your business) with the client, but depending on who the client is, can help you to attract and win future work with other organisations. Additionally, completing that project will help you to augment the experience you bring to the table, which can position you to win subsequent projects with the same client, or with other organisations, and to be seen as an expert in your field.<\/p>\n The cons of responding to a tender or other types project opportunity, unlike the pros, they tend to me more evident in the actual preparation process.<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Preparing tenders\/responses are time consuming<\/strong>.\u00a0 Depending on the format and requirements, and especially if you are preparing your first tender, it can take several days to complete the submission. Further, many organisations, particularly those in the Caribbean tend to provide a small window (frequently less than 2 weeks) in which to respond, and if hard copies of the documents must be submitted, that also cuts into the proposal preparation time. It therefore means that the tender\/response preparation process can be quite stressful, even when there is a small team working on completing a submission.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Every project is different<\/strong>.\u00a0 Although you might be familiar with the format in which your submission should be prepared, and you already have some of the content that would need to be included, each project and its associated solicitation is different. Hence, the project requirements ought to be carefully considered and understood, and the resulting submission address those requirements.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Tender processes can be protracted<\/strong>.\u00a0 It is indeed a lucky day when a procurement process only requires one submission from interested parties so that the procurement team can make a decision. Typically, and for large (more lucrative) projects, the procurement process can have multiple stages over several months, such as a pre-qualification stage, invitation for expressions of interest, request for proposals, site visits and various meetings. Ultimately, those processes are a marathon and not a sprint, and whether you have the stamina to see them through to the end ought to be carefully considered.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Responding to tenders can be expensive<\/strong>. This is a frequently overlooked point; however, responding to a solicitation can be expensive in both time and money. Having already discussed the time demand in a previous point, here we will focus on money, and some of the non-refundable expenses that you may need to cover to participate in a tender process. First, you may need to purchase the tender documents. Second, depending on the information that must be supplied, money may need to be spent to access certain types of information, or to fulfil certain requirements, such as with respect to getting your financials in order, or securing insurance. Finally, if hard copies of the submission must be delivered to a specified location, printing and courier services costs will also need to be covered.<\/p>\n In summary, although the cons might seem more daunting and outweigh the pros, it must be emphasised that unless you respond to a tender, you have no chance of being considered. The point, therefore, is to try to balance what the likely gains are against the sacrifices that might need to be made.<\/p>\n Good luck!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nCons<\/h3>\n