Skeptical of Bidding on Major Contracts? Well, Size Doesn’t Matter

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Mark Twain

Confused? I’m surely not going to share anything about dog fighting, but this quote by Twain has a great lesson for small business. Many small and mid-size firms dream of winning bigger contracts, but they are too skeptical to even bid on such projects. They think that high budget contracts are reserved only for large corporations. Let me tell you, this notion is not true. Not true at all. The clients consider a lot of other factors more important than the size of a bidding firm.

Here is how you can place your bid on the right projects and increase your chances of winning, no matter how giant your competitors are:

Bid only on the Projects You are Capable of Doingr
An apparent problem is small businesses hesitate to bid; and even if they ultimately do, they fail to win the job. The most commonly cited reason is the poor selection of tenders. You bid blindly without any specific analysis or ground research. First off, be honest with yourself about your ability. Once you know your strengths and weaknesses you can choose the core market segments your business is most suitable for. Sometimes you may have to enhance or add certain capabilities to better ‘fit to the tender’.
Don’t be spammy, it may harm your reputation and the buyer will think twice before even reading your proposal the next time you place bid.

Focus on the Client’s Needs

People have little interest in how big a company is, they want to see who can do their job the best way. So focus on the needs of the buyer, include some ideas about how you will approach it, give the details of resources you have, tell them if you have successfully completed any similar project. Let them know that you have done a lot of research about the project before placing this bid.

Compare the Bidders

It is very important to know who your competitors are. Detailed information about their operations, strategies, strengths and weaknesses with respect to the client’s requirements will give you specific ideas on how to pitch your own proposal and make necessary adjustments to emerge above them. Do not let the size and track record of your competitors frighten you. The efforts you have taken to make an exceptional pitch should not go down the drain.

Buyers Love Small Businesses

A question that generally discourages small business owners from bidding on major contracts is – Why would they prefer my company when there are big firms with exceptional records? Don’t worry, there is a big factor in your favor. The clients like to work with small businesses. It’s because they get more personalized attention from a small firm. The big corporations have a specific procedure and all the specifications of client are molded to fit into that procedure, no matter what the client wants along the way. The kind of flexibility and attention they get from a small firm is a big factor in choosing the winner.

A great way to get preferred over others is to have reputation in the eyes of the buyer. This way, when they come across your proposal, they will be interested in learning more about you and using your services. Soon you will see your small firm making it to the big league.