Bidding Jenga

Large corporate bid teams are grossly inefficient and soloed. What's worse, they are energy and resource wasters. 12+ person writing and estimating teams are the equivalent of using brute-force and intimidation to win at GovCon Jenga, when a nimble response would be better.

By applying a standardized and proactive process, you/your team can "beat" a larger entrenched incumbent at the opportunity level.

I've timed this exercise and got 20 minutes, which is absolutely wild. 20 60-second chunks of time to literally surpass multiple FT positions. Stored templates, keyboard shortcuts, and open Chrome tabs will probably optimize your time, but we're starting from scratch without those little helpers.

...But what are we actually doing? And how does this help me win more contracts?

Essentially, you're applying a miniature version of a capture solution 14 years in the making. By following the steps below, you'll have 40+ data points and be able to make better, data-inspired decisions (and get hyper-targeted) with each new pursuit.

First Step (6 minutes): Purpose Searching. When inputting a new bid, search for the purpose of the project. Purpose-complexity will translate to stakeholder complexity, signal priorities, and give you insight into the technical know-how of the evaluation team.

Make note of any disconnect between the communicated purpose and the technical specifics. What do the gaps between high-level intentionality and low-level practicality say to you? Is the project realistic? How would an expert make the project/SOW even better? Formulate a list of questions based on these reflections and then ask your top three to the purchasing team during the Fourth Step.

Second Step (1 minute): Hunting for Mandatory Requirements. Perform a quick document search for anything absolutely essential.

Then take a critical look at each mandatory requirement. Ask yourself if they are vital to successful project completion. If any seem irrelevant or unnecessarily burdensome, make a note of this for future questioning.

Third Step (5 minutes): Jump Straight to the Timeline. What's the purchaser's timeline for the various pre-contract phases? NOA? Kickoff Meeting? Do you accept this timeline as reasonable? Can you imagine any overlapping events/occurrences to streamline things?

Sometimes, this isn't immediately obvious or transparent and takes further digging. You can also pull information from other RFPs to help you understand their evaluation-to-procurement schedule more generally. Add more timeline-related questions to the pile, if applicable.

Fourth Step (8 minutes): Close the Remaining Gaps & Reach 40+ Data Points. This involves submitting the remainder of your questions, not accepting the first rejection or refusal you receive, and reframing questions as needed to elicit the desired response.

Short questions in numbered format is best. Don't worry who is sending the questions, at what time, or with what email, etc. Detail optimization at this micro level is not helping you. The best capture managers and RFP Analysts can help steer the future SOW using this format at the pre-contract level, encouraging dialogue, openness, competition, etc.

If every step is performed accordingly and tracked, congratulations. You've done more to address the viability of a particular RFP (at this stage, prior to a bid decision) than your most formidable competition.

Now imagine doing this for over 300 opportunities per week, per client, and every day without fail. That scale has been achieved without the help of AI or offshore labor (@TKS). DM me for more advanced lessons or trials.

Jo Letke, Founder/CEO of The Knowledge Stack

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