New Year, new customers.
No sooner had we got back from a holiday of too many mince pies and snoozing in front of the TV than things have gone mad in the world of Bid Support and Business Proposal Writing.  Our friends at Star kept us busy in week one with a bid that involved the production of a 70 page RFP response that included graphics, mindmaps and embedded videos. It’s one of the most compelling documents we’ve seen in a long time, and who knew IP Telephony could be so fascinating!
 
This was swiftly followed with the final polishing of a pitch presentation for another long-term customer TNT Post. They’re into final rehearsals now with a stunning looking deck that has some powerful and unique differentials underpinning it, so hoping for more success there. We’ve also welcomed a new customer, Wildnet into the fold with a proposal structure and design workshop. Not bad going for the first two weeks of the January, looks like it is going to be a busy 2012!

The behind the scenes team grows.
With a growing client list, and more Bid Support and Business Proposal Writing requests flying in to the Sales Engine office on a weekly basis we’ve strengthened the bid support team to ensure we can deliver the highest quality at all times. 

Our newest team member is Natasha Leigh-Wootton who will be focused on building the base documents, checking on all those niggling formatting issues to ensure the documents are perfect and providing support to the Bid Managers and Consultants. She has already shown herself to be fantastically calm under pressure, which in our line of work is much needed!

A warm welcome to a new consultant.
As the colder months approach us we’re really pleased to be able to welcome a new consultant into the warmth of the Sales Engine consultancy team. We work hard to find the best talent in Bid Support, Sales Presentation Training and Business Proposal Writing and we’re very excited to have Rachael Rogan joining us.

Rachael has spent a good number of years as a Bid Manager for professional services firms which has given her the experience and grounding that will enable her to offer the highest possible support to our clients. She has already been thrown in at the deep end with a couple of clients, and has begun a programme to refine the bid process for one to make them more effective and give them more review time before submission, a cracking start. Prior to immersing herself in bids Rachael was in marketing, so she also has a great eye for design, branding and all things look and feel, this will prove a massive bonus when it comes to the creation of that all important pitch presentation.

Sector Spanning Bid Support
Life’s never dull here at Sales Engine.

The common factor across all of these bids?  Each of these very different organisations came to us for expert support and advice on how to manage incredibly important bids.

In true Sales Engine style, we’ve provided the support they need by engaging with the whole team at an early stage.  By getting involved early on in the process, we’ve been able to shape the bids and put our customers in pole position for winning the business (sorry – we couldn’t stop ourselves with that last reference to Formula 1).

To learn more about the Sales Engine Bid Support process, simply click here.

“And So To Bid” – The Sales Engine Guide to Bid Support
After much pondering, proof reading and debate over images, we’re extremely pleased to announce the launch of our handy guide to bid support.
In a bold break from most other bid support guides, this is packed full of waffle-free, practical advice that could very possibly make all the difference at you next pitch.

If you’re one of the many business people that sweat and dry heave at the very thought of the bid process, worry not – this guide was written with you very much in mind. 

“For some peculiar reason, the whole science of bid support has become a little self-important over the last couple of years”, says Sales Engine’s Sally Broome.  “We were determined to counter the typical dry and academic approach of others by sharing our experiences in a practical and accessible way.  Here at Sales Engine, we’re immersed in the management and support of bids for some huge businesses and wanted to tell it like it really is.  That included acknowledging the inevitable late nights, the occasional inter-team tantrums and the very real stress of a looming deadline.  That’s the reality of bids in 2011 and until now, no-one has ever really explained it clearly”.

Contact the team to request a copy of “And So To Bid” – it could win you your next bid (or, at a minimum, save you your sanity).

So that’s exactly what we did. We’ve opened up a new office in the quiet market town of Potton in Bedfordshire where our busy consultants and bid managers can escape the craziness of the capital and focus time and energy on our biggest priority – our customers.

Very much designed to be a “home from home”, the office is equipped with all the fancy gizmos and connectivity you’d expect…plus the finest coffee machine money can buy.  Drop us a line or give us a call if you’d like to pop in and have a look around…

“We’re delighted to have struck up this agreement with the senior team at Star”, commented Sales Engine MD, Steve Robinson.  “Not only does this demonstrate the value that we bring to Star’s bid process, it also allows us to build on the great work we’ve done to date.  Bid support is a constantly moving feast and to be given the opportunity to support a great company like Star in this way is a real privilege”.

Case studies of Sales Engine’s work with Star can be downloaded from here.

We’ve known Rob for too many years to mention – during this time, he’s gained an encyclopaedic knowledge of high end B2B sales processes through years of experience running (and winning!) large bids to both the private and public sector.

Just the sort of chap we want on the team.

We have no doubt his mix of experience and knowledge of the increasingly complex world of bids and bid management will ensure Rob quickly becomes as invaluable to our customers as the rest of the Sales Engine team.
In short, we’re delighted to have him on the team…  Welcome on board, Rob!

We’ve known Tim for quite some time.  We’ve worked with him on a few projects over the years and he’s always struck us as a “Sales Engine kinda guy”.

By that we mean commercially experienced, brimming with ideas and enthusiasm and willing to work his backside off for our clients and the rest of the team.  What more could we ask for?

As anticipated, Tim has hit the ground running with a number of brand new sales collateral development projects already on the go.  In addition, he’ll be supporting the Bid Support team by lending a hand as we gear up for our busiest quarter to date.