It's a Bid Explosion

As some commentators bravely report the GFC as history, at Seldon Gill we have seen evidence in support with a continued increase in confidence from all types of professional services firms when it comes to investing in their marketing and bd support.  In particular, over the last few months at Seldon Gill we have entered a Bid Explosion!

In the last 6 to 12 months there has been a steady rise in marketing and bd roles across the Professional Services arena as firms feel the market improve and candidates get itchy feet after sitting tight during the GFC. However, in the past few months it’s the bid roles that are taking off, both here in Australia and across Asia.  There are many contributing factors including: the increase in competition for both clients and pieces of work, the increase in compliance matters – companies having to show the integrity of their tender process, the renewed focus on getting the pricing strategy right, and, the increased comfort some senior Partners feel when hiring bid specialists rather than generalist marketers due to the obvious impact on the bottom line.  

This increased focus on bids means that not only are these candidates in higher demand, firms are demanding more from their bids professionals.  Firms want their bids specialists to produce compelling and accurate copy, to project manage processes efficiently, to be creative and know how to differentiate the bid, to advise on pricing and strategy and more.  The variety in job titles of the roles we are currently working on show the subtle difference in focus from firm to firm: Proposal Coach, Bid Manager and Tender Writer being three examples from our job pages.

Where clients look to source their bids specialists will depend on the firm’s key focus. Firms with a need for exceptional tender writers who understand how to manage the process well for a law firm are looking to candidates with previous professional services experience.  However, at Seldon Gill we are increasingly seeing firms buying in talent from outside of these sectors (often from IT and financial services), particularly if the firm’s key driver is to differentiate their bids, be creative and to bring a fresh approach.