This is relevant, in the main, to organisations which make extensive use of ‘Pro-Active’ Proposals; Reactive proposals' format(s) are generally prescribed in the Invitation to Tender/Statement of Requirement documents.

We will work in partnership with your stakeholders to develop proposal standards which reflect the ‘look and feel’ of other corporate documentation and/or website(s) to define a 'standard' format for all proposals and/or responses to Requests for Information. We will use our expertise and innovative guidance to define a style which will ensure that your proposals/responses create the right impression with your customer and that the content meets their requirements.

We will then develop a training/mentoring programme for all of your staff involved in the design and development of proposals/responses and deliver the training where required.

Please call/email us for more information – see Contact Page

The majority of proposals/responses any organisation are requested to provide will contain a significant amount of 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQs); it is critical that this response content is not only well-presented, but accurate, easy to read (see Tendering Standards above) and must not appear to be 'Cut & Paste' from a previous document! We will work in partnership with your staff to develop collateral which can be easily tailored as required; the start-point is an audit of your current response documentation.

Utilising a combination of our Document Library and recent RFIs/PQQs/ITTs received by your organisation and the associated responses, we will use our expertise of your industry sector to work as a team with your staff to identify the requirements (exam questions) which provide the most marks during the evaluation process and develop imaginative and innovative content to address the issues.

Information can be presented in textual and easy-to-read graphical format to generate maximum impact; data in tabular, pie-chart and graphical format are easy to assimilate.

It is critical that the responses to FAQs and other generic responses are updated at regular intervals; responses should be refreshed at least quarterly and each time a response to an RFI/ITT/SoR is requested. In addition to FAQ responses we will also work in partnership with your team to anticipate any variations which may be required; we will develop a wide range of responses which will limit excessive additional effort during the response development process.

We provide a Bid Collateral/Library development, hosting and refresh service for a number of professional services providers involving all the activities detailed above. We act as an extension of the in-house tender/bid functions, liaising closely with stakeholders, sales and marketing professionals to ensure that all information maintains its currency and accurately reflects all other corporate documentation – including website(s) and marketing collateral.

You will benefit from reduced lead times in production/publication of responses, reduced in-house involvement (potentially a significant cost reduction) and a guarantee of consistency and quality.

Please call/email us for more information – see Contact Page

Available to all firms which have an established, in-house bid management capability, the objective of this service is to refocus the bid professionals on the objectives of responding to an RFI/ITT/SoR – to win the contract! There is always a temptation to keep repeating the same formula if successful; it is advisable however to 'refresh' perspectives at regular intervals so that bad habits do not creep in! From our own experience, there is nothing worse than evaluating response documentation which appears to be a 'copy and paste job' from another document. Response evaluation/marking can be a difficult task at the best of times – evaluators prefer to read proposed solutions which are specifically geared to the RFI/ITT/SoR 'exam questions' and which offer innovative solutions.

We provide training developed specifically for your individual company requirements, tailored to the needs of your bid professionals. We conduct a half-day fact-finding session which encompasses all staff involved in the development of formal responses and produce a report detailing our recommendations. Following your agreement we will then develop the required training to meet your specific requirements; this can be delivered via Interactive seminars/workshops or in a more formal training environment dependant on the number of staff involved. Recent training has included:

• ROI & risk assessment
• Understanding and assessment of competition and your target market-place
• Effective planning and task allocation
• Storyboard development
• Effective editing & QA reviews
• Framework Contract roll-out planning

Please call/email us for more information – see Contact Page

Whilst the structured training approach outlined above has definite, measurable value to firms which employ a number of dedicated response management staff who could benefit, organisations with one or two individuals involved in the tendering process benefit from a different, more personal approach using mentoring techniques.

Oriented towards staff who are 'new' to the rigours and disciplines of the response development process, we will provide personal, on-site mentoring and guidance specifically developed to suit the background and abilities of each individual. Our consultant(s) will spend time evaluating the organisation’s objectives, interviewing stakeholders and undertake a detailed assessment of the ‘new’ bid professional’s strengths and lesser skills. A detailed mentoring programme will be recommended with appropriate timescales and measurable and achievable objectives.

You will be very impressed at the progress made over a matter of days. Your staff will develop their response planning and developments skills quickly to acquire the confidence to graduate from working with AFM Consulting professionals providing guidance. We judge our success by how quickly your people reach the stage where we are providing only final QA prior to document publication.

Please call/email us for more information – see Contact Page

Selling professional services to public sector demands a different skill and approach to those used within commerce and industry. With over seventy years’ collective experience in working with the public and ‘Third’ sectors, our consultants will help your organisation to break into this burgeoning marketplace.

We will advise on how to translate your success in the private sector into 'brand recognition' within local/central government and charitable sectors. Awareness of your company and its services within these areas will help ensure that you are included in supplier lists when RFIs/PQQs/ITTs are issued which are outside the scope of the Supplement to OJEU advertisements.

Government policy dictates that small- and medium-sized firms are not disadvantaged by public sector tendering processes. We also have a long-established association with a specialist HR firm which will advise you regarding statutory policy requirements for working with the public/third sectors; e.g. Diversity, Health and Safety, Equality etc

Please call/email us for more information – see Contact Page

• Do you really know how you measure against your major competitors?
• Do you track when your customers and prospective customers are due to re-let existing services framework contracts and who are the current suppliers?
• Are you aware which of your customers and prospects are preparing to initiate the tendering process?

As an independent consultancy organisation we constantly research the professional services market, tracking the activities of suppliers and service users alike. We can gather this detailed information because we are independent and respondents to enquiries are more willing to engage with our consultants who undertake the research.

We recognise that professional services suppliers are individual firms with unique requirements; AFM Consulting's specialists work with your sales teams to identify the prospects on which you should concentrate efforts to provide the greatest opportunities of developing profitable business relationships.

We will advise and assist in the development of a prospect 'tracking' system interfacing with any existing CRM application which may already be implemented. The objective being to ensure that your sales/account management staff exploits all potential opportunities and that your company is considered for all the RFIs/PQQs/ITTs issued by these targeted prospects.

Please call/email us for more information – see Contact Page