Can anyone offer some thought leadership on how to compete against low-cost competition during a tender process? When cost is a driving factor (as it nearly always is - only the extent to which it is, differs) how can you create a compelling proposition whilst still maintaining adequate risk / profit margins - and ultimately delivering a quality piece of work.Tips from experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I will answer your question with a quote from ( [url]http://www.timedoctor.com/biz3.0/how-to-prepare-quotes-for-clients-that-get-accepted/[/url] ) - " Selling somebody does not need to be complicated. Make sure you can do the job, show how you’re the best and for god sakes charge the proper amount. Don’t try to compete with other bids, figure out what you need to complete the project and then add your margin. "

Im not qualified to comment really but couple of things from the world of exec search which might stimulate some more inputs:dont compete on price - you pay for what you get so the client shouldnt be asking why are you more expensive, they should be asking how your competitors can do it so cheaply? If they want a Ford Mondeo why are they looking at a Jag?be prepared to walk away from work - diminishing returns and all that.

I'm not disagreeing with the cost/quality sentiments above, but there is another way to phrase the question…."why are you so damn expensive?"All too often the answer is that you have fairly average consultants on high basic salaries and a director-to-partner strata that generate little direct billing but want 200K/500K a year each.I lterally laugh out loud when I hear about firms reacting to tighter economic conditions by cutting staff numbers but leaving the salaries of remaining staff the same. A cut in production capacity tends to INCREASE unit cost, not reduce it.

Hi Arby,A recurring practice when tendering in consulting is brain picking. That's when the prospect will suck as much knowledge as possible out of the consultants working on the proposal; and end up hiring the cheapest freelance or simply not hiring anyone.When business is scarce, you may be tempted to give away too much ideas to the prospect in your proposal. Let's be clear. If the prospect thinks he got enough from you, he will not buy from you; as simple as that. To showcase your talent choose to focus on a specific issue. If the prospect is serious about doing business with you, a sample of the value you can bring to his firm will suffice. Giving away too much will never increase your chances of closing the deal...Consultants need to obey similar rules than strippers: never show everything right away and don’t allow clients to touch. Building up frustrations is a terrific way to sell more. Here are some great advises on avoiding brain pickers..[url]http://www.consultingcafe.com/articles/beware-of-brain-pickers[/url] Best of luck!

Good point Jasmine and I tell you that I actually did try using time doctor's tracking software like you suggested in this post and my site: [url]http://wallstreetgenerators.com[/url] was having a minor issue with the template so I have to now get a professional site developer to fix it. I heard it was good so once this is fixed i'll keep you updated on the results.

HiI'm currently a low cost competitor and often come up against the big boys. Do hear are some thoughts:- You can't compete on price so don't. - You can't compete in expertise and quality of outcome as we're niche experts and know what we're doing inside out.So your strengths are:- Reassuringly expensive.- Brand - nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM. Stress that you won't go bankrupt leaving the client high and dry, and you can't afford reputational damage.- Get impressive people to pitch and schmooze the execs and then get in some grads to do the work.- Make beautiful presentations. We don't bother.- Don't offer advice, share thought leadership which is worth considerably more ; )