Leverage on bids and tenders as an avenue to expand your business internationally
Submitting proposals for international bids and tenders is a great avenue to secure contracts in other countries and expand internationally. This can often be a challenging and costly process, but if approached strategically, often a wise investment.
Some factors to take into consideration include:
- Initial travel and accommodation expenses
- Local regulation particularly related to setup costs
- Doing business internationally in general, including costs associated with hiring locally
- Customs and cultural implications of doing business in that particular country.
Winning a medium or large size contract is often more efficient that undertaking an international expansion campaign. Jason Cooney, founder of The Tender Team and Tsaks Group, provides these great tips for winning international bids and tenders:
Search the global tenders search engines
Search for tenders internationally. There are many global tender directories you can search on, as well as tenders in the country which you are targeting. Most of these let you sign up for free, and it’s important to conduct a robust bid/no bid process. Don’t forget, if you are in a niche product or service market, then it’s important to conduct a global search for opportunities.
Find a local partner
Setting up a JV with a local partner can be a good avenue for winning more international contracts. It’s a great idea to find a local partner that provides complimentary service to your offering. For example, often there will be tenders called for plumbing and gasfitting. If this is a large government or mining tender, you may only have the plumbing capability but not the gasfitting capability. By joining with a local gasfitter, you not only get assistance navigating the local culture and regulations, you find a complimentary service and increase your chances of winning the tender. Finding a local partner can be helpful, and governments in particular look upon it favorably.
Play to your strengths
It’s important to play to your strengths and focus on your areas of specialisation – especially when bidding internationally. This is not only because you have increased prospects of success when you pitch for a contract where you have specialist capability, but also because Government and multinational companies like to have appointed an ‘international expert’. It gives them something to talk about, be proud of, and adds credibility to what they are looking to achieve. It’s important to keep this in mind and appeal to this thinking.
In addition, when you play to your strengths you will have the experience and expertise and therefore, a strong bid.
Tenders and Bids help Businesses Expand Internationally
The Tender Team, the Australian arm of TSAKS Consultancy, an international tenders and bids consultancy founded by Jason Cooney. We help companies expand globally by winning bids and tenders. Email info@thetenderteam.com.au for more information.
