Bidding hysteria: 5 things that make you tear your hair out.

As part of my complete devotion to using social media as a route to unlimited professional prosperity (read: I'm trying justify my addiction by using it as a work tool rather than as simply a sophisticated time-wasting device), I've started taking part in a few of the discussions raised by various sales and marketing groups on LinkedIn.

The discussion that caught my eye today was entitled: What are the most common problems bid managers face? Here is my response with the top 5 things that came to mind when I saw this question...

Bids, pitches, tenders, proposals, beauty parades ... whatever you call them they can be stressful; causing you to tear your hair out at times. As a business development manager in the professional services industry, they were always the aspect of the job that kept me late in the office and most frequently dialling for a pizza to get me through the dark office hours. But bid writing also keeps your professional adrenalin pumping. They can be immensely rewarding projects to work on and once you understand the challenges it gets easier to anticipate problems and manage them. I would list my top 5 common problems as:

1. Engaging a bid team. Bid management can be lonely (and demoralising) if you try to take it all on yourself. Assembling a team, getting them excited about the potential of the work on offer and securing their commitment and contribution is an important factor in success. It also makes bids far more enjoyable to work on.

2. Keeping the momentum going. As the bid manager you are often the one who makes sure the key milestones are hit that will ensure delivery of the bid, on time and in a winning format. Keeping people interested and involved means you need to radiate energy and enthusiasm (which after a long day/evening editing technical text into readable copy can be a bit of a struggle).

3. Panic! As the deadline gets closer, people panic, the blood pressures of the interested partners rise furiously as they realise they haven't done as much as they should. And as bid manager you need to keep calm and positive and resist the urge to join the hysteria.

4. Making sense of contributed text. Sometimes it can be a few disjointed bullets and sometimes reams of complicated copy presented in the form of long sentences and jargon. Against the clock you can find yourself under pressure to convert this into sparkling, persuasive sales copy that won't send the reader into a deep, peaceful sleep.

5. Managing your time. Pulled in all directions and expected to perform miracles, a good bid manager needs to know what and when to delegate e.g. can a secretary help with the minor tweaks and amends while you focus on creating original content, can an enthusiastic junior fee earner help chase contributions etc?

And looking back over these now, I realise it is overcoming these challenges and managing them with a smile that makes a good bid manager. And also what makes their skills so in demand. Bid managers out there - Afternoon Debate salutes you!

I've taken a trip to the dark side ... and I may just stay here for a while!

Ok, the title and the Darth link are a little bit extreme; I haven't developed a penchant for heavy breathing, a powerful, bass-like voice or a habit for reckless over-usage of a light saber. Yes, you can breath a sigh of relief, the reference to my new position on the dark side is more of a metaphorical reference to my conversion to enthusiastically singing the praises of SEO (previously I whispered them out like a shy little chorister, now I'm belting them out Mariah Carey style).

However, my new dark side is just as geeky as an obsession with Star Wars. SEO has that reputation. But, and here's my first revelation, it's not rocket science. It's not a secret code or IT language that only the enlightened few can understand. It takes a bit of time and thinking but there's a lot of common sense involved. Most importantly it works.

As a writer and marketing professional I've known about SEO for a long time; I understood the theory, the reasoning and had written pieces of basic optimised copy here and there. But as someone who prides themselves on embracing new communications methods, marketing tools and best practice, this didn't feel enough. So, during a few quiet evenings in dull old January, I decided to get into the knitty gritty of SEO and optimise my own website - from key words/phrases, page title tags, meta tags and meta descriptions to internal hyperlinks and external links, I made my way through my site.

And it wasn't just good practical experience of SEO for me. My Google rankings have improved, traffic to my website has gone up (measured on Google Analytics) and I'm already receiving more work enquiries (that have good potential) directly through my website.

SEO is not a scary concept and it's not the dark art you might imagine. But it does involve a certain amount of copywriting skill. A pet hate of mine is websites that you can see have been SEO'd due to the clunky and clumsy inclusion of key words and phrases. When badly written, SEO can disrupt the flow of your text, put your readers off and give your website an amateurish feel.

There is no need to fear SEO but you do need to plan it, integrate it subtly and most importantly get the measurement tools in place so you can see the results of all of your hard work.

And in my crystal ball I see happy clients who love our services more than anything else in the whole wide world

I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to the mystical world of psychics - a load of old gobbledygook if you ask me. I believe (and this is my opinion only) that they simply help you to believe what you want to think of as the truth. And what's the point in that? It's not reality and it's not solving the problem.

And (yes, here comes the connection to marketing) many of us also rely too much on our psychic abilities when defining key marketing messages, strategies and value propositions. We form them based on what we think our clients should need, why we think they want to use us and what we believe they should value in our offer. But, it's time to resist the allure of the crystal ball and build your marketing from reality - from the people who you are selling to and who use your products/services.

Marketing should not be about guess work, it should be grounded in facts. Do you really know what your customers are thinking? Do you know what they need, what bothers them, what keeps them in the office late at night? Do you ever ask:

• What they think of your service - what impact it has had on their business? Anything tangible?
• Is there anything they would like to see more of for you? Anything they aren't happy with or you could do better? 
• How you differ from your competition and what makes them keep coming back to you?
• What challenges are they facing at the moment? How could you help?
• What are their objectives? Is there anything you could be doing to help them achieve them?
• What are their personal priorities - saving time, keeping the boss off there back, reducing their budget? How could you help them with these personal 'hot buttons'?

It may feel like a brave move but asking clients these type of questions can help you when you're creating your marketing messages and tools. It will provide you with robust knowledge that can help you create materials that speak directly and persuasively to the critical issues your existing and prospective customers are facing. By understanding value as your client's see it, you will be able to present a much more compelling case to prospective customers.

A new toast: Good riddance frivolity & a heart-warming welcome to savvy marketing

Let's embrace the madness and raise our teacups to marketing on a budget.

Do you remember the days when marketing budgets allowed for flamboyancy? When frivolous hospitality ruled and rounds of drinks consumed in the name of business development could be slyly signed off as a marketing expense. But it's frustration rather than a haze of nostalgic fondness I remember - cringing awkwardly as I watched marketing spend rise that was impossible to measure and flinching at the dubious disrespect for return on investment.

Well, those days are over. Phew. Being more creative with a limited budget could actually be a good thing for the role and credibility of marketing in your organisation. It's an opportunity to strip out the habitual activities that deliver little more than a few tipsy smiles and focus instead on finding new ways to build lasting relationships that will ultimately lead to increased revenues and profit.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Proactively manage your referral network.
An enthusiastic endorsement from a third party is an influential and cost-effective marketing tool. So often people say - "most of my work comes from referrals" - yet do you ever actually ask for referrals? Why not? Could you be collaborating closer with intermediaries to unlock more potential from word of mouth? Is there an opportunity for them to facilitate introductions to their client base for you? Referrals are based on your reputation and trust between the two parties; so why not treat these relationships with the same care and attention you treat your clients?

2. Seek opportunities to collaborate (but be selective).
Creating strategic alliances with compatible partners not only offers an opportunity to share marketing costs and effort but can also bolster your brand and profile. Could you piggy back the marketing activities of a bigger brand that would enhance your credibility and reputation? Do you have a niche expertise or offer that a bigger brand would be interested in? Could you win more work or deliver it more profitably by developing a more joined up approach with a niche supplier? What can you do together to craft an irresistible proposition to a new client? After all in these tough times, half of the work is better than none at all. For shared marketing efforts to work both parties have to benefit, so think what you can bring to the collaboration and what you would like in return.

3. Write articles, speak at events, get your PR up to scratch.
Advertising and sponsorship is a luxury for most firms at the moment. But instead of shrinking into the background, use your expertise to propel you into the spotlight. Yes, it takes more effort, but good quality editorial coverage and speaking slots at key industry events are a far more credible and focused way to communicate your capability and raise your profile within your target market.