South Africa’s recent successful bid for the football world cup brought a lot of publicity for the role of the bid manager. Without a professional to manage their bid, they might not have presented the World Cup. The same can be said of any company that intends to bid for a large business contract.

There is still a lot of confusion about the role of a bid manager, which we will try to clarify. Some people confuse him with a glorified secretary. They expect him to handle all the paperwork relating to the bid and nothing more. This is not his job.

Others treat him as a kind of top-end sales representative. This is isn’t either. Don’t confuse him with a project manager either.

A good manager is someone with a lot of experience of the business world. He would normally have knowledge and experience of project management and he will also have sound financial skills and experience. This enables him to negotiate with people at all levels of seniority.

What you should also understand if you’re considering to employ the services of a manager, is that different types of projects require different bid managers. If you plan to bid on a small project, it’s sufficient to make use of a junior bid administrator who will study what you can offer, investigate what the client wants and then present your bid in such a way that it’s clear you can meet the client’s needs.

Should the contract you plan to bid on be of large, international proportions, you will need someone to manage the bid who is experienced in high level international negotiations. He should have no problem in dealing with top managers and even cabinet ministers. He should also have sufficient knowledge of your type of business to be able to compile a winning proposal.

A bid manager is thus a true professional. As with all professionals, they don’t come cheap. The benefits of using his services will, however, far outweigh the costs, especially if you are bidding on a large contract.

If you would like to win the bid, then you need to have a bid manager. We know the the role of a bid manager is heavy and we are ready to take the on. Are you ready to in the bid?