Procurement – who wins?
Posted on January 11, 2011 at 10:41 am, by aspect
Now here’s a scary word – procurement! I’ve just finished an e-bid process and I still don’t know if we’ve won. The system had a magic button that, when pressed, automatically made your bid the cheapest. To me, it’s like playing roulette and yet the procurement team told me it was their favourite button! The question is: ‘does procurement really add value in communications?’ By pressing the magic button aren’t we reducing our proposition to a commodity? Can we really compare hiring our services to buying a tin of baked beans? I passionately don’t think so. It’s about achieving that ideal combination of value, quality, creativity and price. What’s more, every communications company offers something different within these criteria. Of course, your client has to trust that you will deliver what you say you will but how do you communicate this in an e-bid or in a procurement discussion where, more often than not, the only topic seems to be money? Do I think procurement reduces costs for clients? Absolutely and, of course, competition is healthy from all perspectives. But, at the same time, do our clients trade-off creativity for price through the procurement process? Unfortunately, I often think they do. Successful communication companies have built their business and reputation on the relationships with their clients – How does procurement fit into this process? So what’s the answer? Maybe it’s about embracing the procurement teams and trying to love them as much as we do our day-to-day clients. Sometimes it’s really difficult though, particularly when the pitch process is de-personalised to the point of an e-bid. What I do know is if you can get on to a procurement roster and build a relationship with the procurement team based on creativity and trust then it works. You gain a huge amount of credibility and your client gains peace of mind, knowing that you have been fully scrutinised and have passed the procurement test. Author: Simon King-Cline
Live for the planning…. simples!
Posted on December 16, 2010 at 3:14 pm, by aspect
Failing to plan is planning to fail… simple. When it comes to the world of events management ‘What? Why? When? Where? How?’ may sound like the ramblings of an inexperienced amateur but it is, in fact, the beginnings of an all-important plan. Whether you have one year or one week to organise an event, it always come back to the planning. Simple right? Like all things in life, structure is needed. Think of planning an event like cooking for a dinner party. If you don’t study your recipes and prepare a shopping list you could easily forget a vital ingredient! My advice would be to create a system that works for you but – however you choose to go about it – here are a few key pointers to bear in mind:
- No.1 is the most obvious but also the most fundamental – scope out your project critical path in full. It will force you to think through the whole project from beginning to end, as well as highlighting key deadlines.
- Decide how the attendees should feel at the end of the event as they walk out of the door, and then work back from there. Everything you plan and do should be focused on achieving these objectives. It’s not just about what you say but how you say it – the décor, the tone and style, the pre- and post-event communication, the onsite activities – every element should work together to deliver your message.
- Put yourself in the audience’s shoes (believe it or not most people forget about the audience when planning an event!) Think through the whole flow of the event through their eyes – it will help you iron out the practical elements and identify any logistical wrinkles.
- Make sure the audience is engaged all the way through the event and delegates are interacting and sharing their opinions. They should be working hard at an event – not falling a sleep in their chairs!
- Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse – strong messages and content are worthless if they are not delivered effectively.
