Penetrating the Public Sector: 

Sound Familiar? 

A common set of themes clients have asked us over the last 12 months have been:

• How the reforms will be impacting their current service delivery and, in turn, how they need to address their own service/ product provision accordingly?
• Whether the procurement/ commissioning routes will change?
• Will there by an extension on the existing terms or will it go dead? Will it not be renewed?
• Will the contract value be reduced? 
• Will it be sustainable? And therefore is it worthwhile pursuing?
• Are there other, more commercially attractive avenues to be explored?
• Will the commissioning directorates and directors be different?
• Will the target organisation itself be changing?
• Are there any elements of the reforms that will be advantageous/ can be leveraged/ exploited?
• What might the changes mean for competition/ volume of suppliers?
• What are the 'actual' requirements, based upon the known information?

These questions are then compounded by the some or all of the following:

• A service delivery team that has responsibility for business development or a tender team that has become an adminstration function
• Regularly reacting to OJEU tenders when they arise and are actioned if they hit a 'sweetspot' of service delivery rather than addressing the bigger picture questions posed above
• Consequently hit rates are lower than they should be as often the perceived bid requirement is different to the need
• Large chunks of time are taken up with this administration process and service delivery is often affected
• Contracts once won prove fruitless
• Morale can sometimes suffer given the % win rates whilst juggling 'business as usual'.

In essence too little time; too many bids; low success rate and suffering morale. Sound familiar?

Tackle it from the front end - be sure of where you focus your efforts from the start...

7House Solution

Over the last 4 years we have comprised a methodology that delivers on how to target all parts of the public sector in order to gain the vital questions to mount 'smart' business development campaigns. Or, in some cases, advise them not to go for a specfic market given impending change, but consider other routes given the research undertaken.

The Example

Typically we are asked to research a specific subset of a public sector vertical e.g within the NHS it could be to gain a full understanding of the 58 Mental Health Trusts for a service/ product.

This could include contracts (current and previous) ; their values; confirmation that the service will be used in the next 12-36 months and if not how it will be replaced.  As well as those suppliers that were successful in the bidding round last time it was let.

As part of this research process, and given our business development backgrounds, we build relationships with those we engage with (at senior and middle management level), in a meaningful way, thereby building a level of trust before any future campaign is undertaken.  That way when tenders do come around for the bid writing stage, a full understanding of the specification (new or existing) is clear.

The research typically lasts two months and at the end of the process, 7House provides a half day to interpret our findings; what we are seeing and; what we would advise as next steps along with the supporting hard and soft data, collated along the way.

Armed with this information an effective business development campaign can be undertaken.

For further information please call 7House on 01225 731430