7 TIPS ON HOW TO WIN BIDS

If you are new at submitting bids for office equipment supplies, the following information will be valuable to you.

Winning a bid can be wonderful or it can be a very expensive nightmare if you are not careful.

The following advice on submitting bids to colleges and universities for remanufactured cartridges comes from John Connolly at Image Control Corporation in Toronto.

1. Find an inside influence better yet: final decision maker. Without this you may spend a lot of time without a sale.

2. Almost all bids, RFPs & tenders are written with a vendor in mind.

3. Watch out for ISO 900X certification, if youre not an exact match, someone else is. If your competition is new cartridges or the University Computer Store, one way you can differentiate yourself is to offer no-charge bi-annual cleaning and preventive maintenance -- make sure all campuses are within an hours drive.

4. Little booklets like the Holtz Laser Printer Customer Handbook seem to have limited effect when just mailed to prospects, but a busy help desk manager may appreciate their value.

5. Service, of course is a big plus, but dont give it away too cheaply.

6. Hard selling to schools is taboo.

7. Lastly, Id say Good luck, but listening, being thorough and only promising what you can PROFITABLY deliver will have more to do with succeeding.

John Connolly, Customer Service
Image Control Corp., Toronto

About the Author

Reprinted with permission
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