Interactive framework and procurement training from our experts

Breaking into the public sector is challenging but rewarding, both commercially and in the range of exciting projects available. Translating private sector success into public sector sales demands an attuned approach and strategy.

It’s essential to know how to best position yourself as a partner to the public sector. Selling to government involves knowing which organisations to target, how to reach decision makers, navigating procurement rules, understanding buyers’ needs and adapting your service to meet them. Successful companies help public sector clients solve both their business and technology challenges.

To help you position your company to partner with the public sector, we have developed a bespoke online workshop with one of the top UK public sector technology experts, our Strategic Adviser Jos Creese.

In this one hour call, Jos advises on the following areas:

• Target market identification and prioritisation
• Product positioning and strategy and tactical recommendations
• How to best leverage existing public sector clients and partners
• Marketing and messaging, social media, and customer outreach
• Your best way to start or improve your approach to the sector

Public sector procurement is designed to be fair and equal to all, so it’s tempting to spot a contract notice or framework opportunity and think “that’s right up our street, let’s give it a go.” However, in Advice Cloud’s experience, your best chance of winning a public sector contract is to have positioned your company to win before an Invitation to Tender (ITT) or Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued.

In the world of tenders and proposals, the phase between identifying an opportunity and receiving an ITT or RFP is known as “Capture”. This phase may last weeks, months or years. It’s an iterative process that improves your probability of winning, by analysing and understanding the buyer and the opportunity.

Successful suppliers interact and influence the procurement throughout the Capture phase. You need to understand the unique needs, timescale, budget and stakeholders behind each opportunity.

This service is designed to help you develop your understanding and operational delivery of good Capture Planning. A strong Capture Plan will help you make the buyer fall in love with you, putting you in the best position to win when the ITT opens.

This is perfect if you have:

• Established sales skills but require objective advice and guidance to improve your approach to capture.
• Identified opportunities with a suitable window of time to execute Capture activity before receiving an ITT or RFP.
• Existing contracts you are expecting to have to re-compete on expiry (known as This service is suitable if you have… Re-capture)

Did you know?

• There are over 2,500 public sector organisations of all sizes across the country, with technology needs to meet.
• The sector spends over £20 billion every year on IT hardware, software, telecoms and services.
• Government is committed to spending 33% of its budget with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

If you’re taking your first steps into the public sector, or looking to grow your business, having strong sales, marketing and bidding fundamentals in place is essential for success. To do this right, you need to strengthen and adapt your marketing, sales and bidding practices to win public sector business.

Advice Cloud has developed this bespoke service package to improve your business development operations. This service teaches you how to optimise your approach for the public sector, qualify and connect with potential clients, navigate frameworks, tender applications and create winning bids.

This is perfect if you:

• Limited or zero operational experience in marketing, sales and/or bidding and you need to understand how to build these functions to support growth. This scenario typically arises when you are moving from being an owner-founder-managed business where success has come from personal contacts and referrals, and now it’s time to expand.
• Established marketing, sales and/or bidding capability and you need to understand how to adapt to the public sector. This scenario typically arises when your focus to date has been in the private and/or third sectors.
• Identified weaknesses in your marketing, sales and/or bidding functions and want to strengthen capability. The scenario typically arises when progress in the public sector is zero, slow, or you’ve experienced some opportunity losses

Our Win with G-Cloud training is a half-day coaching session aimed at improving your company’s capabilities and understanding of the G-Cloud framework. Delivered at a location of your choice, the session is delivered by our procurement and G-Cloud experts.

Win with G-Cloud includes:

• Public Sector Procurement basics and building the foundations of your knowledge
• An introduction to the Framework and how Buyers benefit – and how Suppliers can help!
• A review of your G-Cloud presence
• How to use your G-Cloud listing in your Public Sector Marketing
• How to use your G-Cloud listing in a successful sales strategy

The Win with DOS training from Advice Cloud is a half-day coaching workshop for the Digital Outcomes & Specialists framework. Covering all the most important aspects of winning business on the framework, and building up your teams knowledge of procurement and DOS. Delivered by our Digital Outcomes & Specialists and bid review experts, Win with DOS covers:

• How the Digital Outcomes and Specialists framework sits in wider public sector procurement
• The basics of the framework and how Buyers (and Suppliers!) should be using it
• The bidding process for Stage 1 – what Buyers look for and Supplier best practice
• Advice and guidance from our experts on how to improve your written responses
• Stage 2 (proposal) responses and how best to craft them