Can Bayesian statistics really determine in advance if the bid you are offering will be the winner or just another loser? And, if the metrics forecast a loss, can the same algorithm tell you what to change in order to win instead?

Competitive bidding is where big money sales opportunities are won or lost, and there are four (4) rules that can help you turn a losing situation into a winning sale.

These four rules help you better understand what the customer wants, examine what competitors might do in response and how to beat them, while helping you to offer the best bid, optimized for yours and your prospective customer’s intended outcome. Statistical metrics evaluate your probability of success against the competition and help you more objectively determine how to win. But how can you get at the foundational issues that will determine who will win?

Learning objectives:

  1. Learn the Four Rules that help you understand what will actually determine the customer’s decision.
  2. Visualize your bid head-to-head against the competition and employ objective metrics to determine if you will win.
  3. Identify weaknesses in your offer that must be improved for your bid to beat the competition.

Bill Zangwill is a Professor, Emeritus, from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He has authored four published books, one of which was selected by the Library Journal as “One of the Best Business Books of the Year,” and had over 50 papers in academic journals. In addition, he has had three articles published in the Wall Street Journal. His consulting engagements include top firms such as IBM, AT&T, Motorola, many smaller firms and the US government. He has also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of California, Berkeley. He is considered one of the most innovative thinkers in his field.