
Insights and news
The importance of deconstructing a bid
Across both the public and private sectors, the process to manage a successful bid submission can be complex and daunting, even for the most experienced bid professionals.
Stephen Alexander raises money for Redditch food bank, Friends of Isaac
Our business recently ran a campaign to generate funds from clients all over the UK to support Friends of Isaac’s Food Bank.
How private businesses can prepare for a new era of public procurement
We have collaborated with Kate Canning Legal Director at Gateley and the team to create this article - How private businesses can prepare for a new era of public procurement.
Business development isn’t just for sales teams
Business development shouldn’t be confined to sales teams. There are lots of people within a business that can contribute to growing new referral relationships, spotting new opportunities, and cross-selling to existing customers.
How to do great business development when you don’t have the time to spare
For many busy businesses, business development (BD) often falls to the bottom of the priority list.
So, how can you effectively engage in business development when time is limited?
How to create compelling case studies
Case studies are one of the most powerful tools in marketing and often a key element of a successful bid.
But how can you ensure your case studies stand out, engage your audience, and demonstrate the value you deliver to your clients?
We’ve put together a simple guide to help you unlock the potential of this valuable content.
Tracking your referrals and introducers
Do you know who refers work to you?
Referrals can be one of the most powerful sources of business for SMEs, but do you know who’s referring work your way? Do you have a system in place to track them and monitor your referrals? If not, we have some top tips for you.
Understanding client strategies in a bid process
Understanding client strategies is key to developing a winning bid. It proves you’ve done your research and considered how you will support each client in achieving their goals. Unsure where to start? We’ve created some helpful tips on how to identify client strategies and embed them across your submissions.
A quick guide to market engagement sessions
Early market engagement provides opportunity for clients to engage with potential suppliers, prior to procurement. It provides suppliers with the opportunity to both inform the specification, and to determine if the opportunity is viable.
Stephen Alexander takes first office space as it pushes for growth
Stephen Alexander, has taken its first office space as the firm continues to push forward with its growth plans.
How to create your bid / no bid process
A bid process is a set of key criteria that defines what opportunities would be suitable for your business. Taking the time to develop the criteria as a well-defined bid /no bid checklist can be the difference in you winning or losing a bid.
Stephen Alexander supports first school careers fair
Our directors Alex Footman and Stephen Timmins were invited by Mount Carmel First School to support their Careers Fair at the end of May. As part of the school’s programme to engage local businesses and help its pupils understand more about the world of work, they invited our team and several other businesses to attend and showcase their business to their pupils from Year 3 and 4.
Stephen Alexander wins new start up award
We recently won the 'New Business/Start-Up of the Year 2023' accolade at the Midlands Service Excellence Awards – one of the region’s leading awards programmes that recognises organisations for delivering exceptional client service.
A complete guide to the five stages of bidding behaviour
Bidding for new work can be complicated, intense, and stressful and this can often lead to some typical behaviours that can dilute the quality of a bid response. From our vast experience of managing bid and tender processes across a range of industry sectors, we've compiled an overview of the behaviours we see in businesses and bid teams from spotting an opportunity to finalising and submitting a response. At each stage, we have summarised key hints and tips for how to overcome the challenges we see as the bid process progresses.
Our first six months
Six months ago we launched Stephen Alexander. Since July last year, it’s been a busy time working with businesses across a range of different sectors supporting their bids, marketing, and business development activity. Check out our video to see what we’ve been up to.
A guide to winning new work: bidding fundamentals
Work wining guide: in this guide, we have collated some of our key tips all in one place - providing businesses with a reference tool to help them improve many of the ways in which they approach bidding for new clients and contracts and how they promote their business.
The importance of deconstructing a bid
The process to manage a successful bid submission can be complex and daunting. The key to navigating the process begins and ends with comprehensive planning and deconstructing every opportunity and bid. Take a look at our short guide.
Partnering with Lightbulb Credit
We’re excited to announce we’ve partnered with Lightbulb Credit - the UK’s first trade credit rating advisory business.
Adam Hutchison joins our business as Non-Executive Director
We are delighted to announce that Adam Hutchison has joined our business as Non-Executive Director.