If you don’t win a contract for work, don’t exit the relationship with the buyer. Instead use it as a learning experience and look for other opportunities with the buyer.

BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro Tip ask for a debrief. Ask the buyer how they came to their decision, why you were not chosen and for constructive feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your proposal.

BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro Tip maximize the value of the debrief. Ask questions like “how did I rank on solution and price?”. What did the successful tenderer have that we didn’t have?

BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro TipTip#3 ask about other opportunities. For example, you may not have won the website tender, but you could win the SEM (Search Engine Marketing) business.

BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro Tip remember that in New Zealand, people move roles and things change. While you may not win this round, keep up positive relationships because you don’t know what might come out of it.