Tips on going direct?

[northernladuk]

But the other 1% of the time it can be very lucrative. While I wouldn't say it's for everyone, I've found getting on various frameworks and bidding on tenders can work out well. Last and current projects were through tendered bids (not G-Cloud or DoS) and I'm crossing my fingers that I'm about to get the next project the same way.
Still got to pay the framework %age, but I always add it on to my quote so the client ends up covering it.

I think the 99% Eek mentioned was more symbolic than factual. Chance of your standard contractor getting one are closer to absolute nil. The number of contractors that have managed to make a living from these is miniscule.

[TheDude]

What surprises me is no one is mentioning tendering.

Tendring in Essex is quite nice.

We need to change the narrative.

[eek]

I think the 99% Eek mentioned was more symbolic than factual. Chance of your standard contractor getting one are closer to absolute nil. The number of contractors that have managed to make a living from these is miniscule.

Tenders have zero benefit for contractors - while it's probably not true that they will have been written by the preferred supplier it's often not far off the truth...

[WTFH]

Tenders have zero benefit for contractors - while it's probably not true that they will have been written by the preferred supplier it's often not far off the truth...

I would expect most tenders are written by the preferred supplier, or at least heavily reviewed/checked by them.
For those that aren't, then it's a race to the bottom - who will go in the cheapest, not who is the best. It's a lazy way of rejecting business by interviewing fewer people and letting the prices fall.

[eek]

I would expect most tenders are written by the preferred supplier, or at least heavily reviewed/checked by them.
For those that aren't, then it's a race to the bottom - who will go in the cheapest, not who is the best. It's a lazy way of rejecting business by interviewing fewer people and letting the prices fall.

the ones I've seen have questions designed so that only their preferred firm can win. My favourite was 1 that required direct support from Adobe consulting - which was only possible from 1 of the firms asked to tender..

[GitMaster69]

the ones I've seen have questions designed so that only their preferred firm can win. My favourite was 1 that required direct support from Adobe consulting - which was only possible from 1 of the firms asked to tender..

the ones I saw offered maybe 10% margin at best. One of the reasons I dropped out of consultancy type of approach.
However I saw few Digital Outcomes 6 that pay 800pd outside. If you can hit the skillset sweetspot

[northernladuk]

However I saw few Digital Outcomes 6 that pay 800pd outside. If you can hit the skillset sweetspot

And could you hit the sweet spot? Just picking day rates and waving them about is next to useless.

[GitMaster69]

And could you hit the sweet spot? Just picking day rates and waving them about is next to useless.

So far you provided 0 tips. Why you're even here? MODS? Escort him out

[northernladuk]

So far you provided 0 tips. Why you're even here? MODS?

Pointing out the flaws in yours is perfectly valid and can be just as useful.

[jamesbrown]

I only work direct. There are basically two ways to get direct contracts. To do this consistently, both require that you are a specialist, not a generalist.

The first is networking, building a contact list of clients who you've supplied in the past or who will provide recommendations to other potential clients.

The second is bidding or tendering, but this generally won't work as a micro company, you will need to join forces with other (larger) suppliers.

I do a mix of both but, again, you're pretty much wasting your time if you're a generalist, like a coder.

There is a subset of the first case where you've already worked with clients before and they invite you back, which may be a possibility as a generalist if you did an outstanding job, but the reality is that generalists are easy to come by, on demand, and clients don't really need to look you up, so that will only work rarely, not as a strategy.

Whether you're a specialist or a generalist, advertising is pretty much a waste of time.

In summary, specialise first and then develop a reputation and a network over time, attending conferences or technical events etc. You should make a particular effort to find other suppliers that you can tender with.