Receiving feedback, especially when it's critical, can evoke strong emotions. However, staying objective can help you process and act on feedback more effectively. Here are some strategies to remove emotion from receiving feedback:Separate Yourself from Your Work: Remember that feedback is about your work, not your personal worth. Mentally distancing yourself can help you stay objective.Ask for Clarification: If something isn't clear, ask for specific examples. This shifts the focus from your emotional response to understanding the feedback better.Look for Patterns: If you receive similar feedback from different sources, it’s likely an area worth focusing on. Identifying patterns can help you see feedback as constructive rather than personal.Reframe Negative Feedback: View criticism as an opportunity for growth rather than a personal attack. This mindset shift can reduce emotional reactions.Delay Your Response: If the feedback is particularly tough, take time to process it before responding. This allows your emotions to settle, so you can reply more thoughtfully.Seek a Balanced Perspective: If you feel overwhelmed, discuss the feedback with a trusted colleague or mentor. They can help you view it more objectively. These strategies can help you approach feedback with a clear, focused mindset, allowing you to benefit from it more fully.After you have submitted the proposal, an internal bid debrief / retrofit should be held with the key team. This session looks at what went well and what did not, how we can improve next time and key learnings. By having this feedback session, it gives each team member a voice. It is not about pointing fingers but improving; this could be how we qualify a bid, how we engage the right team, how we plan, or the specifics around how our proposal came together. Now that you have submitted your bid, it's down to a waiting game (if it is a single-step procurement process), and then comes the decision. You either WIN or LOSE.Working with many different businesses, it seems that most businesses only ask or conduct a review with the customer if they lose, but not if they win. But my question is, why did you win? Was your proposal the best, or did it come down to price? Although you won, where did you score high on your proposal, where did you score low, and why? Whether you win or lose, feedback is a key learning for your next tender submission and the next. Each tender is unique, and you will gain key learnings from every proposal you submit. When you get to meet your customer for the debrief here are some sample questions you ask:
How well did we understand your business?
Where did we score high in our proposal and why?
Where did we score low in our proposal and why
How well did we understand your requirements, both stated and unstated?
What was your deciding factor for the company you selected?
How far away were we from the winning price?
How do you see us improving for next time?
How many responded to the RFP, and what place did XX go?
