The Client and the Contract
How projects won through competitive tendering differ from direct client work, why a good relationship won’t guarantee the next contract, and what PMs love about working with big brands.
Agencies win some clients directly and others through competitive tenders. On paper, the work is the same: requirements, deadlines, budgets, development and approvals. With direct client work, you can often negotiate your way through a change. On a project won through a tender, even a small change can send you back to the contract, the spec and the change approval process. And the client isn’t the problem.
The contract says no
Clients who use competitive tendering aren’t all conservative bureaucrats. I’ve met plenty of forward-thinking, technically capable and entirely reasonable people at large companies. They’re great to talk to about the product, new tech and less obvious solutions. But mention a change to scope, budget or deadlines and the contract enters the chat.
It makes sense. Your contact has internal policies, procurement procedures, an approved budget and responsibilities to their company. Personally supporting the team’s proposal doesn’t mean they have the authority to approve it. A decision that takes one meeting on a direct client project can take weeks here, with legal, finance or procurement all needing to sign off.
As a PM, you need to know who makes the decisions, what changes the contract allows and where your contact’s authority ends. You can keep talking for as long as you like. If they can’t approve the change, the conversation needs to move to someone who can.
A big name in the portfolio
One reason to love projects won through tenders is the chance to work with big brands. Well-known companies, complex products and serious standards for security, documentation and quality. Oh, that’s the good stuff. For an agency, a contract like that can open up a new market, build credibility and put bigger projects within reach.
For the PM, it also makes a rather solid line on the CV. Leading a project for a recognised brand, working across departments and actually delivering it is a strong career story. That kind of experience can help you move to a bigger company or land projects that used to feel out of reach.
A big name doesn’t guarantee a profitable contract. Confidentiality terms may also limit what you can share as a public case study. That doesn’t make the experience any less valuable. Especially when there’s real management work behind the logo.
Great working together. No promises about next time
There’s an annoying side to projects won through competitive tendering. You can spend several great months with a client, deliver successfully, build trust and even start discussing what’s next for the product. Then the next tender comes around and another company wins it.
The reasons may have nothing to do with quality. A competitor offered better terms. The procurement requirements, budget or evaluation criteria changed. You now know the product and the client’s internal processes inside out, but someone else gets to carry on. Not exactly a treat for the PM who put so much into it. It can go the other way too. The client is so happy with the team that they invite you to discuss future projects, share their plans and want you to bid in the next tender. That’s the version I’ve seen more often. It’s one of the nicest signs that you’re doing a good job as a PM.
Any early discussion of requirements still needs to follow the procurement rules, of course. But the fact that the client wants to work with us again means a lot. Especially when choosing the supplier isn’t theirs alone to decide.
Neither better nor worse
Direct client projects usually leave more room to renegotiate terms and reach agreements with the people involved. Projects won through tenders tend to have more formal procedures, contractual constraints and people in the approval chain. You get great clients and difficult ones in both. The economics can vary just as much. I find both interesting. One gives you more room to agree on changes and adjust the plan quickly. The other makes you pay very close attention to commitments, documentation and decision-making authority. Both can give a PM genuinely valuable experience.
The key difference is that even when you and the client understand each other perfectly, your room to make decisions and the chance to work together again still depend on the contract and the procurement process.
I’m a project manager. About working with russian clients and teams, sharing experience and things I’ve noticed.