Know-How Exchange : Strategy

First, just because it goes out to bid doesn't mean the university must award to lowest bidder. As someone who has bid many projects-- where we are bidding "or equals"-- not something as nebulous as your service (as in definable) I can tell you from personal experience-- low price isn't the factor.

Next, there is no reason to give proprietary secrets. You are selling the Rwhite fundraising system. Ok, let them bid on that.

3rd, you are assuming that there will be bidders. How many bidders will there be for a free service. How will your competitors know this bid is out??

Call your contact and let them explain the wording of your notice. And let your loose wording and zero bid price stand.

I've bid items -- tangibles -- things like desks and chairs-- bid it as "one lot"-- just to satisfy the requirment. I ran and you won't -- the risk of someone missing 20 desks and coming in low bid. Or, the contractor who does that, is forced to supply at no additional cost the items they "missed"

Thanks for you responses, Guys !
I'm gonna' leave the question out there for a few more opinions...

Some thought. on John's post...

#1 - If this really matters to you, for personal or financial reasons, get a lawyer with experience in this area. There is no substitute.

No doubt I can get a legal opinion one way or another, but what's fairly certain is that the U is not going to accept it unless THEY have ther legal dept. do the research. In my experience this could take MONTHS. Meanwhile there are other Us out there that are not State owned.

#2 - If you want to properly protect confidential information, you need to have the other party sign a non-disclosure agreement that specifically defines what they can and cannot do with the information you provide and what the legal remedies will be if there is a breach of the agreement.

I worked with NDAs for 14 years as a consultant. Many times getting a signature on an NDA takes longer that the actual deal. I'd like to figure a series of events that gives me 90% of the same protections, but circumvents the NDA.

#3 - If you are collecting any money at any time from the University (even as a percentage of what they collect but with no upfront fees) then they must put it out to bid. Most have well-defined and structured bidding processes that they must follow.

NOT collecting a DIME from the U. All the bucks flows TO them...

#4 - Unless you invented an entirely new process that has never been done before, you may not be able to protect what you submitted. In general, you cannot claim as proprietary or confidential items that are already in the public domain (even if you did not know it was public).

My position is that (in comparison to a patent) in a potential competitor does not duplicate my offering EXACTLY, they are not offering the same thing. To release the EXACT details of my concept for bidding violates the confidential nature. As I said, QED

#5 - Marking an item as confidential does not defeat the competitive bidding process. It was instituted to prevent fraud and works in a very effective manner. The University most likely has no intention of sharing your materials, but they will seek other proposals on how to raise funds through other methods.

Certainly nothing I can do to stop them from soliciting fund raising ideas. That one's kind of a hoot ! They've got guys beating their doors down for this very purpose without any solicitation at all. If they mention my technique SPECIFICALLY, I'll be all over them.

All this said... I'm still tweaking the marketing technique for maximum market penetration with minimum hassle. I'll have to admit that I didn't see this one (competitive bidding) coming.

I'm not a lawyer either, but I think you need to find one and ask all these questions of someone who knows the ramifications. There's something that just feels slimy about a fund-raising approach that can't be disclosed and therefore can't be subject to a true competitive bid. If it's that new and secret, then you need an NDA or you need to risk the competitive vultures.

Everything takes time in a university (or a corporate setting) and when you try to breeze past that, you raise red flags that will stop the process in its tracks. Would you want to be on the other side of the desk at a university trying to explain to your boss why you issued an RFP that nobody could understand? Or worse, why you sidestepped the competitive bidding policy altogether?

I actually have some experience selling "free" fund-raising products to universities. It does take forever. That's the way it is, and I'll be very surprised if you can find a way to avoid the system and just coast to the finish line without any delays.

"Slimy" ? Many thanks for your scintillating perspicacity.

Agreed, sales of this type DO take a long time. I once worked on a deal with a Fortune 500 for over 10 years... Of course I made over $2 Million at the end of it...

Over 30 years experience in the "Board Room" arena dealing with CEOs & CFOs tells me that while these things take time, there's NO sense whatsoever in setting up your marketing approach to hit EVERY trip wire along the way. When you KNOW the obstacles you will face beforehand, it is stupid not to foresee solutions to these "Issues" before they arise...

If you are looking for a "surpise" you might note that my proposal has already cleared legal and yet was only presented 6 weeks ago. That's lightning fast in these climes...

"Point of entry" and "Program" are key... If you do it the way its always been done then you will get the result that everyone else does.

But then, you're supposed to be giving ME advice, aren't you ? ;-)

I still think you should go back to the person you made your presentation to and have a discussion. It is simply not true that all purchases must be bid as a state owned univresity. I have had many such contracts-- they have a level where they can make a decision without the bidding process. A level of $5K is the usual. And again, if they do send out a RFP, they do not have to go with low bid.

Just because it came from the legal dept doesn't mean it is set in stone. They make mistakes and they can be negotiated with. The best way is not to contract them directly, but go thru your contact that wants your service. You don't need a lawyer. And don't throw this deal out as "dead". It could be nothing more than a speed bump.

it seems to me that you either believe in your approach, or you don't. You either feel that it would be the best option for the University, or you don't.

If you honestly believe that your solution is in the University's best interests, then you should not fear a competitive bidding process. I agree with mgoodman that an attempt to circumvent a competitive bidding process puts you in a bad light.

To me, it sounds as though there are two issues. One issue is if and how you can avoid a competitive bidding process, and I do not believe you can or should. The second issue is how can you protect your proprietary information, and I agree with those above who suggest that you retain the services of an intellectual properties attorney.

Perhaps I did not make myself clear with my original post...

I don't "Fear" a competitive bidding situation nor am I trying to "Slimy" around it.

This is reportedly a forum for marketing professionals and having designed marketing programs for products and service for 30 years... AND recognizing the inherent time factors and legalities of the marketing of this type of product...

It is only prudent to DESIGN a program whereby all these factors are considered and dealt with IN the design. My work with legal issues in the past has shown me ways to keep these to a minimum. That said, I am always seeking more and better techniques of doing so.

I'm closing this one out. John, you get the points.

Thanks for all your input !