By 2017 I had already accrued extensive defence tendering experience for clients before I even knew what a Quad Chart was, so you are not alone if you don’t know either. In 2015 I was the Bid Manager and Bid Writer rolled into one for a winning $30M civil construction tender for Tindal RAAF Base in Katherine. By this stage I had already assisted many other businesses to win other defence contracts over the years. So how could I have not known what one was.…… keep reading and I’ll tell you why.

What is a “Quad Chart”?

A Quad Chart is a 1-2 page key defence industry marketing document that is designed to succinctly detail your business capabilities and enable you to market to defence and Prime Contractors. They have been used for years by companies to market themselves and do business with Defence and by the buyer to quickly ascertain your capabilities.

In a nutshell you present your Quad Chart as an introductory to Defence buyers (Defence or Defence primes) so they can easily identify exactly who your business is, what your business does, what sets it apart from others, and more.

A great Quad Chart will differentiate your business from your competitors and provide an opportunity for early positioning with Primes.

Why I hadn’t heard of them until 2017

The reason I had not heard about Quad Charts before 2017 was because I had always been traditionally involved in the tendering phase with clients where they had already pitched or were already doing business with Defence.

With more and more Defence projects going on than ever before it only made sense that I further extended my service offering to provide assistance to businesses with developing a Quad Chart.

How do I create one?

Great question…. creating a standout Quad Chart is a mix of art and science. In other words, the work that goes into developing what looks like a simple document is not as simple as throwing some words to a page and is definitely not something that can be taken as a “this will do approach”.

Over time you will also find that you need multiple Quad Charts to cover your service offering or creating a new one to pitch for different projects.

There are several industry bodies around Australia that provide member based workshops to the general public. Contacting the local AIDN or ICN networks are a great starting point as they are usually hosting events throughout the year that includes Quad Chart workshops.

You can also create your Quad Chart in any number of applications such as MS Publisher, MS Word or Canva to name a few or have it professionally polished by a graphic designer. Unless you’re an absolute gun then I highly recommend a graphic designer.

Bidwrite and Dumonde are two other well known and respectable bid management consultancies that also provide Quad Chart workshops.

Great, I now have a Quad Chart, now what?

Awesome, you now have one and can pitch to Defence and Defence Primes at industry events, networking, meet and greets, emails or by providing a copy to your local AIDN or ICN network. The Australian Government Department of Business provides some online advice to get you started in navigating the landscape.

Can you help me with creating a Quad Chart?

I most certainly can. I have created several Quad Charts to date for small to medium enterprises pitching to Defence primes such as Broadspectrum. They have typically been trade contractors wanting in on the market in providing repairs and maintenance services on Defence sites or general building and construction. If you would like some assistance with your business Quad Chart I offer “done for you” or “Quad Chart Development Assistance” where I can assist you with defining the content and creating in MS Publisher, MS Word, Canva or have a graphic designer polish off for you with your brand.

If you cant wait for the next workshop or don’t want to do it yourself then book a discovery call with me to get the ball rolling.