Inside our first Tussell Community Networking Night

What happens when you bring some of the UK's leading public sector suppliers together in one room?

On Thursday October 8th, we welcomed members of the Tussell community - whose organisations collectively account for almost half of UK public sector contract awards by value - to our first Community Networking Night in London.

From major government contractors to ambitious SMEs, the afternoon brought together people working across public sector business development, partnerships, bids and social value.

The aim was simple: to help suppliers meet, share ideas and build relationships that could lead to new opportunities.

How to win more together

We kicked things off with a panel discussion on How to Win More Together, looking at what makes a successful partnership in the public sector.

Chaired by Tussell's Head of Account Management, Hollie Hodgson, the panel brought together Richard Beet from Capgemini, Tricia Blatherwick from Be the Business, and Lauren Anthony from Google to share their perspectives.

The discussion explored what larger suppliers look for in SME partners, how smaller businesses can make themselves attractive to potential partners, and the importance of building relationships long before a tender is published.

Making connections that count

Of course, the real value of the afternoon was in the conversations happening around the room.

Attendees had the opportunity to meet potential partners, exchange ideas and request 1-to-1 introductions that might otherwise never have happened.

For Ben Young from Mason Advisory, the benefits were immediate:

“I've made, I would say, four really strong LinkedIn connections already, which is great. I've set up a meeting for next week to talk [...] it's already been really useful.”

He wasn't alone. Other attendees told us they'd arranged follow-up conversations, met potential partners, uncovered new opportunities, and even reconnected with businesses they'd previously been in discussions with.

And the introductions don't have to stop here. If you're a Tussell customer looking to connect with another supplier to explore a potential partnership or business opportunity, get in touch with your Account Manager. We'll do our best to make an introduction.

The first of many

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, our panellists for sharing their insights, and our partners at GovNet for helping make the event possible.

It was a reminder of just how much value there is in bringing the public sector supplier community together - and we're looking forward to doing more of it.

Here's to more conversations, connections and partnerships across the Tussell community!