3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Tender
As soon as an opportunity arises, either through your business development work or as an invitation to tender, you should question it in terms of:
Anne Farr
Competitive Advantage
Two guys are in the jungle when a lion approaches. One man starts to run but the other calmly searches through his bags for his running shoes. “Are you mad?”, asks the first, “you’ll never outrun the lion”.
Motivation is Essential to Proposal Writing
Proposal writing can be a daunting task. With its unforgiving deadlines, it is a complex process, the outcome of which can have a huge impact on the business.
Bid Teams
It is common practice for several individuals to write different sections within one proposal but these can be difficult to manage. Issuing a pro-forma to bid writers at the outset simplifies the process.
Punctuation
There are 4 common uses of commas.
Bid and No Bid Decisions
A surprisingly high number of companies work on bid documents then decide not to submit them. A bid / no-bid decision made at an earlier stage could save you time and energy.
Re-Use of Tender Material
Tender material should be recycled whenever possible because this is an efficient use of your resources. To reuse it successfully, however, you must check the relevance of the material to the new tender, and ensure it is tailored to the requirements of the new customer.
Graphics
Pictures, diagrams and tables are a great way to add interest to your proposals. They make your document easier to read and can highlight important points that might otherwise be buried in the text.
Planning your Bid Proposal
Before you start writing, think about your reader and the response you want to generate. This response should lead them to think or do something that will give you the result you want.
Punctuation
Good punctuation is vital. Poor punctuation creates an impression of lazy, slipshod and badly educated staff.
