Tendering Top Tips

If you have been tasked with increasing your win rates, reducing team pressure or pricing with higher margins then look critically at your bid processes. The way you approach bidding is key to your success and a systematic approach will return stronger results.

Or is it more like a Christmas pudding; so stodgy that no-one can digest it? Or maybe it is like the Queen’s speech. We all know we should listen but there’s usually something more exciting to do elsewhere.
Ensure you give your customers what they want next year.

Tender glitter comes in the form of “benefits”. Sprinkle these throughout your technical proposal and the customer will find your document interesting, engaging and irresistible. Do not get lost among the competition. Make your document sparkle for your readers.

Please may we have:

•Clients who tell us what they actually want
•Colleagues who adhere to our deadlines
•Timescales for bid submissions which are realistic
•Reviewers who give us constructive feedback
Thank you in anticipation of a Christmas miracle.

A career CV is not the same as a proposal CV. As an example, a career CV is likely to present dates and timescales which are not relevant in a proposal CV.

As with all sections in bid documents, CVs should only contain meaningful and relevant information. They should also articulate the key messages which you want the client to see.

Think carefully about the structure you will use and plan your document before starting to write. If you do this, you will present a logical and clear route to your reader, thus ‘making it easy for them’ to find your key messages.
You will also save yourself time by minimising the changes required at the review stage.

If you refer to a Project Co-ordinator in the text of your document, make sure that same title appears on your organisational chart and on a specific person’s CV.
If the client asks for a Safety Manager’s CV but you do not have someone with that specific title, consider revising the job title of whoever will be fulfilling that role.

• Safety standards 20% above the industry average
• Highly experienced team due to low staff turnover rates
• All work will be carried out in-house and subcontractors will not be used

This will lead the reader to question your competitors’ bids and make a comparison.

I regularly see documents where the win themes focus on excellent customer service. When backed up with evidence, this can be a very persuasive argument which many customers like. If, however, the accompanying correspondence dwells on terms and conditions, exclusions and uses contractual language then the customer can get confused.
It’s important your whole message is convincing so whatever style you choose, make sure it’s consistent throughout.

One site which has a wealth of good quality information is www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk although it can be a little difficult to navigate. I suggest you try this page to start.

Their advice holds true for all public sector contracts, not just Scottish ones. Parts of it are equally useful for private sector proposals too.

Give clients the opportunity to buy what they have asked for, but also give them the benefit of your experience and offer an alternative proposal. You will need to explain why you are recommending an alternative solution.

Ensure your paperwork supports the key elements of your bidding systems, but does not introduce unnecessary levels of bureaucracy.
Simple checklists and decision gates work better than complex spreadsheets and wordy procedures.