Flexible Pricing Strategy = Successful Tenders
The specification may ask for a car, but when you do not know if this is a Mini or a Rolls Royce you can consider option pricing. Giving alternative solutions, or a solution with optional extras, means you retain flexibility to negotiate.
The Perfect Bid Team
The best bids are written by people who have adequate technical knowledge, combined with the time and motivation to commit to the document. The knowledge can either be within their own expertise, or solicited from others. When deciding how to structure a bid team remember to think about all three factors. Winning bids can be produced equally well by sales people, by subject matter experts or by administrators.
Doing More Than the Minimum in the Bid Process
The client is also interested to know how you will ensure the procedure is adhered to, what happens if something goes wrong and what proof there is that the policy has worked in the past. Think about the question in the context of the project, and give the client information he wants.
Refresh and Revise Successful Tenders
The document may have been good, but it impressed one specific customer for one specific contract. You should refresh text for each new customer and contract. Remember you may be facing new competitors too.
Vital Ingredients to a Successful Proposal
A winning proposal must contain features, benefits and proof. It should have a win theme and be specific to the customer. It must appeal to all reader types and be presented in a clear and concise way. You can use this self-audit questionnaire to see if you are missing any vital ingredients in your proposals.
Access to Policy Documents
The current version, with a signature and revision date, should be filed to make retrieval simple. The most commonly requested policies are Health & Safety, Quality, Environmental, Equality & Diversity and Business Continuity.
Using Readability Scores to Improve Your Bid
The system is a bit artificial but it can be useful when smoothing out differences between multiple contributors to a single document. For business writing, you should aim for 60 – 70 on the Flesch Reading Ease test or 7.0 – 8.0 on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test.
Appropriate Apostrophes
they’re = they are It can also be used to show possession:
the meter’s switch = the switch ‘belonging’ to the meter
It should not be used to show a simple plural:
offices (not: office’s)
Improve Your Use of Language in Tenders
This will ensure the document is clear, concise and that emphasis is placed on the correct parts of sentences.
Test your knowledge with these 10 questions: Language Quiz
Making Your Re-tender Successful
Throughout the delivery of an existing contract, you should be ‘selling’ the renewal and trying to lock-out the competition. Undertaking these strategic activities will remove most of the risk from the final tender process.
Getting the Whole Team Involved in Tenders
While they may not have perfect writing skills, these staff members may well contribute the ‘nuggets’ that will lift an average proposal into a winning one. Ensure you utilise the knowledge of all staff, not just those in business development roles.
Adopting a Client Focused Attitude
Doing this will ensure the customer sees a good ‘fit’ between what you are offering and what they want. They might want flexibility, innovation or collaboration. These things may be stated, or you may have to read between the lines to work them out.
