How to Write a Tender Response That Really Wins
PART TWO
Part 5 of the How to Win More Public Sector Business series
In our last session we looked at a few tips you’ll need to keep in mind when writing a tender response. In this instalment, we complete our top 5 tips on writing a tender that really wins.
Tip #4: Keep it personal
Never reply with a stock answer. It stands out like a sore thumb and, worse still, it looks lazy.
Always tailor your responses to this particular bid. Take the time to read the questions, answer them in full with this particular contracting authority in mind, then write, rewrite and write your response again.
Every tender is different and so is every buyer. If you aren’t sure what a particular question means, just ask! There is always an opportunity to ask the buyer questions. The more you know about the bid, the better placed you’ll be to answer the questions in the PQQ or tender documents in the best possible way.
Tip #5: Take it offline
It might sound crazy, but bear with me.
Online procurement is becoming more and more popular and for good reason. However, it can also make it really easy to introduce errors in your bids.
Completing your tender responses online means it’s easy to skip a step, miss out a page, submit the bid before you’ve completed the whole response and so on. It might sound unlikely, but it happens.
By taking the response offline first, it adds an extra security step. Complete the form offline then upload it in sequence, giving you a chance to double check everything.
Lastly, it’s always a good idea to proofread everything before you submit it. After all the hard work you’ve put in, giving a bad impression with a typo or bad grammar could ruin an otherwise winning tender.
With these tips, along with Tracker’s tenders, intelligence and support, you’ll be in a great place to write winning tender responses and be one step closer to winning that all-important contract.
Additional help
If you’d like more training on this stage of the procurement process, PASS (Procurement Advice and Support Service) provides expert procurement training for both public and private sector organisations.
This free webinar on Preparing Perfect Tenders expands on this topic to give you further insight into writing your winning tender bid.
Their consultants are highly knowledgeable in all areas of public sector procurement, with decades of experience in both the buyer and supplier markets.
