How to Write Winning Tender Bids
PART ONE
Part 4 of the How to Win More Public Sector Business series
You’ve found a great opportunity for your business. You’ve got a product or service that can really deliver what the buyer needs. Everything is falling into place.
But you still need to write a tender response before you win the contract.
Putting together a tender proposal is tricky, and the truth is there’s no tried and tested template to follow each time you bid for a contract.
Every tender is different, and your tender response should be different too.
While there’s no perfect template, there are great tips that you can use to make sure that your tender response shows off what you can do and makes the buying authority really take notice.
In this session in the How to Win Public Sector Business series we’ll show you how to write a tender response that really wins.
Tip #1: Promote the benefit
The first thing you’ll want to do when writing your tender response is describe your product or service. You’ll list what it does, how much it costs and how long the project will take.
This is all crucial stuff, but there’s one thing missing:
The benefit.
While it’s absolutely fundamental to list the features of your product or service, you still need to sell the benefit of what you’re doing.
Do your research. Find out what the contracting authority really needs. What’s important to them? And, most importantly, what will they get from you that they won’t get from anyone else?
A tender response which not only outlines exactly what you can do but also explains exactly how the buyer will benefit from your product, service, your experience or expertise will stand head and shoulders above a proposal which just lists the facts.
Tip #2: Emphasise the impact
Tied to the idea of selling the benefit of your solution is this:
Focus on the impact your solution will have beyond the scope of the contract.
One area of tender writing which can be forgotten is examining the current market, relevant legislation or the social impact of the solution you’re offering.
For example:
In order to carry out the work required by the contract, your firm might need to hire additional staff to help deliver the project on time.
This means you’re creating jobs. It means your solution is having a real social impact in the community. You could be helping apprentices learn new skills or helping to boost local employment.
By describing exactly what additional, positive impact your solution will have on employment, the environment or the community, you stand a much better chance of winning the bid over a competitor which doesn’t think of this in their response.
Tip #3: Prove your point
Your company is the best at what you do, right?
Prove it.
It’s not enough to make an assertion, you need to go further. Back up what you’re saying with examples, statistics, awards you’ve won, charts, supporting information. Anything that proves that you can do what you say.
Don’t assume that the buyer will simply take your word for it. Even if you’ve worked with this authority before, don’t assume that they will remember the last time you won a contract with them or how well you performed.
Remind them and back it up every time.
Next time…
Writing a tender response is a skill and it’s a topic too large to cover in just one short session.
In the next instalment of the How to Win More Public Sector Business series we’ll look at the final steps you need to keep in mind in order to write a tender response that really wins.
