New To Tendering? Where Do You Start?
Are you brand new to the world of tendering?
Have you recently discovered that there is a world of contracts available to win through the tender process, but not sure how to get started?
Tendering is certainly a great opportunity to secure some long-term contracts and build your business. Tendering for anything and everything can, therefore, be very alluring. However, tendering can be a very time intensive and costly exercise if you don’t properly qualify opportunities by knowing your client and understanding the competitive playing field.
Why not try BidWrite’s tender qualification checklist to see if that latest tender opportunity is worth your investment?
Tender qualification checklist
| Can you do everything in the scope of works? | O Yes | O No |
| Have you met with the client before? | O Yes | O No |
| Do you know who your competitors are? | O Yes | O No |
| Do you know how well the ‘incumbent’ (an organisation already doing the job) is performing? | O Yes | O No |
| Do you know what the client is looking for (i.e. what are their challenges or issues)? | O Yes | O No |
| Were you aware of the tender/opportunity before you saw it on the internet? | O Yes | O No |
| Do you have the time and resources to put a strong submission together? | O Yes | O No |
If you answered ‘No’ to any of these questions, you are not in the best shape to win the contract. For someone completely new to tendering, perhaps this opportunity isn’t the best place to start.
If you answered ‘Yes‘ to all of the questions – great! You’re in a great position with the buyer and should prepare and submit a compelling tender response.
RELATED BLOG: Bidding Go or No Go Decisions – the case for a strategic approach.
So what wins tenders?
The best way to win is really knowing what your client’s issues are and responding to the tender criteria with those in mind. You then need to demonstrate how you can meet those needs better than your competitors. And, of course, this insight and understanding needs to be contained in a modern, well-written professional submission document.
To practically achieve this outcome involves understanding and addressing our four foundations of winning:
1. Positioning:
Increase your odds before you start.
Improve your relationship with the client and understand the opportunity and the market before the request for tender is issued.
2. Compliance:
Ensure you’re not rejected on a technicality.
Tick all the tender boxes and provide all the requested information.
3. Persuasion:
Set yourself apart from your competitors.
Tell a compelling story in your tender as to why you should be selected over others.
4. Price:
Understand that price is only part of your story.
Provide an offer that is ‘in the ballpark’, but more importantly, demonstrates value for money.
RELATED TRAINING: Master the four foundations of winning in our two-hour tendering short course, Bid Basics.
If you’re new to tendering, you’ve come to the right place. Be sure to check out more of our helpful blogs, explore our bid support services, or join one of our Bid Academy tender training courses to learn more.
NEED HELP? Contact BidWrite here or phone 1800 BIDWRITE to speak to our team.