Win More Tenders by Qualifying (Part 1)

Too many times we hear about people going for lots of tenders and not winning any - this is often due to not qualifying the opportunity properly eg 'can we really win it'. If you are looking for new business and you find a tender, it can be very exciting when you go for it - the anticipation of a big win... but when you get rejected (once again) it is depressing!

Assuming that you are Fit to Tender, the simple solution is to properly qualify every tender. Here are some ideas:

• Go for quality not quantity - this will improve your hit rates

• Ask yourself 'can we win it? / is it really our business?'
  

• Consider the contract value - contracts are often not given to organisations if the contract value represents more than 20-30% of their turnover (are you big enough to service the contract?).
  

• Can you demonstrate working for similar types of customers doing similar work (and provide good references)?

• Location - are you close enough to service the work? Unless you have a specialised offering, it's often no good going for contracts out of your area.

• Too many other bidders? Are you just making up the numbers?

• Any PQQ requirements that you cannot meet eg ISO9001? If so talk to the buyer to see if it's mandatory.
  

• Existing relationship - you have good / bad / no relationships? What about your competitors?
  

• Competitors - who are you up against? Can you beat them?
  

• Is the customer going to change? Is it just a benchmarking exercise? Or a tool to beat the current supplier's price down
  

• Do the buyers allow meaningful communication?

• Consider resources / cost - can you bear these?
  

If you find that you have too many negatives, maybe it's time for you to give give a polite ‘no thanks’ and do something else more profitable...

Time is too short to waste on tenders that you are probably not going to win!

Write Good Tender Submissions - Use Evidence

No matter how well you write your method statements in terms of technical capability, you still need to convince the reader that your organisation can really do the job.

The simple way of doing this is to use examples:

• Anecdotal evidence showing how you solved a problem or achieved the required result
• Case studies - can be full blown or mini case studies as appropriate
  
• Testimonials (ideally attributable) relevant to the point you are making
• Customer lists can help but they need to be relevant - ideally the same industry
• Images, charts, tables etc that substantiate your claim (if they are permitted by the tender rules)
  

These shows the reader that you have done, and so can do, the job!

There is no absolute right or wrong but believability is key to writing good tender submissions... that win contracts!

Any more ideas?

Tender Terminology / Tendering Glossary

Tendering for contracts with corporations and, especially, public sector involves a whole lot of jargon, acronyms etc. Whilst most people feel that responding to public sector tenders involves writing in a special language, you can get stumped with the lingo before you even get to the tender!

To help people get on with the job in hand we put together a simple list of Tender Terminology / Tendering Glossary. You can also download it as a PDF.

It' can be difficult to keep up with changes so any ideas / updates /comments are most welcome.

7 Top Tendering Tips for a Successful Tender Submission

I was recently asked to contribute to BT's Upload magazine on an article on Winning the Big Contracts.

It included my 7 Top Tips for tendering...

1 Be selective
Only go for the tenders you’re likely to win. Tendering is time-consuming – better to spend time searching for ‘best fits’ than waste time tendering for contracts you’ll never win.

2 Be prepared
Spend time standardising all your policies – health and safety, quality, insurances, accounts, etc – and have them all available electronically.

3 Choose a team
Tendering is not a one-man job. Involve key players, administrators and management personnel, and consider using external ‘resources’, including consultants.

4. Assess their needs
Think about the buyer and their needs. That’s the key to a winning pitch!

5. Answer the question
Don’t fudge it - a poor answer may hold back your bid. But do be honest... you will be found out if you lie.

6. Get the facts
Keep in touch with the buyer. Ask questions if you feel you need more information.

7. Ask for feedback
Whether you win or lose, constructive feedback will make the next bid easier.

Fit to Tender Checklist

Every day we get calls from business owners wanting to grow their business and asking what's involved in tendering.

This is why we created the Fit to Tender Checklist.

You can quickly see what tendering for major contracts is about and how to start qualifying ie whether it's a realistic opportunity for you - are you likely to get through the PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) and win the ITT (invitation to tender) stage?

Although the prize is fantastic when you win a big tender, often there's only one winner (and so, many losers) therefore you need to go into the tendering process being fully aware of what's involved.

The Fit to Tender Checklist isn't meant to be exhaustive but it should give you a good idea of what lies ahead. Nevertheless, all suggestions are welcome...