Taking a Considered Approach to Tendering
When it comes to tendering, a thoughtful and strategic approach can make all the difference.
It takes time and effort to compete and win public sector tenders. By taking a considered approach and by taking it seriously, your business can improve your bid win rate, secure more frameworks and tenders. In addition to this, your tendering will be more efficient!
Let's start with tendering systems:
Develop a Formal Bidding System
Creating a formal bidding process and complete tender management system ensures that you have a structured process for every tender. This means setting clear timelines, assigning responsibilities, and ensuring adequate time for each stage of the bid. With a well-organised system, your submissions will be more thorough and polished, leading to higher win rates.
For many of our clients we help them to implement effective tendering systems, as well as working on live bids.
Apply a Bid or No Bid Process - Bid Qualification
Not every tender is worth pursuing. Implementing a bid or no bid process allows you to assess each opportunity and decide whether it’s worth the investment. This involves evaluating the likelihood of winning, the fit with your business, and the resources required. By focusing only on the tenders you have a high chance of winning, you can increase your bidding efficiency and return on investment (ROI).
Bid Writing: Improving your Approach to Tendering
Understand and Analyse the Documents
One of the key steps in improving your tender responses is taking the time to fully understand the tender documents. This involves carefully reading and analysing the requirements, which helps you identify what the client is looking for. This sounds basic but these documents are large and if you bid regularly this can take some real discipline! However by doing this, you can develop effective win themes that address the client's needs and stand out from the competition. The better you understand the documents, the stronger your bid will be.
Storyboarding Your Tender Response
Storyboarding is an invaluable tool for responding to the quality questions in tenders. It involves mapping out the structure and key elements of your bid before you start writing. This helps ensure that your response is well-organised, logically flows, and covers all critical points. By visualising your tender in this way, you can identify gaps, reinforce key messages, and align your content with the client's priorities. Storyboarding ensures that your final submission tells a clear and persuasive story, increasing your chances of winning. When you have a large tender with multiple bid writers or contributors, it can also help maintain a 'single voice', if used alongside a bid style guide.
Continuous Improvement
Lastly, commit to continuous improvement in your tendering process. Collect feedback from each bid, whether successful or not, and use it to refine your approach. Regularly review and update your bidding strategies, train your team, and keep up with industry best practices. Continuous improvement helps you stay competitive and enhances your chances of winning more tenders.
By taking a considered approach to tendering, you can make your bids more effective and increase your success rate. Implementing a formal system, thoroughly analysing documents, strategically choosing which tenders to pursue, and committing to continuous improvement are all key steps in this process. With these strategies, you can improve your tender responses and achieve better results.
