Tender Writing Tips to help your Team Succeed
If you are a business looking to stand out and succeed in the world of tendering but do not know where to start, our tender writing consultants here at Hudson are experts in providing advice regarding all things tendering. We work with multiple clients across a wide range of sectors and can provide you with the knowledge and expertise to tackle what can often seem a daunting world, that is, public sector tendering. We understand the ins and outs of tendering and know no matter your companies’ size, tendering can and does pose its difficulties. With this in mind, below are a few quick tender writing training tips from our tender consultants team.
Case studies
Being able to evidence your company’s ability in delivering a service is absolutely key to seeing success in public sector tendering. It is standard across public sector tendering for buyers to ask you to evidence at least 3 past contracts which are active or have been completed, usually within the past 5 years. These contracts are also required to be relevant to the service you are tendering to provide. Top tender writing training tips regarding case studies are:
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Ensure your case studies are well developed
Having detailed, thorough and well-developed case studies is key to success with tender writing. Making sure your case studies are well developed from the outset will ensure you can showcase your company’s abilities in the best possible light. For example, let’s say you are a structural engineering company tendering for consultancy services to bridgework, then having 3 relevant, in date and well-developed case studies relating to bridgework will be key. Ask yourself, is our experience strong enough for this submission? If the answer is no, then it is probably worthwhile re-evaluating before going ahead with developing a full tender response.
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Ensuring you have sufficient experience
We understand that everyone has to start somewhere and not everyone can have 20 case studies worth of experience under their belt. You may be a small graphic design company who have just started out and you are looking to expand through public sector tendering. It is worthwhile having at least 3 case studies worth of experience before tendering to ensure your responses are shortlisted/ successful. It may be worthwhile contacting your local council and requesting to be considered for framework agreements that may have open as a subcontractor. This will allow you to build upon your company’s experience and sets you up accordingly to hit the ground running in tendering. Tenders can often be very large and extensive, with some construction tenders exceeding 15,000 words. Ensuring you do not fall at the first hurdle can be essential in ensuring your efforts are worthwhile.
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Referencing your case studies throughout
Buyers want reassuring that you can deliver what they are looking for. Throughout the responses you create it is vital that you make reference to your experience to back up what you are saying. For example, let’s say you are a tech company tendering for website design for a school. If you have experience operating in the education sector, then make sure this is referenced throughout. If the question is asking for your approach to back end website design, then make sure you evidence this approach through your past successes. For further information and tender writing training tips, click here to see our tender VLE video on case studies.
Sourcing opportunities
Making sure you are tendering for the right opportunities for your business is vital in ensuring consistent growth and allowing you to ensure no precious time is wasted. Top tips for sourcing the right opportunities are as follows:
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Understand your company’s expertise
This can allow you to streamline your tendering efforts and ensure greater chances of success. For example, let’s say you are a surveying company who specialises in work with heritage sites and listed buildings, then streamlining your opportunity sourcing to fall under this criterion can help you locate opportunities which are right for you. As well as this, understanding your team’s experience and expertise can allow you to understand what areas of tendering you will exceed and stand out from the crowd in.
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Breaking down the opportunity
Whilst streamlining your approaches is a good start, it is essential that you break down the opportunity fully to understand its requirements prior to beginning work. For example, whilst you may specialise in surveying to heritage sites, you may also fall short of the mandatory turnover requirements, and failing to pick this up in the first instance may mean your responses go to waste.
Find new opportunities to grow your business HERE.
Breaking down the questions
One of the most common tender writing training tips we give is breaking down the questions and planning out your responses. With tenders frequently exceeding the 10,000 word mark it is vital to ensure you do not go into questions headfirst without any tendering strategy. Top tender writing training tips are:
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Breaking down the question
This sounds simple, but when you are dealing with large submissions it is vital to ensure you breakdown each question and set out your approach. For example, large construction frameworks may require you to answer 25 questions with a 1,000-word requirement per question. Breaking each question down into headings will give you much more direction when writing responses and will allow you to gather information from colleagues, if necessary.
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Reading over the specification
This includes cross-referencing each question with the specification requirements. For example, in tenders such as cleaning contracts, the tender documents often include a specification of exact requirements for the cleaning to be done. It is vital that you reference this in your method statement responses to showcase awareness of what the buyer wants and your capabilities of delivering to such requirements. For example, if a buyer is wanting a certain room in a building cleaned using a specific piece of equipment, then make sure this is replicated in the responses you provide. Failing to account for this will show lack of research and will be off-putting to buyers.
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Understanding where to reference your accreditations
Referencing your companies accreditations can be a vital way of showcasing your ability to deliver a certain aspect of the contract. For example, tenders often include a question regarding your approach to contract management. Although not all tenders specifically state you must reference or attach copies of your accreditations, showcasing these within your responses validates your abilities to buyers. For example, stating that you are ISO 9001 accredited and including an attached copy will always strengthen responses, however, make sure you are able to submit attachments before going ahead and doing so.
Learn more about breaking down the question via our masterclass.
Proofreading
Any successful tender writing training must factor in proofreading and although this sounds simple, proofreading is a vital component in ensuring success in tendering. Top tips for ensuring this is carried out are as follows:
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Have other specialists look over your responses
Having multiple pairs of eyes glance over responses can be vital in ensuring the correct information is included. You may have written a response to a very technical question that is not your area of expertise. Having members of your team who specialise in this area look over it for any mistakes or added value can be crucial in developing strong responses. For example, you may be a grounds maintenance company writing responses to a sports grounds maintenance tender. Having key experts from your team look over your response will ensure that you are including the correct terminology and methods for providing the service the buyer is looking for.
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Allocate sufficient time for proofreading
This is particularly necessary when you are writing large and extensive responses. Tender submissions can and often do exceed 15,000 words and it is essential to ensure you have enough time to go over each of your responses before the deadline hits. Let’s say you are an architectural firm tendering for the design of a museum, you are probably going to need more than 2 hours to skim over your content. Making sure this is factored in will ensure each response you submit is of the best possible quality, thereby securing you ongoing success moving forward.
Find more tips for proofreading in our Tender VLE masterclass.
If you are looking for further information regarding tendering tips, then head on over to our Tender VLE page which is the first of its kind to provide you virtual advice on all things tendering. This allows you to receive cost-effective tendering tips from our tender experts who have many years’ experience across multiple sectors. We have some new and exciting content coming out soon, which will further provide you with tender writing training tips. If you have any further questions, get in touch with our tender consultants team today.
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