Offers, Tenders and Proposals
Bidding and bidding is a great way to grow and expand your business and is a great way for a small business to grow into a much larger company. It can be frustrating and expensive to bid as this job takes you away from other business activities. However, winning an offer gives you access to a new client and other project opportunities. You should also consider whether you have the financial capacity and moral strength to take on big projects, so choose your opportunities very carefully. Smaller projects can help your business grow efficiently and profitably with less drama and heartbreak. Here are some tips to remember when producing bids.
1. Work in partnership on larger tenders, sharing the risk, costs and work required with a similar company, but also the profit.
2. Make sure that what you offer you can provide at the price you offer.
3. Arrive on time with your presentation: if you do not meet the deadline date and time, you will not be evaluated.
4. Ask and review the questions if you are not sure. The questions being asked are a great way to understand what other bidders are struggling with.
5. In the same way, attend the informative sessions.
6. Read the RFP and PQQ several times, particularly the guidance notes, must-haves, and evaluation criteria. This gives you a great deal of knowledge about what is required and what will earn you good points.
7. Keep word count and guidance on what to produce. If you say there are no attachments, for example, they won’t review them, so keep this information in the main body of the offer. This includes CVs/resumes.
8. Research: Look at sample offers on the internet and try to find out who your target company is currently dealing with.
9. Understand your target company and what kind of goals and visions it has. Show in your offer that you understand the company.
10. Understand who you may be competing against and try to find your USP that will put you above them.
11. Do not use jargon without first explaining it.
12. Do not lie about your bid to win; they’ll come back to haunt you if they find out or if you win an offer you can’t produce.
13. Many companies are risk averse, so make sure they understand how you are mitigating risk.
14. Mention your company name at least once in every question, just to remind the tired tester who you are. Be positive about what you CAN provide. Modesty in proposals is not allowed.
15. Get your target company excited about working with your company while also giving them confidence that you can provide a winning solution.
16. Do not mention the names of the competitors or make any reference to them, but make sure you appear better than them in your proposal.
17. Use consistent branding and great presentation throughout your proposal, particularly if it’s written by more than one person.
18. Make sure all attachments have your company name, copyright and tender reference and obviously if you reference an attachment make sure they were actually sent.
19. Make sure your cost model is accurate and profitable for you. Winning because you have a low-priced offer is no good if you’re tied to a non-profit proposition for years to come.
20. Finally, quality check to make sure you’ve answered all questions correctly, checked spelling and grammar, and haven’t skipped any requirements.
21. Always ask for feedback on your proposal, even if you lose.
22. If you are invited to a presentation, do not assume that you have won, they usually ask for several. Prepare to give the best possible presentation of your solution.
23. Keep bidding, it’s a numbers game, the more you bid the more chances you have to win, especially as you get better and faster and you bid.
