How to Write a Tender That Secures the Winning Bid

There is enough clout on the topic of writing an effective bid to secure a government tender/contract. In essence, the art of bid writing is case specific and requires astute understanding of the technical nature of the bid. However, it is important for all bids to have some common elements that can contribute to its success. Bid writing is a branch of tendering that deals with corporate communication and writing effective, well-structured and compelling bid for authorities to consider. Mastering the art of bid writing can take up to years of experience and is indeed a daunting task. However, there can be useful tips that bid managers may consider while writing compelling bids that can ease their way to generate effective bids. In this article, we shall focus on the top strategies that bid managers must use to write compelling, clear and concise bids for government authorities to consider.

Tender bid process is a complex part of every organization who deal in government tenders for their business. Although tender writing is not directly involved with winning bids, it definitely plays a pivotal role in increasing the chances to qualify for it. The below steps can enhance any bid writer’s chances of creating a successful and winning bid.

Understanding the bid landscape:

Even if you’re a seasoned campaigner at bid writing, understanding the tendering landscape is very important to create an attractive bid. This includes understanding the authority’s past purchase records, their exact purchase requirement and the problems that they are currently facing. Without a detailed assessment of the authority, bid writers are unable to create an attractive bid. Bid managers must decode the authority’s history of similar purchases and offer them value in their proposition. Past mistakes in the purchase, any defects in the current system can be highlighted to ensure the company understands the authority’s concerns and is there to address it specifically. If there is any issue that can directly impact the current bid in terms of pricing or technical aspect, it must be highlighted to make it more attractive. Creating a bid plan and writing the bid as a creative story that can resolve customer’s end problems can be a creative way of compiling a bid.

Building a Good Bid Team:

Tendering and its success is a long term team effort that aims at understanding all the facets of the bid correctly. Therefore, the aim of a bid manager must not only be to participate in a bid by submitting it but also to create a long term good bid team that can work in collaboration with the authorities. This can include futile meeting with the authorities to discuss their problems without having an open tender in public to respond to or having to respond to a tender with a consortium. Attending pre-bid conferences are also a great way to understand procurement office’s requirements precisely and respond to them with matching solutions.

Understanding the Bid Preference:

One of the most important factors contributing to the bid success is the applicability of the bid to suit the profile of the business. It must be understood that not all bids are worth responding to. Unless the bid specifications match the profile and products of the company exactly, companies must not spend time and resources in chasing them. Also known as the bid/no bid decision, it is pivotal to the success of a tender. Companies must bid for tenders only when they are fully equipped to provide the product/service in the desired form and manner as required.

Managing Sub-contractors:

Government tendering is a team work especially when it comes to large projects. Companies must keep at their disposal several sub-contractors who are required for fulfilment of requisite tasks as mentioned by the authorities. Sub-contractors must be carefully selected by companies and ensure they meet the criterion specified by the authorities. In cross border trade, this is of specific importance since it is costly to migrate to a different country for the purpose of completing the project. There must be mutual agreement and trust amongst the sub-contractors and the major contracting company in order to successfully complete the project. Companies must treat sub-contractors as a part of their team when it comes to finishing a large project as it is pivotal to their success.

Ensuring Compliance:

Compliance is almost a mandatory part of every bid. Companies need to ensure they fit into all of the requirements set out by the authorities by technical, legal and financial standards. Companies need to understand that it will be a futile effort if any one of the parameters is missing as prescribed in the requirements as governments adhere to very strict standards when it comes to compliance. Especially in contracts involving public services and safety, these standards cannot be compromised. Thus, companies need to strive hard to protect their compliance regulations as conforming to the standards set out by the authorities.

Overall, bid writing involves writing an attractive bid that not only takes into account profitability and value to the authority but also ensures they meet the regulations, requirements and pricing as set out by the entities. A tender aggregator service can help assess the requirements of the tenderers effectively thus saving time and effort in scrutinizing bids. Bid writing requires understanding the procurement process astutely in order to carve out a compelling offer. Bid writers must manage bids using all available tricks and competitive intelligence information in order to stand out from the competition. Winning bids is a combination of team work, expert knowledge and timely responses all of which call for ingredients of a successful bid writing process. Visit Tender Impulse today.