7 Secrets Of A Successful Tender Application

For many businesses, responding to tender opportunities is an effective way to acquire new and profitable contracts. There are millions of dollars available through government and commercial tender opportunities each year. It is just a matter of finding the right one for your business and writing a quality tender proposal that will pass panel assessments.

Securing a tender is a difficult process and some businesses choose to acquire the expertise of a tender writer to help them prepare a competitive tender proposal. In this article, we share some secrets on how to write a professional tender application that can help you get a better chance of winning the tender for your business.

1. Thoroughly research the organisation offering the tender. Federal and state government departments, local councils and major public and private companies regularly call for bids or tenders for products and services that will help them carry out their projects. Each organisation will have different visions, goals, criteria and requirements for the tender. Ensure that you only apply for tenders with criteria and requirements that closely match the capacities of your business.

If you are unsure of where to look for tender opportunities, consult a professional tender writer. Tender writers can help you locate and identify the most relevant tender opportunities for your business.

2. Approach the organisation with common sense and courtesy. If you know someone that has a position within the organisation, ensure that you still respect and use the established channels for submitting a tender application. Just because you know someone in the organisation does not mean that you can bypass established channels, protocols and processes.

3. Individualise your tender responses. Do not send the same tender application if you are submitting to a number of different organisations. Tailor your tender response according to the criteria and requirements of the organisation offering the tender opportunity but without altering the visions, goals and objectives of your business.

4. Present a clear and concise budget or pricing strategy that will pass public scrutiny. Never inflate your budget or pricing request. Remember, tender assessors are looking for value for money and that is what you should provide. Also, ensure that you are able to deliver on the requirements of the tender at the budget or pricing you offer.

5. Present all information clearly and succinctly. An important practice of an effective tender writer is to read all application guidelines and respond to them thoroughly. To ensure that you have responded to each question or criteria in full, it will help to break down the questions into subsets or components. Then, answer each subset comprehensively.

6. Include factual information and evidence such as demographic data or success rates from published studies and product specifications to support your tender response. These facts will show that you have prepared your application objectively. Never expect emotions or elegance in your writing to hide weaknesses in your response.

7. Successfully securing a tender is more than just the actually writing and the formatting of the tender application. It is also important to show that you have a business plan in place which shows that your organisation has the vision and goals of a professional business. You must also be able to give the organisation providing the tender the confidence that if your business wins the contract, you will be able to deliver exactly what the tender requires at the price you offer.

Some final words

Tender writing can be a time consuming and highly complex task. It requires a considered response that will be subject to extensive panel assessment. If your business does not have the expertise to write tenders, it would be helpful to employ the services of a professional tender writer. A tender writer has the skill and experience in preparing and writing quality tender applications. Working with a professional tender writer can help you in finding and winning the most relevant tender opportunity for your business.