How To Win Your Next Tender: Our Top Six Winning Tips
/Winning a tender is not easy, given that there is fierce competition from other companies. You also need to prove that you understand the assignment well and that you are in a position to do it well, at reasonable prices. After finding a prospective tender, how do you increase the chances of winning it? In this article, we share some tips on how to win your next tender.
1. Ensure Your Company Meets The Requirements
There is no point in bidding for a tender when it's very clear that your company doesn't meet the minimum requirements specified for the opportunity. You will be wasting time applying for the tender since so many companies out there have met the requirements.
A client doesn't need to dig very deep to know that you don't meet all the requirements. If you don't have the required expertise, it will be very evident in your responses, and your chances of winning will be very slim.
2. Do Some Research
Doing some research before writing a tender should be the first step. Research helps you know more about the client so that you can submit a good response.
Clients also allow bidders to seek clarification in case something is not very clear. Make use of this opportunity to understand what the client needs and what they expect from you. You can do this via an online portal or even email. When using an online portal, you can also check out the responses given to other bidders to better understand the task.
3. Write A Compelling & Clear Tender
If you ask a successful company for tips on how to win tenders, they will tell you that one of the things you need to do is write a compelling and clear tender. If you don't do that, you will miss the opportunity, even when you have met all the other qualifications. Apart from writing, you can also add diagrams, illustrations, or graphs whenever necessary.
When writing a tender, make sure you proofread it thoroughly before submitting it. A simple grammatical error might give a wrong impression about you, and this can only mean that you will lose your bid.
4. Only Provide Accurate Details
If you have submitted bids for other tenders before, you might use the templates you used when writing a tender for another company and forget to remove their details in the document. This might seem like a small mistake, but believe it or not, it can deny you the chance of winning the tender. Always check your document before submitting it to make sure you've included the correct details. You can also have another person check it for you.
5. Show Some Proof
After talking about yourself and how you can help your client, it's always good to prove your abilities. This gives clients the confidence that they can trust you to solve their problems. You can back up your words using statistics, awards you have won, and other people you have worked with before. People need some assurance that you can do a good job for them before committing to you.
6. Quote Wisely
As much as clients want to cut their costs by getting a company that doesn't charge a lot, they also want to ensure that they will get quality services or products. For that reason, avoid underpricing at all costs. Quoting lower prices does not always mean that you will be awarded the tender. A client might conclude that you are charging low prices since you will deliver poor results.
As long as you can justify the reason why you have decided to quote a certain price, you don't have any reason to feel like you are charging exaggerated prices, and the client will consider your bid fairly. You also need to make a profit. So, you really need to do your calculations well. Also, remember that if you win the tender, the prices will be non-negotiable. So, you have to make sure you quote reasonable prices.
Winning a tender is not usually a walk in the park. There are a lot of things involved, and you have to get everything right to be considered. Also, other companies are competing for the opportunity too. By paying attention to the tips above, you increase your chances of winning the bid.
