Common mistakes in the tender management process

  • Posted in Tender Tips under
  • Tender Preparation

Tender preparation is a substantial business opportunity and if it is done right it can result in growth for your business. Developing a competitive tender is a process that takes time and requires input from multiple people. Professional tender preparation is a technical process that benefits from a strategy to keep things running smoothly.

If you can’t put the time into making your tender competitive in the market, then you might be better served to get a professional service to work with you. This blog outlines some of the common mistakes that companies often make when going it alone.

Communication breakdown: Not understanding the requirements of the tender

If you don’t nail the requirements, you won’t get a look in. It is so important to analyse the requested document and get a thorough understanding of the key factors. This includes considering why you are submitting your tender and how you meet the requirements. When you know what these points are, you are better placed to write a competitive response.

If you need to seek clarity on anything in the request document, go ahead and ask for it. The tender team is there to get you the right information so that you can submit the best possible option for them to consider.

Perspective: Not seeing things with ‘buyers eyes’

It seems obvious, but it’s easy to forget to frame things through the potential buyer’s eyes. As the tender writing process moves forward, the focus can switch from thinking about the buyer to thinking about your business as the seller. It can be a subtle creep that can send your tender off track. At best, this leads to the loss of valuable time and at worst, it can lead to an irrelevant submission.

To mitigate this, it is a good idea to create a scope document at the start of the process to keep focus on the buyer’s requirements.

Forgetting the basics

Basic information can often be forgotten and this is a common reason why many tenders do not progress past the first round. Your potential buyers are looking for the best candidate to trust with their project and any candidate who can’t cover the basics will not be appealing to them.

As mentioned above, a version control system needs to be put in place from the outset. If edits are being made to different versions at different times, you will run into difficulties early on. It sounds simple but rogue document versions have caused many headaches for those involved in complex documentation.

Basic tools such as DropBox and GoogleDocs may look like they are up to the task, but it is really in your best interest to invest in software that is purpose-built for this type of project. However, learning to use these programs can be time-consuming, so if your business is not equipped for this kind of challenge, you may be better off engaging the services of a company that specialises in tender preparation and tender writing such as Bidsmith.

The executive summary 

Writing a good executive summary is a balancing act that is part art and part science, as it needs to be both concise and persuasive. This will likely be the first thing the buyers read so it’s important to one that grabs and holds the reader’s attention. The following is a breakdown of how your executive summary could be structured.

  • Capture the buyer’s attention by immediately showing that you can meet their needs
  • Succinctly summarise your most important points.
  • Lay out the deliverables
  • Highlight the value of your proposal
  • Demonstrate your capabilities and experience
  • Spotlight any innovative approaches that you are taking
  • Present what makes your company unique

Have the executive summary reviewed by multiple people and continuously revise it until it is the perfect representation of your proposal.

Last but absolutely not least, submit your tender on time. Writing a tender is a large undertaking that takes a team of people, so when all is said and done, if it is not submitted on time, it is a waste.

If you are considering a new tender but are lacking the manpower, time, or technical expertise you have plenty of options. Tender writing is a specialised skill set and there are professionals who focus solely on this. If you need a tender writer in Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane, professional companies can help you to formulate a winner.

When choosing a tender consultant, question their previous experience. Who have they worked with and what contracts did they help these businesses to secure? Bidsmith, one of the leading tender writing companies in Australia have worked with businesses right across the country and won billions of dollars worth of contracts on their behalf.

For a tender writer who takes a professional and results-based approach, talk to Bidsmith and find out how they can help you secure more contracts today.