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Business - 4 min read
Head of Sales and Marketing
Jun 23, 2017 6:35:00 AM
Before writing your tender response, there are a few considerations that can drastically speed up the planning stage, and ensure you submit an accurate and competitive bid. Here are five quick ways to improve your tender submissions.
If a company has requested that you register your interest, this will keep you in the know for any updates or changes to the bid. A Request for Proposal (RFP), is a detailed outline of the requirements and conditions for a bid. If a company has set specific requirements, including response templates, tender specification documents, word limits and file formats, they should be followed as accurately as possible.
Following these guidelines will ensure that your submission will be seriously considered by the tender review panel. Failing to follow these requirements is one of the most common tender mistakes building businesses make.
Many businesses mindlessly accept the contract terms and conditions without reading them carefully. The last thing you want to do is go through the whole process of writing a tender response, only to realise potential liabilities. The best way to combat this is to understand your rights and obligations within a contract, so you avoid allocating unnecessary time and resources to tenders that do not align with your needs.
Consider hiring external advice if you do not fully understand the terms and conditions.
Where possible, choose referees with a prominent and respectable influence in the industry. You will need to ask past clients to be a referee, and this should be done after a trusted relationship has been formed. Ensure you have written permission before including them in your tender response. If possible, use referees that know your products or services, as well as understand your company's value.
Testimonials can also be endorsements on LinkedIn, Google reviews, and your company website. Professional testimonials include a photo, job title, and contact information alongside the recommendation. Again, seek permission before displaying a testimonial online.
Using a tender checklist is a great way to keep on top of all the requirements you’ll need to meet in your submission. Neglecting certain elements such as your company’s ABN, a company profile, applicable insurances, or forgetting to sign components, could make or break your tender when the review panel are deliberating. Make a checklist to speed up the application process.
Creating and submitting bid documentation can be a slow and arduous process, however by learning from mistakes, you can find new ways to speed up bidding procedures.
One way to do this is to keep an archive of previous bids and conduct an analysis to identify trends. Research can reveal insights to then be used to inform and develop processes in the future. Identifying your own shortcomings is the quickest way to improve, and take another step towards streamlined tender procedures. Another way to do this is to investigate the major players in the industry, and research what makes their tender submissions more successful than their competitors’.
Construction estimating software like Cubit is used for swift and accurate estimates. Providing inaccurate and poorly considered estimates is a sure way to weaken your tender submission. Estimating for tenders can be time-costly, which is why using software is vital to compete in the industry. Not only that, but clients appreciate bids with definitive quotations, rather than vague estimates.
For more tender advice, including a tender checklist, visit our popular Building a Better Trade Business eCourse today:
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