Tips on your invitation to tender
Submitting a tender is usual practice for businesses supplying goods or services to other businesses. It is generally expected that you will provide a quote for a job or submit a letter outlining what you have to offer and why you should be given the business. A tender raises your profile with the customer and helps you to understand the customers' needs, when they provide feedback on your bid. The key information provided here explains how to identify potential contracts, what information to include in your tender, and how to present it professionally in order to maximize your chances of success.
Bidding for a tender
Tenders can be costly and time-consuming. You need to be sure that the contract is worth bidding for in the first instance so that valuable time and money are not wasted unnecessarily.
Important considerations:
- Acquire the bid documents and study them.
- Ensure that you can match the requirements technically, and with experience and skill.
- Estimate the costs of fulfilling the contract and your potential profits from it to see if it is a justifiable bid.
- Assess how the contract would fit in with other work and your ability to take on other business.
- Is the customer important to your business, as a good potential client
Understanding the client
It is important to read through the tender documents thoroughly. Before deciding to bid try to talk to your potential client. This could be an informal meeting or a talk-through over the phone. Clarify any points, or ask questions, from issues in the tender document. When speaking with the client, make sure that they are genuinely interested in your bid and the services you could provide for them.
Preparing your tender
If you have decided to bid for a contract, you will need to decide on the preparation:
- Who will gather the information and does the research for the contract?
- Who will co-ordinate all the material required?
- Who will write the drafts and check them?
- How will other work within your firm be managed ?
Important rules for your tender document
Fulfilling the client's requirements should be your main objective. Provide evidence of your skills and experience to meet their needs. Provide ideas for the client. Show that you understand their business by suggesting alternative methods of managing certain situations.
If you are offered a qualification document by the client you should ensure that every point is covered fully. Show that you can offer a solution to the client's needs in a value-for-money service. Show that you have the resources to do the work, can hit deadlines and can manage changing situations.
The Freedom of Information Act came into force on 1 January 2005. This gives competitors the right to read information provided on your tender. Therefore, you may wish to include a non-disclosure agreement in your documents to protect information that you regard as 'trade secret' or as particularly sensitive.
Show that you have considered, and can manage, potential financial, commercial and legal risks that could cause the contract to fail.
Offer details of your working team. Particularly emphasise strengths and successes with similar projects. Provide CVs highlighting qualifications and experience relevant to the customers' needs.
Writing your tender
Ensure that you can match the bid specification in all areas main message and explain how your documents are organised within your tender. Summarise your bid at the beginning of your tender to explain briefly why it fulfils the client's needs.
Potential clients will expect you to:
- State the purpose and origin of the bid
- Explain how you will carry out the work, and how and when it will be fulfilled.
- Summarise your work as a contractor and provide evidence of your past experience and credentials.
- Give details of your team's skills and experience of similar work.
- Detail how you will manage the project
- Provide details of when and how the goods and services will be delivered
- Offer the benefits and cost-effectiveness of your bid
- Provide details of your pricing and any aftercare arrangements within the price
- Identify any potential problems that are manageable by your team.
The presentation of your tender
The actual presentation of your tender is very important.
Some key points to consider:
- Include a front cover with a project title, a date and the name of your company or firm
- Provide a contents page
- Decide on a simple typeface, a clear layout, a medium type size and maintain throughout your tender
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short and to the point use bullet points and headings to separate text
- Use appendices to support any additional information
- Ensure you have provided a logical argument for your bid and that all points are feasible.
- Number paragraphs so that information can easily be sourced.
- Re-read the tender on completion to check for errors, clarity and omissions. Ask a colleague for a second opinion
Finally, have the documents professionally bound. This makes a powerful impression and gives the opportunity of making your documents stand out from those of your competitors. Binding is also appreciated by the client as it makes the documents easier to read and file.
Categories: tenders, uk tenders, invitation to tender, construction tenders
