12 Rules for Tender Writing
This is a shameless rip from Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life which has sold millions worldwide. (I confess I haven't read it). The idea for these tips came from a CSU Market Event where the CSU added a short presentation on how to do a good tender. Simple as it was I thought that a steer for new or inexperienced tenderers had a lot of value. Sometimes we "old lags" benefit from a reminder too. So here goes.
1) Be ready when you bid. There is a lot of work to do just to fill out the selection questionnaire let alone the rest of the tender. You will need a list of documents that can be put them together in advance and will cover all your tenders. These will include the last 3 years accountants; insurance; health and safety statements etc. Get them filed in one folder, check they are up to date and signed. It will save a load of stress later on.
2) Create a company strategy. It doesn't matter if you are a nuclear power station builder working on 3 continents or a plumber from Derby you still need one. There are contracts you want and ones you don't. Too far from base? Too big? Too small? Too risky? You can make a 1page list or write a 10 page document for your board to sign off; it doesn't matter. This means you can limit your tenders to the ones you want and are most likely to win.
3) Match your tender ambitions to your bid and wider team capacity. Here is a rough rule to follow. Assume a tender of 30,000 words takes 20-25 days for one person to write; 2 days input from experts (doctors, engineers, lawyers, scientists etc); 1 day to price up; 1 day to sign off. So 25-2-1-1. Then remember all projects need contingency. So for 30,000 words it's roughly 30 days.
Of course you can add more tenders or allow less days. It just means you are less likely to win.
4) Choose your bid team carefully. In my experience not many people are cut out for this work. A "hard" deadline means pressure. Experts need to share information which needs persuasion and communication. Confidence needs to be balanced with humility (believe you can win but learn from loss). Writing clearly, concisely and to the point is essential. Resilience is vital and not just in the bid manager. Good administrators can save agonies but don't expect everyone in admin to be able to cope. In my experience athletes; ex-forces and people who don't like losing at monopoly make good bidders. If you don't know who they are in your company check their CV interests section.
5) Write down your portal passwords. Simple as that. Don't get locked out. And save every 2-3 minutes when using portals. They don't back up like MS Word....
6) Remember this is a race. You are competing with companies who want to beat you and are focused on doing so. Work out who they are; what they might offer the customer and their strengths and weaknesses. You may be good at what you do abut you need to show it and prove it. Your competitor may write a better or cheaper tender and if they do reputation won't help you. You lose.
7) There is a customer; they have a problem that needs solving so focus on them and solve that problem. Do they want it cheaper? Faster? Better quality? They will tell you in the tender documents; adverts or at bidder events. Make sure your tender provides that solution. And the solution is credible. Vapourware won't sell.
8) Get to know who the customer is, that means the real decision maker. CEO? Operations Director? Finance Director? Research them to understand who they are. One client told me their customer knew nothing about the NHS as they had spent their previous career in consultancy. 5 minutes on LinkedIn revealed 15 years experience as an NHS Director. Hmm..
8) There is a word or character count. Check which it is and write to hit it. Don't find out the weekend before a Monday submission that what you thought was 2000 words a question was actually 2000 characters. (Fixed it but didn't sleep much for 48 hours and now check a and recheck a lot).
9) Customers often give a maximum price or "financial envelope". On at least three occasions I have sat with a customer who swears they cannot hit that. Each time we bid within the envelope. How? Because we worked with experts in the team and challenged, and innovated. There will be a clause in the tender saying if "Variant" (over the envelope) bids will be assessed. If they won't and you can't hit the price don't bid. Customers won't mark the tender and all your work will be wasted.
10) Plan your bid backwards from the submission date. What time and date? How long to check the bid before sending it in? Who signs it off and are they free that day or the day before? How long do they need to check or read the tender? How long do you need for their changes? This creates "X". So your bid submission day/time minus X is the writing and costing deadline.
11) Version control. Version control. Version Control. Create a system and stick to it. Who makes changes and when? Who has the bid document and what are their rights to change? If you are the bid writer/manager communicate these rules at the start . People may want changes but that doesn't mean they can write; so make sure everyone uses track changes.
12) Answer the question. If the question has 2 parts to it then the answer needs to have 2 parts to it. If customers want to know how you will prevent flooding and protect wildlife then tell them how you will do both. Not just one. It is surprising how often, when you review tenders, that responses don't answer all the points asked. Simple but overlooked.
Those are 12 simple tips. Hopefully they help. There are of course loads more but these are a reasonable place to start. And even Jordan Peterson is writing another 12 rules book.....