Once you have found a tender opportunity it’s important to thoroughly review all the documentation to understand exactly what the buyer is seeking. You need to be clear on what you would be committing to and whether you have the capabilities or potential to deliver if not exceed expectations.
Out team of tender experts share the key elements you should review to help you make the decision as to whether to respond to the opportunity or not.
These include:
-- When is the deadline?
You need to be aware of when you need to submit your response by, this is not a guideline it is a specific deadline and late submissions won’t be permitted.
When looking at the deadline consider how many questions need to be responded to and the time and resource needed. Are all your policies and documents up to date or will you need to factor in time to ensure these are fit for purpose?
-- Who is the buyer?
Do you know them? Have you worked with them or similar businesses in the past? This will help you understand their true requirements and potentially ways of working. If you understand this it will also help you understand the case studies and proof of expertise you will need to provide.
-- Contract value
Is the contract value fit for your business? It could be too small and therefore not worth the investment of time and resource for your business. Alternatively, is it too big? Traditionally buyers expect your turnover to be at least double the contract value so make sure you can meet this threshold.
-- Contract location
Can you deliver nationally or are you niched to a specific geographic area? If you are currently present in a specific area, are plans in motion to expand? Do you actually want to branch out beyond your current location?
-- What are the absolute must-haves?
Many opportunities will have a list of qualities/services/policies/insurances etc. that you MUST have to proceed. Do you have them or could you easily obtain them? And if you do have them, when were they last updated? Do you need to factor in time and resource to get these fit for purpose?
-- Contract delivery
Are you comfortable that you can deliver the scope of the contract, to the level desired in the timescales stated? How do the requirements compare to what you currently deliver? Are they aligned or will you need to add new equipment, resource etc. Can you exceed expectations?
-- Evidence of your ability to deliver
The buyer doesn’t just want your word that you can deliver, they will want evidence that you have delivered something similar in the past. They often ask for 2 to 3 years’ experience so check this. You will need to demonstrate this through case studies, reviews and accreditations. lf you can do this but don’t have this all collated, can you do this ready for the submission deadline?
-- Preparation of tender response
Crafting a winner tender response takes time and expertise. Do you have the resource to support this or the revenue to seek assistance?
Asking yourself these questions will help you evaluate whether an opportunity is worth pursuing.
If you need any help with preparing your response, our winning tender writers are on hand. Find out more here Tender Writing Services for UK Contracts | Complete Tenders.
