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  • Do you have a personal brand for tender writing?
    • All freelance tender writers, no matter how closely affiliated they are with a company, know that it’s important to forge and maintain a personal brand for their industry. Having an established brand helps you to generate tender writing business in a number of ways, including making your work synonymous with a name which is trusted and

  • Flexible tender writing practices
    • When we work as freelancers in tender writing, it can often be difficult to step from one methodology to another. Each person whom we align ourselves with will have a different way of approaching each bid, meaning it’s sometimes difficult to remember exactly what each customer is looking for when they sign you up to

  • Are tender writing opportunities deliberately obstructive?
    • As a tender writer, have you ever had the feeling that the company you are developing a bid to is being deliberately obstructive? By this, I mean the sense that a firm are putting needless and unnecessary obstacles in the way in order to deliberately occlude your company from managing to develop a bid compliantly.

  • Upping your competitiveness in tender writing
    • Have you ever thought of the words which we use when we talk about the world of bids and tenders? ‘Qualifying’. ‘Winning’. ‘Success’. ‘Preferred suppliers’. All of these words demonstrate a simple tenet about our profession – it’s all about competitiveness. This sense of competition is the adrenalin-fuelled boost that keeps us working long in

  • Staying focused on tender writing
    • If you sometimes lack focus when you are faced with a large tender writing task, follow these simple tips to regain your sense of purpose and keep you on track for winning… Have a firm routine Understanding yourself and the way you work most productively can be invaluable when you are taking on large projects which could sidetrack

Upping your competitiveness in tender writing

bidconsultant 300x225 Upping your competitiveness in tender writing Have you ever thought of the words which we use when we talk about the world of bids and tenders? ‘Qualifying’. ‘Winning’. ‘Success’. ‘Preferred suppliers’. All of these words demonstrate a simple tenet about our profession – it’s all about competitiveness. This sense of competition is the adrenalin-fuelled boost that keeps us working long in to the night when other professionals have long since quite their desks. Tender writers like to win. We like to engage in competitive writing, and we like to see the fruits of our labour in the form of the successful acquisition of new contracts for our firm or customer.

This competitive streak is developed over time, as we realise the beauty of winning new contracts, and the sense of disappointment that’s stems from losing out to other companies. It’s a trait which supports professionals the world over, from athletes to restaurateurs, prompting us to strive for greater results. However, it’s particularly pertinent for bid writers as it can fuel our productivity, supporting us to produce killer bids that have the best possible chance of winning.

A number of bids are disqualified every day by discerning evaluators who assess them and decide that they simply aren’t compelling. One of the main stumbling blocks for bid writers is forgetting that they are ultimately writing a sales pitch, and there is a real need to be persuasive, engaging and ultimately competitive in their writing. There are a number of steps you can take to increase the competitiveness of your bid, raising the stakes in the evaluation process and presenting your firm as a true contender:

  • Provide evidence for all assertions, demonstrating that you are what you say you are
  • Provide clear, compelling win themes which show without question that you are the best possible service provider
  • Evidence outcomes with measurable metrics, articulated with simplicity and clarity
  • Present robust financial models up front
  • Develop the credibility of your firm through testimonials, case studies and other information directly relevant to the current contract.

By combining clear, evidenced assertions with a strong understanding of the competition and the solutions which you will be providing for the opportunity, you will be able to demonstrate a real hunger to win for the evaluator, enabling them to approach your bid with confidence that you are who you say you are, and you can achieve what you state you will achieve. Never forget that every time you are writing a bid, you are entering a competition and there can only ever be one clear winner. Make sure it’s you!

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