How to find a tender or bid
If you are beginning your journey and you're looking for a tender or bid, there are tools at hand. Most people will simply use a search engine such as Google to find contracts. However, this can bring up countless sites with very little information about the bid. You’ll have to read lengthy documents just to find out if a contract is suitable for you. Our sister company, Hudson Discover, makes it easy to find tenders and bids.
Hudson Discover has 11 sector-specific portals to streamline the process of finding bids and tenders. They have Opportunity Trackers that manually search for bids. They don’t use CPV codes when searching for tenders. So, there is no risk of missing a tender opportunity due to a mistake in the code. They then upload these contracts to the portals daily. You can also receive daily notifications to keep up to date with the latest opportunities.
Discover Elite
If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.
How to win a tender or bid
When it comes to winning a tender or bid, there are a few very important aspects that come into play. They are as follows:
1. Prioritise bid management
Bid management is one of the most essential parts of handling a tender or bid. This is how you can stay organised and on track. By managing the workload and knowing what needs to be done, you will be less stressed. In turn, there won’t be any last-minute rushes that lead to easy mistakes that could cost you the bid.
2. Make sure the tender or bid proposal is clear and well written
The buyer wants to know why you should be awarded the contract. So, it is best to get straight to the point and explain exactly that. Ensure your tender or bid proposal is well written and communicates your ideas clearly. You should focus on what the buyer is asking and avoid waffling. This will also play into your wordcount and bid length.
It is important that you follow the buyer’s instructions and stick to the wordcount. If you can’t do this, the buyer is unlikely to award you the contract as you come across as unprofessional. Why should they trust you with a contract if you can’t follow the instructions in the tender documents?
3. Thoroughly edit your work
Even the best writers can make mistakes. Often it is minor mistakes that can easily be overlooked. However, it is important that you correct these. The buyer will get the impression that you are not thorough with your work if you fail to catch mistakes.
4. Don’t use technical jargon
As mentioned in point two, your tender or bid proposal must be clear. So, don’t use any technical jargon that the buyer may not understand. This will lead to them feeling confused by your bid and it could cost you the contract. They want to know exactly how you can help them. So, be as clear as possible.
5. Ensure you are eligible for the contract
It may surprise you to know that many businesses will write a tender or bid for a contract they cannot deliver. This is a complete waste of time and resources. So, when you find a contract, make sure you read all the documents. This will help you to understand exactly what is expected. Therefore, you’ll know if you are eligible for the contract.
Summary
To find tenders and bids, you can use an opportunity tracking portal. Hudson Discover has 11 sector-specific portals to streamline the process of finding bids and tenders. You can upgrade to Discover Elite to have a dedicated Account Manager find bids on your behalf.
Here are our five tips for how to win a tender or bid:
- Prioritise bid management
- Make sure the tender or bid proposal is clear and well written
- Thoroughly edit your work
- Don’t use technical jargon
- Ensure you are eligible for the contract.
We hope we have answered your questions about tenders and bids. If not, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team are always more than happy to help!
Need help searching for tenders?
You may be wondering where you can find a tender for your business. There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector tendering opportunities and leads. Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific site that posts all unique, public and private sector opportunities.
Our sister company, Hudson Discover, has 11 sector-specific tendering portals. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.
Once signed up, you’ll have access to your own dedicated Account Manager. They’ll be able to answer any questions you may have about public sector contracts. You’ll also get an email alert when new and relevant tenders are uploaded to your sector.
A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:
- Unlimited portal access. You can browse your industry’s portal to your heart’s content. See the hundreds of opportunities that are available, intuitively categorised and easily accessible.
- A daily email bulletin. When you sign up to a portal, you’ll receive an email alert when new tenders are uploaded.
- A dedicated Account Manager. They’ll handle any questions or queries you may have about the portal.
- A free 20-minutes phone consultation with a Bid Writer. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.
What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?
They host all kinds of tenders in both the public and private sectors. These are inclusive of, but aren’t limited to:
- Open tenders
- Restricted procedure tenders
- Competitive dialogues
- Negotiated tendering procedures
- Innovation partnerships
- Single supplier contracts
- Framework agreements
- Dynamic Purchasing Systems.
Now you know how to accurately perform a tender search, you may be wondering how to write a bid. Well, luckily for you, Hudson Succeed, are experts in bid writing.
We have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or aren’t seeing results – they can help. There are four bid writing packages available:
Tender Writing
Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, send it over to us. One of our Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. They’ll provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.
Tender Mentor
Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once over before you submit. The Bid Writing Team will analyse your response, notifying you of any errors and opportunities for improvements prior to submission.
Tender Ready
During the Tender Ready service, our team will create professional policies, procedures, and case studies in your company branding. If you already have this content, we will review everything carefully to ensure that nothing is missed. This service also helps businesses who are new to tendering with terminology and industry knowledge.
Tender Improvement
The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.
Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.
Vocal
Our support doesn’t end there! Our creative content agency, Vocal, are on hand to help.
The Vocal Team are not afraid to stand up and be heard. And we make sure our clients aren’t either! From small, micro businesses to large organisations, we are vocal about the things that make your business unique.
Our creative service is dedicated to growing your business through striking and thought-provoking content. Our team specialise in six areas, including:
- Copywriting
- Marketing
- Branding
- Websites
- Design
- Illustration.
Contact us today to find out more.