3 Ways Tendering for Work Can Benefit Your Business
Tendering for work can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing. There’s a lot of confusing terminologies and it can be difficult to know where to begin with your tender response. The tendering process can be long and arduous with the average bid taking around 23 hours to complete.
Luckily for you, we are experts in tendering for work, having over 60 years of collective experience. Our Bid Writers have an 87% success rate. So, we thought we would share our knowledge to help get you on the path to success.
Here are 3 ways tendering for work can benefit your business
Secure a pipeline of work
Tendering for contracts can help you secure a pipeline of work. Securing a new business contract means that you will have a pipeline of work. Particularly if you secure a place on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) or framework agreement. These tendering processes are often used within an array of sectors including construction and healthcare. The benefit of these is that they can run for years at a time. Some even have the possibility of an extension.
Guaranteed pay when tendering for work in the public sector
One of the biggest advantages of tendering for work is guaranteed payment. In the public sector, suppliers benefit from guaranteed pay upon winning a contract. This is because the Crown Commercial Service must pay contractors within 60-days of invoicing. They must do this to comply with the Prompt Payment Code. This is obviously a great benefit to your business, and it can take some of the pressure off, too.
Gain experience
If you’re a newly formed company, tendering for work is a great way to gain experience. This is particularly true if you’re able to gain a place on a framework or DPS. Buyers will require 2 – 3 case studies of past contracts you have delivered. They need to be within the last 3 – 5 years. They should be similar in scope and style to the one you’re applying for. Securing smaller contracts can help you build up that experience. The more experience you have, the bigger the contracts you can go for. The bigger bids you can go for, the bigger your business can grow.
It’s often advised that it’s common for buyers to ask to see at least two years’ worth of accounts when tendering, this is not always the case with smaller contracts and sometimes strong case studies can be used instead.
Remember these tips when tendering for work:
Be clear and concise
You want to make sure that your tender response is clear and the language is concise. If you use complicated language and long sentences, a buyer may lose what you’re trying to say. They then might not understand your point and you may lose marks. Keep sentences short and sweet.
Stick to the word count
Word/page/character counts are there for a reason. If a buyer thinks that a response needs a 1000-word answer, write a 1000-word response. Don’t go over and try not to write an answer that’s too short of the word count either.
Avoid overly technical jargon
Often, a buyer won’t be an expert in your industry, hence why they’ve put the contract out to tender. So, it’s important that you don’t use overly technical jargon. Use laymen's terms were possible and explain processes in a step-by-step way if you can.
Format your responses
Formatting your response can help you subconsciously get in the reviewers’ good books. Breaking your text up with subheadings and bullet points can help. A buyer would rather see this than blocks of text. This can also help make sure that you have answered every aspect of the question. Tender questions are known for asking three questions in one.
Leave enough time for a bid review and proofreading
A common mistake that many suppliers make when tendering, is that they don’t leave enough time for proofreading. This is an important part of tendering for work. You want to ensure that your response is free of any grammatical and spelling errors. This may give off the impression of laziness and lack of attention to detail.
In summary
Tendering for work can have many advantages. These include securing a pipeline of work, guaranteed pay, and gaining experience, helping your business grow.