Tweet

How To Write A Good Tender To Win Business

Guest post by: Lee Lister

Article Overview: In these recessionary times it is now more important than ever to win new business. Write a winning tender is difficult and a skill that you should concentrate upon. If you do not have the time, staff or skills to do this, then you are advised to hire a professional tender writer.

How To Write A Good Tender To Win Business

In these recessionary times it is now more important than ever to win new business. Write a winning tender is difficult and a skill that you should concentrate upon. If you do not have the time, staff or skills to do this, then you are advised to hire a professional tender writer.

So how do you write a winning tender? Well first of all you need to decide which tenders to write. You will find many tenders available and you need to ensure that your precious budget is used on writing proposals that are appropriate to your company and that you have a good chance of winning. So set up a list of criteria that a potential request for proposal (RFP) will need to have, before you will spend time and money on writing that proposal.

Now you need to decide what your company’s particular strengths and weaknesses are. You will be emphasizing your strengths and hiding your weaknesses in your tender.

Now you need a theme for your tender. Read it through and decide what you think the potential customer is seeking. Is it quality? Cost effectiveness? What are they trying to achieve – market share? - Happier staff? Or maybe they are a government agency who wants to spread their services to more people? Once you have an idea of what your theme is then you can match it to your strengths and begin to work out your solution.

Now read the RFP through very carefully several times. Plan out who is going to write what and set yourself a realistic timetable and plan.

Now you start writing. Pay particular attention to what they are asking for and make sure that you answer the question that is being asked – not what you think you want to write. You will surprised as to how many people lose a bid because they do not provide the information requested.

Next is the pricing. You should decide if you wish to price low and have a basic proposal or price high and have a complete tender. Ensure that you include such factors as delivery, taxes and a markup for your overheads. You should include a reasonable profit for your company. As you get more experienced you can set up daily rates for your staff and major equipment. If you are a manufacturing company, you will need storage costs as well. Most RFP’s specify when you will get paid, so you should factor in your borrowing costs for when you have to borrow to pay wages etc. whilst you are waiting to get paid.

Now ask someone else to read through your tender and ensure that you have put all the information into the proposal. They should also check that the bid makes sense, is grammatically correct and is pleasant and interesting to read.

One last check through. Have you really provided all the information that you should? Put in all the attachments and certificates that they have requested? Great now send it off and sit back and wait for that call to say that you have won the new tender.

Related Articles
  Tendering For New Business The Easier Way
  Tender Writing Guidelines
  How Tender Writing Services Win You That Bid
  Are PQQ’s Getting More Complex To Complete?
  When You Need A Professional Tender Writer
  Tender Writing
  Tender Writing Services – Obtain Professional Help To Win Those Important Tenders
  SMEs - supply chain and ethics
  Correctly Written Tenders Are The Key to Building Your Business
  Writing Tenders -Your Key to Winning Lucrative Government Contracts
  Writing Tenders The Easy Way
  HOW MONEY HAS EVOLVED TO FIT TODAY’S ONLINE TRANSACTION.
  Can You Afford To Treat PQQs Lightly?
  Planning for the New Year
  WINNING TENDERS, RFP’S, & QUOTES.
  FSA Payments
  How to handle the top 10 SME Sales Objections - Part II
  Small Business Opportunity Faux Pas
  Entrepreneurs – Are You Writing A Tender Or Proposal And Want To Differentiate Your Company From The Competitor?
  The Power of Gift Cards

Article Tags: bid, bid writing, proposal, proposal writing, tender, tender writing, write a bid, writing a proposal, writing a tender



Related Forum Posts
Re: Quote of the Day - "Have the courage to follow your heart an - [quote="GT Bulmer":102twzd2]Hi, Evan: I haven't yet managed to capitalize on the longings of my heart as successfully as Jobs did[/quote:102twzd2] Hi GT - I woke up thinking about this post and I have a challenge for you for May if you're up to it. Here it is: Write the blog post / article you were born to write. Write something that you can pour your heart and all your passion into. Write something where you can change the life of the person reading it. Write something where if you look back in 10 years you'll be really proud of what you created. Can you do that? I'd love to read it (and I bet a lot of others will too!)
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
The Little Man Introduction - Good Morning, This is John Hoover from Little Man Consulting. Our company has been floating along as a after thought for a few years. This year we decided to make a go of it. So far we are doing great. We are Virtual Administrators, Web Developers, Database Designers, and Software instructors. Basically, if you have someone in your office to do it, we can do it virtually. Our company was created to "Provide Big Business Resources to the Small Business". Wish me luck, I plan on revolutionizing the small business world with this!
All work and no play.. - Let us enjoy this business joke to end 2009 A dying Business Man A businessman on his deathbed called his friend and said, "Bill, I want you to promise me that when I die you will have my remains cremated." "And what," his friend asked, "do you want me to do with your ashes?" The businessman said, "Just put them in an envelope and mail them to the Internal Revenue Service. Write on the envelope, "Now, you have everything."
Re: what position to request? - Hi Michael, How about Online Business Development Manager? Good luck with your start-up. David


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Leading with Discernment

Are You Listening?

Build Corporate Credit for Your Small Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.