Once you have found a suitable tender and downloaded the tender documents, read the tender request. A thorough read is necessary for analysing the tender request, also known as Request for Tender or RFT . Only then can you know for sure whether it's worth putting in the hard yards required to submit a winning response.
1. Make a list
Make a list or highlight the goods/services being asked for. If you can't deliver (or can’t find subcontractors to assist), don't bid. If you can, make notes for your response as to how you intend to address each of these.
2. The current supplier isn't always the preferred
If this is a tender currently fulfilled by another supplier, it is not set in stone that they will be renewed as the preferred tender supplier. Usually, the existing supplier also has to submit a response and it's possible yours will be more suitable.
3.Check that the tender notice
Check that the tender notice is a tender request (RFT), and not a request for quotation (RFQ). These are two different requests and should be responded to differently. A RFT is judged on both qualitative and cost factors, whereas an RFQ is judged just on price.
4. Are you currently in the process of responding to other tenders?
Identify in your analysis whether this tender is worthy of your precious time and resources and focus on the tenders that are most likely to produce results.
5. Analyse the size of the tender contract
Analyse the size of the tender contract (if available) against your turnover. At times, a contract value can be more than 20% of business turnover that could count against you in the assessment of your tender response.
6. Time is an asset
If you have staff dedicated to looking through potential tender opportunities, make sure they have enough time to thoroughly look through the many pages of tender documents so that nothing is overlooked.
7. Strategize
There may be times when you know you can submit a strong tender response to an RFT, but the delivery of the work may not be profitable enough to make it a viable option. In this type of situation:
- Normally you might skip this opportunity. However, if the opportunity fits with your long-term strategy and delivering the tender would not cause financial stress then consider submitting a tender response. Work often leads to more work.
- Known as loss leader tendering, this strategy offers a service/product at a price that is not profitable but may attract future business or the opportunity to sell other products to the same company. This gives you access to a potential new market.
8. Consider existing business resources
Analyse not just the tender itself, but the fact that taking on the time-consuming process of the new tender may put a strain on your existing business resources. Winning new tenders should not affect the delivery of your existing business and relationship with your current customers.
9. Ask questions
Contact the tendering company or tender officer if you have any queries on the tender request. It is better to respond to the questions correctly than guessing the answers.
10. Dont be afraid to get that extra help
If you require extra help with responding to the tender, ensure to contact a Tender Response consultant. They are here to help your business grow.
