The Secret to Winning a Tender? Industry Knowledge

As professional tender experts with over 60 years’ experience, our tender writing team at Hudson hold invaluable knowledge for securing tenders and have expertise in a variety of industries—not limited to:

• Healthcare
• Construction
• Facilities
• Technology
• Consultancy
• Hospitality
• Creative
• Transport
• Finance
• Research
• HR

We also hold an 87% success rate, so you can rest assured that we know how to bid to win!

Over the years, we have experienced all the highs and lows of tendering, including secrets that not every business may know when they are tendering—particularly if they are new to the tendering process!

In this blog, we will cover what a tender is, the tendering process, our secrets to winning a tender and why industry-specific knowledge is vital for any tender.

What is a Tender?

A tender is a formal offer to carry out work or supply goods at a fixed price. Tenders are typically used by organisations when procuring goods or services and are evaluated through a tendering process.

7 Stages of The Tendering Process

1. Sourcing the Tender

The first stage of the tendering process is finding the tender that is most suited to what you can offer in terms of your goods/services. We have 11 sector-specific tender portals where you can source tenders based on keywords and your location.

2. Pre-Tender

This stage involves assessing the tender in terms of project scope, conducting buyer and market research, budgeting, developing a risk assessment plan and legal requirements.

3. Tender Response

Interested parties respond to the tender, either in writing or electronically, and provide all required documents to support and verify their tender. This process can be outsourced to us and we will write the response on your behalf!

4. Evaluation/Selection

The buyer will evaluate each tender response to assess suitability and conformity to the requirements of the procurement project. Those who are non-compliant will be discarded immediately!

5. Contract Award

Once the evaluation is complete, the successful tenderer will be awarded the contract and notified of the results.

6. Negotiation

The buyer and the successful tenderer will negotiate the contractual details to ensure the contract will be suitable for both parties.

7. Contract Signing

The supplier and buyer sign the contract, establishing their obligations and rights and binding them to the terms of the contract.

5 Secrets to Win a Tender

1. Demonstrate Added Value

Point out techniques, benefits, advantages and expertise that your solution brings. Be specific when providing evidence of relevant experience.

2. Keep it simple

When writing your bid, make sure you keep it simple and to the point. Keep the language clear and concise and avoid any jargon. It can be difficult to strike the balance between providing enough detail in your answers, while maintaining relevance and clarity. Make it as easy as possible for the buyer to navigate your work!

3. Proofread

This is an obvious one but make sure you proofread your tender thoroughly to avoid any errors. Also, don’t just proofread your work once or twice, proofread it multiple times and get someone else to also check it before submission. If you have an in-house tender writing team, then this step will be easier. However, if you have never tendered before, it is best to reach out to an outsourced bid writing team—like us!

4. Be flexible with your approach

Instead of just using the same methods and formats as you have in the past, try to think of different tactics that could give you an edge over your competitors. Businesses have come to us wondering where they have gone wrong in their tender response. This is largely down to a ‘copy and paste’ approach when tendering for different contracts—meaning that specific needs are not being met. Sometimes, it just takes a different style of writing to convince the buyer!

5. Ask Questions

Never be reluctant to ask for clarification on a question that is unclear or worded incorrectly or vaguely. This is your chance to showcase your services, so don’t put that in jeopardy by providing an unsure answer to an unclear question!

Why is Industry-specific Knowledge Vital for a Tender?

Industry-specific knowledge is vital for a tender proposal because it allows you to demonstrate your familiarity with the industry, as well as the goods/services that you are offering.

Additionally, it helps to convey the depth of your understanding and expertise, and allows you to tailor solutions to the particular needs of the client. This can be particularly important when competing against other companies that don’t necessarily have the same level of industry-specific knowledge.

Thus, having industry-specific knowledge can give you a competitive edge and can help you to stand out from the competition.

Our Tender Courses

If you have any more questions then Tender VLE will have the answers for you.

Join the UK’s first-ever virtual learning environment to offer a range of free tender-related videos. Whether you have years of tendering experience or are starting out from scratch, Tender VLE will have something for you.

Think there’s something missing? If you can’t find the answers you’re looking for, then tell us more about the content you’d like to see!

See something you like? Contact our team for a quick chat and start your Tender VLE journey today.