Submitting a successful bid isn’t just about ticking boxes, it’s about telling a compelling story that aligns with the buyer’s needs, values, and vision while telling them the value that YOU, as a supplier, will bring to them.
When responding to a bid (PQQ/ ITT/ RFP), success relies on strategy, insight, and execution. A successful bid won’t just answer the brief, it will demonstrate an understanding of the buyer’s needs, building trust that you will deliver, and showcasing your ability to deliver real value.
This blog will explore the key components that are required for a winning bid, and how you can continue to submit proposals that stand out.
Before you bid:
- Build relationships with your clients before the tender documents arrive! This is one of the most important aspects of a successful bid because not only will you be one of the first names they think of when considering suppliers but you will also gain competitive advantage by knowing what they buyer’s pain points are, their values and priorities (the ones that probably aren’t mentioned in the ITT documents).
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- Top Tip – Relationship building is most often overlooked by businesses who are new and / or not as successful as they would like to be, whereas businesses who are the most successful in the public sector have this nailed into their strategy.
- Pick your targets through a ‘Bid/No Bid’ strategy that is focussed on your business plan. Think quality not quantity, and go for the contracts you really want, have a good chance of winning and importantly, that you have the capacity to deliver.
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- Remember, if you have a contract taken off you it can seriously impact your ability to win future work in the public sector.
- Build up a library of good case studies! Alongside scope, values, dates, and images, think about the issues your clients will want to know about and think back, how have you added value? How did you deal with the public? Did you propose any innovative products or processes? How did you deal with challenges and unforeseen issues? Gold dust within these case studies are client testimonials, they speak volumes!
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- Top Tip – Buyers know buyers. The public sector is a fairly close knit environment where procurement and contract people move and talk to one another. Sometimes simply evidencing your work with an industry thought leader can be enough to build trust, credibility and improve future win rates.
- A well-organised document library will make each process easier. Gather everything you will need in your bids, this could be; certificates, financial statements, policies, model answers, CVs and case studies.
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- Top Tip – Store everything so that it’s easily accessible to everyone in the business who’s tasked with public sector work winning. Continue to update your library to make sure it doesn’t go stale or become outdated.
- Ensure that you are clear about what you do differently to your competitors, ask yourself, “what gives us the edge?” Your Unique Selling Points and ‘win themes’ should run through your submission and continually link back to answering the questions raised in the bid specification.
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- Top Tip: Work out how you can add value to the buyer. What do they need? Then evidence it in your bid.
- For example: Can you offer innovative processes and materials? Do you have a scalable and flexible resource to cover emergency call outs within a certain timescale? Can you offer local employment opportunities? The list is endless and will depend on the buyer. Provide evidence as to why you are the best and document those facts by backing claims up with examples.
When you are bidding:
- Make sure you understand what is being asked in the documents. Read the specification document and if there are areas of uncertainty then ask a clarification question (CQ). Don’t bid on ‘could’, ‘might’ or ‘maybe’.
- Be compliant: Tick every box required, while keeping within page/word limits and other requirements including font size and allowable images. Even if you think it doesn’t bear relevance to the specification, if it’s a mandatory field in the bid make sure to complete it!
- Back up your approach with evidence.
- Ask yourself ‘So what?’ If your response doesn’t answer that question, then change it. For example:
Example 1
You may say, “We will offer employment during the contract.”
So what?
Make it meaningful: “Focussing on the long term unemployed within the locality, we will offer 2 full time employment opportunities during the first year of the framework. We have taken on 3 full time employees over the last 2 years who have now achieved NVQ Level2 and continue to be important members of our successful delivery team.”
This way you focus on their needs of local employment and the long-term unemployed, as well as providing a clear commitment, and have backed it up with evidence that you have done it successfully in the past.
Example 2
You may say “We have 8 lorries”.
So what?
Make it meaningful: “Ensuring resilience in times of peak workload or unforeseen events, our well-maintained, wholly-owned fleet of 8 lorries will be dedicated to this contract.”
Like in a maths exam at school, you don’t get top marks for simply giving the right answer. Top marks are only scored by evidencing your work and how this reflects back to the requirements of the contract.
After bidding:
- Gain feedback. No matter whether you win or lose, feedback is essential for continuous improvement. It will help you understand what worked well while also highlighting areas for growth. The insight will allow you to refine your strategy, strengthen your value proposition and improve internal processes.
- Keep gathering evidence of great service delivery and keep updating that bid library.
Our advice for companies who are not experienced in bidding and need some guidance? It is worth paying for a week or two of someone’s time to help you. They can provide a strategic focus, talk you through the bid documents, show you how to score well, write the responses for you, review your submission or all the above.
If you have targeted a contract and KNOW you are the right company to deliver the works, it is worth spending the money to make sure you put a compliant, high-scoring tender response together that showcases your ability to deliver the work.
Think of it like washing your car. You could buy sponges, buckets, car shampoo, wax, a pressure washer, perhaps a wheel cleaning tool, as well as some fancy polishing cloths and then spend the next few hours cleaning your pride and joy…
Or, you could spend £7 and go to a hand car wash who will likely give you a cleaner car, in less than 30 minutes. How? Because they’re experts in what they do, have spent more hours than they care to count cleaning cars, and have the right tools and equipment to job efficiently.
Bidding isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard. If you’re struggling to navigate bids, or to get the outcomes that you’re looking for then perhaps you should talk to our team of bid experts to have a chat about where you might be going wrong, and the support that we can offer to power your next bid win.
