Writing A Tender In A Recession

When writing a tender during a recession, you will find that price and what you are prepared to offer at a rock bottom price will be key to you winning a tender. So how do you get your price as low as possible, whilst still making a profit and just as important, keeping your customer happy?

First of all check what percentage of the tender evaluation you will earn for the price. If it is less than 40% you need to concentrate on what you will be providing within the bid. Remember, that in a recession, money is tight and cash flow even tighter and hence the company will always look at the price at the same time, however many evaluation points they will award. So pay particular attention to your pricing. Par your bid down to the lowest workable options so that your price is as low as you can feasibly make it.

All the way through your tender you should be concentrating on the benefits that you will be bringing to the new company, how it will expand their business and how you will teach their staff as you work with them. In recessionary times, companies will be looking to obtain as many benefits as possible on their limited budget.

In a recessionary time the following points are particularly important:

• The company will have cash flow at the forefront of their mind, so set up your payment requests to meet this need.
• They will want as much as possible for as little as possible, now more than ever “bang for bucks” is important.
• Emphasise how little you will disrupt their current trading, as you implement the project. This will keep them happy that they will not lose income and cash flow whilst you are working on their new project.

Lastly remember that the recession will not last for ever and if you are preparing a tender that will last longer that a year, build in some extras that can be taken at a later date. Show how easy and cost effective it will be to upgrade and how this will assist an expanding business. Concentrate on building a relationship with your new client that will last much longer than the recession will.

In summary, ensure that you have priced your proposal well and indicate what kind of benefits that working with your company will bring. Concentrate on doing a good job for the client and build in some enhancements for when money is not so tight.

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© Copyright 2010 Biz Guru Ltd

Lee Lister writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites where she provides advice and assistance for the business entrepreneur. She is known as the Bid Manager and is a recognized bid management expert.

If you would like more help and assistance in tendering for work then visit: http://www.TenderWriting.com or read Proposal Writing For Smaller Businesses which can be found on Amazon and other major book sites.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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