There are many industries which require companies to win tenders in order to get a business contract. While public sector contracts almost always involve tenders, this practice is now becoming increasingly common from private sectors companies. As a result, businesses that aspire to win major business contracts need to be well versed in the art of writing proposals and the bidding process.

This process often begins with a Pre Qualification Questionnaire which is better known by its abbreviated form PQQ. A PQQ helps the company that is offering the contract to understand which of the various companies that want their business are qualified to bid for it. The PQQ usually asks for a lot of information about the bidding companies including details of its experience in a particular field, its business policies and practices and often the other the company’s experience in similar projects.

Writing PQQs are very important since these documents serve to introduce your company and allow you to bid on projects. This document creates a first impression and if it is not satisfactory then your company might not even be invited to bid for the contract. Often it is a good idea to use a specialist in writing PQQ’s so that there is very little chance of rejection at this early stage.

Proposal writing is a very lengthy process and companies are rarely given a great deal of time in which to prepare it. The business environment is very fast paced and a company usually needs to have its PQQ and proposal completed within a very short time. However, many companies cannot afford to employ a full time person if they do not prepare a number of bids each year. The best solution in this circumstance is to take the help of a specialist in proposal and PQQ writing.

There are many companies that have identified this niche and accordingly offer a whole range of services that are connected with bidding for tenders. They have specialists who do everything from writing PQQs to writing bids. They write proposals and bids that are customised to your requirements. These companies even offer bid management and proposal writing training in case you want to learn to undertake these services yourself. Most of these companies offer a very high quality of service, have a high success rate and save a great deal of time and effort. You will see a marked improvement in your success rate with bidding for contracts if you take the help of experts who have undertaken tender writing a considerable number of times before.

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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 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 writing your tender or PQQ, 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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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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An old adage that I try and remember is that preparation, preparation and preparation make a great job seem easy. It is a sad fact that many companies jump into bidding or tendering for more work and they are simply not ready. So what should you do before you write that all important tender?

Most importantly you have to ensure that your business can actually undertake the project and complete the work whilst making a profit. Seems simple doesn’t it – but even very large companies have bid on and won projects that have lost them millions of dollars/pounds. Look up the Post Office Pathway project in the UK and see how that nearly bankrupted both the Post Office and the companies undertaking the work.

Secondly you need to understand where your company stands with respect to your competitors. Are they more likely to win the project? Can you work with one of them in order to have more chance of winning the project? Is there a competitor that you need to look out for? Are you the leader in your field for some particular product or service? This is important because you should emphasise this in your proposal.

Now look at the risks and rewards appertaining to the project? List your strengths and weaknesses and see if the RFP plays to your strengths. You need to be 100% certain that you are going to be able to make a profit, and hopefully advance your company, should you win the bid.

Next you need to prepare your bidding environment. Most proposals require some standard documentation such as company and product information and staff CV’s/Resumes. You should have these to hand.

Lastly prepare your company. You need to know what bidding strategy you will be using. Are you going to bid low and provide a minimal solution or do you want to provide a great solution with all the “bells and whistles” and bid correspondingly high? Not all bids are won by the lowest bidder – many look at the quality of the bid itself.

Now read through the RFP in detail and ensure that you understand it and have enough staff and resources to not only prepare the proposal but also complete the winning project. Good luck.

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© Copyright 2009 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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© 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 writing your tender or PQQ, visit: 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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Costing and estimating are sometimes the “win or lose” activity. Without a solid, correct, Costing Model you could be losing business and profit. Your Costing Model should be used to define and manage your costs during an proposal or when you are asked for an estimate for a project. Using this method, you have a fair chance of winning and making a profit. There are many mediums you can use including a pen and paper for the simpler jobs. Most companies use a spreadsheet based software programme. Your Costing Model should include:
− All you cost elements. As you produce your proposal make a note of all the costs that make up your bid. If you are producing an estimate then make sure that all the components of the work to be done are included in the model. Include costs of borrowing money whilst you are waiting for your payments to be made.
− Calculation of your costs. Using a spreadsheet makes this easier. You should use your Costing Model to calculate such costs as: your hourly costs by hourly rates, material costs by amount and processing costs by time.
− Uplifts for profit: Decide what percentage/amount you want to charge for project and do not forget to include costs or managing your sub contractors.
− Uplifts for risk: Decide how much each increment of risk you will be undertaking will increase your costs and include this. This is an area that many people forget.
− Adjust to win: Use your understanding of your potential client to make the appropriate adjustments to that you so not price yourself out of the market.
− Add extras: Such as Taxes, Delivery, Insurance etc. This are best itemised separately in any proposal.

You should remember that if you are estimating for a lengthy period you should use NPV (net present value) calculations to take into account inflation. If you are working in more than one currency, you should take hedging against major currency value shifts into account.

Lastly check it over more than once to ensure that all your calculations are correct and reasonable. You want to use this Costing Model more than once after all!

Good luck.

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© Copyright 2009 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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Many companies, particularly small ones, struggle to write a tender or proposal that makes their company stand out from the competition. Others have problems with explaining how their products and services will solve a company’s problems. These are the companies that should be using the services of a tender writing company.

Writing a tender or a proposal is not all that a tender writing company will do for you. They also offer a range of other related services. So let us take a look at the services offered and how they help us secure a bid:

• Drafting and writing of tenders and proposal
Regardless of the value of the contract that you are trying to bid or the agency that it involves, the professional writers are well-versed in knowing what the criterias of a winning proposal are. If you are not sure of the procedures or part of the paperwork when dealing with government agencies etc. have no worries as a professional proposal writer will take care of those details as well.

• Presentation of selling points
Organisations know what their strengths are but not all know how to phrase them in a winning manner. Tender writers will gather a list of your Unique Propositions, Strategies, Key Selling Points and business cases and then convert them into winning and convincing points.

• Risk assessment
Tender writing is not just about words; the professionals are well-capable of assessing the risks involved in winning the tender. This actually comes into place before the start of the bidding so that you are presented with the pros and cons of the tender and subsequently advised into making a right decision. Tenders are expensive to produce and a company needs to know which ones they have a good chance of winning.

• Mentoring and advice
Tender writers facilitate knowledge transfer to employees of the organisation. They advise on matters related to proposals and tenders. Your staff are then more knowledgeable when dealing with similar matters in the future.

Tender writing services do more than just help you win that bid; they also represent your company image in the best possible manner. A well-written tender both impresses and delivers confidence that the project will be undertaken in a professional manner.

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© Copyright 2011 Biz Guru Ltd

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

If you would like assistance in writing your tender or PQQ, visit: http://www.TenderWriting.com or read Proposal Writing For Smaller Businesses which can be found on Amazon.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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Most small companies focus their resources on ensuring that their product and services are of the highest standard in order to be competitive. This leaves very little manpower to handle the process of bidding for contracts or even for writing proposals. You will certainly benefit from bid training because this will place you in the same league as the larger companies that have plenty of manpower to bid for contracts.

The biggest problem that you might face is that you are not even aware of most contracts until it is too late. You might not possess the networking skills required to get information on many business opportunities. This prevents you from making full use of the infrastructure and the earning capacity of your company.

You are certain to face your next hurdle while you are engaged in proposal writing or filling out Pre Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs). Any mistake or oversight in these two documents will put an end to your chances of winning the contract because you will not be invited for writing bids. There is a certain method of bid writing that gets the attention of the agency awarding contracts and you need to know what it is. A bid training company is the answer to all your problems because it gives you the ability to do the process correctly.

There are many companies that offer bid training and they are usually staffed by professionals who know all the nuances of dealing with government or private contracts. You can take their help to train your employees who will be writing tenders. If you expect to go for many government contracts you could even consider hiring in-house bid writers who can be trained by these consultants. Some of these companies will also take on the responsibility of bidding for contracts if you so wish. This will free your time as well as that of your employees so that you can focus on your regular work.

Bid training will help you understand the importance of writing bid documents from the view point of the customer so that your product or service seems to be the most attractive of all the options. You will be able to grab all the business opportunities that present themselves and you will also be able to expand your business considerably. This training is not very expensive and the cost is certainly very little when compared with the advantages that will accrue to your company as a result of gaining this knowledge. There are many places where you can get this training from. Your company benefit if you can win a few lucrative contracts.

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© Copyright 2015 Biz Guru Ltd

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

If you would like assistance in writing your tender or PQQ, visit: http://www.TenderWriting.com or read Proposal Writing For Smaller Businesses which can be found on Amazon.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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So where are these RFPs? Some are found by sales staff keeping close contact with potential suppliers but many are found on major consolidation sites set up for just this purpose. From government contracts to small one off writing jobs or major IT and infrastructure projects there is a site that holds information on numerous of these sites. One of the first jobs for the bid management group of a company is to seek out the appropriate sites and register for their newsletters.

If you do not have a bid manager or a bid writer, these can even be found on these sites by placing your own request.

Once you have found your RFP and ascertained that your company has the ability to perform the project for a profit it is time to read the RFP. What is the potential client seeking? How do they want the project performed and what do they seem to be emphasising as most important. Now time to check out the company. Who are their potential clients? What is their price point likely to be? What kind of products and services do they deal with? Now look to your potential competitors? How can you stand out from them?

Once you have all this information you can start writing your tender. Be precise, easy to understand and concise. Follow the rules set out in the RFP and ensure that your differentiate your company from others. Be accurate, spell correctly, use good grammar and graphics to explain complex matters. Do not exaggerate or outright lie. Many tender documents are used as part of a contract and the future client will be expecting you to deliver what you promised at the price you quoted. A word about pricing – make sure that you leave some reasonable profit for your company or you will not be improving, merely standing still for a lot of effort, or worse still losing money.

If this sounds too difficult for your company, then you need to obtain the services of a good tender writer. Ask for references and ensure that your potential tender writers have full details of what you expect from them and when. Timescales are always tight, but try and allow your bid writer time to write a great bid for you.

Expect to give a lot of information to your bid writer. Even the best of them cannot read minds. They may know the market area, and it is better if they do, but they will not know the inner workings of your company and its strategies. A good tender writer will tell you what they need to know. A great tender writer will know how to present this information in the best possible manner so that you have a great chance of winning.

If you have been considering tendering for new projects but are unsure of how to do this, then you need a great tender writer.

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© Copyright 2015 Biz Guru Ltd

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

If you would like assistance in writing your tender or PQQ, visit: http://www.TenderWriting.com or read Proposal Writing For Smaller Businesses which can be found on Amazon.

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