Tender to Win! 10 Steps to Tender Success
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Define your benefits.
These are descriptions of how features of your product/service/approach will benefit the prospective customers – a link often missing in a proposal, causing them to conclude the benefits on their own.
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Do not frustrate the evaluator.
Evaluators who are frustrated because your proposal is not compliant, concise, and clear can give you a lower score. Higher frustration = lower score. Use corrects tabs and headers to enable evaluators to quickly find the answers to their questions.
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Page and document design.
People are lookers first, then readers. A good page and document design entices readers, then facilitates understanding, even though evaluators may not be conscious of the design techniques used.
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Consider Alternate Proposals.
Sometimes it is necessary to show that you have a better solution than the prospective customers have requested.
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Know the rules.
Public sector procurement is highly regulated so it is important to know your rights and the responsibilities of the contracting authorities. Use them to your benefit in your submissions.
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Use a ‘success story’ template.
Templates help you support claims consistently and credibly. Indicate the solution you delivered and the resulting benefit, quantified when possible.
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Use graphics.
These are the most effective ways to persuade the contracting authority to select your solution. They expect t see quality graphics in professional proposals.
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Use the powers of persuasion.
Use the art of writing effectively and understand that a human’s ability to make a purely logical decision is limited.
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Photographs convey realism and authenticity.
Visualise what the contracting authority wants to see, then select images that support that vision. Make sure each caption cites success measures.
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Pricing.
Differentiate value and price and understand the price-capability tradeoff.
