Key factors of writing a winning tender

Writing bids may be a laborious task. I have written so many over the course of my career and on occasion I have been fed up with them.

However, if you want to grow your creative business, tenders are a crucial way to do so. They offer you the opportunity to show off your business to hundreds of potential clients in order to gain their contracts. Writing a winner tender is therefore a step towards expanding your business and ultimately increasing your turnover.

However, this is not always as easy as it sounds.  All I have to do is say what my business can do on paper, right?  Wrong! I have decades of experience doing so for many creative companies, and during this I have been able to learn some key factors that will help to write winning tenders. Firstly, although it may seem obvious, make sure that you only apply to tenders that are right for your business. A common reason for tender rejection is because the business has applied to a tender opportunity that does not really fit their services. You can try to pretend it does as much as you want, but it is unlikely to sound true.

Another seemingly obvious rule but that is often ignored too, is making sure that you are answering the question and in the order it is asked of you. Many tenders will be immediately rejected if they don’t do this as it shows a lack of organisation and understanding. Also, prove your claims. If you state that your company is the leading creative company in the northeast, back it up with factual evidence. However, always make sure that you are specific and concise with your answers. It is likely that your prospect will have several tenders to read so if yours is rambling and doesn’t get to the point, he or she may develop a negative attitude towards it or worse, just stop reading it.

Importantly, when you are writing your tender always remember that the aim of it is to convince the reader that you are better than your competitors and that you can offer them the best service. Every sentence you write should have this in mind, highlighting your experience and skills. It is also important to remember that a winning tender need not be the tender offering the lowest price. Many tenders will charge more but still win the contract because they offer other value-added benefits that are appealing to the prospect.

Graphic Design in Tenders

Visuals are important in most areas of life, and tenders are no different, especially in the sector we operate. Lay your tender out clearly and neatly to make it look professional using headings, sub-headings and images if needed. Use white space too – if a tender looks over-crowded, this will instantly put the reader off. Similarly, so will any silly grammar or spelling mistakes so never forget to proofread your tender or ask a colleague to do it for you.

Writing tenders becomes far less of a chore if you know that you stand a good chance of winning the contract you are bidding for. If you follow these simple but crucial rules, you are sure to be on the way to start winning your company tenders that you previously have lost and you’ll begin to see the work you put in to writing the tenders paying off!

Good luck!

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