23 Aug How To Save Time In The Tender Process And Win More Work
The tender process can be complex and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be.
Hiring bid and tender experts to help you navigate this process is the best way to save time, conserve energy, and increase your chances of success.
But there are a number of things you can do to optimise your own bid creation efforts, and in this article we explore some of the most effective ones — focusing specifically on how to save time and win more work through better bidding!
1. Read & Understand The Guidelines
When bidding on an opportunity, you will have a list of guidelines to follow.
They can be comprehensive and may even seem overwhelming, but the efforts invested here will help you avoid wasting time later down the line — especially if you discover at the start that you are unsuitable or ineligible for the job.
In particular, look carefully through the ‘bid/no bid’ guidelines to ensure that you meet the basic criteria, then consider the opportunity from a wider perspective – for example, in which of the required areas are you strong and highly competitive, and in what others might you need to improve upon before submitting your bid for the work?
If you thoroughly understand what the client is looking for and how you can deliver it, you are well on the way to a strong application.
However, if you find that you are unsuitable or ineligible for an opportunity, do not waste any further time on it, but instead continue with your tender search process.
2. Delegate According To Strengths
Once the bid process is underway, be sure to delegate tasks to your team so that no single person is overwhelmed with work.
It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, so that you can delegate effectively by making best use of their individual abilities.
Newer team members could perhaps be paired with more experienced personnel, for example, so that they learn the ropes and become accustomed to the bid creation process, quickly and effectively.
But however you choose to delegate, ensure that everyone is clear on their task and feels confident to speak up whenever issues arise. Check in regularly so that you have the chance to identify and troubleshoot any issues before they can develop into a problem.
TIP: If there is a common professional weakness in your team, or any area in which you would all benefit from improvement, consider organising relevant staff training events and workshops.
3. Create & Stick To A Strategy
During the bid and tendering process, it is vital to not only create an effective plan, but also to stick to it. This doesn’t mean that you won’t make changes and adaptations along the way, but it does mean that you will know when you’re going off track.
As tendering can be highly time-sensitive with crucial deadlines, having a plan will help you ensure that you are managing your time effectively, and are on track to meet all the necessary deadlines. Plus, if you’re behind schedule, you will be able to tell in advance and make the appropriate adjustments to get you back where you need to be.
It is also important to avoid the common pitfall of procrastinating in the early stages of the process. Many people believe they have more time than they do, meaning they underestimate the length of time it will take to prepare their bid.
By starting work early, you will be able to make steady progress and avoid the stress and confusion that comes with last-minute rushing. Having to hurry the bid creation process can also lead to you making costly mistakes, which can result in you missing out on a valuable opportunity.
Don’t risk this! Plan ahead, start well in advance, and if necessary, adapt your strategy on the go.
4. Plan Your Responses
Begin by going through all the bid questions as a whole. Do not be tempted to answer the questions one by one without seeing them all in advance, or there is a strong likelihood that you will repeat yourself.
Carefully map out your responses to each question, so that you know exactly what to cover and where. Having a clear plan to work from also helps you to prevent writer’s block, and to avoid including information in the bid which may not be relevant.
Lastly, do not be tempted to include information that you may want to share, but which is not appropriate to the question! If you feel you must include the information in your bid, consider if it could be included somewhere else where the details will be more relevant.
