Tender Writing – Is Price the sole consideration in the Tender Writing process?

It doesn’t seem to matter if the tender is a Government, Council or commercial tender everyone seems to have the misconception that tender writing is all about price price price. Tender writing is a complex process with many considerations and variabilities but price is just one important focus for the skilled tender writer. Today we will discuss the other important considerations in the tender writing process and challenge the concept that it is all about price price price.

Yes tender writing does indeed have many variabilities and the quality tender writer will ensure that the pricing of the organisation or business is competitive. But to me you don’t have to have the cheapest price to be successful. I always believe as long as you are in the ball park with a price that is competitive and offers value for money and is somewhere in the vicinity of the prices of your competitors then you are in with a real chance of winning the tender. Obviously if your price is way more expensive than the competition then it is going to be very difficult to win the tender unless you can show the quality of your offering is far in excess of the competitors, your experience is far superior etc etc.

When we are writing tenders we really place a significant emphasis on demonstrating that our client has quality processes in place and a quality system in line with the requirements of ISO 9001. We also demonstrate that our client has highly effective WHS processes and systems in place to ensure the safety of workers and visitors. Government, Councils and larger commercial entities are very very focussed on successful tenderers having these in place. We normally like our clients to at least have basic documented Quality and WHS manuals in place to submit with their tender. Also most Government and Councils now have a specific focus on recycling processes and environmental sustainability so in our tenders we ensure we address these aspects comprehensively. Again we will suggest that the client complies with environmental management best practice and the requirements of the environmental standard ISO 14001.

Obviously in our tender writing process we really highlight that our client has the past experience on successfully delivering on past tenders or contracts which are similar to what is being offered in the current tender. It is important that you give real confidence to the assessment panel by demonstrating that this tender offering is in line with what you have done in the past. This gives them confidence that you can handle what they want as part of the tender contract. So try and prove that you have previously worked for similar entities and delivered on similar contracts where possible.

We also want to demonstrate as quality grant writers that our clients can meet specified time lines and deliver on any quantities that are required as specified in the tender. The more you can remove any questions in the mind of the assessment panel – the more your chances increase.

So while price is important and yes we hope our client’s pricing is competitive we believe if we place enough emphasis and focus on these other aspects of the tender writing process we can significantly increase our chances of success. The issues to be considered above are not the sole issues to give your tender an improved chance of success but to us they are real key elements in the arsenal of the quality tender writer.

Contact us at Red Tape Busters – https://www.redtapebusters.com/ should you require more information about this article or if you require specialist grant or tender writing experience to help your organisation or business win grant funding or achieve successes with tenders.

We are specialists in providing the following services:-

  • Lobbying;
  • Tender Writing;
  • Grant Writing;
  • Resumes/Job Applications;
  • Organisational/Business Development.

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