Learn how to win contracts from the experts

Do you want to learn how to win contracts for your business? In this blog, we’ll go through our seven tips for success. 

1. Research, research, research

First things first, if you want to learn how to win contracts, you need to do your research. Initially, you should research the buyer and the contract in more detail. The more you know about the buyer, the better your final tender response will be.

2. Study the tender documents

When you’re learning how to win contracts, understanding the importance of this stage is crucial. Before you begin writing, you need to study the tender documents. Whether it’s one page or 100 pages, you need to digest all the information available to you. Otherwise, you run the risk of missing key details in your tender response. 

3. Prepare your evidence

Next, you need to prepare your case studies. In most cases, you’ll need to include at least two to three contract examples from the past five years. These should be similar in size, scope and complexity to the buyer’s project. If it’s not relevant to the tender, don’t include it in your response. 

4. Show, don’t tell 

Now it’s time to put your case studies to work! To learn how to win contracts, you need to do more than tell the buyer what you’re going to do. You need to show them.

The best way to do this is to show the buyer how you’ve delivered for your previous clients. You could also include testimonials that showcase your past successes.

5. Demonstrate added value

When you’re bidding for public sector contracts, you need to demonstrate added value in your tender response. Added value, also known as social value, is now mandatory in public sector contracts, with a compulsory weighting of 10%. Therefore, you need to show the buyer how you’ll deal with environmental, social and economic factors.

This could include:

• Encouraging economic growth
• Tackling climate change
• Creating new job opportunities
• Giving back to the local community.

6. Review – and then review it again

You might have finished your first draft, but the work doesn’t stop there. When you’re learning how to win contracts, you should be prepared to review your work for errors and inconsistencies. To do this, you should focus on two key areas:

• That you’re actually answering the buyer’s questions
• That your bid response is free of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

To simplify this process, you could try reviewing your tender response more than once, checking for different things each time. 

7. Submit the bid on time

Finally, you need to make sure that you’re ready to submit your tender response before the deadline. After all, there’s no point in learning how to win contracts if you miss the deadline date and time. So, if the tender is due at 12pm, don’t wait until 11:59am to submit.

In summary

When you’re learning how to win contracts, you need to make sure you do the following:

1. Do your research
2. Study the tender documents
3. Prepare your evidence
4. Show, don’t tell
5. Demonstrate added value
6. Review – and then review it again
7. Submit the bid on time.

How Hudson Succeed can help 

So, are you learning how to win contracts?

Enter Hudson Succeed!

We have over 60 years of bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re completely new to tendering or aren’t seeing results – we can help. There are four bid writing packages available:

• Tender Writing 

Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, send it over to us. One of our Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. We’ll provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.

• Tender Mentor  

Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once over before you submit it. Our Bid Writing Team will analyse your response, notifying you of any errors and opportunities for improvements prior to submission.

• Tender Ready 

During the Tender Ready service, our team will create professional policies, procedures, and case studies in your company branding. If you already have this content, we will review everything carefully to ensure that nothing is missed. Once the programme is complete, you’ll have access to three days’ worth of bid consultancy. This can be used for bid writing, tender reviews, or general advice and guidance.

• Tender Improvement  

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Need help with searching for tenders?

Are you curious about finding tenders for your business?

There’s no shortage of websites offering multi-sector tendering opportunities and leads.

Ideally, you should be searching for a sector-specific site that posts all unique, public and private sector opportunities.

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, has 11 sector-specific tendering portals.  One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

Once signed up, you’ll have access to your own dedicated Account Manager. They’ll be able to answer any questions you may have about public sector contracts. Likewise, you’ll also get an email alert when new and relevant tenders are uploaded to your sector. 

A subscription to one of our industry-specific portals will include:  

• Unlimited portal access. You can browse your industry’s portal to your heart’s content. See all the opportunities that are available, intuitively categorised, and easily accessible.
• A daily email bulletin. When you sign up to a portal, you’ll receive an email alert when new tenders are uploaded.
• A dedicated Account Manager. They’ll handle any questions or queries you may have about the portal.
• A free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related. 

What opportunities can I expect from a tender search on a Hudson Discover portal?

Hudson Discover hosts all kinds of tenders in both the public and private sectors. These are inclusive of, but aren’t limited to:

• Open tenders
• Restricted procedure tenders
• Competitive dialogues
• Negotiated tendering procedures
• Innovation partnerships
• Single supplier contracts
• Framework agreements
• Dynamic Purchasing Systems.

Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Vocal

Our support doesn’t end there! Our creative content agency, Vocal, are on hand to help.

The Vocal Team are not afraid to stand up and be heard. And we make sure our clients aren’t either! From small, micro-businesses to large organisations, we are vocal about the things that make your business unique.

Our creative service is dedicated to growing your business through striking and thought-provoking content. We’ll take your bid and give it a complete makeover. With professionally designed tender documents, you’re sure to make an impression on the buyer!

Our team specialise in six areas, including:

• Copywriting
• Marketing
• Branding
• Websites
• Design
• Illustration.

If you’d like to know more about what we can do for your business, introduce yourself to the team!

Contact us to find out more! 

Find more helpful tips and advice in our blogs. We cover topics including:   

• How to win a tender
• What is a Bid Writer?
• The tendering process
• Writing winning bids
• 7 tips for tendering for contracts
• Tips for bid management
• Bid writing services
• The types of tendering procedures
• Writing bids
• Bid Writing Consultants
• Submitting a tender response
• And many more.