Wondering how to secure government contracts without the resources of Amazon, Capita or Deloitte?  Well, we have good news! You don’t need endless resources to win government contracts. You just need to be:

• Smart with your bid or no-bid decisions
• Resourceful with your team
• Knowledgeable about the tendering process.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at:

• How to be smart with your decisions, using a bid or no-bid checklist
• What you can do to prepare before you bid for work
• How to break down the question
• How to get the evaluator on your side with your writing
• Where you can find support.

So, let’s get started!

5 boxes to tick for smarter bid decisions

Before bidding for work, you should set out a list of questions to ask yourself before diving in. These questions will form your bid or no-bid questionnaire. They will help you make quick and smart decisions and keep you on the right path.

By making better decisions, you’ll save yourself from wasting resources further down the line. You don’t want to write 10,000 words, then realise you’re not eligible because of an accreditation requirement on page 50.

There are plenty of questions to consider but these five are a good starting point.

If you tick ‘no’ to even one of these questions, you need to seriously consider whether you can win. Essentially, we’re saying don’t waste your time and resources on bids you can’t win.

4 things you can prepare before you bid on government contracts

1. Assign roles in your team

With a smaller team, it’s important that everyone understands the role they play in the wider project. We recommend assigning:

• Someone who makes the bid or no-bid decisions
• The project manager
• Someone who designs the solutions
• Someone who will write the bid responses
• The person who will compile the pricing document
• The person who will sign off the final bid.

2. Compile your policies and procedures

Even before you start bidding for work, you can pre-empt the policies you are likely to be asked for. For example, in the healthcare industry, it’s sensible to assume you will be asked to provide:

• A safeguarding policy
• A whistleblowing policy
• Your business continuity plans
• A risk management policy
• And an infection control plan/policy.

You can see here how we have made this assumption based on the industry. You and your team can do the same.

3. Create consistent, branded company CVs

In the public sector, buyers often ask to see the CVs of the team who will be delivering the contract. We advise spending some time on preparing these CVs and trying to keep the design consistent. It’s easier for buyers to read and digest the information if they’re all formatted the same way. Take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on each member of your team and demonstrate their capabilities.

4. Create/compile case studies 

And more importantly…relevant case studies! When tendering for work in the public sector, you need to evidence your previous experience. This is usually done through providing two or three case studies from the last five years. The projects in the case studies should be similar in size and scope to the tender at hand.

How to break down the question

So, you’ve found a tender, it passes your checklist and you’ve prepared your documents. How do you now breakdown the questions and answer them effectively?

Firstly, don’t just jump straight in and start writing…as tempting as it might be. Sit back and examine the question. Let’s look at an example question:

Please explain your risk management procedures, including what risks you feel are vital to overcome as part of this contract, as well as monitoring and mitigation approaches you would use. Please detail who will manage said risks and provide examples of where you have overcome similar risks.

Does it seem like there’s a lot to answer within this one question? There is! We would tackle it bit by bit, breaking the question down into subheadings, such as:

• General risk management procedures – this would include risks, monitoring and mitigation.
• Risk lead – risk management experience.

Under each subheading, you can address that section of the question.

How to get the evaluator on your side

When considering how to secure government contracts, it’s not just about what you’re saying, it’s how. Here are our top 5 tips for getting the buyer on your side:

• Be definitive. Swap phrases like ‘we aspire to’ with ‘we have’ and ‘we could’ for ‘we will’
• Stay positive, focusing on the benefits of your service/solution/goods and the advantages
• Back up all your claims with indisputable evidence
• Be confident in your writing and write with conviction
• Keep your language simple and sentences short. For example, instead of ‘has been proven to be’ use ‘is’.

It might seem like these tips are too simple…what’s the catch?  There really isn’t one.

Empathise with the evaluator. You’re reviewing 30 submissions; they all contain very similar information, but they’re written differently. The simple, definitive answers will stand out because they are easy to follow and understand.

Also consider that the evaluator is likely not an expert in your industry or service/goods. Therefore, avoiding the use of too much technical jargon will go a long way. The evaluator needs to understand why they should award you the contract. If they don’t follow your explanations, you’re unlikely to win.

Where can you find government contracts?

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how to secure government contracts. So where can you find the opportunities in the first place?

There are hundreds of websites across the UK that are updated daily with opportunities. The government has its own tender tracking website called Contracts Finder. The website is free to use but be prepared to spend a long time scrolling through irrelevant tenders.

That’s because the website uses CPV codes to categorise the opportunities which are often incorrectly used.

To speed up the process and make opportunity tracking more efficient, we created our Hudson Discover portals.

Hudson Discover houses our 11 sector-specific tendering portals. As well as being dedicated to one sector each, they’re manually updated by our Opportunity Trackers. They scour over 600 sources to identify new tendering opportunities and tag them with industry-driven keywords.

Visit your industry’s portal to book a free live demo:

• Creative Tenders
• Construction Tenders
• Healthcare Tenders
• Facilities Tenders
• Logistics Tenders
• Research Tenders
• Technology Tenders
• Consultancy Tenders
• HR Tenders
• Hospitality Tenders
• Finance Tenders.

In summary…

So, we’re at the end of our blog on how to secure government contracts. Hopefully you’ll take something away with you that you can apply to your next bid. If you need a quick recap, here you go:

• We provided a list of five questions to help you form a bid or no-bid questionnaire. This will help you make more informed, smarter decisions and mitigate wasted resources. We understand that smaller businesses need to be smart with their resources. Assessing the bids before diving in will help you do just that.
• We provided our top four tips for bid preparation:
  1. Assigning roles to your team
  2. Pre-empting the policies and procedures you’ll likely be asked to provide
  3. Creating company CVs for everyone in your team who will be delivering the contract
  4. Compiling three case studies from the last five years that will be relevant to the contracts you bid for.
• Together, we looked at a sample question and thought about how we could break it down. We made sure to split the answer into subheadings so that we addressed every part of the question.
• We provided five tips to help you get the evaluator on side with your writing:
  1. Be definitive with your language
  2. Stay positive, focusing on the benefits and advantages
  3. Provide evidence to back up your claims
  4. Write with confidence and conviction
  5. Keep it simple! Short sentences and simple language will go down well with the buyer when they’re reviewing multiple bids at once.
• We provided guidance for finding government contracts and recommended our Hudson Discover portals.

Still wondering how to secure government contracts?

Our team of consultants are here to help you. They have a thorough understanding of the tender process and government contracts, knowing exactly how to respond.

By outsourcing to professionals, you can improve your chances of winning contracts.

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 government tender, send it over to us. One of our Bid Writers will write the tender response for you. We’ll provide a full Tender Writing break down and even submit the bid 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 government tenders?

A subscription to one of our sector-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 free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer every month. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

Upgrade to 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.

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.

The post How to Secure Government Contracts Without a Huge Bid Team appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Many SMEs wonder how to become a government supplier. They recognise the advantages and prospects of listing government bodies as clients and climbing the contract ladder.

It’s true that listing previous contract experience with government clients will help you to secure larger contracts. However, this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation, isn’t it? How can you win a contract in the first place to gain the experience you need? We all remember struggling to land our first job straight out of education, without that all-important experience. Well, this is similar.

In this blog, we’ll explain how to become a government supplier if you’re a small business. We’ll cover:

1. How to find the opportunities.
2. How to prepare and ensure you’re tender ready.
3. 3 ways to make sure you meet the brief and have a good chance of winning.
4. How the government helps small businesses bid for work.
5. Social value – what is it and how to prepare in advance.
6. Our top 9 tips for how to become a government supplier.

Firstly, how do you find opportunities in the first place? 

We’re not going to get very far without identifying an opportunity, are we! In the UK, there are hundreds of websites that publish new tendering opportunities, including the government’s own website, Contracts Finder. The problem is that these websites are not that easy to navigate and they’re not efficient to use.

Why? The main culprit is CPV codes (common procurement vocabulary). An eight-digit code, used for categorising opportunities into ‘subject matter’…in theory.

CPV codes are often used incorrectly by buyers due to the vast number of codes available. A study by the European Commission sampled 405 contract notices. They found that 23% had the wrong code associated with the scope of work tendered. This results in an inefficient sourcing process for you, the prospective supplier.

That’s why we created our own tendering portals, housed under Hudson Discover. We removed the use of CPV codes or algorithms and replaced them with manual opportunity tracking. Not only that, but the portals are also sector-specific, making them even more tailored to the user. More information about our portals can be found here:

• Creative Tenders
• Construction Tenders
• Healthcare Tenders
• Facilities Tenders
• Logistics Tenders
• Research Tenders
• Technology Tenders
• Consultancy Tenders
• HR Tenders
• Hospitality Tenders
• Finance Tenders.

How to make sure you’re tender ready before you begin

If tendering is new to you, becoming tender ready is an important step. In any tender, you will be required to provide certain documents and evidence. The savvier tenderers will spot that the same, or similar, documents are required by each buyer. Therefore, you can get a step ahead by preparing these documents in advance.

From our experience, the most commonly requested documents are:

• Company CVs
• Case studies – usually three from the last five years
• Policies and procedures
• Methodologies.

For help with getting tender ready, visit our dedicated Tender Ready service page.

3 ways to make sure you meet the brief

Before you jump into writing your tender responses and working out your pricing, we recommend:

1. Checking your economic financial standing

As a general rule of thumb, we advise against bidding for contracts with a value greater than half your turnover. This is your economic financial standing. For example, if a contract has a value of £50,000, you should be turning over at least £100,000. This is because you may struggle to prove that your resources meet the requirements. Often, buyers will ask to see your financial accounts during the tendering process.

2. Making sure you can evidence your experience

As we mentioned above, government buyers will often ask to see three case studies. They should be from contracts you have delivered within the last five years, in a similar field to this scope. If you can get testimonials from your previous clients, this will help to further demonstrate your capabilities.

3. Thinking about how you can evidence value for money

Government buyers are accountable for their spending. They have to demonstrate how they have delivered the best value for money because they’re spending public purse. This means that to become a government supplier, you need to evidence added value. It’s not just pricing that buyers consider to be good value. It’s a combination of quality and price throughout the life of the contract. So, make sure you highlight how and why your approach is cost-effective and helps the government make savings.

How to become a government supplier if you’re an SME…will the government help?

Becoming a government supplier is beneficial for both you and the government. The UK government is targeted with spending £1 in every £3 with small businesses. So, how are they helping small businesses secure contracts?

• Lower value contracts

Since leaving the EU, there is more flexibility for lower value government contracts to be reserved for SME bidders. There is also more flexibility for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).

• Introducing the prompt payment code

The prompt payment code offers suppliers peace of mind. It states that public sector buyers must include 30-day payment terms in their contracts. They also need to ensure that this is passed down the supply chain. If this is not happening, businesses are encouraged to raise this directly with the Public Procurement Review Service.

If this was the case, interest becomes liable as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. This means that businesses can claim interest on any late invoices.

• The Small Business Commissioner

The Small Business Commissioner is a free service that ensures fair payment practices for all small businesses in Britain. The body supports businesses to resolve payment disputes with larger businesses.

Social value – what is it and how can you prepare?

When SMEs research how to become a government supplier, they sometimes overlook social value. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 became law on 8^th March 2012. It requires public sector organisations to consider the supplier’s potential to deliver services that benefit the local area and people.

In January 2021, new measures came into effect. Any public sector organisation procuring goods/services with a value of over £180,000 is obliged to ask bidders about social value. A 10% weighting has been placed on these questions in tenders and PQQs. Therefore, it’s worth considering how your business aligns with the aims of the social value measures, which are:

• Creating new jobs and promoting skills
• Encouraging economic growth
• Supporting Covid-19 recovery
• Tackling climate change
• Levelling up the UK.

Our top 9 tips when tendering for work

If you’re wondering how to become a government supplier, read our top 10 tips:

1. Invest in the sourcing process

Allocate someone in your team to keep on top of new tendering opportunities. If you’re using the government’s website, they should allocate at least 15-30minutes per day to check for new tenders. If you’re using our Hudson Discover tendering portals, they’ll just need to keep an eye on their inbox. Either way, they need to take action immediately when they identify an opportunity. The rest of your team needs plenty of time to read the documents and write the responses.

2. Don’t rush in, weigh up the opportunity

Check our top three tips above and answer those questions before diving in. You should also assess the competition and how the new business would impact your current workload. Make sure that you have experience, and that the bid is realistic for you to win.

3. Familiarise yourself with the buyer’s portal

The portal will be used to:

• Register your interest and download the tender documents
• Ask clarification questions
• Submit the final bid.

Make sure you know your way around and don’t leave it until the last minute to submit your bid. If you miss the deadline, the buyer doesn’t have to grant you an extension or even look at your bid. Even if you missed it because of technical difficulties – the buyer doesn’t have to make allowances. Don’t take the risk!

4. Make a bid plan

Break down the bid requirements and assign people in your team to take charge. This could be collating your policies, answering specific questions, or keeping your time management in line. Give each team member a clear role and deadlines for any input they will have.

5. Research the buying organisation

To make an impression on the buyer, it’s important that you understand them and their core values. This will help you demonstrate how your values align with theirs in your responses. If there is an incumbent supplier, you can try to find out who they are and how they are performing. Then, structure your responses around what the buyer is looking for.

6. Always refer back to the question and provide evidence

When you start writing your responses, always refer back to the question and make sure you’ve answered it. Use the buyer’s exact wording from the question to directly address their requirements.

Avoid empty or cliché statements such as ‘our people are at the heart of everything we do’. Fluffy statements like this are fine for marketing, but not bidding! Make sure you have evidence to back up every claim you make and demonstrate added value throughout.

7. Avoid jargon

The evaluator is most likely not an expert in your field. Using overly complicated jargon will only make your bid difficult to understand, and in turn, to evaluate. Keep the language simple and the sentences short – around 20 words per sentence is enough.

Don’t skip the proofing! Check for grammatical and spelling errors – they raise red flags with buyers for a lack of attention to detail.

8. Use clear formatting and design (where appropriate)

Some bids will follow a more rigid approach. The buyer will stipulate the font and point size for your responses and/or provide boxes for you to fill in. Others will follow a free-flowing proposal layout where you are given creative freedom to present the information. If this is the case, we always recommend having your bid professionally designed. It’s a great way to stand out amongst your competitors and make your bid easy to follow.

For help with Bid Design, see our sister company, Vocal.

9. Get feedback and carry on!

Unfortunately, you won’t always be successful in every tender. It’s important to not be too disheartened and use this as a learning opportunity. Ask the buyer for feedback if it hasn’t been provided and review it with your team.

If you’re losing multiple bids, it might be time to bring in a professional to assess how you could improve. See our Tender Improvement service for more information.

Summary

We’ve reached the end of our blog on how to become a government supplier. We hope our information was helpful. If you need a quick recap, here you go:

• Choose an easy-to-use platform to help you identify opportunities quickly and make sure you never miss out.
• Spend some time getting ready to tender for work before you dive straight in. Get your company CVs, case studies and policies in order and file them away so they’re ready to go.
• Make sure you meet the brief. Check your economic financial standing, ensure you have evidence and that you can offer value for money.
• The government needs to work with smaller businesses to meet their targets. They offer support through:

1. The prompt payment code
2. Making interest liable if the terms aren’t met
3. Offering free support through The Small Business Commissioner.

• Do your social value research and make sure you can provide examples of how you meet the aims.
• Review our top 9 tips for how to become a government supplier:

1. Invest in the sourcing process
2. Don’t rush in
3. Familiarise yourself with the buyer’s portal
4. Make a bid plan
5. Research the buying organisation
6. Refer back to the question and provide evidence to back up your claims
7. Avoid jargon
8. Make your bid easy to read through formatting and design
9. Get feedback and carry on!

Need help with becoming a government supplier?

Our team of consultants are here to help you.

They have a thorough understanding of the tender process and government contracts, knowing exactly how to respond.

By outsourcing to professionals, you could improve your chances of winning contracts.

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 government 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 the bid 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?

A subscription to one of our sector-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 free 20-minute phone consultation with a Bid Writer every month. Our expert Bid Consultants will chat with you about anything tender related.

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.

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.

The post How to Become a Government Supplier in the UK appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Do you want to know how to win MOD tenders for your business? Or perhaps you’d like to know how to actually find them. No matter what you’re looking for, the team at Hudson Succeed are on hand to help.

In this blog, we’ll tell you everything there is to know about MOD tenders. From sourcing the contracts to writing a winning bid, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find out more!

What are MOD tenders?

MOD tenders are also known as Ministry of Defence tenders. In the UK, the Ministry of Defence is one of the largest buyers. As a result, there are plenty of opportunities for SMEs to win work.

The types of tenders available from the Ministry of Defence are vast. They cover a range of products and services, from ammunition and vehicles to ICT and manufacturing services.

How to win MOD tenders

1. Plan ahead

To win MOD tenders for your business, you need to plan ahead. After all, a winning tender response is all in the planning!

It’s easy to tell the difference between a well-thought-out response and a rushed, last minute one. It will be obvious to the buyer, and that won’t do your business any favours.

Once the ITT (invitation to tender) has been released, you could work backwards from the submission deadline. You could try setting internal deadlines for each step of the tendering process. That way, everyone in your team will be prepared for every stage, well ahead of the deadline.

2. Use relevant evidence

Our next piece of advice is important for any and all tenders you submit – including MOD tenders. To showcase your experience to the buyer, you need to include relevant case studies in your tender response.

Typically, the buyer will expect to see two to three case studies from the past three to five years. It’s also important that your contract examples are similar in size, scope and complexity to the contract you’re bidding for. If it doesn’t demonstrate your relevant experience to the buyer, then it’ll do nothing for you. In fact, it could actually work against you.

3. Make sure you have the correct qualifications and accreditations

When you’re tendering for contracts, the buyer might ask you to provide evidence of your relevant qualifications and accreditations. These can vary from contract to contract, but if they’re included in the specifications, they’re crucial to your success.

To ensure you don’t fail at this hurdle, check your qualifications and accreditations before proceeding with the bid. If you don’t meet these criteria points, you should find another tender for your business.

4. Show added value

Another way to increase your chances of success when bidding for MOD tenders is to show added value.

In the public sector, contracts are awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, or the MEAT. Therefore, when producing your tender response, you need to show how you’re going to add value to the buyer. What can you offer that your competition don’t? This could include anything from innovation to sustainability.

5. Proofread your response

Finally, you need to proofread your response before submitting it to the buyer for review. This is crucial – if you submit a response full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, the buyer won’t be impressed.

However, we know it can be difficult to proofread your own work, especially when you’re producing lengthy documents. To combat this, you could try the following:

• Proofread your tender response in stages, leaving gaps between each one
• Asking someone else to proofread your response for you
• Outsourcing the work to professional Bid Writers.

Where to find MOD tenders

Now you know how to win MOD tenders for your business. But how do you actually find them?

With our sister company, Hudson Discover, it’s easy to find new contract opportunities for your business!

There are 11 sector-specific tendering portals to choose from. One centralised and easy-to-navigate portal can help you save time, streamlining the process.

These consist of:

• Creative Tenders
• Healthcare Tenders
• Facilities Tenders
• Construction Tenders
• Technology Tenders
• Logistics Tenders
• Research Tenders
• Consultancy Tenders
• HR Tenders
• Finance Tenders
• Hospitality Tenders.

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. You’ll also get an email alert when new and relevant tenders are uploaded to your sector. Finding MOD tenders for your business has never been so easy!

In summary

So, now you know all about MOD tenders! When you produce your next tender response, remember our tips for success:

• Plan ahead, leaving plenty of time to complete the bid before the submission deadline
• Include relevant case studies and contract examples
• Make sure you have the correct qualifications and accreditations
• Show added value in your tender response
• Proofread your response before submitting it for review.

How Hudson Succeed can help 

Have you considered bid management consultancy? Enter Hudson Succeed, and our team of Bid Writers. We’re always happy to help!

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. 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. This service also helps businesses who are new to tendering with terminology and industry knowledge.

• 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 searching for tenders?

Now you know about MOD tenders, it’s time to find a contract opportunity for your company.

You may be wondering where you can find a tender 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. 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 the hundreds of 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-minutes 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?

We host 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.

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.

The post MOD Tenders Explained appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Securing government contracts up for bid can be a great way to grow your business. The public sector spends over £285 billion annually through public procurement. They procure a wide range of goods and services across a variety of sectors.

This means there’s plenty of opportunities for your business to become a supplier to the government. The government often outsources their needs resulting in government contracts up for bid. So, if this is something you’re interested in, here’s how to find and win government contracts up for bid.

How to find government contracts up for bid

Half the battle before you even start applying for government contracts up for bid is where to find them. There are hundreds of websites posting multi-sector contract opportunities. Filtering them out can be a challenge and relying simply on CPV codes can lead to missed opportunities.

Ideally, you should be looking for a sector-specific portal that posts all tendering leads from your industry. Our sister company, Hudson Discover, hosts 11 sector-specific tendering portals. You’re able to filter the search results by location, keyword, budget and more. This helps you find the perfect bid for your business – streamlining the process and saving you time.

Our portals cover the following industries:

• Healthcare Tenders
• Creative Tenders
• Facilities Tenders
• Construction Tenders
• Technology Tenders
• Logistics Tenders
• Research Tenders
• Consultancy Tenders
• HR Tenders
• Finance Tenders
• Hospitality Tenders

Once you’ve found the right bid for your business, you should ask yourself the following before you progress:

• Am I eligible?
• Do I have the necessary qualifications/accreditations?
• Can I actually deliver the work?
• Do I have the necessary experience?
• Do I meet the economic financial standing?
• Can I write a winning bid by the submission deadline?

Assessing your bid or no-bid strategy is good to do if you want to bid on government contracts. This can help you see if a tender opportunity is right for your business. Just because you are eligible for a bid doesn’t always mean you should go for it.

 5 tips on how to win government contracts up for bid

1. Be the MEAT

Government contracts up for bid are always awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). This means that buyers are looking for the tenders that provide the most value for money. The buyer is looking at more than just price. A buyer could be considering a range of factors including:

• Quality
• Technical ability
• Price
• Sustainability
• Innovation
• Customer service
• Ability to deliver on time
• Accessibility.

Each contract awarding body will be seeking something different depending on their needs. Therefore, you should read the specification thoroughly as what they require will be noted here. This can help you tailor your response to their specific needs. It can really help strengthen your response.

2. Demonstrate added value

Carrying on from the MEAT, public sector organisations will be looking for tender responses that demonstrate added value. This is because the government wants to get as much for the taxpayer’s money as possible. If you can demonstrate added value, it can give you an edge over your competitors.

For example, say you are the buyer, and you are looking at two high-scoring bids. One includes added value, and one doesn’t. You would choose the one that is offering more for the same price.

When tendering for contracts, continuously ask yourself how you’re going to add value to the buyer. It’s not enough just to say how you meet the requirements. You need to state how your services/goods will benefit the buyer. This can help you write a winning bid.

3. Remember social value

There’s a mandatory minimum weighting of 10% on social value for government contracts up for bid. We have even seen some with a weighting of up to 30%. This means it is not something to leave as an afterthought when writing your bid response.

Social value is the economic, social and environmental aspects that should be considered when fulfilling the contract. There are five key themes that should be addressed where possible. These are:

• Supporting COVID-19 recovery
• Fighting climate change
• Improving equal opportunities
• Tackling economic inequality
• Showing commitment to health and wellbeing.

This is a chance for SMEs to shine over bigger businesses and from their competitors.

4. Have contract experience

Government contracts that are up for bid will require you to have a bank of contract experience. Buyers will require you to provide 2 – 3 case studies of past contracts you have delivered. These will likely need to be within the last 3 – 5 years. They should be similar in scope and complexity to the contract you’re going for.

You should include in your contract examples any challenges you encountered. Detailing how you overcame these will demonstrate your problem-solving skills and flexibility. Both of these qualities are key when going for government contacts up for bid.

You want to note the contracts that you complete on time and within budget. This will greatly strengthen your bid. It will also help instil trust in the buyer that you know what you’re doing.

5. Address what’s being asked in the specification

One of the main reasons businesses miss out on bids is that they don’t give the buyer what they’re asking for. Reading the specification is essential. It will detail specifically what the buyer is looking for.

A lot of businesses will go off on a tangent and just note why they are good for the job. This is useless unless you are relating it to what they are required. Stay focused on your responses. Address what they are asking for specifically.

Break the questions down and address each point within the question. Use subheadings and bullet points to ensure you are covering all bases. The buyer will want you to demonstrate in your response that you:

• Understand what they’re asking for
• Hold evidence of a good track record in delivering similar goods/services to a similar standard
• Have a qualified and professional team to deliver the contract.

You now know where to find and how to win government contracts up for bid. If you follow this advice, you will be one step closer to securing government contracts that are up for bid. A technical Bid Writer can help you with this. They know how to coney the information that buyers want to see.

Need assistance when writing your next government contracts up for bid?

Although you’re a bit more familiar with what’s required, you might still be looking for some bid writing support. Writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit and that’s ok. Outsourcing a bid you’ve found to bid writing specialists can help you secure that next contract.

Here at Hudson Succeed, we pride ourselves on being bid writing experts. We hold an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. We offer four levels of bid writing support to suit every business need. You may not need the whole bid written for you; you may simply need it proofread before you submit. We can help with that. Our services include:

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect bid for your business, send it our way. Our Bid Writers can take care of the whole thing for you they’ll even submit it on your behalf. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. They can also help you better understand the tendering process. Tender Ready offers your business:

• A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover.
• Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
• An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
• Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts, our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents. They will work with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to a Hudson Discover portal and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need it double-checked for errors, Tender Mentor can help. A Bid Writer will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They will also ensure it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering efforts – even when you’re busy. Our two new time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

• A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
• An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Healthcare and Technology, for example.
• Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
• Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
• Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

• All of the above.
• Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
• A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

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.

The post How to Find and Win Government Contracts Up for Bid appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Applying for City of London bids and tenders is a great way to grow your business. Local London authorities spend approximately £9billion annually on a wide variety of goods and services.

As an SME, you shouldn’t be missing out on City of London bids and tenders. If you’re thinking that these contracts are only awarded to big companies, you’d be mistaken. As a matter of fact, 23% of government contracts up for bid are awarded to SMEs. This gives you a good chance of competing if you’re a smaller business.

The City of London bids and tenders target outcomes are:

• Sustainable cost assurance guaranteed for the future
• Key people across the organisation being upskilled in commercialism, contract management and procurement
• Their services provide what’s needed and are easy to use
• Opportunities to leverage responsible outcomes are maximised

There can be many advantages when applying for City of London bids and tenders. Below are just three ways tendering for contracts can benefit your business:

Prompt Payment

If you become a supplier to the City of London, you will have guaranteed and prompt payment. This is because The City of London takes part in the Chartered Institute of Credit Management’s (CIMC) Prompt Payment Code. That means they pledge to:

• Pay suppliers on time

The City Corporation aims to pay undisputed invoices that quote a purchase number within 10 days of invoicing. This applies to the invoice arriving anywhere in the City Corporation for SMEs.

• Give clear guidance to suppliers

All invoices should be attached when contacting the Accounts Payable team and include the following information:

• An identifying number
• The supplier’s name, address, VAT number
• Time of supply
• Date of issue
• Type of supply (E.g. sale, hire, loan, etc.)
• Description of the goods or services supplied
• Customer’s name (or trading name) and address

The City of London prefers to pay their suppliers via BACS. It’s encouraged that as a supplier, you include your bank details and valid email address on all invoices for remittance.

Secure a pipeline of work

Bidding for City of London bids and tenders can help you secure a pipeline of work for your business. Particularly if you secure a place on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) or framework agreement. These tendering processes are often used within an array of sectors including construction and healthcare. The benefit of these is that they can run for years at a time. Some even have the possibility of an extension.

Build experience

City of London bids and tenders are a great way to gain experience as a business. Buyers will require 2 – 3 case studies of past contracts you have delivered. They need to be within the last 3 – 5 years. They should be similar in scope and style to the one you’re applying for. Securing smaller contracts can help you build up that experience. The more experience you have, the bigger the contracts you can go for. The bigger bids you can go for, the bigger your business can grow. Securing a place on a DPS or framework is a great place to start.

Where can I find City of London bids and tenders?

So, you now know some of the advantages of City of London bids and tenders. Next, you may be wondering where to find them. As they’re offered for pretty much every sector it can be hard finding the right one for your business. This is where a sector-specific portal could help optimise your search.

Simply relying on CPV codes could result in you missing out on up to a third of relevant opportunities. This is because we researched that up to a third of them are mislabelled.

Our sister company, Hudson Discover, hosts 11 sector-specific tendering portals. You are able to filter the results and search by keyword, budget, location and more. This streamlines the process, making it easier to find government contracts.

These sectors consist of;

• Healthcare Tenders
• Creative Tenders
• Facilities Tenders
• Construction Tenders
• Technology Tenders
• Logistics Tenders
• Research Tenders
• Consultancy Tenders
• HR Tenders
• Finance Tenders
• Hospitality Tenders

Before you apply to any tender, you should ask if your business:

• Is able to deliver the work
• Meets the economic and financial standing
• Have the resources and time to fulfil the contract
• Has the necessary experience
• Is able to write a winning response before the submission deadline

Remember to be the MEAT

Like all government contracts, the contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). The buyer will be looking for bids that provide the most value for money while delivering the contract. The MEAT means that the buyer is looking at more than just the price. The cheapest bid does not win here. You should consider a range of factors including, but not limited to:

• Cost
• Quality
• Innovation
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Technical ability
• Customer service
• Environmental benefits
• Ability to deliver on time.

Each buyer will be wanting something different depending on their needs. This will be outlined in the specification. You should demonstrate added value in your response. This is because government authorities want to be assured that they are getting the most for taxpayer’s money.

Don’t skimp on social value

There is now a minimum mandatory weighting of 10% on social value for public sector contracts. In some cases, it can be as much as 30%. This means it is not something you should consider as an afterthought.

The promises you make in City of London bids and tenders are contractually binding. Therefore, you should be making promises you can keep. Social value is the social, economic and environmental aspects that you’ll consider while fulfilling the contract. It was launched with five key themes in mind that should be addressed where possible. These are:

• Supporting COVID-19 recovery
• Tackling economic inequality
• Fighting climate change
• Improving equal opportunities
• Showing commitment to health and wellbeing.

Social value is an opportunity for SMEs to differentiate themselves from their competitors, adding commercial value to their bids.

So now, you should be more aware of what’s expected from City of London bids and tenders. Following this advice should help you get on the path to success and winning your next tender.

Need assistance when writing your next City of London bids and tenders?

Now you’re a bit more familiar with what’s required, you may be looking for some writing support. Writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit and that’s ok. Outsourcing a bid you’ve found to bid writing specialists can help you secure that next contract.

Here at Hudson Succeed, we pride ourselves on being bid writing experts. We hold an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience. We offer four levels of bid writing support to suit every business need. You may not need the whole bid written for you; you may simply need it proofread before you submit. We can help with that. Our services include:

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found the perfect bid for your business, send it our way. Our Bid Writers can take care of the whole thing for you they’ll even submit it on your behalf. They’ll let you know what they need from you, providing you with a full Tender Writing breakdown.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready 4-week programme is perfect for businesses that have never tendered before. A Bid Writer will work with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully. Tender Ready offers your business:

• A 12-month subscription to one Hudson Discover
• Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals.
• An Organisation-wide Bid library, including 3 case studies, 5 CVs and policies.
• Additional flexible benefits.

Tender Improvement

If you’ve been tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts, our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Team will assess your previous responses and tender documents. They will work with you to improve for future submissions. This package includes a 12-month subscription to a Hudson Discover portal and additional tendering development services.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written your own tender response and need it double-checked for errors, Tender Mentor can help. A Bid Writer will proofread your work for any inconsistencies, grammar or spelling mistakes. They will also ensure it’s in line with the specification before you submit.

Discover Elite

Upgrading to Discover Elite can help optimise your tendering efforts – even when you’re busy. Our two new time-saving tools can improve your competitor awareness and success rate when bidding for a contract.

The Ultimate Time Saver package offers your business:

• A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
• An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Healthcare and Technology, for example.
• Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
• Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.
• Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

• All of the above.
• Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
• A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. Our Global Bid Director will manage the bid strategy.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

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.

The post City of London Bids and Tenders: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Tender Consultants.