Looking for free tender writing tips? Have you ever wanted to sit down with a bid writing professional and see what it takes to win? Well, at Hudson Succeed, our experts are more than happy to offer support. In this blog, we will cover seven of the most important tender writing tips. Keep reading to see how you can increase your chances of success!

1.    Use writing and communication to your advantage

Here’s our first tip: make sure you have a great grasp on writing and communication skills. You can use these to your advantage when writing a tender. As you may have guessed, writing skills are important for writing tenders. This isn’t just about spelling and grammar, although these are incredibly important. Writing a good tender means using writing skills to communicate with the buyer. You should clearly express your skills, experience, concepts, and more, in the best way. Your tone should be persuasive. Afterall, you are trying to convince them that you are the best option for the contract.

Essentially, you want to use writing and communication to make yourself memorable. That doesn’t mean you should go to any extremes, as you should remain professional. But executing these abilities and showcasing them in the best light will give you an edge over competitors.

2.    Don’t use technical jargon

Following on from our first point, next on our list of tender writing tips is to not use technical jargon. Since your bid should be clear and easy to read, adding technical jargon will work against this. There is a very high chance the buyer has little to no knowledge of your industry. So, using words they won’t understand will instantly make it a chore to read your bid. They’ll be confused and may have to research what something means (if they have the time, which is unlikely).

Ultimately, if your bid becomes difficult to read, you’ll leave the buyer with a bad impression. In turn, they will likely avoid awarding you the contract as they won’t fully understand your tender.

3.    Proofread your work before submission

Even the best writers will make mistakes in their first draft, no matter how small they are. Our next tender writing tip is the importance of proofreading and editing your bid proposal. You should never submit a first draft when tendering! There’s almost certainly going to be mistakes, even minor ones you might not notice at first. The issue is that the buyer likely will notice them, as it is their first time reading the document. Plus, they are reviewing it thoroughly.

Our Bid Writing Consultants suggest that you thoroughly proofread your bid several times. It can be beneficial to take breaks and then read it, as you are more likely to notice errors. You should also read it aloud, or have your device read it aloud to you. This makes it easier to notice anything that doesn’t sound quite right. If you have the team members, you could ask other people to read it too. The more it is proofed, the higher the quality. If you submit a bid full of errors and mistakes, the buyer won’t take you seriously. They will get the impression that you are lazy and unprofessional. So, they certainly won’t want to award you the contract.

4.    Read all the documents before you start

One of our most important tender writing tips is to read all the buyer’s tender documents before you start. This way, you can prepare your bid and make sure you cover all the important details. The last thing you want is to complete an excellent bid, only to find you missed an important part. This will result in your bid being a complete waste of time and effort.

5.    Use bid management skills to stay on track

One of the best ways of staying organised is through bid management. Here are a few things to consider for effective bid management:

• How long will each individual question take?
• Do you need to create case studies for responses?
• What do you need to attach for each question?
• Where is the response to be submitted and with what deadlines?
• How is the work to be submitted? Some buyers require physical submissions as well as online.
• What format do they require your responses in?
• Who will be responsible for developing responses?

The more prepared you are, the less likely you are to have made mistakes. If mistakes happen, you’ll also be prepared to deal with them efficiently and effectively. This ensures time isn’t wasted and the bid is submitted on time and of the highest standard.

6.    Ensure you use relevant case studies

Next on our list of tender writing tips is the importance of case studies. These should be showcased in your bid proposal as it is evidence of your skills and experience. The buyer wants to feel assured they can trust you with their contract. So, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to put their faith in your abilities.

It is also important that your case studies are relevant to the bid you are going for. Irrelevant case studies do more harm than good. This is because it shows you don’t have relevant experience, firstly. Then, it shows you haven’t bothered to check whether it’s relevant.

It is an added bonus to be able to include testimonials for the case studies you showcase. We wrote a blog for more tender writing tips for case studies.

7.    Be compliant with the instructions

For the last of our tender writing tips, we will discuss the importance of compliance. You may be surprised to know that there are those that don’t follow the buyer’s instructions. This massively impacts your chances of success. Why would the buyer award you the contract if you can’t follow instructions for the bid?

When the buyer gives a specific word count for your answer, stick to it. For example, if they want 1000 words, get as close to that as possible. If your answer is only 500 words, it shows two distinct issues. One is that you can’t follow instructions. Secondly, is that you don’t know enough about your business to answer the question fully. Both are detrimental to your chances of success.

Summary

So, now that we have come to an end on our blog of tender writing tips, let’s recap!

Here are the seven tender writing tips we explored:

1. Use writing and communication to your advantage
2. Don’t use technical jargon
3. Proofread your work before submission
4. Read all the documents before you start
5. Use bid management skills to stay on track
6. Ensure you use relevant case studies
7. Be compliant with the instructions.

Do you have questions about our tender writing tips, or something else? Feel free to contact us, as we are always happy to help!

Need help searching for tenders?

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-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?

 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.

What we can do for you

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 – they 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. They’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. The 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.

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. 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 today 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 Tender Writing Tips: 7 of the Best FREE Tips from Professional Bid Writers appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Last updated: Aug 9, 2022 @ 1:57 pm

Joining the Hudson Team

Starting out as a professional bid writer can be quite daunting, as can going into any new role. A team of bid writers are often a tight-knit community, due to the competitive challenges they face on a daily basis. The tight deadlines and the niche industry can all bring a bid writing team close together. They become a family ready to win business and secure lucrative deals.

Saying that the team at Hudson make the transition into bid writing smooth and natural. Hudson has a clearly documented bid writing process and follows a pattern of best practice. This makes it easy for any new bid writer to get to grips with the rules of procurement.

The Hudson Succeed team is made up of approachable and extremely supportive bid writers. So even though you may feel a little flabbergasted at first, you will carve a niche for yourself.

Being a bid writer is a brilliant profession, with more and more organisations realising the benefits of procuring sales through an effective and efficient bid writing team.

Hudson Succeed recognises the need for bid management teams, for companies that don’t have their own procurement departments, hence why we offer such a range of services to our clients.

Perhaps you don’t have time in your busy schedule to focus on the tendering process, or perhaps you’re interested in tendering but don’t know how to approach it?

Our bid writers are on hand to guide you through the process, no matter what kind of tenders you’d like to go for.

Our Bid Writing Consultants are highly skilled across many industry areas and will set aside time to assess your needs as a business.

A day in the life of a bid writer

First things first…. Coffee!

As professional bid writers, our day successfully begins with a nice cup of coffee. This is to get the day started and our brains stimulated. Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of writing compelling bids!

At 9am, before our day fully begins, we have a fifteen-minute team huddle. This is an opportunity for the Hudson Succeed team to get together and discuss the projects we are working on, and how they are progressing.

Being a bid writer means constantly sticking to tight deadlines.

Discussing the progress of our projects allows us to plan workloads for the day. It also ensures we never miss those stringent deadlines.

Our team huddles also allow for discussions on contract wins, contract losses and any feedback given from buyers. We feel it important to know what we are doing well, as well as areas of change that we see across both the private and public sector procurement space. This is to enable us to constantly improve our bid writing services and our already fantastic win rate of 87%.

After this time, our tender writers start to focus on their own projects. Alongside this comes liaising with clients, doing research and filling out PPQs and helping out colleagues with proofreading.

Daily Activities 

Ultimately, we complete tenders and PQQ’s in order to secure new contracts or funding.

However, there are so many significant tasks that make up our daily workloads. These include:

• CVs;
• Case Studies;
• Extensive research;
• Accessing & managing portals for submission;
• Bid Management;
• Bid content development;
• Blog writing;
• Communicating with clients, over email or phone communications;
• Policies and procedures;
• And so much more. 

A bid writer and the tasks they do make the role one of the most important positions in any organisation.

Our responsibilities

Our team was created with the client in mind. Each of our many different packages can be tailored to your business, providing individual service to your company.

The team provide a consistent service, ensuring all the businesses we engage with are fully supported by each member of the team.

As part of our job roles, we are all bid writers. Project Management is a huge part of our role, and to stay on track we regularly schedule meetings to discuss how far clients are along and new ways we can work to improve their success.

In a recent meeting, we discussed utilising a new project management tool, so all of us as bid writers can work collectively to understand each other’s clients and workloads, enabling us to jump on and help others on particularly busy days.

We are currently working internally through Hudson Labs to develop technical specifications to build a product that will serve the team and our clients. This database will help us further in scheduling products and improving efficiency as a team.

Writing tender responses

The main part of a professional bid writers’ role is completing PQQs, ITTs and quality questions. This means that a large portion of our day can be spent creating innovative content for our clients.

Most writing can be planned in advance. We like to make sure we are being succinct enough to showcase our client’s services within restricted wordcounts. Our professional bid writers are real wordsmiths with excellent levels of grammar and exceptional writing abilities.

Many of our bid writers have published works, and the expertise and quality they bring to professional tender writing is absolutely critical to creating and winning fantastic tenders for all our clients.

Writing tender responses is a time-focused task. We often work to tight deadlines and our professional bid writers ensure they set aside enough time to complete the contracts before submission.

We always allow for a two-step review stage in-house. This is to ensure that the tenders we submit here at Hudson Succeed are of the highest possible quality. At Hudson Succeed, quality is our top priority. When you sign up to any of our services, quality is always our mission.

Managing bid writing for multiple clients

Our team of professional bid writers are well-rehearsed in working reactively. With constant deadlines, we work instinctively to what needs doing the soonest.

In a typical day, you can see our bid writers handling up to four different bids for that coming week. To do this they ensure the following:

• Enough time has been planned in to be able to fulfil the needs of the tender and submit on time.
• Quality questions are fully answered and detailed meticulously with brilliant information about our clients.
• We have had enough information from the client to be able to create any CVs or case studies needed to boost the proposal.

Juggling a busy workload is something our professional bid writers grasp with ease. We have a natural ability to write passionately about our clients, ensuring they are presented in the best possible light to potential buyers.

Our professional bid writers are experienced in all stages of the process. This means that no matter where you’re at with your tendering journey, we have a dedicated team on hand to deliver bids for you.

Writing for different industries

On an average day, it’s quite normal for our bid writers to be working reactively across different bids. This means you could be working on a cleaning tender in the morning, then switch to a creative or digital tender for the supply of smart boards for schools in the afternoon.

This means our workdays are incredibly varied, which is a great positive for our professional bid writers. Writing for different clients and industries is incredibly important, and we’re proud to say that we can cover any industry.

Our commitment to learning and research has seen us develop ten sector-specific portals, ensuring our knowledge reaches far and wide in terms of business. It’s because of this we’re able to write instinctively and with gusto about different sectors.

To find out more about the different industries we currently work across, please visit Hudson Discover.

Other commitments

By the afternoon, there may be meetings to attend and new clients to account for. For all tenders we commit to, we ensure the client is fully aware of what an opportunity entails before suggesting they go for it!

This means we’re likely to point out and find anything that may trip you up in one of our handy breakdowns. Our tender breakdowns are designed and created by our professional bid writers.

This is a great way of ensuring when we put forward a client for a bid, they have a great chance of winning. Our motto is: we write to win! And we make sure we see this through on every single tender we submit.

With our aims high, we always make sure that our clients are fully supported throughout the tender process. We understand it can be a minefield of acronyms, but we’re here to keep you grounded!

Once a client has decided that a specific tender would benefit them, we’ll create a bid plan. Our professional bid writers will focus on creating a schedule and gathering information needed from the client. We put this all into a handy format that is easy to understand and digest.

We think it’s really important to take time out in our day to fully engage with our clients – although most of the time we do have our heads down writing fantastic content! We’ll send out a bid plan on the same day a client decides to go for it, ensuring they’re supported from day one.

Writing the bid

Now comes the part most feared by most business professionals – the actual bid writing. If it’s something you dread, then fear not! Our team of professional bid writers can take this task off your hand, whether it be ad-hoc for the one-off tender or as a retained client looking to pursue new avenues of work through outsourced Tender Management.

To find out more about how an interim bid writer or perhaps a whole team of professional bid writers could integrate with your team.

We offer a range of services dedicated to providing excellent support where YOU need it.

We’ll work with you to create the perfect bid response. We’ll gather all the information from you about your business, including policies, working practises and methods.

With this information in mind, we’ll really get a grasp of your goals and aims, ensuring we pour as much passion into our writing as we possibly can. It’s always our plan that our bids will shine and stand out in the crowd, and with an 87% success rate at winning bids, we can ensure brilliant quality each time.

Each bid is different. Never forget it. This means that our professional bid writers can tailor your content to suit the needs of each bid you decide to tender for. Decide what’s most important to you and your company and we’ll include it.

Traits of a successful bid writer

Since starting a bid writing career at Hudson, it is evident that essential personality traits and skills are required.

Successful bid writers must be able to:

• Read and understand how to answer nuanced questions;
• Present information that is concise, consistent and correct;
• Persuade and influence through effective use of content, form, structure and style.

To complete the above successfully, bid writers need:

• Excellent writing skills
  

  I bet you are thinking ‘oh the obvious’, right? However, you need a specific set of writing skills. A professional bid writer will write in a language and style that suits the buyer and their requirements.

The evaluators may not be technical experts, so it is important to get straight to the point. We always say, ‘if the response has to be read twice, it will lose points’ – Don’t be fluffy!

• Superb proof-reading skills
  

  Here at Hudson, we have a three-stage proofreading process. This is to ensure that typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors are picked up and corrected.

Attention to detail is paramount to any bid writing team. Ultimately, good grammar will help the readability of the tender response.

• Good story writing skills
  

  Professional bid writers require the ability to write a good story. A successful tender will ‘paint a picture’ in the buyers’ mind, from implementation to contract commencement.

What will the supplier deliver? What makes this supplier stand out from their competitors? Why are they the correct supplier for us?

These questions will be answered clearly throughout our responses. We have the ability to develop our stories in a relevant and persuasive style.

• To be compliant
  

  Compliance allows for a common language between bid writers and evaluators. Being compliant and demonstrating this in the tender response is an essential skill.

This will ensure that any mandatory or desirable criteria is met and reiterated through the response. Conclusively, increasing the chances of a win.

• Brilliant researching skills
  

  To be a successful bid writer, you need that inner Sherlock Holmes. You need a crime, a detective and the solution. A good bid writer will seek to fully understand the client’s Unique Selling Points (USPs). This typically includes researching all aspects of the client’s business by:

• Scoping their website;
• Reading through case studies of previous projects;
• Speaking to the technical professionals within the company, who can provide a more in-depth viewpoint.

• To be committed
  

  Irrespective of how well a tender submission is managed, it can still get manic. It is sometimes impossible to meet a deadline by working 9-5 hours.

It is important for a bid writer to be committed to their role – those extra hours of overtime should not be a problem.

Perks of being a professional bid writer

There is no question about it, bid writing is a challenging role. Nevertheless, it is one of those most rewarding.

For example, a junior bid writer role is unique from so many other entry-level positions. Notably, it gives the new bid writer a 360-degree view of a company’s business, products and services. It is a valuable role that not only builds skills vital to business success; it is also a rewarding long-term career.

Some of the ‘perks’ of being a bid writer include:

• Quickly becoming a company and industry expert
  Professional bid writers are subject matter experts. They work with a wide range of industries on a day-to-day basis. In a short time, bid writers are exposed to the most current content on multiple company products and services. Bid writers will ultimately gain expertise in each field over time.
• Communications with senior management
  Due to bid writing companies being really close-knit, senior management are always nearby. They show significant interest in all of their employees. As a bid writer, you have the unique opportunity to build relationships and prove your worth. This type of visibility opens doors for further opportunities and success.
• Your work has significant impact
  bid writers are knee-deep in creating compelling content, critical to winning huge contracts. This is definitely inspiring and leads to better job satisfaction overall. You get the opportunity to become a real thought partner and advisor to the business.
• Transferrable skills
  As a professional bid writer, you learn highly transferrable skills such as:

• Extensive attention to detail;
• Project management skills;
• Persuasive and compelling writing capabilities;
• The ability to build and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders.

The skills you learn as a bid writer are extremely important and critical to success within any industry sector. 

Team Collaboration

Being a bid writer promotes the importance of fantastic teamwork. Collaborative working calls for success – especially when trying to hit those stringent deadlines. Working together, interacting and sharing ideas, can speed up our solutions.

Here at Hudson, we always:

• Have a common purpose and goal – to win bids!
• Clarify roles from the start – minimising overlaps in workloads and decreased productivity;
• Communicate openly and effectively – allowing for a positive work culture and establishing transparency;
• Appreciate the diversity of ideas – learning and growing from each other;
• Balance the team focus – we love to get together for team exercises at Hudson.

It is important to remember that talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.

Our services  

Our bid writers are always working on what we can offer you to improve your success. That’s why we developed excellent services dedicated to providing support to your level. Whether you’re an SME or a large established company, we’d love to help you through your tender journey.

Tender Writing – For businesses who don’t know how to tender or have any writing teams in house and need support writing tenders from our team of professionals.

Tender Mentor – This service has been designed for businesses who want to ensure they’ve produced the best bid possible. We’ll offer an external guide and review and mark your bid as a buyer would before the deadline.

Tender Ready – Our Tender Ready programme helps businesses to understand how to respond to public and private sector tenders, assisting businesses of all sizes.

Tender Improvement – This service supports businesses who are bidding for work and not seeing the success they wanted. We’ll show you a new tendering path, ensuring you’re not making any mistakes.

Tender VLE – This service offers brilliant support when you’re new to tendering. Tender VLE is our online virtual learning environment and it’s completely free. It’s stocked with insightful videos, designed to help you understand tender basics.

How do we work?

The bid writer role carries great challenges when it comes to coordinating the overall tender process and working collaboratively together as a team to procure and win contracts on behalf of Hudson’s.

Our main aim with our bid team is to provide support – you won’t find a more dedicated team elsewhere, ready to absorb the details of your business that make you shine.

If you have a question about the tendering process, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or email us to ask. We’d rather you ask than be stuck worrying over something we can solve for you.

Once signed up to one of our brilliant services, may it be Tender Ready, Tender Mentor, Tender Improvement or Tender Writing, our team are happy to arrange a schedule for your bid (if you have a specific one in mind) or a schedule for your business accomplishments in order for you to start tendering.

Starting the relationship

Our bid writers will get in touch via email, informing you of the process, and how we think best to handle it. This is where you’ll have your input.

We’re a friendly team, always aiming to do the best for our clients. When we win a tender, we celebrate with you too – after all, we’re both working towards the same goal: success.

Our services are fully flexible to suit your needs. We understand that every business works differently, therefore we believe you should have a say too!

As bid writers, our focus through all of our services, is to build a brilliant relationship with you. Our clients mean the world to us, and we’ll go above and beyond to ensure their tender responses are innovatively written.

Our bid writers are dedicated wordsmiths, with quality at the forefront of their minds and provide excellent support to our clients and other team members.

Tackling tenders

Let us know what types of opportunities you’ll most likely be going for and we can organise daily opportunity tracking, sourcing excellent contracts on our 11 sector-specific portals, dedicated to providing you with endless opportunities that will fit to your business.

The opportunities we find will be sent directly to you, therefore this saves you time, cutting out the endless scrolling through portals trying to find something relevant to you.

We know the tender marketplace can be tricky, with many tenders not labelled properly with CPV codes – this is why we don’t use them.

Our sites are designed for ease of access, meaning we use keywords instead. These keywords are designated to specifics within that tender, meaning if you’re focusing on IT systems within secondary schools and the installation of Windows 10, the tender will be tagged as such. This then narrows down your search when using our platforms!

Tendering teamwork

Once you’ve found an opportunity that really suits, and you’re interested in participating, the tender process has begun. We’ll take care of the whole process from start to finish (if you’d like us to!). You always have the option of submitting yourself if you wish!

Us Tender Coordinators are often habitual creatures, and we love to follow a process. That’s because processes work and get results.

We follow the same intuitive steps below to ensure success:  

Find more information about the below steps at Tender VLE. 

• Breakdown – we’ll fully breakdown the opportunity to outline exactly what the tender entails and what is expected from you.
• Bid Plan – we’ll always create a bid plan for you, so you can see the direction in which you bid will take.
• Request information – there’s always a few things we’ll need from you to complete an ITT, such as policies, staff CVs, case studies and accounts information.
• Tender Writing – our team will start bid writing once they’ve understood your company goals and processes, meaning they can give well-rounded answers.
• Proofreading – all our team are adept proof-readers, able to spot mistakes that others may not, ensuring your tenders are error-free.

Whilst doing so, we’ll keep you informed of any changes or updates you may need to know about regarding the tender. We always aim to keep in contact with you throughout the process, ensuring the smooth delivery of our service.

Hudson Succeed

At Hudson Succeed, our team of bid writers proudly hold an impressive success rate of 87%. The bid team support businesses of all sizes with their tendering efforts. Collectively, the team have over 5 decades of experience.

Our team of highly experienced writers cover virtually every sector and subject area. We have worked in areas such as:

• Domiciliary Care
• Commercial Cleaning
• Security
• Quantity Surveying
• Software
• Marketing
• Logistics
• …to name a few

We want to create lasting relationships with our clients and grow their business. Visit our site today and find out more about what it is like to work for Hudson and to be a bid writing consultant.

Please take a look at our ‘Meet the Team’ videos which go into detail regarding all of our job roles.

We are an incredibly friendly team and welcome any questions regarding the tendering process and what a bid writer role includes.

A day in the life of a bid writer is spent assisting and helping businesses GROW!

Contact us to find out how we can help.

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 Professional Bid Writers – A Day in the Life of a Bid Writer at Hudson Outsourcing appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Every day, our tender writing experts hear of small businesses who are struggling to get ahead. It’s no mean feat to start a business from the ground up (as our Directors will tell you). But the good news is that now it is the little guy’s time to shine, that is, it’s time for SMEs to exploit the potential available to them.

No longer is the market simply dominated by big companies who suck all of the capital to the capital (as it were)! Since the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the system has been blown wide open and a new field of competition has emerged.

In plain English, since all authorities using public money are now obliged to put their purchasing of goods and services out to tender, all prospective suppliers who meet the minimum criteria theoretically stand an equally good chance of winning the bid.

So, what can the little guy do to maximise his chance of success?

Our team of tender writing experts have put together a list of top tips for small businesses who suddenly find themselves able to “run with the stallions” to make sure they are the winning supplier.

Know your USP

The best starting point is to know what value it is that your business adds. Our tender writing experts say that the key first step is for businesses to understand what it is that makes them unique, to understand why they stand out, and to have a real grasp of why buyers should choose them over other competitors.

Of course, if you yourself don’t understand what it is that you can add to someone’s organisation, it will be doubly difficult to convey this to a buyer.

Think of it like a job interview. You’re there/tendering to sell yourself, so you need to have a good grasp of what it is that makes you shine, from the very start. Once you understand this, our team of tender writing experts are here to help you to showcase this in the best light possible and to work with you to showcase this through your tender responses and through developing your corporate content.

Find the right opportunities

“OK I want to tender…but where do I start?” Well, once you’ve carved out a better understanding of what it is you offer, what makes you different and what you are trying to achieve, you can start to be more discerning with your opportunity searching. Shooting many bullets and hoping you hit the target never works. Instead, being careful, considered and selective with your approach will stand you in better stead.

It might be tiresome, but it is important to read the requirements of each, ensure you understand what is expected of you, and factor the submission process into your diary. Our Discover strand is the home of our ten sector-specific platforms, which use people, not arbitrary codes or algorithms to find you the most relevant opportunities for your business based on your search criteria.

Every day our tender writing experts collate the latest national and international opportunities and put them on our sector-specific platforms, hot and fresh out of the oven, ready for SMEs to apply for. Get in touch today with our Discover team for a free demo of our portals and to chat more about how we can help you find the right opportunities.

Read the question

There is nothing more frustrating as a buyer than marking a tender submission where the supplier clearly has no idea what they’re talking about. And more often than not, it’s not because suppliers are somehow inept or can’t deliver what they are promising, in our experience it is because they haven’t read the question. In this regard, the top tip from our team of tender writing experts is to read the question.

It might sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many people overlook this. We advise factoring in plenty of time into your diary to allow you to digest the requirements of each question, think about your response and answer accordingly. If a question asks you about why you think it is important to train your staff in safeguarding, for example, make sure you don’t tell the buyer how you do this. Yes, it might be interesting, but it is not relevant, and won’t score you any points.

Evidence Is key:

Remember to evidence everything you’re saying. Even if the buyer doesn’t necessarily ask for this, it is always good to solidify what you’re saying with cold, hard evidence. If you’re trying to convince someone that you are able and competent enough to build a school, it’s a good idea to show where you have done this before. Check out our Tender VLE video “Evidence is key” for more information.

And the biggest top tip of all – don’t waffle. Remember, get straight to the point, answer the question, show what you can deliver, why you should win the contract and back it up with evidence, and that’s it! If you’re needing a hand with the workload of writing bids or would like a second pair of eyes to make sure your tender is in tip-top shape, get in touch with our team of tender writing experts at Hudson Succeed today!

Look professional

Finally, whilst you might have the content nailed, don’t forget presentation. First impressions do count, despite what anyone says. If your submission is qualitatively sound but includes sloppy policies, shabby team profiles and inconsistent branding, a buyer would not look kindly on your submission. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Get in touch with our team of tender writing experts today for more hints and tips on how to make sure your presentation is on point.

Hudson Succeed

Our Bid Management team will be happy to tell you more about our Tender Ready and Tender Improvement packages where our dedicated procurement experts will work with you to develop your corporate literature to make sure you knock the buyers’ socks off!

Remember, if you’re a small business looking to break into tendering or aren’t seeing any success with your tendering efforts so far, then we are here to help. Chat with our tender writing experts today about how we can make sure we are on the path to success in no time!

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 Top Tendering Tips for SMEs – Tender Writing Experts appeared first on Tender Consultants.

Last updated: Jul 13, 2022 @ 05:00 pm

Are you looking for a tender expert? Perhaps you want to know more about what they are and how they support businesses. You’re in the right place if so!

In this blog, we will tell you some of the essential details about what makes a tender expert. We will also cover some of the ways to identify the best ones, information on our experts, and more. We’ll even tell you how best to approach a tender expert for support. As well as how to increase your chances of writing your own successful bid proposal.

Keep reading to learn tips and tricks from tender experts!

What makes a tender writing expert?

When looking for a professional resource to help with your tenders, it’s natural to want a tender expert. But what is it that actually makes somebody an expert in tendering?

Well, there are several key things to look for when you are considering using the services of a company who are marketed as an expert:

·      What kind of resources are being offered by the tender expert?

Any tender writing expert should know that no tender is the same. Therefore, they should be prepared to adapt and modify the resources they have on offer to suit the requirements of your bid.

Be wary of any professional who is too rigid and uncompromising in their approach to your tender.

It could well be an indication that they lack experience in your field and are not sure of how to handle the new requirements.

·      What aspects are the tender expert claiming to be an expert in?

Tendering covers all areas and industries. This means that there are many ways for a company or consultant to be a tender expert.

Consider your industry and the tenders that you are applying to. Look for a consultancy that can reassure you that they have experience in writing tenders for your sector.

·      Is this tender expert honest with you?

Perhaps most importantly, look for evidence that your potential tender writing expert is being honest with you. For example, here at Hudson Succeed, we are always honest with potential clients.

We never claim to be an expert in any single industry or sector. We showcase that we are tender writing experts, and proud of it!

Our team will always work incredibly closely with clients to ensure that we are embedding all of their expertise and knowledge into the bids we write. We use our expertise in tendering to create the best possible submission.

We recognise that our clients are the most knowledgeable about their industry. By working together to combine the best elements of our expertise, we can produce excellent tenders.

Hudson’s Tender Writing Experts

Deciding to outsource your tendering to tender experts is a big step and comes with serious financial implications.

Committing to spending money on an external resource for internal needs is a significant decision to make. We understand when new, potential clients want to know more about our team and the individuals who could end up working on their tenders.

Collectively, our team’s experience spans multiple industries and each of us has our own specialisms. This means that clients are always allocated to the most relevant tender writing expert that we have!

Jill Hudson

Jill has over 17 years’ experience in the Procurement industry. She has maintained an impressive success rate for her clients across multiple sectors. This includes:

• Creative
• Technology
• Facilities Management.

Jill now operates as our Growth Director but is always on-hand to support others with her experience and expertise.

Daniel Hall

Dan is our Head of Bid Management and has written extensively across multiple sectors throughout his career.

Dan is extensively experienced in public sector procurement, with an emphasis on Security and Energy. His varied experience allows him to advise both clients and our wider team on the best approaches to individual bids.

He is always prepared to find new ways to tailor our packages to clients for a truly relevant, bespoke experience.

Katherine Kane

Katherine is an accomplished writer, previously working on a freelance basis for editorial clients and in the legal sector.

During her time at Hudson, Katherine has supported businesses in industries including:

• Care
• Creative
• Facilities Management.

Alex Holt

Alex has a diverse background across multiple industries. He has brought these to bear in his role here as a Senior Bid Writer.

He is able to offer our clients valuable insights into his specialist sectors which include:

• Transport
• Technology
• Construction.

Olivia Backhouse

Olivia’s role as a Bid Writer in our team of tender writing experts is varied. She has experience in writing bids for:

• Logistics
• Software
• Graphic Design.

Jonathan Worthy

Jonathan operates as a Bid Writer, supporting numerous clients in multiple sectors with their tendering efforts. He has previously supported clients in industries including:

• Electricity
• Quantity Surveying
• Project Management.

Robyn Crawford

Robyn is one of our Senior Bid Writers. She works with businesses of all sizes from large organisations to SMEs, helping them to grow by winning new contracts. Robyn has worked with clients who provide services including:

• Recruitment
• Assisted Living
• Facilities Management.

How to approach tender support

We are proud of the diverse experience that our team holds. The team feel that this is what makes us tender experts.

We will always pair clients with the Bid Writer most experienced in their field. However, clients can be assured that we encourage a thriving culture of collaboration and mutual support throughout our team of tender writing experts. This means we are always producing the strongest tenders possible.

So, when you are considering engaging the services of a tender expert, whether it is our team here at Hudson or another consultancy, remember to look for the following information:

• Can they demonstrate experience in tendering for your field?
• Are they prepared to tailor their service to you?
• Do they value your expertise?
• Are they willing to work closely with you to work your knowledge into the tender response?
• Do you feel like all measures are being taken to ensure you are receiving the most expert service possible?

We are always happy to speak to businesses about their tendering prospects. Our team will give as much advice as we can to interested parties. This is also the case even if we do not think they will become a client.

We know all too well how confusing the tendering process can be.

It is always our pleasure to share our tendering expertise with those looking for guidance. You can also visit our free learning environment, Tender VLE, for hints and tips around tendering.

Top tips from our tender writing experts

Every day, our tender writing experts hear of small businesses who are struggling to get ahead. It’s no mean feat to start a business from the ground up (as our directors will tell you). But the good news is that now it is the little guy’s time to shine. It’s time for SMEs to exploit the potential available to them.

No longer is the market simply dominated by big companies who suck all of the capital to the capital. Since the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the system has been blown open and a new field of competition has emerged.

All authorities using public money are now obliged to put their purchasing of goods and services out to tender. So, all prospective suppliers who meet the minimum criteria theoretically stand an equally good chance of winning the bid. So, what can the little guy do to maximise his chance of success?

Our team of tender writing experts have put together a list of top tips for small businesses. This is to help them to make sure they are the winning supplier.

1.    Know your USP

The best starting point is to know what value it is that your business adds. Our tender writing experts say that the first step is for businesses to understand what makes them unique. They should understand why they stand out. They should also have a real grasp of why buyers should choose them over other competitors.

If you don’t understand what you can add to someone’s organisation, it’ll be difficult to convey this to a buyer.

Think of it like a job interview. You’re tendering to sell yourself. So, you need to have a good grasp of what it is that makes you shine, from the very start. Once you understand this, our team are here to help you to showcase this in the best light possible. We’ll work with you to showcase this through your tender responses and through developing your corporate content.

2.    Find the right opportunities

“OK, I want to tender… but where do I start?” Once you’ve got a better understanding of what you offer, you can start to be more discerning with opportunity searching. Shooting many bullets and hoping you hit the target never works. Instead, being careful, considerate, and selective with your approach will stand you in better stead.

It might be tiresome, but it is important to read the requirements of each. Ensure you understand what is expected of you and factor the submission process into your diary. Our Discover strand is the home of our ten sector-specific platforms, which use people, not arbitrary codes or algorithms to find you the most relevant opportunities for your business based on your search criteria.

Every day our tender writing experts collate the latest national and international opportunities and put them on our sector-specific platforms, hot and fresh out of the oven, ready for SMEs to apply for. Get in touch today with our Discover team for a free demo of our portals and to chat more about how we can help you find the right opportunities.

3.    Read the question

There is nothing more frustrating as a buyer than marking a tender submission where the supplier clearly has no idea what they’re talking about. And more often than not, it’s not because suppliers are somehow inept or can’t deliver what they are promising, in our experience it is because they haven’t read the question. In this regard, the top tip from our team of tender writing experts is to read the question.

It might sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many people overlook this. We advise factoring in plenty of time into your diary to allow you to digest the requirements of each question, think about your response and answer accordingly. If a question asks you about why you think it is important to train your staff in safeguarding, for example, make sure you don’t tell the buyer how you do this. Yes, it might be interesting, but it is not relevant, and won’t score you any points.

4.    Evidence Is key – use case studies!

Remember to evidence everything you’re saying. Even if the buyer doesn’t necessarily ask for this, it is always good to solidify what you’re saying with cold, hard evidence. If you’re trying to convince someone that you are able and competent enough to build a school, it’s a good idea to show where you have done this before. Check out our Tender VLE video “Evidence is key” for more information.

And the biggest top tip of all – don’t waffle. Remember, get straight to the point, answer the question, show what you can deliver, why you should win the contract and back it up with evidence, and that’s it! If you’re needing a hand with the workload of writing bids or would like a second pair of eyes to make sure your tender is in tip-top shape, get in touch with our team of tender experts at Hudson Succeed today!

5.    Look professional

Finally, whilst you might have the content nailed, don’t forget the presentation. First impressions do count, despite what anyone says. If your submission is qualitatively sound but includes sloppy policies, shabby team profiles and inconsistent branding, a buyer would not look kindly on your submission. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Get in touch with our team of tender writing experts today for more hints and tips on how to make sure your presentation is on point. If the buyer hasn’t specified how to present your bid, then this is your chance to go the extra mile. Turn to a Graphic Designer to really make your proposal stand out!

6.    Proofread and edit your proposal before submission

Similar to our point above, your bid needs to be presentable. It reflects your work ethic. If it is sloppy and littered with mistakes and errors, the buyer will believe you to be lazy and unprofessional. This is certainly not the impression you want to give!

Put in place a thorough proofing process during your bid management planning. We suggest that you proofread the proposal several times. Read it aloud if possible, or have your device read it to you. This makes it easier to spot anything that doesn’t sound quite right. Have other team members proofread it too. They are more likely to notice if you have gone off topic or made grammatical errors.

Need help searching for tenders?

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-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?

 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.

What we can do for you

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 – they 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. They’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. The 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.

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. 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 today 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 Tips From Tender Writing Experts appeared first on Tender Consultants.