To Bid or Not To Bid

Published by SMETenders on

You have seen a tender opportunity. And you definitely want to grow your business. So you should bid, right?

 

Well, not necessarily. Bidding takes time and effort. It costs to bid – whether it is using a specialist tender writing service to help you or just the opportunity cost of you or your staff spending time on the tender instead of the day job. Is the potential return worth the investment?

 

See if you can answer “YES” to the 5 checkpoints below before you decide to go ahead:

 

  1. Are you capable for delivering what they want?

Review the service specification and consider whether you have the skills and experience needed to be able to deliver the service they want buy. Do you have the knowledge and the infrastructure needed? You don’t have to be delivering exactly the same service elsewhere, but you do need to be confident you can deliver what is being demanded, should you be successful.

 

  1. Can you prove how good you are?

So you think you can deliver what they want. But can you prove it? To be successful, when you submit your bid you will need to back up what you claim with evidence – statistics, case studies, quotes from clients, awards and accreditation will all add credibility to your bid.

 

  1. Do you have the capacity to deliver?

For a small business in particular, winning a tender can be a tremendous boost to your business. You need to be sure you have what you need to handle the extra volume. People, systems and finance all have to be considered. Staff may join you automatically under TUPE provisions, but you can’t rely on this. Think about your existing customers too – you don’t want winning the tender to damage the level of service you can deliver to them. Remember – growing too quickly can be dangerous for the health of your business.

 

  1. Can you make a profit?

Tendering exercises are carried out to ensure value for money. That doesn’t always mean the cheapest provider will win, but the temptation will be to bid at the lowest price you can. When making your calculations, include all the costs, including potential extra costs associated with contract management and reporting as well as actual delivery. If you think you can’t break even delivering all that is asked for, don’t bid.

 

  1. Is this the best use of your time and resources?

Even if you can make a profit, could you make more profit or the same profit in an easier way by finding new business elsewhere? Tendering can look like an easy way to greater business volumes (and often it is) but you must be sure this is the right business development strategy for you. Does the tender fit with your existing business and the vision you have for your company?

 

If you can answer YES to all the questions above, then bidding for the opportunity could be the right thing to do.

 

If you have not bid for business before (or if you have tried and failed) is not a problem. SME Tenders can help ensure your organisation is “bid ready” and that your bid submission properly captures all the strengths and benefits you will bring.

 

But if you answered NO to any of the questions, then don’t be afraid to walk away. Just because this opportunity is not right doesn’t mean there won’t be a new opportunity just around the corner

Categories: Tender Process