How to Stop those Bidding Nightmares

Construction News - 13/03/2008

With current headlines forecasting an economic downturn and gloom ahead for both the residential and commercial sectors, winning work will be of the utmost importance for all companies - especially SMEs. Greg Brownlee, Managing Director of commercial and contract management consultancy Blake Newport gives some advice on how best to win bids.

In today’s highly competitive and commercial world, drafting invitations to tender plays a major role in the business environment, but with so many tenders being put out, there is still some confusion on the contractual implications of these documents.

To clarify - the tender document is seen simply as an ‘invitation to treat’, and does not indicate a commitment to be bound by its terms - even on acceptance. Problems only tend to arise when a party, who believes an offer has been made, communicates an acceptance. The party may then believe a contract exists, but this is incorrect as a valid contract requires both an offer and acceptance. If in doubt check with a legal body or simply include a disclaimer on tenders to say that it has no contractual relevance and does not form part of a contract.

Contractual concerns aside, it’s important to remember that a tender document is your first contact with a potential client and in order to avoid your company’s submission finding itself at the bottom of the pile there are clear principles to follow.

Look at the tender in detail and see if it matches with your company objectives and business strengths – if it doesn’t, don’t waste valuable time and energy in a bid that you are unlikely to win or will be unable to deliver on if successful.

Ensure that you plan out the bid procedure – set in place a dedicated team and assign responsibilities and deadlines for them to collate information. One person should have responsibility for managing the editorial content and a third party should be used to proof read the bid to make sure it matches the criteria.

The first thing to recognise is what information is needed and what isn’t. Information overload is cited as the one of the biggest problems perceived by clients when receiving tender documents.

The second most common fault in tenders is the lack of relevance to the tender document. Many companies find it hard to meet tight deadlines and often fall into the trap of using a standard response to tenders or simply amending an existing tender. If the tender is worth going for, it’s worth taking the time to draft a bespoke document, answering all questions and producing the relevant data.

Even the simplest of mistakes are common, with the wrong number of copies being sent out or documents being sent to the wrong address. These mistakes may seem harmless but they show a lack of care and may ultimately cost you the bid. Why waste the time and effort put in when it’s a simple case of following the instructions.

In terms of the copy, always use short precise words where possible and be succinct, don’t use unnecessary adjectives if you can say it best with a couple of words. Write for your readership.

Overall the solution is simple; use the resources available to you, be clear on what you are trying to achieve, answer the questions and deliver on time. With a clear strategic approach, winning bids need not be a nightmare.

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