Business development deliver results for wining profitable bids with better win rate. 10 Tips to win government tenders

10 Tips to win government tenders

1. Read each question carefully

You should:

break down each question into its core requirements and its supporting requirements
match each question to the corresponding evaluation criteria in the RFQ or RFT
evaluate the scope of work (i.e. statement of requirement). Work out if you can do the work yourself or if you need to partner with other businesses (e.g. subcontractors or a consortium); and allow enough time to set up these arrangements
review the specifications to see if there are extra requirements relating to any of the questions.

You should:

make sure you’ve addressed all the requirements relating to the question — a checklist can help
provide evidence of recent experience (no older than five years) relating to requirements and demonstrating capabilities
note the evaluation criteria and relative weighting/ranking. Give extra attention to criteria with higher weightings/rankings
present an offer in a simple, structured format if no template has been provided (responses are judged on content, not on elaborate presentation)
show how you’re in a unique position to provide this service, and how your service offering differs from other bidders.

If you’re responding with little experience of government:

show how your commercial experience is relevant to government requirements
demonstrate your understanding of government requirements
if you can’t meet all the requirements, outline a plan for how you’ll build your capability and increase your resources.

You should:

assume the evaluator knows nothing about your capabilities, strengths, skills, and resources when you address each question
describe your methodologies and examples in detail
show how your business capabilities are appropriate for this job.

You should:

provide recent references (no older than five years) directly related to key requirements in the RFQ or RFT
make sure your references address the key capabilities in the evaluation criteria.

You should:

answer each question completely — regardless of how much repetition there may be across all questions and answers
make sure each answer is tailored (never cut and paste one answer into another, even if you do repeat information)
use repetition to reinforce your experience, skills, resources and capabilities.

You should:

differentiate your response by using customer-service proposals that are detailed, substantive and relevant
remember many businesses competing with you share the same capabilities — but not all make the effort to offer genuinely high levels of customer service.

You should:

offer proposals that are both generally valued by government, and relate to the particular requirements of the Request For Quote (RFQ) or Request For Tender (RFT).
offers are evaluated on the basis of value for money, which includes quality, service, backup and all costs—the lowest price doesn’t necessarily win
offer your most competitive price the first time and present all the benefits of your product or service
consider offering two options, high-end and low-end, or offering multiple combinations with a breakdown of costs
remember that ‘value add’ does not necessarily mean ‘free’.

You should:

find out about the government procurement policies, requirements and contract conditions relating to the RFQ or RFT
learn more about particular government policies at the Buyer’s Procurement website.

You should:

create your own personalised RFQ checklist or tender checklist
be aware of any time differences, particularly during daylight saving and when bidding across states and territories
remember that a late submission of the RFQ or RFT won’t be accepted unless you can prove exceptional circumstances caused it.

With credit to www.business.vic.gov.au/