Avoiding Generic Answers: How to Tailor Your Tender Submission Every Time      

Writing a competitive tender is more than just filling out answer boxes.  Our team’s 87% success rate and over 60 years of bid writing experience illustrate that winning tenders involves a well-planned approach that stands out from ordinary responses. 

In competitive tendering, your success or failure largely hinges on how well you show your worth and set yourself apart from the competition.  A lot of bids make the same error.  They give answers that are too general and don’t stand out.  So their contributions get lost in a sea of other similar ones.

Let’s talk about tried-and-true methods that the best bid writers utilise to produce winning tenders.  We’ll show you how to use strategic positioning, persuasive writing techniques, and extensive quality control systems to greatly increase your success rate.

1. How the best bid writers think about tender strategy in different ways

The main method that expert bid writers adopt is different from that of mediocre responders: they put themselves in the buyer’s shoes.  These experts do more than merely go over tender documents.  They actually think about the buyer’s problems, the culture of the company, its place in the market, and its future needs.  This full picture helps them make sure their offerings are in line with what the buyer really wants.

People who submit winning bids pay a lot of attention to how scores are given.  They use points allocation to drive their work and develop responses around section weightings.  For instance, the technical quality might get 70% of the points while the pricing might get 30%.  Then, writers spend more time writing great technical responses.

Smart bid writers think about their bids and don’t bid.  They don’t go for every opportunity that comes their way.  Their success rates depend on the grading criteria, and they can only move on when they can exploit their strengths well.

These experts don’t use the same content that a lot of their competitors do.  Average bids could use the same wording over and over again, but elite writers make sure that each response meets the needs of the buyer.  They focus on the client’s goals and prove that they understand them deeply by showing how their solution fits nicely with those aims.

Successful tender strategists plan their stories carefully.  Before they start writing, they compile a list of winning themes and distinctive selling qualities that fit with the grading categories.

2. Writing Skills That Go Beyond the Norm

Bid writers who are really good at their jobs use certain writing approaches to make answers that are better than ordinary ones.  Instead of just listing features, their strong value proposition talks about real benefits, such saving money, getting the best solutions, or lowering risk.

Writers who are in charge of submissions utilise strong, benefits-focused language.  Instead of generic promises like “We want to deliver value,” they make specific pledges like “We deliver 15% cost savings within six months by streamlining logistics operations.”  For example, they give particular data that illustrate results, like “Reduced procurement turnaround times by 32%.”

To keep things clear, winning bid writers use:

• Language that is easy to understand and doesn’t use jargon that all evaluators can understand
• Short sentences (15–20 words) and short paragraphs (6–7 lines)
• Well-organised headings, subheadings, and bullet points that are well-placed
• These writers use strong “golden thread” themes that run across all of their answers.  These kinds of themes show off the things that make a product or service stand out and make a tale instead of separate replies.
• When expert writers employ “you” and “your” instead of “we” and “our,” they are putting the client first.  The phrasing is appropriate for tender documents and shows that the writer knows a lot about the client’s problems.  Every word counts when you’re bidding against someone else.

3. Making sure everything are up to code and of good quality  What Great Writers Do

Quality assurance is what makes the best bid writers stand out from the rest in competitive tender writing.  The top bid teams employ a multi-tier review procedure that is well-organised and always gets good entries.

Here are some things that make a quality control process perform best:

• First compliance check: making sure that all standards are met and nothing important is missing.
• Technical accuracy review means checking that all statements, data, and proof are correct and relevant.
• Complete proofreading means checking for spelling, grammar, formatting, and consistency throughout.
• Experienced bid professionals realise that quality reviews should happen at all stages of the process, not just before submission.  They give themselves adequate time to thoroughly check and make changes.  Last-minute reviews typically miss mistakes that could cost you contracts.
• Top bid writers retain organised bid libraries with proven solutions, case studies, and other documents that back them up.  These resources need to be updated often so that old information doesn’t show up in submissions.

When it comes to quality control, working together is really important.  The finance, operations, HR, and legal divisions all work together to make sure that all technical areas are correct.  The final evaluation should be done by someone who didn’t write the original article.  This gives a new way to think about clarity and persuasion.

Quality assurance in competitive tendering requires methodical preparation, focused time, and consistent processes.  These lower the dangers and raise the odds of winning.

At last

Bid writers that are good at what they do win more contracts than their competitors by applying smart strategies and techniques.  This is a huge problem because it means that to win bids, you have to go above and beyond the basic standards and make proposals that are thoughtful and focused on the customer.

Bid writers who are experts do more than just fill out forms.  They know how to look at things from the buyer’s point of view, look at several ways to score, and make sensible decisions on whether to bid or not.  They make persuasive value propositions that highlight genuine benefits instead of just listing characteristics.

The writing skills of the best performers set them apart.  Their direct, benefits-focused language offers useful measurements.  They use basic language and a straightforward layout to make everything apparent.  Their answers don’t just give random information; they tell a story that makes sense.

Quality control is an important aspect of making sure a tender is successful.  A well-organised multi-tier review system, well-managed bid libraries, and cooperation amongst departments make submissions more than just compliant; they also make them competitive.

To win more bids, you need to modify the way you do things.  Most bids meet the standards.  Top performers go above and beyond what is expected of them by using strategic positioning, persuasive writing, and thorough quality checks.  These tips will make your next tender stand out from the rest and get you more contracts.  Winning submissions don’t just have facts; they also demonstrate your client how valuable they are.

Important Points

 Here are the key methods that set winning bid authors apart from the rest:

• Think like the customer: Instead of just meeting requirements, top writers look at scoring methods and buyer problems and put in the right amount of work based on point weightings.
  
• Make specific value propositions:  Use measurable advantages instead of general features, such “15% cost savings within six months,” to show how things will change.
  
• Put in place a mechanism for quality control:  Use multi-tier evaluations at every stage of the process, keep bid libraries up to date, and have teams from different departments work together to make sure everything is correct.
  
• Come up with clear win themes:  Make sure that all of your answers have a “golden thread” of unique selling features that go through them all.
  
• Speak in terms that are important to the client:  Use “you” instead of “we” when writing from the buyer’s point of view. Use the same words they do and show that you understand their unique problems.
  
• The main difference between standard and winning submissions is not meeting the requirements, but going above and beyond them in a strategic way by focusing on the buyer, communicating persuasively, and following strict quality control procedures.

Your Tender Team offers expert guidance tailored to each client’s needs. Our experience ensures that bids are prepared accurately and meet all requirements. For reliable assistance with tender submissions and to improve your chances of winning contracts, contact us on 0116 218 2700.