3 key reasons why your tender submissions fail
Responding to tenders and project opportunities is part of the life of being a consultant or contractor of goods or services. Preparing submissions can take considerable time and effort to complete, and it can be disheartening if – at the very least – that effort is not rewarded with favourable consideration.
Although it goes without saying that this independent worker space has become increasingly competitive – even in the Caribbean – and so you cannot win all opportunities you bid on, a short survey of firms that regularly invite and review submissions has revealed that many submissions tend to get rejected early in the review process. Here, we outline the top three observations, which may be the reason why your submissions do not make the cut.
1. Instructions are not followed
Although most tender requests include phrases such as, “Please follow the instructions provided”, all too often, the instructions are not followed. As a result, and for example,
- Referral letters or letters of recommendatiion are not included
- Warranties and guarantees are not included
- Technical and financial proposals are not placed in separate envelopes
- Submissions are not labelled as instructed, e.g. copies of submissions have not been identified, and envelopes are not addressed as specified, or
- The required copies of the submissions are not provided.
If the tender is especially competitive and a number of bids have been received, the bid evaluators may be inclined to be more stringent in ensuring that the specified requirements have been met, and use them as a way of thinning down the submissions that will be subject to a more detailed review.
To a considerable degree, these issues are simple fixes through more careful preparation of the submission. In that regard, it may be useful to create a checklist of all the information and documents that must be supplied. Such an approach is especially useful when there are lots of instructions, and/or preparation of the submission is quite involved.
2. Submissions are poorly prepared
No matter how capable you (and your team) might be, if that capability is not clearly presented, the chances are slim that you will win the contract. The surveyed firms complained of poor quality proposals, noting that they tend to be poorly prepared, with poorly organized content.
A simple remedy that is frequently overlooked, is the inclusion of a table of contents, especially for lengthy submissions. Further, and noting that through your proposals you are presenting a first impression of yourself, your team and/or your business, do take the time to organize the material that is being presented, to make it easy to read and evaluate.
3. The core requirements are not satisfied
Depending on the project requirements, core and secondary requirements may be specified, either explicitly, or can be inferred from the scores or weights assigned to each criterion. Although those requirements might appear to be an impossible wish list, and thus a suggestion of the desired skills and capabilities, they should not be ignored.
When reviewing a tender to decide whether to respond, carefully consider the extent to which you and/or your team satisfy the project requirements, especially the key ones. Further, and should the process allow, that would also be the time to determine whether to partner with others, to build a stronger team, and consequently, a more winning submission.
(Photo: Ryan Lane / flickr)