Winning a tender is easier said than done. Some put it down to luck. Some say it’s all about price. Then there are others who believe it’s who you know, not what.

But what if producing a victorious tender, proposal or submission is actually a science and not an art? What if it’s a formulaic equation that makes that submission successful? One that follows a process, a script and a checklist – a framework that can followed in order to succeed in every criterion?

We live in a business world that is increasingly driven by procurement processes and contracts. It is no longer about who you know, but what capability you can prove, what value you can deliver and how innovative your ideas are.

You need a process and a plan to drive your approach. Firstly, you need to work out what that approach is and develop a solution that the client will see as superior to all other contenders. It needs to fit your company profile, the capability of your work and your intention to produce something innovative and outstanding. To convey just how extraordinary your work will be, you need an explicit strategy.

Whist many submission teams think they have come up with an intelligent plan for their tender, they may not realise that the entire document and physical submission has to reflect their strategy consistently throughout. It must weave that solution through each criterion and reiterate it over and over again.

To actually win a tender and not just meet the deadline, there are five essential elements that need to be in place before you even start:

1. An excellent team to develop the solution and work with the client
2. A proven track record of successfully delivering similar projects or contracts
3. An understanding of the client
4. A commitment to put in the effort required to prepare a winning tender, and
5. A unique approach or solution for the client.

Of these five elements, the first four are mandatory – that is, you need them just to be in the race but they will not get you over the line. If you do not have these elements, you can not win, but having these elements is not enough to win. For example, your track record may include having built more Olympic Stadiums than any other company in the world, but this won’t be enough to win the tender to build another stadium.

The 5th element, a unique approach or solution, is the key. You must be able to develop an outstanding strategy or solution to this project for this client, and that is what will win you the tender. The other 4 elements give you the knowledge and expertise to develop the winning approach or solution.

Importantly, you may notice that price is not considered an element. Price is part of the approach or solution, and it may actually be that the lowest price is the approach you adopt. This is a strategy that needs more indepth analysis however, and you should work with the submission team to determine whether a more sustainable and broader tender strategy is required.

All in all, it is the strategy that will win the tender. That is why you need to have one right from the get-go, otherwise it’s a no-go!

Leann Webb