In 2021/22, approximately £379 billion was spent on government procurement in the UK. With an effective proposal for government tenders, your business could earn some of that money as well.
If you’re interested in winning government tenders, then it’s important that you understand the importance of a great proposal. A quality proposal can help prove that your business is right for the job and that it will meet all of the necessary requirements.
Here are our top tips on how to write a winning proposal for government tenders.
Find the Right Tenders
The first step to writing great proposals is to ensure that you find government tenders that are right for your business. If you’re looking in all the wrong places, then you’ll have a harder time finding a job that’s a good fit.
Be sure that you know where to look to find tenders to write a proposal for. Supply2Gov is a one-stop shop where you can find and win tenders in the UK & ROI easily.
Many portals are outdated and don’t have an extensive list of the jobs that are available. Start out on the right foot by choosing tenders that are relevant to what you have to offer.
Understand the Requirements
Before writing a proposal, you need to verify that you understand the requirements fully. Look over the information for a government tender closely before beginning to write your proposal.
Be sure to address a buyer’s needs directly. Make sure they know that you can provide what they’re looking for and deliver what they need. Addressing a buyer’s concerns directly will make your proposal a lot more enticing for them.
Highlight Your Qualifications
As part of writing a great proposal for a government tender, also be sure to highlight your own strengths and level of experience as well.
While much of your proposal should be focused on the buyer’s needs, you should also outline why you’re the best-suited business for the job. Ensure that you highlight any experience that you have that pertains to what the buyer needs and don’t leave anything out.
Remember that you’ll be competing with others for the government tender, so you need to highlight what makes you stand out and qualified for the work.
Create an Outline
When writing tender proposals, it’s a good idea to start with an outline.
Make sure that you have a good idea of what you want to discuss in your proposal before you start writing it. Line up all the key points of your proposal while focusing on any specifications and requirements that the buyer has.
Writing an outline can make it much easier for you once it’s time to write the full proposal.
Use Persuasive Language
Always remember that you should be trying to persuade someone that you are the right person for the contract when writing a proposal. You should aim to use persuasive language in your proposal and sound as convincing as possible.
Writing a persuasive proposal will require many things. You’ll need to demonstrate your confidence, focus on the buyer’s needs, and use positive language.
While you should be realistic with your proposal, you should also highlight the good points of the solutions you provide. Make it clear that you’re able to meet their needs by outlining your capabilities step by step.
Gather Evidence
Part of persuading a buyer that you do great work is to provide evidence that’s the case. You need to be ready with several examples of your work from the past few years to show that you can handle the scope of the project that you’re bidding on.
Ideally, the case studies should be similar to the project that you’re bidding on. Don’t include a case study for no reason at all but ensure that any case studies that you include demonstrate the relevant experience that you have.
Evaluate the Pricing
When writing a proposal, it’s also important to think about the cost of your bid.
With a government tender, a buyer will usually be looking for the best value for the money. It’s important that you create a bid that will be profitable for you, while also offering the best possible value and quality of services. It’s a mistake to either aim to be the cheapest option or to be the highest-cost option.
Usually somewhere between these extremes is the best choice. The more value you can provide for the money, the better chance you’ll have.
Proofread Your Documents
When bidding on a project, you need to make sure that you’ve gotten everything right. Make sure that you proofread your document extensively to ensure that it includes everything that’s necessary.
Your proposal should be free from spelling and grammar mistakes and should flow well. Errors can reflect poorly on your business.
Everything in the document should be able to be easily understood by the person reading it, so make sure that it’s written well.
Improve Over Time
If you want to do a great job of getting government tenders, then it’s important to realise that it’s an ongoing process. You may not get the first tenders that you apply for.
With this in mind, it’s important that you work to improve your proposals as time goes on. If you fail to win a tender, then make sure that you evaluate what went wrong and determine what you could have done better.
If you get any feedback, be sure not to take it to heart. Chances are that you can improve on the next proposal and have a better chance of getting a job later.
Find Government Tenders with Supply2Gov
If you’re looking for lucrative contracts for your business, then looking for government tenders can be a great idea. However, you’ll need to put a lot of thought into how you write proposals if you want to maximise your chances of getting work.
Looking to win government contracts? Click here to register for free and view our list of available opportunities now.