12 Common Bidding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Here are 12 common bidding mistakes and how to avoid them. Avoiding these mistakes will save you both time and money.
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Self-navigate through our free online resources or better still check out our online products or contact me directly for help.
Mary-Anne Webber, Founder DynamicProposalsNZ
12 Common Bidding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
| 1. Bidding on every job that comes along | Bidding and preparing RFP responses takes a lot of time and effort. There is little value in wasting your limited time resource bidding for tenders and contracts you are unlikely to win. Instead spend more time on the ones where you have a good chance of winning. |
| 2. Complacency | Complacency can creep in when you assume the RFP or tender is a just a formality and that you are keeping the business. You don’t put the effort into your response, get blindsided by a strong competitive offer and lose the business. |
| 3. Leaving it to the last minute | When we leave a bid or RFP response to the last minute, we put ourselves at a disadvantage to the competitors who started early. It’s easy to make mistakes and even miss key requirements. You might even make an omission which means your proposal is rejected outright. You might miss important cost inputs for your pricing and end up delivering the work at a loss. |
| 4. General, boiler plate responses | Don’t fall into the trap of responding to RFPs by putting in a general “About Us” presentation and a price. That’s unlikely to win you the business. |
| 5. Not reading the requirements | Make sure you read and respond to ALL the requirements. |
| 6. Not asking enough questions | Try to find out as much as you can about the buyer, the RFP, the incumbent, competitors, the market – anything you can to help you put in a better bid. |
| 7. Not clearly articulating your solution | It’s very hard for buyers to evaluate vague and unclear offers. Be both concise, clear and comprehensive. |
| 8. Not articulating your benefits | Make sure you articulate your benefits as well as your solutions. |
| 9. Poor quality proposal | Poor structure, spelling mistakes, bad grammar, long, unclear sentences can all help you to lose a tender. See my other articles to lift the quality of your proposal. |
| 10. Underestimating your price | If you underestimate your price, the buyer can hold you to it and force you to deliver the contract at that price. Make sure you go through the detail of what’s required and include all costs. |
| 11. Not delivering | If you win the contract, make sure you deliver in full, on time. If you don’t, the buyer may have rights to terminate the contract. It’s also not worth the reputational risk. |
| 12.Overlooking the fine print | Make sure that you submit all required documents, show evidence of any mandatory qualifications. Make sure your understand and are able to comply with any specific terms and conditions of the contract. |
Thank You
Thanks for taking the time to read this free DynamicProposalsNZ article – 12 common bidding mistakes and how to avoid them. I hope it was helpful. I have written and evaluated 1,000+ business documents and hundreds of business proposals and tender responses. Let me put that experience and success to work for you. I love helping businesses put their best selves forward in bids, tenders and RFP responses. Self-navigate through my free online resources or better still check out my online products or contact us directly for help.
Mary-Anne Webber, Founder DynamicProposalsNZ
