BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro Tip#1 Price to Win is a methodology used by large companies to help them put their best prices forward – it’s about determining the lowest possible price to win the contract while achieving a reasonable profit. It involves modeling costs and prices, competitors’ prices and the buyer’s budget. Smaller companies can follow a similar approach using a whiteboard and a team brainstorm.

BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro Tip#2 A lot of buyers don’t put a weighting on price alone. Instead, they evaluate Value for Money. Value for Money criteria is different from Price criteria in that it balances how well you have met the other RFP criteria with the price you have offered. Make sure you understand whether the criteria is Price or Value for Money.

BusinessWriteNZ Mini Pro Tip#3 Be very clear on what the buyer is asking for and respond to that, and no more, in your pricing section. I have seen so many great companies lose tenders because they have made assumptions the customer wants more than they have asked for and included that in their price, pushing their price above competitors. If someone wants a Suzuki Jimny, don’t give them a price for a top-of-the-line Toyota Land Cruiser.