Differentiation in bids and proposals: how to show why you

What is differentiation in a tender?

Differentiation is what makes your offer different from and better than those of other bidders, on a point the buyer finds important. Both conditions must hold. Shipley Associates, a well-known proposal training firm, therefore separates a difference the customer acknowledges as important (a discriminator) from a difference the customer does not necessarily value (a differentiator). Only the first wins you anything.

In marketing this is often called a USP, a unique selling point. But a USP is about your company in general. Differentiation in a tender is about this contract, this buyer and these competitors. A point that decides one tender can be worth nothing in the next.

A differentiator is what the buyer cares about and a competitor cannot repeat. Everything else is decoration.

What is not a differentiator?

Much of what bidders present as differentiation disappears on a closer read.

• ClaimA quality without proofCustomer-focused, reliable, flexible, experienced. Everyone writes it, and no one can check it.
• RequirementWhat everyone must haveA certificate asked for as a selection requirement, or a requirement from the specification. That is an entry ticket, not an advantage.
• Not relevantWhat the buyer is not looking forYour own software, a long history or many branches only differentiate you if they solve something this buyer is struggling with.
• Not uniqueWhat a competitor can say tooA dedicated contact person or a monthly meeting. If a competitor can write the same sentence, it makes no difference.

Shipley offers a simple test. Could an evaluator copy your sentence into the evaluation form to justify the highest score? And could a competitor write the same sentence? The answer must be yes to the first question and no to the second. Why generic sentences do not make the difference is also covered in no generic texts.

How do you find your differentiators?

You find them where three questions meet. Work through them in this order, and start with the buyer, not with yourself.

1. 1What does the buyer find important?Read the award criteria, the assessment aspects and the specification. PIANOo, the Dutch government’s public procurement expertise centre, asks buyers to check whether bidders can sufficiently differentiate themselves on an element before using it as a criterion. So the criteria tell you where the buyer expects the difference. Also look at policy plans and annual reports.
2. 2Where can you prove you are better?Not what you think, but what you can show with figures from your own systems: lead times, customer satisfaction, staff turnover, complaints. Where they are weak, you know what not to promise.
3. 3What can your competitors not do?Think about who is likely to bid and what they will write. Look for where you have something they lack, and be honest about where they are stronger.
4. 4Choose what lies where they meetOnly what scores yes on all three questions is a differentiator. Usually that is two to four points. More is rarely credible.

From feature to benefit to proof

A feature says what you have or do. A benefit says what the buyer gains from it. Proof shows that it is true. Shipley advises putting the benefit first, quantifying it where possible and linking it to the feature that makes it possible.

1. 1FeatureA fictional example: “We run our own control room, staffed day and night.”
2. 2Benefit“A fault in your buildings is picked up within fifteen minutes, also at night and at weekends, without your own staff having to call or escalate.”
3. 3Proof“In 2025 we picked up 97% of 3,100 reports within fifteen minutes, as measured in our reporting system. For a comparable contract with a fictional school group with eight sites, the facilities manager is willing to confirm this.”

A feature says who you are. A benefit says what the buyer gains. Proof says it is true.

What are win themes and how do you carry them through your bid?

Win themes are the two to four key messages that together say why the buyer should choose you. Each theme links a benefit for the buyer to the feature on which you differ. APMP, the international association of bid and proposal professionals, includes win strategy and themes, and features, benefits and discriminators, as standard topics in its certification. Shipley advises writing each theme, preferably, as one complete sentence and using it consistently throughout the proposal.

A win theme is not a slogan. It is a claim you prove again in every section, with the evidence that fits there.

1. 1In the executive summaryState your themes briefly and in the buyer’s words. Anyone who reads only this page should know why you.
2. 2For each award criterionShow which theme applies, with proof that belongs to that criterion. Not every theme fits every criterion; do not force it.
3. 3In your method statementA theme like “a fast start without disruption” becomes concrete in the steps, the planning and the risks of your method statement.
4. 4In your team and CVsShow which people make the theme real, with their experience on comparable contracts.

Weak and strong wording side by side

What counts as proof?

• FiguresFrom your own practicePercentages, numbers, lead times, from your own systems and with the period stated. A round number from memory is not proof.
• ReferencesA client who confirms itA comparable buyer who can confirm what you write. How to choose one and agree it in advance is covered in references.
• CertificatesAs support, not as the pointPIANOo mentions referring to certificates as a way to support a commitment. Show what the certificate delivers for this contract.
• CommitmentsWhat goes into the contractA commitment you make measurable can be checked by the buyer after the award. That makes it credible, and binding.

That last point is serious. According to PIANOo, your bid, including how you worked out the award criteria, is binding: if you win, you must deliver what you offered, and the buyer is expected to monitor whether you do. It goes into the contract, sometimes with KPIs, a bonus-malus arrangement or a penalty clause. So promise nothing you cannot deliver in practice.

How do evaluators look at differentiation?

An evaluation panel in a European public tender only assesses what is in your bid, against the award criteria and weightings published in the tender documents in advance. What you do not write down does not exist for the panel. In a Dutch interim relief case at the Rotterdam district court (8 April 2026, ECLI:NL:RBROT:2026:4266), scoring “excellent” required clear added value, to be filled in as bidders saw fit. According to the judge, that calls for your own initiative and vision, and it is not up to the buyer to fill it in for a bidder afterwards. The panel was also allowed to take into account that a bidder gave no concrete numbers: the bid had to be SMART and so measurable, even though those numbers were not explicitly requested.

A good name with the buyer does not count automatically either. The buyer must treat all bidders equally (article 18 of Directive 2014/24/EU). In 2017 the interim relief judge in The Hague held that the bid of an incumbent supplier must be assessed in the same way as the others. What that means if you already run the contract is covered in the incumbent supplier.

1. 1They read with the assessment framework next to themPIANOo lists aspects such as how SMART your wording is, the added value offered and how plausibly you show the goal will be reached. If the tender documents name them, use them as a checklist.
2. 2They must be able to verify itUnder article 67(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU, award criteria must come with specifications that allow the information provided by bidders to be effectively verified. In case of doubt, the buyer checks its accuracy. A claim without proof gives the panel nothing to score.
3. 3They do not always know your tradePIANOo advises buyers to involve evaluators only in aspects where they have enough expertise, and to consider who will use the service when composing the team. So explain what a feature delivers. How to do that is covered in writing for points.

Note one exception. A buyer can also assess an element on a pass/fail basis only. PIANOo mentions this as an option when more than the minimum adds no value, or when a topic does not differentiate. In a pass/fail test, extra differentiation earns no points. There, make sure you meet it completely, and keep your best proof for the criteria that are scored.

What is not in your bid does not exist for the panel.

And in a private tender?

In a private tender, public procurement rules do not apply. A company may choose freely, and the relationship, past experience and a good conversation all count. Still, the same approach works: the client puts proposals side by side and looks for a reason to choose. That reason must be in your proposal, with proof, because not everyone involved in the decision has spoken to you.

The difference lies mainly in freedom. You decide the structure yourself, so you can make your win themes visible in the structure too: a summary that opens with your three reasons, and the proof in each section. How to build such a proposal is covered in how to write a business proposal. And talk to more than one person at the client: procurement, users and management often value different things.