How do you win a private tender?

What is a private tender?

A private tender is really just a request for proposals from a business. Unlike a public body, a company does not have to follow a formal procedure. It decides who to invite, what to ask for and how to choose. Only in a few sectors, such as energy, water and transport, can private companies fall under procurement rules too.

These requests are usually not published anywhere. You only get invited if they already know you, and that is exactly where your advantage lies.

Why do you have a head start?

They did not invite you by accident. They know you, so you know them too.

That is knowledge a competitor who only reads the request often does not have. So ask yourself what you know about this company. What do they really care about? Where are things not working, perhaps with their current supplier? And what can you add that nobody else can? The better you can answer those questions, the better your proposal will fit.

Look beyond your usual contact, too. A decision like this rarely rests with one person. The group that decides is often called the decision-making unit, or DMU. Each of them looks for something different, and a good proposal speaks to all of them.

• DMUProcurementLooks at price, terms and whether everything adds up.
• DMUUsersThe people who will work with your service or product every day.
• DMUManagementLooks at the bigger picture and the long term.

Which proposal suits this client?

That depends on what the client wants, and on what this client means to you. In practice there are roughly three kinds.

• SmallShort and to the pointThe client wants something brief, because they prefer it or because the job does not need more. Then give them exactly that. A thick document will not impress anyone here.
• LargeThe full storyYour approach, the planning, the team and the agreements. Then you deliver all of it, complete and well argued.
• SpecialPull out all the stopsA client you really want to win, a potential key account. You work from a concept and tailor everything, in content and in design.

Where does it usually go wrong?

• Assuming you have already wonThe client knows you and the meeting went well, so it must be fine. Meanwhile a competitor is working hard on their proposal.
• Sending an easy proposalWhile the competitor goes the extra mile. There is no scoring scheme to protect you: the client simply puts the proposals side by side.