Award criteria: how to write for points

From sufficient to excellent

A panel usually scores on a scale. The exact wording is in the instructions to bidders and differs per tender, but the pattern is nearly always the same.

• SufficientYou confirm the questionYou show you will do what is asked. No more, no less.
• GoodYou show howConcrete, supported and tailored to this contract.
• ExcellentYou add valueYou do more than the question asks, in a way the buyer did not expect and that fits what they want to achieve.

Excellent is only for the answer that genuinely adds value beyond the question. Surprise them, positively. Thinking outside the box is allowed.

Where do you find that added value?

Added value that connects to nothing is a loose promise. Added value that connects to what the buyer wants earns points. In the end it is a circle: everything in the documents links together.

1. 1Hold the question against the specificationsWhat the quality question does not say is often in the specifications. That is where you find the wishes and concerns behind the question.
2. 2Research the buyerAnnual report, policy plans, press releases, sustainability goals. An organisation that reports on its CSRD targets is telling you itself what it cares about.
3. 3Link your added value to their goalsShow how your extra contributes to what they want to achieve. Then it is no longer a bonus, but an answer.

Write for someone who does not know your trade

Always assume, without exception, that the buyer does not understand your trade. There is always a panel. Some members may know your field, but there will certainly be others who do not.

What is obvious to you is not obvious to them, and that is where you lose them. Explain jargon, describe what a measure achieves rather than only what you do, and do not skip steps because they seem logical to you.

What is obvious to you is not obvious to the panel.

No promise without proof

The most common mistake: promising without backing it up. A panel can only award points for what it can check. A fictional example.

• Promise“We always deliver on time.”Every bidder writes that. The panel can do nothing with it.
• With proof“Last year we delivered 98% of our 4,200 orders within the agreed time slot. On a comparable contract for a regional healthcare provider we reached 99% in the first year, with their facilities manager as a reference.”A hard figure, a comparable contract and a reference the panel can call.

• Hard figuresPercentages, volumes, lead times. From your own systems, not from memory.
• ReferencesA client who confirms what you write, with name and role.
• Real examples from practiceWhat you did on a comparable contract, and what it achieved.

Read your answer as the panel would

1. 1Hold it against the scoring frameworkWhich points are listed for good and excellent? Are they all in there?
2. 2Follow the structure of the questionAnswer every part, in the same order. A panel member who has to search will miss something.
3. 3Let an outsider read itSomeone who does not know your trade sees straight away where you take too much for granted.
4. 4Stick to the format rulesPage limit, font size, images. What falls outside them is often not read.