Through her company, Ichiban Commercial Solutions, Celia Jordaan uses her global expertise in business to assist WA companies in maximizing tendering opportunities and adapting to the changing economic environment worldwide markets. We asked her for her most important tips for small-scale business owners on how to write effective tenders and get used to tendering opportunities to the fullest extent.
Start your steps early to Celia. The tendering process is likely to work for your company if you’re in the B2B market, delivering works, goods, or services, and are looking to expand your business.
“Tendering requires time. Therefore it must be an integral part of your strategy for the growth of your business. It is important to be working towards becoming tender-ready,” she says.
“Being ready for tenders means you have already prepared proposals that demonstrate your ability and capability to provide the highest value. When the right opportunity to tender is presented, you’ll be prepared to take action to the opportunity and focus on what makes your company stand different from other businesses.”
Take the time to read each offer carefully.
As Celia states, tendering offers the opportunity to expand your business, but it is your responsibility to complete the contract project if you’re awarded the contract.
“You need to make sure that you really understand what is needed, what you offer, what the terms and conditions are, and that you will have the right cash flow, people and resources for delivering what you offer.”
Although tenders may require similar information about your company as well as your capabilities, I do not think that all tenders are exactly identical.
“Always take the time to read through a tender properly and make sure that you note items such as mandatory requirements,” Celia advises. Celia. “For example, if you missed a mandatory site visit or did not have the required certifications noted as mandatory, you cannot tender.”
Ask questions if you need clarification.
It’s not uncommon for small-business owners to feel overwhelmed in dealing with the red tape and fine print. However, Celia states that it doesn’t have to be to hinder tendering.
“If you don’t know the terms you’re signing, seek assistance. Go through the contract’s terms and make sure that you are able to meet the requirements requested by you. If you are unsure about the requirements, you can always seek clarification. Be sure to adhere to the procedure and only contact the person designated as the contact point set within the contract.”
It is not necessary to start all over again.
The creation of a database of responses to tenders could aid in the preparation of future responses.
“Given the time it takes to complete tenders, it can help to set up your responses so you can reuse, repurpose and customize tendering responses for other tenders, proposals, and your capability statements.”
“The procedure of tendering permits you to evaluate your company and identify gaps in what you’re doing and how you can make improvements. When you design good structures, templates, and tenders that eliminate gaps and increase the size of your company, you are able to reuse the same information to create other tenders and capability statements and cut down on time required to tender.”
Find out as much as you can about the process.
Celia says that a lack of knowledge of the tendering process could hinder business owners from making the most of opportunities. Her role is to help entrepreneurs to understand more about tendering. She regularly gives SBDC seminars on tendering.
“Not having a clue where to begin could make the process appear daunting and confusing. The SBDC’s Introduction to Tendering workshop provides an opportunity to learn about the possibilities of tendering and to get ready to tender.”
“It is a primer on tendering in which we discuss how to locate tenders, then work on an instance to aid in discerning what you should look for in tenders, and then work through an outline of the process, with lots of useful tips. We also break down notions like ‘value-for-money’ and money and how to best apply it to your company, not only when tendering, but also in your proposals and quotations.”
SBDC Workshop participants also receive an exercise book to assist them in getting ready to submit a bid or to improve their tendering system and procedures.
Find tendering opportunities
Celia suggests that entrepreneurs begin by registering their company on the Government of the State’s Tenders WA website.
“Also, take a look at getting on any of the lists of suppliers or newsletters published by your local authority and the nearby areas, as you might be able to be informed about tenders. With the growing emphasis on local purchasing and sourcing local, you should maximize your chances of delivering the best price to the city’s local authorities.”
“If you sign and pay for tender notification services, opt for one that has the option of a short-term contract so that you can find out which tenders are on the market and if tendering is a good fit for your company. Some Tender notification companies provide information on non-government tenders as well as subcontracting possibilities.”
Learn from each Tender reaction
“Being awarded a tender is a wonderful experience, and winning contracts will deliver more contracts,” Celia says. Celia. “However, the fact that it’s the case tendering is a competitive process. This means that typically there is only one tenderer who is successful. The advantages of being ready to tender to add more value than simply winning a tender.”
“For tenders that you may not get, the tendering process gives your company the opportunity to evaluate your business against other businesses in the marketplace and determine the quality of your service against other businesses. You can then be sure to clearly state in your bids how your company can provide the highest value for money and the reasons this is for the benefit of your customer.”
Learn more about
Find out more about our forthcoming Tendering and contracts training workshops, which include Demonstrating the Value of money in Tender Applications that will be led by Celia, or make an appointment through our free small-business advice service to discuss strategies to expand your business.
