How to Write a Winning Tender: Part 3 - Manage your Time
Are you looking to win a government contract or a new business opportunity?
If so, then you need to be prepared to submit a tender on time.
Tender deadlines are non-negotiable, and you should always be ready to meet them.
Plan the stages of the tender writing process
This means that you need to manage your time effectively and plan out the stages of the writing process carefully.
Gather all the relevant tender information
The first step in writing a winning tender is to gather all the relevant information.
This includes understanding who, what, when, why, how, and what else. You need to know who is requesting the tender, what they are looking for, when the deadline is, why they are issuing the tender, how they want the tender to be submitted, and any other relevant information that will help you write a strong response.
Who else can help you write your tender?
Once you have gathered all the necessary information, you need to consider who else you will need to involve in the writing process. This may include your accountant, work health and safety officer/consultant, policy person, subcontractors, project manager, human resources, cultural consultant, or anyone else who can provide you with valuable input.
Schedule tender writing
It is important to set aside time for writing and deep thinking.
Tender documents can be quite extensive, so you need to make sure that you have enough time to write without interruptions.
This means that you may need to block out time in your calendar and let others know that you are not available during those times.
Who can help you write your tender?
Another critical aspect of managing your time when writing a tender is to set roles, responsibilities, and due dates for people and teams involved in the process. This includes the tender project manager, research and writing team, pricing team, risk and safety officer/team, endorsers, and approvers.
Here’s how we think you should structure your tender writing team, or at least which roles you might fill if you are writing on your own:
The Tender Project Manager/Team is ultimately responsible for getting the tender written.
The Research and Writing Officer/Team researches the content and collates the information into the written document.
The Pricing Officer/Team considers the costs of resources to deliver the requirements of the tender and prepares budgets and models.
The Risk and Safety Officer/Team identifies any risks to the organisation and prepares a risk register with mitigations for all risks.
Finally, the Endorsers and Approvers review and sign off on the tender before it is submitted.
In conclusion, if you want to win a government contract or a new business opportunity, you need to manage your time effectively and plan out the stages of the writing process carefully.
Tender deadlines are non-negotiable, so you need to be ready to submit the tender on time. By gathering all the necessary information, involving the right people, setting aside time for writing and deep thinking, and setting clear roles and responsibilities, you can write a winning tender and secure the contract or opportunity that you are looking for.
Remember, tenders wait for no person, so manage your time wisely!
Ciao
Conni
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