Know when to bid, when to walk away, and how to plan a winning approach. Practical bid strategy advice from Bidsmithery™, written by an experienced bid writer and evaluator.
Have you secured a place on an arrangement but are still waiting for work? Or facing another tender with a shorter deadline? Each mini-competition is its own call-off opportunity. Your framework place gets you through the door, and then each response has to meet this buyer’s requirements and score well on its own merits. That…
So you’ve found a promising contract, the deadline is next week, and you’re supposed to fit the bid around delivery, school pick-up and everything else. Below-threshold contracts can offer a route into public sector work, although a smaller contract can still bring a surprising amount of paperwork. Start by understanding the rules and fit before…
After a lost tender, being told the winner offered “better value” leaves you trying to work out what that means while the next deadline is already in your diary, and it’s hard to learn anything from a result that nobody has properly explained. This focused review helps you test what the buyer valued, where your…
Can you win with a lower price score if your quality score is better? Yes. Where tender scoring combines price and quality, a higher quality score can make up for fewer price points if the published scoring method allows it. Your tender must still meet all mandatory requirements, and its overall score must be higher…
Another tender opportunity has landed. The contract looks promising, but can your team deliver it, prove it and still meet Friday’s other deadlines? A bid/no-bid decision gives you a way to answer before anyone starts drafting. It protects time for work you can win and deliver well. Start with the requirements that could rule you…
Has the invitation to tender landed just as your delivery lead goes on leave? Are you already wondering who can find the case studies, check the price and write the mobilisation answer? If you start drafting now, those questions will still be waiting on Thursday night. A clear plan takes some pressure off the people…
What should you do when tender experience requirements feel out of reach? If a tender asks for experience you do not quite have, first check whether tender experience requirements are mandatory pass or fail conditions, or evidence that will be scored. A public sector tender may accept comparable evidence, named team members or permitted delivery…
How do you read a UK tender specification before writing? A tender specification sets out what the buyer needs, how they expect it to be delivered and what evidence they need before trusting you with the contract. Read it alongside the invitation to tender, pricing schedule, draft contract, evaluation criteria, response templates and every supporting…
What are financial standing questions in UK tenders? It is 4.45pm, the tender is nearly ready, and somebody asks whether finance has checked the accounts. That moment can make even a strong bid feel less certain. Financial standing questions test whether your organisation has sufficient resources to deliver the contract, given its contract value, without…
A grant deadline can make even sensible people a bit giddy. The funder looks credible, the amount looks useful, and suddenly someone has blocked out Thursday afternoon for “grant writing”. Pause before the colour-coded spreadsheet appears. Eligibility is the first test, and a strong project can still be screened out if the organisation, location, costs…