How to write a bid

6 Tips to help you write your bid

When responding to a buyer’s brief you need to make your strengths clear in the assessment. Think of it as an interview and make sure you give relevant examples of your experience and successes.

Below are 6 tips that you may find useful when submitting your tender:

1. weigh up the decision

Different organisations have different priorities, so this process will be different for everyone.

You should consider what the competition is going to look like and if you can realistically win this bid. For example, do you or your team have the skills to manage this bid and meet the brief?

Before you submit a bid make sure you have considered how this will impact your business. Bid writing and management can be time consuming and you should factor this into your decision.

2. understand the buying organisation

Avoid copying previously submitted tender responses. They may have been successful before, but you should try to tailor your responses to the organisation. The buyer wants to know what you will do for them and how you will meet the specific requirements of this contract.

Understanding the buying organisation helps with this. Find out what is important to them, such as their key objectives or the type of solution they are looking for. You can use gov.uk to research the organisation or department or take a look at their website.

You can also look for market engagement opportunities under relevant agreements on our upcoming deals page. Market engagement sessions are a great way to ask questions and get to know the buying organisation.

3. answer the question and provide relevant examples

Make sure you fully understand the question before writing your answer. You want to write answers that not only meet all the requirements asked for, but demonstrate the extra benefits your organisation can bring.

If you’re unsure what is being asked, ask your own clarification questions.

Provide the most recent and relevant evidence and experience in your answers. Make sure the evidence you provide is the best example of how you meet that answer.

Think about the ‘so what’. Don’t include hollow statements like ‘customer service is at the heart of all we do’ if it’s not relevant. If it is relevant, why does this matter? What value does this add? What is the ‘so what’.

4. use plain English and simple formatting

A great answer is one that buyers/evaluators can easily read and understand. Make sure you answer the questions fully but keep them concise and easy to read:

avoid using jargon and industry terminology, use plain language that is easy to understand
keep sentences and paragraphs short (between 15 and 20 words per sentence and 6 to 7 lines per paragraph)
try to address only one point or message per paragraph
use the correct grammar and spelling: you don’t want buyers to question your accuracy or attention to detail
use headings and subheadings to keep your answers organised and easy to review
try to use numbering and bullet points
use bold font to highlight key information in the bid

5. get someone to sense check

When you’ve written your bid, ask someone who was not involved in the process to read through it. Ask them to check that it’s clear, makes sense and answers the question. They could even consider if your examples are concise and relevant to the question being asked.

6. ask for feedback

If your bid is unsuccessful, use it as a learning experience. Ask the buyer for feedback and use it to improve your next bid.

Winning bidders and information about the contracts are often posted on Contracts Finder. You can compare your bid information with the winning bid and identify learnings for next time.

Get started

Search for opportunities to sell goods or services to the public sector

Read SMEs: a guide to working with government

Read VCSEs: a guide to working with government