5 Ways to Ensure You Never Miss a Bid Submission Deadline
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Are you handling your bid and tender management effectively?
In this video, we explore five ways to make sure you never miss a bid submission deadline...
Planning your bids and tenders effectively comes naturally to some. However, for those who struggle with knowing where to start, this blog will be a good starting point. Bid and tender management is tricky enough in itself without throwing planning into the mix. But planning must always be done to ensure a concise and cohesive proposal.
It’s really easy to feel like your workday is out of control. You may have endlessly long meetings, interruptions or urgent last-minute tasks. This means you can technically be busy all day without actually starting what you set out to do.
Below we have outlined some of our top tips for tender management:
The importance of a bid plan
When you’re starting a new project, such as a bid or tender, always remember that scheduling your activity over the duration of this task will help you achieve your goals.
When you’ve planned properly, it will help you:
Understand what you can achieve, realistically.
Make sure you have enough time daily to schedule this in.
Add in some contingency or ‘extra’ time for anything unexpected that may crop up!
Work steadily, not rushing important elements.
Avoid overloading yourself, which can only leave you feeling stressed out!
Schedule your time!
Always read the tender timetable carefully, this will enable you to start managing the workload and planning effectively. Ensure you make a note of key milestones such as clarification deadlines and site visits.
Submitting on time, often before the deadline is always at the back of a Bid Writer’s mind. All your work points towards one final day when the work must be submitted. So, what should you do to ensure that deadline day doesn’t turn out to be a stressful one? Schedule your time.
Set a regular time to schedule in your days. Some people prefer first thing in the morning or week, and some prefer last thing at night, ready for the next day.
Methods vary on the person: make a list; set reminders in your calendar; get your hands on a weekly planner; download a scheduling app etc.
Distribute workloads
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of work involved in a tender. From digging out and uploading certificates of accreditation, to sourcing references, to answering extended questions, the list can seem endless. But remember that a key part of efficient tender management involves a recognition of your team’s strengths.
If you have a member of your management team dedicated to looking after Health and Safety, then it might be wisest to send questions on your internal health and safety processes, risk assessment and safe working methods statements, to them. By assigning works this way, you will get the most relevant and effective content for your bid. Moreover, this will prevent the inevitable exhaustion and subsequent mistakes that might arise from laying the responsibility of a tender solely at one person’s door.
Clarifications
Good tender management involves asking questions if you’re not sure. It might sound pretty simple, but you’d be surprised at the number of bidders who leave things to chance. It goes without saying that public (and private) sector buyers are not necessarily wordsmiths. Some of the documentation can be ambiguous and a little unhelpful. So, the moral is, if you’re not sure, ask! Indeed, it is not uncommon for buyers to release ITTs containing mistakes and even conflicting information. Just remember to be specific and precise in your question, remain professional at all times, and remember that all prospective suppliers will be able to see your question and the buyer’s subsequent answer.
The nail-biting part...submission!
It’s what you’ve been working for these past few weeks. Make sure you’ve double-checked the deadline time and date. Some tenders are due at 12pm, 5pm or even midnight! No matter the time, make sure you’ve planned your time BEFORE this. For example, if your bid is due in at 12pm, make sure by 11am you have everything in order to upload early. Some Bid Writers like to submit the day before, to ensure peace of mind. This is completely up to your discretion. Some people prefer different methods of working, and that’s absolutely fine.
When it comes to the actual tender submission, make sure all tender documents are in order in a ‘submission’ folder, so you’re not chasing files around your server. This way, everything is in one place and you can tick off one by one when you’ve uploaded each document really easily.
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