TENDER FOR A CONTRACT

Submitting a tender is common for businesses supplying goods or services to other businesses or the public sector.

At a basic level you expect to quote for a job or write a letter saying why you should be given the business.

But more formal tenders often apply to bigger jobs or for supply contracts spread over time. Public-sector work in particular has specific tendering processes. This applies to customers ranging from your local government or hospital to a central government department.

Even if you don't win the work this time, writing a tender can clarify your aims, strengths and weaknesses and you can learn for next time by asking for feedback on your bid. It raises your profile with the customer and helps you learn about customers' needs.

This guide explains how to identify potential contracts, what to include in your tender and how to write it for the best chance of success.

-Finding out about contracts
-Should you bid for a tender?
-Find out what the client wants
-What to put in your tender
-Writing your tender
-Tips on editing your tender

FINDING OUT ABOUT CONTRACTS

You can find out about private-sector contracts through:

-building contacts with potential customers
-advertisements in local and national newspapers
-advertisements in trade and professional magazines covering your area of business
-researching contracts outside your business sector which may produce -      secondary contracts for you, e.g. if a new office block is built, it will need desks, carpets, signage, stationery, cleaning and laundry
-following up press and other reports - a company may be expanding or subcontracting part of a big order
-networking and picking up information from other businesses


You can identify public-sector contracts by:

-following up contract notices published in newspapers and trade magazines
-monitoring online government tender notices. See Selling to Governments on the kenya gazatte.


SHOULD YOU BID FOR A TENDER?

Preparing tenders can help you to win big orders, but it can also be time-consuming, cost money and tie up valuable resources. If you don't get the contract, the money and time spent is usually lost, so you need to carefully weigh up whether or not a tender is worth bidding for.

Key points to consider

Get hold of the bid documents and analyse them.
Make sure you can match the technical, skill and experience requirements.
How much will it cost to prepare your bid?
Would the work fit in with your strategy and positioning of your business?
Estimate the costs of fulfilling the contract and whether or not you'd make enough money to justify it.
Assess how the contract would affect your other work, staffing and ability to take on other new business.
You also need to consider how important the customer is to your business. Is this a good potential client or one you don't want to offend by not tendering? Try to understand things from the client's point of view.



FIND OUT WHAT THE CLIENT WANTS
In order to gain a clearer understanding of a potential client's requirements, see if you can arrange a meeting or have a telephone conversation with them, before you start work on the tender. You should always raise questions by phone or email if tender documents are unclear - on anything from deadlines to how you'd get paid.

Make sure the client is serious, and that you're not there to make up the numbers or to test the market. Sometimes customers may just be fishing for ideas they'll then use for themselves. You can prevent this from happening by requesting customers to sign a non-disclosure agreement before presenting your tender. But don't forget many clients genuinely want you to make a creative contribution and provide ideas.


WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR TENDER
Make sure you match the bid