TENDER WRITING SERVICES SYDNEY, NSW

A tender is a contracting process in which an organisation that needs a service or goods invites other organisations to submit a proposal or bid to provide the goods or services.

Tender writing can be a difficult job as what is written in the proposal needs to be specific for the project, it is a very different style of writing.

Tender writing is technical and precise but also needs to market a product or service. While it markets the product or service, it must be 100% professional by pitching the product with its language, tone and style.

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Bid writing and tender writing are very similar. Both bid and tender writing services are processes for creating convincing proposals to win work. They require that you provide a clear answer as to why the potential client will benefit the most from using your service.

A bid is an umbrella term for a proposal, quotation, expression of interest and a tender. All of these are formal written responses often competitively for a large offer of work.

A tender is the most formal type of bid which has legal requirements to conform with.

Madrigal Communications are experts in all forms of bid writing and professional tender writing services, winning bids of up to $100 million.

How much should I spend on writing a tender is a common question but without a simple answer. We suggest it should be rephrased to say how much should I invest to increase my chances of winning?

Winning is never a sure-fire thing. The tenderer is not looking for the best price but may be looking for value for money, new ideas or a low risk solution. Instead of asking about how much you should spend on responding ask yourself these simple questions:

1. How valuable is this contract to me and my company?

2. What is the strategic value of getting this customer?

3. Will winning the contract improve my business reputation?

4. Will I be able to leverage the contract to get more work?

5. Does this contract widen my market opportunities?

Take into consideration the financial costs versus strategic costs. The cost of submitting a proposal should not be seen as a sunken ‘cost’ but part of your sales and marketing budget.

We have had several clients who have not won the contract, because they put in highly competitive bids, were given other projects. This is an important way of marketing to large clients.

Your submission is an investment in future revenue. What is that future revenue worth and how much should you spend on getting it?

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We categorise tenders in size from SMALL for work between $100K and $5 million; SMALL-MEDIUM for projects between $5 million and $20 million and LARGE-MEDIUM up to $200 million. LARGE tenders of more than $200 million require a lot more time.

A small proposal will take about 3-5 days to prepare if all the information can be provided. A small-medium proposal can take 5-10 days. Large-medium-proposals can take 10 to 30 days and large proposals months to even a year.

Tenders usually have short deadlines. Madrigal Communications are professional tender writers who often work on weekends and out of hours to meet deadlines.

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Madrigal Communications has an experienced team of professional tender writers and bid writers. Director, Tim Entwisle has helped organisations to develop winning proposals in multiple sectors including construction (aquatic centres, schools and university buildings), public housing, cleaning and grounds maintenance, health and disability services, oil and gas infrastructure, professional services and many others.

Madrigal Communications helps organisations to:

• develop their bid strategy and key messaging
• write and edit content (technical and marketing)
• ensure their tender complies with the specification
• present a professional looking document that is well branded

The Madrigal Communications professional tender writers team is keen to help businesses compete in their markets for work. Our professional tender writers often work on weekends and out of hours to meet our clients’ deadlines.

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The word ‘tender’ is mostly used to refer to a Request for Tender (RFT) or sometimes the response (bid or proposal) itself. Another common form is the request for quotation (RFQ).

An RFQ is also known as an invitation for bid (IFB) which is a process in which companies select specific contractors or suppliers to submit price quotes and bids for the opportunity to complete a project.

An RFT is an open competition where an organisation requests documents from potential companies proposing a solution and including detailed costing.

A tendering organisation has a right to expect fairness in the RFT process. The Australian Standard Code of Tendering (AS 4120-19941) provides a code of conduct and statement of ethics to underpin best-practice tendering.

Madrigal Communications has prepared tenders in the following sectors:

• construction
• mining and civil
• infrastructure
• professional and consulting services
• energy and renewables
• child-care
• catering
• sporting
• health, social and disability services
• cleaning, facilities maintenance and management
• lawn mowing, arborist and grounds maintenance
• recruitment and HR
• creative and media services
• information technology
• not-for-profits tenders and proposals

Madrigal Communications is national with tender writing services Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and Perth.

Madrigal Communications has a high rate of tender success because we understand procurement and provide sophisticated strategic responses. Our consultants have high-level experience in business, government and management.

Director, Tim Entwisle formed Madrigal Communications, an Australian communication consultancy, in 2007. It started as a tender writing service Sydney but has developed a national (and even international client base). Madrigal focuses on strategic proposal writing.

The team also provides consulting advice across all aspects of technical and business writing and presentation. This gives us the experience and knowledge to bring in innovative solutions in presentation and content.

With high value bids (greater than AUD$10 million) we have a 75% success rate in getting our proposals shortlisted, which is significantly higher than the average (approximately 30%).

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Madrigal Communications are experts in tender and business writing. Madrigal can help professional organisations improve the value of their bids and proposals.

Our team of tender writers excel at writing proposals that win work. Madrigal has a high success rate in winning large infrastructure projects and have won millions of dollars’ worth of work for our clients.

Our team specialises in tender and proposal writing. Each tender has exceptional business and marketing communication skills. Madrigal Communications helps win work on all levels, from small contracts to those worth hundreds of millions of dollars in value.

The contracts can be anything from commercial and industrial to council, state, and federal government contracts. We are a tender writer Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin.

Competing for a tender is a demanding process. Winning requires attention to detail and discipline. Familiarise yourself with the content required from your organisation. You need to be clear and concise. The essential elements of winning can be broken down into four components:

Compliant

An RFT is a request for an organisation to provide evidence of how well they meet the needs of the client. To be in the running to win a tender you must meet all the requirements.

Comprehensive

Your response must address all the RFT requirements. Do not let your bid be disqualified as it did not provide adequate information.

Competitive

The most important aspect that organisations are assessing is the value-for-money they will receive. Your organisations bid should emphasise business benefits to client over price.

Convincing

Make the decision easy for the panel. To create a convincing argument for the assessment panel you must understand what they want, what they need, and how they operate. The argument for the client to choose your organisation must include, why, what, when, how and where.

So if you want a compliant, comprehensive, competitive and convincing bid

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Team CVs are an important aspect of any tender. A CV proves a person’s experience and their ability to do a job. Providing evidence of your team members’ previous success predicts your teams’ future success in the eyes of the client or potential employer.

Madrigal Communications can put together well thought-out curriculum vitaes that present the best of each person’s work, demonstrating both their capabilities and career highlights.

Madrigal Communications put considerable effort into creating convincing and professional CVs that showcase the skills of your team. We have a strong understanding of management, construction, infrastructure, telecommunications, science and technology which we use to make the CVs professionally relevant.

Tenders vary in their requirements but most of them require you to provide evidence of your organisation’s professionalism. The documents they most often need are:

• Insurance certificates that are up to date
• Quality, environmental and safety documentation (sometimes management plans and process documents)
• CVs (project CVs are very different to personal CVs that are used for job seeking)
• Case studies of past projects or contracts
• A capability statement showing your service or product offerings
• Methodology—how do you deliver the work in a transparent and measurable way
• Project plans showing how you manage key aspects of your projects, for instance, safety, environment, quality and specifics such as traffic, construction, stakeholders, reporting, etc

Madrigal Communications can help you organisation to create plans, procedures and policies to comply with RFT and ISO requirements.

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In many tender requirements, you will need sector-specific experience. To show your depth of knowledge you may include case studies. These need to show your previous experience and how you are the best choice for the project.

Including case studies in your tender should be a strategic choice. Case studies prove the experience and success of your organisation, and are the best predictor of future performance.

Madrigal Communications helps clients put together well-thought-out case studies that present your organisation’s best work.

Case studies show your capabilities and highlight the benefits of engaging your organisation.

Including case studies provide corroboration and evidence that an organisation can deliver the promised service at the desired specification.

Make sure to include testimonials and evidence in your case studies. Success in similar projects sends a strong message that you are competent and removes the perception of risk for your potential client

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An effective bid management and tendering process makes sure there is a positive and mutual beneficial relationship between the suppliers and the organisation. There are four main types of tendering process:

• OPEN tender—all organisations can provide a proposal
• SELECTIVE tender—only invited organisations can provide a proposal
• NEGOTIATED—this is when a client negotiates a tender with only one supplier—it is not competitive
• TWO-STAGE tender—a limited appointment is agreed allowing the contractor to begin work and in the second stage a fixed price is negotiated for the contract.

A ‘tender” may often refer to other forms of proposal depending on the industry and also the stage of the process. In Australia the key types of tenders are:

• Request for Information (RFI)
• Expression of Interest (EOI)
• Request for Quote (RFQ)
• Invitation to Offer (ITO)
• Invitation to Respond (ITR)
• Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Request for Tender (RFT)

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A capability statement is a business marketing document for service organisations. They are produced by professional services and by businesses that sell any form of expertise.

If you are wondering if you need a capability statement, consider this; if you sell products, you have a catalogue, if you sell skills, you have a portfolio, if you sell expertise, you sell capability.

A capability statement answers the big question that your client is going to ask, do you have the necessary knowledge, experience, and qualifications to do the job?

Your capability statement must positively differentiate you from your competitors and demonstrate a string value proposition to existing and potential customers. In your capability statement you can outline the industry codes you work under, all necessary qualifications your team holds, and all relevant awards or certifications.

A capability statement is based on the knowledge, experience and track record of your people and your organisation.

Madrigal Communications help organisations write and present their capability statements.

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A tender writer (or bid writer) incorporates both marketing and technical writing in a 100% professional way. They pitch their response at the right level with their language, tone and style.

To be a good bid writer you must understand:

• how businesses work and operate (particularly management roles and responsibilities in delivering services)
• business-to-business marketing
• contracting and tendering processes (legal frameworks)
• government and commercial procurement processes
• branding and presentation

Tender writing is like all forms of business writing. A bid writer should incorporate these ten key writing skills:

1. Focus on being clear
2. Use plain English
3. Avoid the use of jargon
4. Minimise use of acronyms (and define them all)
5. Use the active voice for more dynamism
6. Avoid emotional and subjective language
7. Structure the information for understanding
8. Do not rely on numbering systems
9. Avoid over-capitalisation
10. Use meaningful headings

Working with a tender writer (also called a bid writer) will help you achieve a better quality tender, significantly increasing your chances of winning.

Bid writers know how to market your business to the potential client, while being commercial and professional.

Bid writers are non-technical, clear, concise and consistent in their writing. They have the ability to write for their audience.

When doctors, lawyers or engineers talk about their complex ideas they use jargon that they expect others in their field to understand. When writing a tender, the audience does not always understand this language so it is important to write clearly for the correct audience.

Bid and tender writing services require that you provide a clear answer why the potential client will benefit from using your service. A bid writer understands this and will greatly improve your chance of winning.

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Government tenders are the most publicised because governments in Australia have policies to give all businesses access to government contracts.

Government contracts are attractive because they tend to be medium-term and the government is financially reliable. A valuable government tender can change the course of your business by providing a guaranteed cash flow over three to five year contract terms.

Government work is valuable but it is also highly sought after which means there is a high level of competition for each contract.

Government contracts require a large amount of paperwork as the government is accountable to the tax-payers who are providing the funding. There is a necessity also to provide complete transparency in the assessment process.

These requirements make it essential to follow the instructions of the tender so your proposal is not automatically eliminated as non-complying.

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It is important to find the right tender writer for your project, so you have the best chance of winning the bid. Research the experience of your tender writer and ask what bids they have won and to what value.

There are two fundamental skills of a tender writer:

1. understanding how organisations and businesses work at a high level—for instance operational understanding of management, project management, budgeting and finance, and business-to-business marketing
2. the ability to work with you and your people to understand the specifics of your service or product—they work closely with your subject matter experts to understand and communicate highly technical material

It is unlikely that a bid writer is going to know enough about your business to explain it in the detail necessary to win a tender. That is an unrealistic expectation and if your bid writer doesn’t explain that you shouldn’t engage them.

The Madrigal Communications team are experienced in being able to work with organisations to develop their content to a sophisticated level.

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There are several websites and subscription services that are up to date on current and upcoming tender opportunities. State governments also can offer a free service where when you register your business you can get notified when the opportunities become available.

We provide a list on our Etendering and-NSW Government Tenders page.