At Tsaks Consulting, we love helping businesses and organisations bid for contracts in the UK.

Here are 4 tips to help you win public sector contracts in the UK:

1. Identify and qualify opportunities.

This is critical. Tenders and bids take a significant amount of resources to complete well. Contracts in the UK are posted on the Contracts Finder Website whilst EU tenders are posted on the TED website. Don’t just jump at the first opportunity. It’s important to qualify the opportunities that come through, and to extend your search to local municipalities.

For example, if you are a local recruitment firm based in Leeds or Manchester, you may come across a national government opportunity. The reality is, if you don’t have the relevant experience or national presence, your prospects of success are limited. You may be better off waiting on a more suitable opportunity where you have better prospects of success. Allocate your resources appropriately.

2. Prepare to beat the rush

Tenders, bids and PQQs often all ask similar questions. Pitching or bidding to win contracts in the Government sector in the UK almost always means that you will need to provide Quality, Health and Safety and Environmental documentation. ISO Accreditation is not a must, but It’s generally a very good idea. The issue that usually arises is that you are given three weeks to get all of these documents together as well as the tender or bid response, and there isn’t a lot of time. It’s a great idea to get these documents in place prior to any tender being released. The advantage is that it will be one less thing to worry about when you are compiling your bid, and also, Quality Assurance and other ISO Systems are actually useful for your business in general. Case studies, profiles and case studies also need to be drafted for tenders, so keeping a profile of these along with testimonials is a great idea and will make the tender response process more efficient.

3. Sell yourself – be confident and play to your strengths.

It’s important to submit a professional response. It’s equally important to sell your business and be confident and bold. That means playing to your strengths and convincing the reader that you are the best suited company for the contract. You need to write confidently, talk about your experience and ‘talk up’ your capabilities. For example, when compiling CVs and your personnel, it’s important sell the fact that they are you’re a team and the best most skilled and experienced team to service the contract. Don’t be shy. Talk about how your business is an industry leader, any innovative products or services you have in place and why you should be awarded the contract.

If you are pitching for a Council contract, make sure you focus on your links and contribution to the community. Any community initiatives you have been involved with, charities you support, or locals you employ, all need to be talked about. The multiplier effect you have on the local community through your operations is critical.

4. Put forward a quality response.

You need to answer each questions comprehensively and provide evidence where possible to support what you are saying. Provide case studies of where you have delivered in the past, and build credibility in the eye of the reader by going into detail (not just marketing talk). Put the work into a tender and you will improve your prospects of success.

At Tsaks Consulting, we help businesses write winning bids, tenders and business proposals to the Government and Public Sector across the UK. If you want to see an example of a bid or tender, or need help with putting a proposal together, we love to help. Our services extend across the UK and we’ve helped businesses in Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol.

Our services extend across all industries including healthcare, construction, professional services, equipment supply and IT. Our consultants know how to write, understand graphics, and will guide you through the complex process of submitting a compelling proposal.