Saving trees is not enough

I was reminded of how important it is to be specific about the value you are offering a prospective purchaser in a bid or tender submission when I checked into a hotel recently.
Usually hotels have a standard sign in the bathroom asking people to hang-up towels they will use again to help save the planet. I've often been a bit cynical about such messages because I suspect their concern is more about saving money; however in this case the sign boldly stated that "5 towels = 1 tree". It expressed the benefit in measurable terms which is something many claims made in submissions fail to do. So next time you are writing make sure you have plenty of "5 towels = 1 tree" statements to give evaluators evidence that can be measured.

Headline news

Approach each question in an RFT by writing a headline that encapsulates the key benefit you are presenting in your answer. This will help you to focus your argument.
For example, in a question about customer service many people start by talking in generalisations about how seriously they treat it, their Customer Service Policy, or how they focus on TQM. The problem with this approach is that the benefits for the purchaser are not immediately obvious and busy evaluators will not bother searching for them.
Instead, think about Customer Service in your organisation - what do you do differently and it what ways do you add-value for your clients? This will give you your "headline" and the evaluators something they can score.

Presentations need an Executive Summary too

I'm sure you all understand the importance of a good Executive Summary for your tender submissions, but do you have one at presentation stage?
Last week I had to attend a Q&A session after being shortlisted for a large tender. I knew that there were a couple of areas where we were potentially weak so rather than hope the panel didn't drill down too deeply, I made sure I covered them off in my introduction. The result was that I wasn't later questioned on these issues and had been able to place our organisation in the best possible light.
Without such an introduction I would have been restricted to answering just the questions that were put to me, or worse have our offer held out as being deficient.

Presentation Power

What you've written in your submission has got you on the shortlist, but your task is only just beginning when there is a presentation involved.
I was reminded of this when talking to a purchaser recently. After evaluating written responses in a particular tender there was one clear leader, however a presentation formed a significant part of the final score. In this case the person giving the presentation was the company's CEO who obviously decided that his credibility and experience would win the day.
Unfortunately for him, things came unstuck pretty quickly when the first question asked related to a technical component of the bid – and he was unable to give an answer!
The tender was awarded to a smaller competitor.
If a presentation forms a part of an evaluation you can usually assume that it will have a fair influence on the outcome. Make sure you prepare accordingly and not just rely on a Powerpoint version of your written submission.