Tender Writing and Spotting the Difference

I wrote this about a year ago but a recent conversation has prompted me to give it a second airing. Making yourself look different and exciting in your tender is sometimes the only way you have of winning. It is a risky strategy to attempt to be too different but if you really thing you do not have a chance of winning, what have you got to lose?
I read something the other day about good brands being about what they represent and not about what they are. When I advise clients about writing bids and tenders I talk to them about themes, messages and telling a story. However, what I am trying to do is to brand their business in the proposal and try to differentiate them from the competition and give the client choice and a reason to choose them.

Lots of bids and tenders are very prescriptive and tightly defined. The client formats it in such a way that you have little room for manoeuvre in how you present your offering. They tell you how to structure your pricing, what to include and what not to include etc. This does not leave much room for you to really stand out from the crowd.
So, if you cannot differentiate by product offering, then why not differentiate your brand or image. Show them how you differ from the rest, for instance it is possible to differentiate yourself through better tender writing.
To do this, you have to make the best job of answering the customer's questions, both written and unwritten. In commodity markets and all things being equal, what the client reads could make a real difference.

I am not talking here of issues that I have discussed in the past like, format, timing and general quality of the bid. I presume that these “no brainers” are incorporated in to your approach as a matter of course. What I am talking about now is, to provide within the narrative, a compelling vision of what the purchase and ongoing relationship (where appropriate) is going to do for the client. A picture so clear, vivid and appealing that the client can see themselves in it and want to be part of it.

Don’t take the personality and character out of your business. Don’t worry too much about the client not liking something. Translate your businesses personality, character and beliefs into an understandable vision of what you represent, in commodity markets this is the way to truly differentiate yourself. You will always have a greater chance of winning a bid or tender because it has personality and speaks to the client, than you have of losing it.
Your competitors tenders will be devoid of character and personality, they will be full of “rhetoric”. Try putting some character into your tender, it might just be the very thing you need to differentiate yourself and win more projects