5 Top Attributes of a Successful Tender Writer
Methodical
Tender Invitation packs for tender submissions can contain many pages to be absorbed across various documents and references. One of the first things a successful Tender Writer in Sydney will do is walk-through the key information such as key dates, requirements, etc. The Tender Writer will either highlight information required to be submitted, important terms and conditions, other specific requirements that must be met and anything that needs clarification with the writer of the TENDER INVITATION. They will also begin to formulate a rough plan to identify who else in the organisation may be needed to contribute.
Organised
From this walk-through, the Tender Writer NT will create a project plan working backwards to identify the key dates that specific response components are needed, and the tasks required to formulate the responses. The Tender Writer will assign these tasks to the appropriate person(s) in the organisation will be needed to contribute to the process. At this point, the Tender Writing will meet with any relevant parties to gain agreement on timelines and availability to support the process, then ensure all parties have a copy of the plan.
Tenacious
With so many moving parts, it is common that the tender writing process can stray off track, so a good Tender Writer will ensure they are constantly monitoring how the tasks are tracking against the project plan and that key dates/times are being met. Where dates start to slip, they will quickly pivot as needed to ensure the timeline gets back on track. This may involve bringing other people into the process to get the responses done, or getting overtime approved for existing staff to work the additional hours to bring it back on track. Where information from outside sources has been lacking, the Tender Writer will make it their mission to pursue this information on a constant basis, at the same time as finding other sources in case the original source fails to deliver.
Motivator
There are quite often team members who are needed to contribute to the tender writing response that will be completely unmotivated to do so because in their eyes, it is ‘interfering’ with getting their ‘real work’ done. An experienced Tender Writer will identify this quickly and has natural ability to keep the entire team motivated to stick to the schedule and deliver their respective contributions when required. The Tender Writer also focusses on forming good working relationships with the team so that the team members want to contribute and be part of the team success.
Meticulous
As each part of the response is completed, the successful Tender Writer will go through everything in that section with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that all criteria have been answered accurately, that any prices are current with enough ‘fat’ to manage price rises and that any terms needed to be introduced to prevent risks on project delivery are included. As the submission date draws near, the Tender Writer will start to work through the response top-down to repeat this process again, matching everything back to the original TENDER INVITATION, terms and requirements documents.
It may seem obvious that the things covered in this article are primary assets required by a Tender Writer, but a weakness in just any single attribute can bring the whole Tender Writing process down to a sub-standard level and reduce the chance of success. Having a team such as Red Tape Busters to bring these attributes to the Tender Writing process means that organisations can focus on what they do best (keeping the business running), contribute their expertise where needed, and still produce the highest quality tender response.
