Your Deam Tender Opportunity Just Landed

There's a particular kind of excitement that happens when a great tender opportunity appears.

Right client.

Right scope.

Right size.

You read the first few pages and think:

This has our name all over it.

Excellent.

Then you reach the response schedules.

Please provide three relevant project examples.

Easy.

"Where are those project summaries we did last year?"

Nobody knows.

Please attach CVs for proposed key personnel.

Also easy.

Except Dave's CV says he still works for the company he left in 2022.

Please provide evidence of your management systems.

Someone thinks Sharon has that.

Sharon thinks Mark has it.

Mark is on leave.

Please provide details of measurable performance outcomes achieved under comparable contracts.

"We've got loads."

Fantastic.

What were they?

"Ummm..."

And there it is.

Tender panic.

The Tender Isn't the Problem

I've been writing tenders for more than a dozen years, and I see this constantly.

Businesses aren't necessarily unprepared to deliver the contract.

They're unprepared to prove they're capable of delivering it.

Those are two very different things.

I've worked with businesses that are absolutely exceptional at what they do.

Brilliant people.

Great clients.

Years of experience.

Excellent systems.

Then a tender asks them to demonstrate all of that and suddenly it's like we're conducting an archaeological excavation.

Somewhere, apparently, there's a document.

Nobody has seen it since 2021.

"We've Done Heaps of Those"

This might be one of the most common sentences I hear.

A tender asks for an example.

I ask the client.

"Oh, we've done heaps of those."

Wonderful.

Tell me about one.

Pause.

"Well... there was that job for..."

Another pause.

"What were they called again?"

Eventually we find the project.

Then I start asking questions.

What was the contract value?

Nobody remembers.

What was difficult about it?

Something involving access.

What did you do?

"Sorted it."

What happened as a result?

"The client was happy."

Tender-writing gold.

Somewhere inside that project is probably a fantastic example of problem-solving, risk management and customer service.

But nobody captured it when it happened.

Your Business Is Generating Tender Content Every Day

This is the bit businesses often miss.

Tender preparation isn't something that only happens when there's a tender open.

Your future tender responses are being created right now.

When your team solves a difficult problem - that's evidence.

When a client sends a brilliant email thanking you - save it.

When you improve a process - record what changed.

When you finish a significant project - document it.

When someone completes training - update their CV.

When you achieve a fantastic safety result - capture the data.

When you introduce new technology - record why you did it and what improved.

Because six months from now, someone is going to ask you to demonstrate innovation, continuous improvement, customer service, risk management or previous experience.

And you'll either have the answer sitting there waiting...

Or we'll all be trying to remember what happened on that job in Toowoomba three years ago.

Build Yourself a Tender Cupboard

I usually call it a tender library.

But honestly, "tender cupboard" might be more accurate.

It's the place where all the useful stuff lives.

Your current CVs.

Project examples.

Policies.

Licences.

Certifications.

Client references.

Methodologies.

Organisation charts.

Safety statistics.

Environmental initiatives.

Performance data.

Testimonials.

Photos.

Case studies.

Anything that helps prove what you say about your business.

It doesn't need to be sophisticated.

It just needs to exist.

And somebody needs to know where it is.

Preferably not Sharon, because apparently Sharon is always on leave when the tender arrives.

Every Tender Should Leave You Better Prepared

There's something else I've noticed.

Businesses that tender regularly become much better at it.

Not necessarily because they become better writers.

They become better prepared.

Every submission produces something useful.

A new project example.

A better CV.

A clearer methodology.

A process diagram.

A stronger explanation of a system.

A piece of performance evidence nobody had thought to capture before.

Keep those things.

Update them.

Reuse the underlying information where it's relevant.

After a while, you're no longer starting every tender with an empty folder and a mild sense of dread.

You've built an evidence bank.

The Best Time to Get Tender-Ready Is When Nothing Is Due

Nobody feels particularly motivated to update CVs when there isn't a tender closing next Thursday.

I understand.

There are always more urgent things to do.

But that's precisely when you should do it.

Because when the right opportunity appears, you want to spend your time thinking about strategy.

Why you?

What matters to this client?

What evidence will be most persuasive?

What makes your approach different?

You don't want to spend three days asking whether anyone knows where the current insurance certificate is.

So if tendering is part of your growth strategy, don't wait for the next RFT.

Get the boring stuff sorted now.

Capture the good stories.

Save the evidence.

Update the documents.

Build the library.

Because tendering doesn't start when the RFT lands.

By then, you should already be halfway there.

So If the RFT Has Already Landed...

Well, sometimes there's no beautifully organised tender library.

Sometimes Dave's CV really is three years out of date, nobody knows where the project examples are and Sharon is still apparently on leave.

That's okay too.