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How Can I Win A PR Tender?

Posted on by John Hudson

How can I increase my success bidding for a PR tender?

Are you wondering how you can win a PR tender? If you’ve never tendered before, you may have some questions about the tendering process and what to include.

4 things to expect from a PR tender

The contents of the PR tender will depend on the needs of the buyer. Each tender will be different and because of this, we will detail what is generally required and expected.

  1. Provide an outline of a PR plan

When you are responding to a PR tender, you will likely have to provide an outline of a PR plan. You should be prepared to detail how you will provide PR services for the contract you’re applying for.

Pay attention to what is noted in the tender documents. They will likely note specifics and objectives that the buyer wants to achieve from this contract. Read them carefully and demonstrate your understanding in your answers. You’d be surprised how many businesses don’t do this.

  1. Propose a working methodology

Along with the PR plan, you will often need to propose a working methodology. This could be inbound or outbound. This can include, but isn’t limited to the following:

  • Content strategy
  • Content bank
  • Content distribution
  • Web content
  • Content measurement.

The PR methodology will vary depending on the needs of the buyer and the project at hand. This is a great time to demonstrate your expertise in PR and your knowledge.

  1. Explain why your organisation is best suited to the project

For any PR tender, you want to persuade the buyer that you’re the best for the job. For this, backing up what you’re saying with facts. You could include any awards that your agency has won. Hard statistics and facts really help drive your point home.

Other metrics for reiterating why your company is the best choice, is by mentioning credentials and skills. Did anyone on the project study this at university? How many years of experience do you have collectively? Does anyone specialise in a certain area of PR? Including information like this can really strengthen your PR tender.

Your experience will have a part to play in your PR tender response. For a PR tender, you will need to detail up to three case studies. Ideally, these contract examples will be similar in scope, style and complexity to the tender you’re applying for. Remember to keep in relevant demonstrating your skills. Including how you overcame any unexpected challenges is always a plus. This will convey flexibility and problem-solving giving the buyer confidence in your capabilities.

  1. Outline of reporting methods 

Consider the reporting methods that you’re going to use during the contract. These will likely be classic PR reporting methods over a specific period. For example:

  • Website traffic
  • Volume of mentions
  • Social media engagement
  • Website views by demographics, device and region.

In conclusion

You should have a better idea of what’s required for a PR tender now. Reading the tender documents can help you gain a better understanding of what the buyer wants. You can expect to include a PR plan and working methodology.

Demonstrating your experience is essential and remember to keep it relevant. Be persuasive in your responses and explain why your company is best for the job.

DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH DIGITAL MARKETING TENDERS?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

NEED HELP SOURCING PR TENDERS? WE CAN HELP!

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for digital marketing tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative Tenders

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live creative tender opportunities from across the UK.

Below are 5 past examples of PR tenders sourced on our portal:

SLaM ST21 – P150 PR Support

South London and Maudsley’ NHS Foundation Trust – London Budget: £40,000

Single Party Framework for European PR Agency Services

IDA Ireland – Republic of Ireland Budget: £700,000

Admittance to a Panel for Supply of Brand & Marketing Services and/or PR Agency Services

Yorkshire Water Services Limited – Yorkshire and Humber Budget: £7.5million

Climate and Nature Communications Plan and Delivery

Herefordshire Council – West Midlands Budget: £150,000

PR & Marketing Campaign

Glenville Walker and Partners (“GWP”) – North West Budget: £7,000

A SUBSCRIPTION TO CREATIVE TENDERS CAN OFFER YOUR BUSINESS:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about tenders for design work. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

WE SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow 

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for tenders for design work.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

How to Win Digital Marketing Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

What to expect from digital marketing tenders 

Do you want to bid for digital marketing tenders but aren’t sure how to get started? If that’s the case then don’t worry, we can help.

This blog will tell you what to expect from digital marketing tenders. We’ll cover different subsectors and the key things you’ll need to consider before producing your bid. Keep reading to find out more!

 What type of digital marketing tenders are out there?

Digital marketing tenders can be found in both the public and private sectors, and include a range of subsectors. The different services include, but is not limited to:

  • SEO
  • PPC
  • PR
  • Media monitoring
  • Press cutting
  • Content writing
  • Copywriting
  • Social media.

What can you expect from digital marketing tenders?

When you’re tendering for contracts in the creative sector, there are certain things that you should expect. These include:

  1. Economic financial standing

When bidding for digital marketing tenders, you’ll likely have to provide information about your economic financial standing. Your economic financial standing considers the following:

  • Your annual turnover
  • Financial ratios
  • Insurance(s).

Buyers consider this to make sure that you’re able to carry out the work.

As a general rule, we advise that you don’t bid for contracts worth more than 50% of your annual turnover. For example, if your annual turnover is £1,000,000, you should avoid contracts worth more than £500,000. 

  1. Experience

When bidding for digital marketing tenders, you should expect to provide evidence of your previous experience. This helps reassure the buyer that you’re capable of delivering the project.

You should aim to provide the buyer with 2 – 3 case studies from the last 3 – 5 years. Ideally, these examples will be similar in size, scope and complexity to the tender at hand. The most important thing to remember is that your evidence needs to be relevant. For example, your experience with design won’t show the buyer how well you’ll manage a social media campaign. If it’s not relevant to the buyer’s project, don’t include it in your tender response.

  1. Added value

To successfully bid for digital marketing tenders, you’ll need to demonstrate added value in your tender response.

Added value, also known as social value, is now mandatory in public sector contracts, with a compulsory weighting of 10%. You need to demonstrate how your business will deal with the environmental, social and economic aspects of the contract.

For example, you should consider how your business will:

  • Support COVID-19 recovery
  • Encourage economic growth
  • Tackle climate change
  • Create new job opportunities.

Do you need assistance with digital marketing tenders?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Need help sourcing digital marketing tenders? We can help!

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for digital marketing tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative Tenders

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live creative tender opportunities from across the UK.

Below are 5 past examples of digital marketing tenders sourced on our portal:

Digital Marketing Consultancy to Target an International Audience  

International Pheromone Systems Limited – North West – Budget: £10k

Promotional Materials, Internal & External Signage & Wall Art & Digital Marketing Materials

Delta Academies Trust – Yorkshire – Budget: £200k

Digital & Social Media Agency Services (China) 

University of Dundee – Scotland – Budget: £500k

Provision of a Digital Marketing Campaign Programme for SMEs

Advance Northumberland Limited – North East – Budget: Undisclosed

Invitation to Tender for the Provision of Event, Production & Digital Media Support for the 4 Corners Festival 2022 

4 Corners Festival – Northern Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

A SUBSCRIPTION TO CREATIVE TENDERS CAN OFFER YOUR BUSINESS:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about tenders for digital marketing work. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our Bid Writing Division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for digital marketing tenders.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

3 Things to Expect from Public Affairs Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Public affairs tenders explained

Winning public affairs tenders can be a great way to grow your business. They can help secure a pipeline of work for your business and guarantee pay (depending on the sector). Businesses will issue public affairs tenders in order to procure public affairs services.

If you’ve never submitted a response for public affairs tenders before, you may be wondering how to begin. Or, if you aren’t seeing success from your current tendering effort you may be looking to improve. Luckily for you, we can help. This blog will explain how public affairs tenders work and what to look out for.

3 things to expect from public affair tenders

  1. Proof of experience

Buyers will often expect to you have a bank of experience of past successful contracts. Often, they will require 2 – 3 case studies within the last 3 – 5 years. These case studies must be similar in scope and complexity to the contract you’re applying for. They should demonstrate your capabilities to work on the proposed contract.

Depending on the word count, you should include how you overcame and challenges on these projects. This will strengthen your response demonstrating your problem-solving skills and flexibility. Some buyers may require you to detail the contact information of previous clients. So, it’s best not to over exaggerate on the example as you might be caught out.

  1. Added value

A winning bid for public affairs tenders will include how they will bring added value to the contract. Buyers want to get the most value for their money. Therefore, you will need to demonstrate how you will add value.

If you’re tendering in the public sector, this is referred to as social value. There is now a mandatory weighting of 10% on social value for public sector contracts. Here you must detail the environmental, social and economic aspects while fulfilling the contract. You should consider how your business will:

  • Support COVID-19 recovery
  • Encourage economic growth
  • Tackle climate change
  • Create new jobs and skills

  1. Framework agreements

Public affairs tenders may be a part of a wider framework agreement. A framework agreement is a multi-supplier agreement typically used within the public sector to procure a good or service. Securing a place on a framework can be a lucrative opportunity for your business. They can run for years at a time with the possibility of extension.

Framework agreements are often split into lots, with each lot representing a specific good, product or service. They can also be split into geographical locations. They allow suppliers to apply for specific lots they specialise in. Public affairs services can often be found as part of a wider agreement for other creative services. For example:

Lot 1 – Public Affairs Services

Lot 2 – Public Relations

Lot 3 – Digital Design Services

Lot 4 – Events Services

So, now you have a bit more of an idea of what to expect from public affairs tenders. You want to be clear and concise in your response. Make sure you adhere to the formatting guidelines in the specification and answer every question. You should be persuasive in your response and demonstrate why you’re the best business over your competitors.

Need assistance writing your next public affairs tenders?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Where can I find public affairs tenders for my business?

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for public affairs tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative Tenders

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralise portal hosting live creative tender opportunities from across the UK.

Below are previous public affairs tenders sourced on our portal:

Public Affairs Consultancy

Stonewater Limited – East Midlands- Budget: £132,000

Provision of Public Affairs & Public Relations

St James’s Hospital- Republic of Ireland- Budget: £300,000

Contract for the Provision of Communications Support Services including Media Relations, Public Relations & Public Affairs

Health and Safety Authority- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Communications, Campaigns and Public Affairs Framework

Leeds City Council- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

AC/2020/09 – Public Relations, Public Affairs and Media Relations

Arts Council- Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

A subscription to Creative Tenders offers your business:

  • Access to all exclusive, private and public sector opportunities within the creative industry.
  • A dedicated Account Manager on hand to answer any questions you may have about public affairs tenders. They can help you understand the procurement process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

WE SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see what creative contracts in the UK can help grow your business. 

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for video and film tenders.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

 

 

What is Required for a Video and Film Tender?

Posted on by John Hudson

Video and film tenders explained

If you’re in the creative industry, you may be wondering what’s required for a video or film tender. Tendering is a viable business stem to consider going down if you’re wanting to grow your business. However, the world of tendering and procurement can be a confusing one.

Luckily for you, we’re experts in tendering and bid writing. This blog will contain some useful information on what’s required for a video or film tender and what to expect.

A split between quality, cost and social value

The evaluation score of your video or film tender will be noted in the tender documents. Often, this will be split between three things:

  • Quality

The quality section of a video or film tender will often be weighted higher than the cost. The quality section of the tender is where you can respond to their requirements and questions. You need to persuade the buyer why you’re the best business for the job. What are your unique selling points? Here, you want to demonstrate your capabilities and detail how you will exceed delivering the contract.

  • Cost

You want to ensure that you keep your pricing competitive. However, you don’t want to undercut your competitors by too much. This could be a red flag to buyers if you price your services too low. What’s more, is that you don’t want to promise you can do the job then go over budget. The buyer won’t be best pleased, as I’m sure you can imagine!

  • Social value

Social value is a compulsory component when tendering in the public sector. There is a minimum weighting of 10%, but sometimes it can be as high as 30%. This means it is not something to gloss over. The promises you make within the social value section (and your tender response in general) are contractually binding. This means you should be making promises you can keep.

Your social value response should have a focus on the social, environmental, and economic aspects of the contract. It’s always worth doing some research on the buyer. This will enable you to align your social value promises to theirs.

Skills and Experience

Often the specification will detail the skills and experience expected. This could include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Experience turning complex information into engaging and memorable video content
  • Experience in conducting filmed interviews
  • Knowledge and experience of audio, lighting and filming techniques
  • Skilled in Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe CC etc
  • Experience in animated video content
  • Knowledge of live streaming on sites such as YouTube and Facebook

The specifics related to the video or film tender you are applying for will be detailed in that specification. Each buyer will be requiring something different, so it’s important to read the tender documents thoroughly.

Be expected to give a presentation

Once you have passed the initial tender stage (stage 1), you will likely be asked to do a presentation. Here, it is often expected for you to provide a showreel of your previous work. This will be marked in accordance with an interview. The interviewers will then score the presentation and add this to the interview score. This will then be combined for a total score for the stage 2 evaluation.

Need assistance when writing your next video or film tender?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Where can I find video and film tenders?

Finding the right tender for your business can take time. You already have enough on your plate. Luckily for you, we have a time-saving tool that can help you find the right tender for your business.

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live tendering opportunities from across the UK. There’s no reliance on inaccurate CPV codes!

Our Opportunity Trackers manually search and upload private and public sector opportunities. You’re able to filter the results by keyword, budget, location and more! This streamlines the process when searching for video or film tenders.

Below are previous video and film tenders sourced on our portal:

GB-London: BTA1402 – Broadcast Agency

British Tourist Authority- London- Budget: £50,000

KS3 English – Video brief April 2021

BBC Bitesize- London- Budget: £90,000

The Good Business Festival – Videographers

Liverpool City Council- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

BBC Sport: Younger Audiences Short Form Commissioning Briefs April 2021 16 – 24 Year Olds

BBC Sport- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

Creation of unique works based on film and sound interviews

The National Library of Wales- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

A SUBSCRIPTION TO CREATIVE TENDERS CAN OFFER YOUR BUSINESS:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about a video or film tender. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

WE SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow. 

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for video and film tenders.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

PR Consultancy Contract Exclusive to Creative Tenders

Posted on by Charlotte Jarvis

PR Consultants Required for an Exclusive Project with Hudson

We have recently uploaded a new project for PR Consultancy & Support, exclusively to Creative Tenders. This RFP requires submissions from Public Relations professionals to support Hudson with raising the profile of our group.

Hudson is the parent company of Creative Tenders and all ten sector-specific portals that sit under the Hudson Discover division. We help our clients to Discover new opportunities, Succeed at winning them, Procure more efficiently and Invest their money more wisely, all whilst helping them Grow their business, Employ the right people, capitalise on the latest technology via our internal Labs Division and ensure a sustainable and bright future for their workforce through Hudson Initiative.

Our aim

The aim of the project is to promote Hudson for the purposes of business development both externally and internally. As part of this, we have a more stringent focus on our Discover and Succeed divisions, as well as raising the profile of our Directors, Jill and John Hudson.

We want to achieve national coverage and promote our services through multiple media outlets. We will be looking to award this project to a PR Consultant/Consultancy who can help us spread our vision and raise our geographic profile, with a strong focus on London as a priority.

PR consultancy outputs include:

  • Helping to raise our Group profile and achieve national coverage. This will include facilitating all editorial content and gaining access to outlets such as BBC News, television appearances, radio appearances, national newspapers and sector magazines/publications.
  • Helping us raise the profile of our Managing Director, Jill Hudson and Group CEO, John Hudson, providing them opportunities for interviews and appearances on the above stated outlets.
  • Strategically placing Hudson’s Senior Executive staff in front of Procurement Directors, Procurement Managers, Heads of Marketing, Business Managers, Company Directors and Sales Directors for a wide range of public and private-sector organisations.
  • Being responsible for press cutting throughout contract delivery.

Please be expected to understand our multi-faceted organisation and share our ethos and vision throughout the project.

Project details

Further information for PR Consultants wishing to bid for this opportunity can be found in the downloadable brief along with submission details and in-depth requirements.

Please note, you must be a Creative Tenders subscriber in order to bid for this project. Sign up to our portal.

Clarification Deadline: 17/06/2019

Deadline for Submissions: 24/06/2019

DOWNLOAD BRIEF

Find more opportunities such as these on our Creative Tenders portal. Our Opportunity Trackers manually scour and upload creative tenders from hundreds of websites across the UK. You’re able to filter the results by keyword, location, budget and more. This saves you a lot of time – streamlining the process.

Below are some previous PR Consultancy tenders sourced on our portal:

Provision of PR Consultancy Services

Bus Eireann/Irish Bus- International- Budget: Undisclosed

Fly-Tipping Action Wales: PR Consultancy

Natural Resources Wales- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

GB-Telford: PR Consultancy Services

Telford & Wrekin Council- West Midlands- Budget: £25,000

GDPR Consultancy RFP

Charities Aid Foundation- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of Marketing & PR Consultancy Services

Radius Housing- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

WE SOURCE CREATIVE CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow. 

CREATIVE TENDERING OPPORTUNITIES | WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Posted on by John Hudson

CREATIVE TENDERING OPPORTUNITIES – THAT’S WHAT WE DO! WHETHER YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE, HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY! 

If you are a customer on one of our platforms, please help us by having your say. Highlight what does work for you and what doesn’t, when it comes to your subscription against one of our many platforms.

We take customer feedback very seriously. We do so to ensure that every business engaging with our services is treated with the utmost professionalism and care.

We welcome any comments and feedback continually and deliver the means by which to capture this data on a monthly basis.

Every month we send a brief survey. This looks at various aspects of our offerings, with the aim of receiving as much feedback as possible to serve our continuous improvement measures.

We constantly work on ways to improve and we rely heavily on our customer’s voice to ensure specific needs are met both efficiently and effectively.

The survey will only take a couple of minutes and features 5 questions to answer at your leisure.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART!

If you’re not a customer, but want to experience first-hand how we can provide you with creative tendering opportunities including Marketing Tenders and Printing Tenders. Please click the following link to book a FREE demo with one of our dedicated Account Managers. They will guide you through the most relevant Tender Platform that remains specific to your provision.

 BOOK YOUR FREE DEMO FOR CREATIVE TENDERS NOW!

Want to find out more about our overall services, please visit our group website HERE to find out more.

WE SOURCE CREATIVE CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SECTORS INCLUDING;

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow. 

Bid Writing – To bid or not to bid?

Posted on by John Hudson

Bid Writing – To bid or not to bid?

THAT is the question! … Right?

Many factors may affect your decision to either bid or not bid for a contract. Rather than making it a gruelling and drawn out tender process, keep it simple.

We have put together a few checklist points, which you can use to determine an answer to the age-old question of tendering – to bid or not to bid?

CHECKLIST
Have you got 3 ideal case studies?
These are to be similar in scope, value and scale etc.
Is it right for you?
Look at the size, scope, location, specification – carefully assess the work – don’t be bidding for work in Uganda if you can’t deliver there
Is it financially viable?
Is it worth it? – would you be making a profit?
Do you meet the financial standing?
The golden rule is that you shouldn’t bid for a contract that is worth more than 50% of your annual turnover
Do you offer something unique in the market?
Look at your organisation’s USPs– what can you do that your competitors can’t?
Does this fit in with a long-term strategy?
Will this help expansion and fit into key goals for your company?
Do you need to outsource any work?
If so, how much? If it’s more than 50% why should you be chosen over other prime deliverers?
Does your company have the ability to deliver the project on paper?
Check your team CVs – is the experience and capability there?
Do you have time?
Do you require support? Can you afford to commit the time, effort and cost?
Would you choose yourself for this?
Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes – would you offer your company the workload compared to your competitors? How good can you put your offering across on paper?

How we can help further…

These are just a few examples of what you can ask yourself when deciding to bid or not to bid for a contract in your sector. We can help you decide via a highly effective and simple tender-readiness exercise our company provides, along with writing services, tender/procurement training and the best opportunity tracking around via industry-specific portals!

We don’t just look at the fact whether you should bid or not bid for any project but take into consideration your current practices, policies and written documentation to see if this sufficient against tender-specific requirements. It’s all well and good deciding to bid for a project/contract, but if you don’t have adequate processes, manuals and method statements etc., this will undoubtedly be your downfall. Make sure you’re fully ready to go!

Take the hassle out of the bid decision-making process and go for what is right for YOU!

Let us help you get there and ultimately make you grow, develop and standout!

Get in touch!

The Rules and Regulations when Tendering!

Posted on by John Hudson

The Rules and Regulations when Tendering

Procurement: – The aspect of a business that many organisations wish was easier.

Buyers in the public sector, such as housing associations, councils, and other relevant government departments are dealing with public money. Our taxes! So, therefore, all that is procured must be done so in the fairest and most transparent ways possible.

If any conflicts of interest and/or other bias proceedings occur when tendering, there can be serious consequences to this. Especially with buyers paying massive fines and/or representatives facing prison time. The way in which procurement departments procure all works in the fairest way possible is called ‘sourcing the most economically advantageous tender’ (MEAT). This is usually established via an open process:

Open Process

 Open to all organisations to submit a tender. On large projects, this may involve a pre-qualification process (PQQ) that results in a list of suitable suppliers who will be invited to tender (ITT). This open approach usually results in a large number of responses of varying suitability (i.e. both large companies AND SMEs).

It has been noted that more needs to be done to ensure ALL organisations are familiar with the ‘open process’ of tendering and the rules and regulations behind it. Hudson Procurement Group are here to do just that! Our aim is to improve the nation’s understanding of the broad term that is Procurement and eliminate the worries and qualms of managing tender processes by providing lucrative guidance and advice to ALL.

Our focus here is purely based on how the rules of public sector tendering via an open process can affect you and what can be done to ensure you’re at the top of your game:

Each UK public sector buyer is obliged by EU law to:

  • publish the contract opportunity in the public domain – our industry-specific portals (incl. Creative Tenders, and Technology Tenders to name a few) are the first of its kind to have manual daily bulletins processed/disseminated by an efficient team of people, rather than [mostly] flawed algorithms via automated systems used by ALL our competitors;
  • inform all suppliers of how tenders are to be evaluated – 95% of the time this is split between a quality and a commercial ratio (sometimes including a presentation stage too) – outline your tender strategy/focuses here – is 80% of the mark purely based on cost – are your rates competitive?
  • ask for whatever they feel is relevant to the opportunity – this could be method statements, evidence of past work, policies and written procedures – are you up to date with all background content – you don’t want to spend another 2 whole days creating a new policy from scratch- this minimises time from your actual tender response;
  • not discriminate against businesses registered in another EU country– so currently you may be up against your French competitors or other EU companies that are trying to make their mark in the UK – know your market – how do YOU stand out?
  • clearly, state all deadlines – this includes deadline to ask clarification questions & deadline for submission etc. Organise your time wisely based on this!
  • provide at least a 10-day standstill period – this is the period between contract award notification and actual contract award, allowing other suppliers the opportunity to contest/dispute the decision[s] made;

What will change in the coming years?

As we all know, some sort of changes may likely occur over time due to the whole Brexit saga and we will be the first to update you on how this affects you! For now, there has been no immediate impact on the legislative position in the UK and all the provisions listed above continue to apply!

These are just a few regulations in a very large pond filled with procurement jargon. Our upcoming Tender VLE service will ensure this jargon is broken down and shared via understanding methods and practice. The days of wishing procurement were easier are now over! Watch this space!

Tendering doesn’t need to be complicated!

Posted on by John Hudson

Tendering doesn’t need to be complicated 

We’ll repeat … TENDERING DOES NOT NEED TO BE COMPLICATED!

There are so many factors to why people assume tendering is overly-complicated. This is usually down to the amount of time it takes to complete and how mundane the process is. Yes – there may be 5000 pages of specification but hey … who doesn’t love a bit of light reading!

The three things you MUST possess when tendering is PERSISTENCE, PLANNING & POSITIVITY!

Let’s get past the moaning and downtrodden attitude to how ‘complicated’ tendering is and break the process down to show how easy it actually is!

Please see our previous blog ‘the complicated tender process’ detailing a summary of the general tender process for added guidance.

In order to de-complicate the situation – let’s look at a few things that are deemed complicated when tendering. This includes:

1. Terminology

The number of abbreviations flying around is becoming increasingly common in the procurement world. Terms like RFQs, ITTs, PQQs, DPS, and RFPs seems like they are only used to confuse us into a state of literary decline. Let’s simplify:

PQQ Pre-qualification questionnaire – this is usually a stage-1 questionnaire asking about specific company details like insurance and similar contracts you’ve worked on etc., along with simple ‘yes and no’ questions making sure you’re not fraudulent and you pay your taxes etc.
ITT Invitation to Tender – we can sometimes forget out the PQQ and jump straight into an ITT, which is usually where your quality and costing ratio comes in. This is where you price the job at hand and answer several technical questions about your ability to undergo the work in accordance with usually detailed specification/scopes of work.
RFP Request for Proposal – very similar to an ITT where cost and quality are assessed however RFPs are used in situations where the client either can’t – or doesn’t want to – define the scope of work up front to an adequate level of detail, meaning you need to be very descriptive and state a clear proposal to what’s needed.
RFQ Request for Quotation – The RFQ is a lot like the Tender, however typically smaller in size and scope. They’re often more geared towards clients who are seeking pricing information for a defined scope of work or supply of materials or equipment. Detailed proposals are typically less often sought here.
Framework A Framework Agreement is an agreement between one or more businesses or organisations. If you enter into a framework agreement, usually you will be one of many suppliers contractually bound to deliver against buyer requirements.
DPS Dynamic Purchasing System – A DPS is similar to an electronic framework agreement, with two exceptions, new suppliers can join at any time and it is to be run as a completely electronic process. DPS is used exclusively by public sector organisations and can be considered as a ‘competitive supply chain’, where all chosen supply chain members regularly compete for work via ITTs and RFQs.

2. Opportunities

These are extremely broad with hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities released daily! Customers tend to wish to have one main platform to source the most relevant opportunities to grow their business. Wouldn’t that be great? Currently, opportunities are typically shared through typically problematic electronic algorithms across multiple platforms, either showing you irrelevant opportunities or no opportunities at all.

Keeping it simple – sign up with our industry-specific portals via Tender Connect to receive daily opportunities, sourced from the hundreds of UK tender portals. These are manually searched and published on a daily basis by a team of procurement-based staff, not computers. We are the first company to do this and the feedback we have is out of this world

3. Portals

There are thousands of online platforms, websites and communication systems that are evident across UK procurement. Some portals are outdated, complex and an all-around pain to navigate. Our team have used them all! Just make sure you know your key focus areas and process-knowledge for each website – these are working your way around:

  • Downloading all tender information;
  • Asking/monitoring clarification questions from other suppliers/the buyer;
  • Submitting the tender;

Every website should have a ‘help’ section – don’t be afraid to use it and/or contact the people who run it.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was one platform for everything? For every industry? For every buyer? WATCH THIS SPACE– we are working with national professionals to work on a user-friendly, affordable and globally accessible platform to condense UK procurement in a one-stop-shop fashion.

4. Writing

Not everyone can write in an engaging, concise and straightforward manner. It’s easy telling people what you do, but to put that on paper in a professional way, covering set criteria, is a major hassle for a lot of business developers. Don’t get stressed with it. Just remember 3 key focus areas when writing a response to any question:

  • WHAT: what you have done or what you are going to do?
  • HOW: how you have done this (methodology) or how you are going to do it?
  • EVIDENCE: hard-hitting proof that you have done it before- experience/ evidence is key!

We offer Bid Writing services, using our procurement experts with over 25 combined years’ experience of writing tenders. Check us out – Tender Consultants.

5. Losing

What is the point of spending all this time on a bid for it to lose and you to go back hating the process, hating the tender and subsequently hating life itself! Don’t fret – USE THE FEEDBACK! If you didn’t win the work because you lack ISO accreditations (for e.g.)– you know what to do! As part of our provision at Tender Consultants, we have a tender readiness programme that you can use to make sure you maintain a good chance of securing key pieces of work.

All procurement-based processes that most people find difficult/complicated are exactly that because of the lack of understanding of key tender-management processes. We will be launching a FREE training environment (Tender VLE) in May 2018, which focuses on everything tender and procurement based, including profound topics that will completely eradicate the notion that tendering and procurement is complicated.

Let’s leave them procurement pains behind!

We’re here to help you grow, develop and standout!

Tender Writing – HELP! I need somebody – HELP! not just anybody

Posted on by John Hudson

Tender Writing – HELP! I need somebody – HELP! Not just anybody

HELP! I need somebody – HELP! not just anybody

The number one mechanism that puts off business leaders and development executives from getting help with bidding for work- is the sheer prices that many consultants charge for their expertise and support. We all have received that email from some portal, inviting you to attend ‘Bid Writing Masterclasses’ in a swanky conference suite, usually a million miles away for around £100 per ticket per day.

There was nearly £171 Billion spent within the UK’s public procurement sector in the last year alone. Why should companies pay for help in order to access this money? Who wants to pay over the odds for some helpful guidance? – especially when there are various options available … FOR FREE!

Tender VLE

In May 2018, we will be launching Tender VLE, a highly innovative virtual learning environment (VLE), where we will be sharing regular masterclass videos across a diverse range of procurement topics, including support and guidance around tender readiness, bid management and pretty much every procurement practice you can think of. This will be broken into various knowledge strands so that people with the most limited knowledge and those with advanced knowledge can receive the best help and guidance to succeed. The best part of all this – is that it comes at no cost to the learner/viewer. All videos will be made publically available on our VLE and onto the likes of YouTube, allowing unlimited access to ALL.

Tender Consultants

Additional to this online support, another one of our business development platforms, Tender Consultants, works with you on a more personal level to ensure a helping hand is always there when needed. Currently, procurement is far from being easy. Our mission is to de-complicate the sector so it remains simple for all buyers and suppliers across the country. Our firm is different from other consultancies, as we offer free impartial advice on your procurement strategy. Subsequent to our advice, you can then decide what kind of support you need. Whether this be our Tender Readiness Assessment? Tender Writing Service? and/or Guide and Reviews? etc. All services on offer are accustomed to your needs, meaning we do not overcharge or maintain bulk rates. We offer more than affordable consultancy rates that remain specific to your requirements and will only enhance your chances of winning.

Our upcoming Tender Bank system, launching within the next year, will also provide customers with a one-stop-shop for all of their tender needs, including templates, pre-established responses that are tailored to your sector and varying policies.

In the meantime, we are happy to provide whatever support you need. Contact us for free advice and consultations on your tendering efforts. Let’s get you some of that £171 Billion up for grabs! Don’t just use anybody – use the right body! Use Hudson Procurement Group!

Believe you can and you WILL, Believe you can’t and you WON’T

Posted on by John Hudson

Believe you can and you WILL, Believe you can’t and you WON’T

You know what they say – believers are achievers!

Corny I know, but the principle DOES apply when tender writing. You can never just hit it and hope for the best – this isn’t snooker! Each piece of work you bid for should have been accurately assessed to make sure this is a good opportunity for your business (see our ‘to bid or not to bid’ blog for further information).

The point is, you have to go in fully prepped with the clear mindset of achieving this piece of work. If you are not fully confident that you can win the work, then don’t bid for it. Simple.

If you feel you are in with a good shot – then make sure any doubts or reservations are left at the door, as you don’t want these to be identified by the evaluator.

Remember to be descriptive, be assertive, but most importantly be positive!

You should:

  • use phrases like ‘We will …’ – no one cares you if you are attempting to do something – this is your piece of work – be confident and state you WILL deliver all that’s expected;
  • demonstrate your willingness to adapt, conform and collaborate with the buyer – always demonstrate further added value and what more you can do for the buyer – think of the positive effects this has socially and economically;
  • validate your company – describe not only what makes you different, but what makes you BETTER? Explain clearly why the buyer should choose you and not your competitors – why do YOU stand out?

You’ll find that if you’re below 80% sure to whether or not you should bid for the contract – this tends to show less confidence on paper. The better the opportunity that is right for you, the better your proposal will be projected. Unbeknownst to many, on a subconscious level, if we believe we are NOT destined to win the work, we will in many ways lag behind our competitors in that all-important tender.

Never go for any opportunity! Always go for the ones you believe in!

Get in touch with our bid writers today. We can help you believe what’s best for you!

Top five reasons for tendering

Posted on by John Hudson

Top five reasons for tendering

 

We’re often told by companies that we work with, that they don’t tender as it takes too long, they’re never successful, they don’t have the time…etc. etc.

Tendering is a powerful way to generate new business, so powerful in fact that many businesses use this as their sole route to winning new business. We think every business should at least try tendering.

We understand why businesses are put off from the long, in-depth process you have to follow. But, spending the time upfront to learn how to tender could be vital to the success and growth of your service based business.

Our Growth Director, Jill has been winning work via bid writing for well over a decade, and she is sharing with you below, her top five reasons for tendering in creative and digital agencies.

1. You don’t need to sell the need for your service

Responding to tenders means businesses have already established the need for your services and have allocated a budget to carry out the work.  This reduces the need for selling the benefits of the services, and establishing the benefit of investing in XYZ.

Responding to a tender means you’ve just got to prove that you’re the best fit for their business.  Surely it’s worth a try? Just make sure you follow a strict process of what you will and won’t apply for.

2. The project has clear start and end dates

When tendering the client usually outlines when they would like the work to start and end, meaning you can work your studio time around this.  When selling directly B2B we often have projects on hold waiting for content / imagery etc. We’re not saying this won’t happen with tendering, but your client is likely to be more prepared.

3. Budget signed off in advance

As the budget has already been allocated, you know what constraints you’re working within, allowing you to best advise your client where to allocate spend.

4. Clarifies your offering to clients

You won’t always be successful when tendering, but completing a tender document often gives you additional clarity on other areas of your business. It also teaches you how you can productise service offerings.  It also allows you to benchmark your fees against what people expect to pay.

5. Research

Tendering allows you to see how businesses are spending their marketing budgets.  This helps you to better understand where you should be spending your own marketing budgets and what services are the most popular.  If you see an influx of social media tenders and this is an offering your business provides, read the Invitation to Tender documents. You should then align your service descriptions to ensure it is suitable for the market you’re selling into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your 12 months’ commitment

Posted on by John Hudson

Your 12 months’ commitment.

We’re often asked by companies who are interested in our system why we ask for a 12 months’ subscription.  There are multiple reasons for this so I thought I would sum it up in a quick blog.

First and foremost, we believe that in order to get a true reflection of any business development activities you have to give it a decent run.  All of us who have been through the tendering process know the in-depth process of sourcing potential opportunities, responding by the deadline provided and waiting whilst the decision is made on the successful provider.

By giving monthly access to the system, we’re saying that we expect our businesses to start winning work immediately and they will find the perfect opportunity for their business on day one.  We can’t and we don’t make that promise.  Every business is different, and every business has different requirements of what they’re looking for and industries in which they want to work.

It is also industry standard to commit to 12-months subscription for this very reason.  It’s to give you a decent run at seeing a good return on investment.  Also this gives us a chance to work with you as an outsourced business development partner.

We’re very open on our website, with lots of ways to get in touch, and we encourage people to get in touch to see a live demo of the system. This allows you to see the types of creative contracts in the UK we have on our system. For ease we have supplied examples of past tenders across various creative sub sectors which include:

When people have signed up, we contact them after their first month to ask how they wish to be account managed.  Some clients like to be emailed every single time a suitable tender comes onto the system. However, others prefer to use the system alone and be contacted once a month to check everything is ok.  We’re happy if you’re happy.

We’re always happy to stay in touch…

Our subscribers are informed on day one of sign up, who their account manager is and their contact details for getting in touch.  We’re only ever a phone call away Monday-Friday 9-5, and you’re always likely to get a response out of hours as our team are very keen on developing positive relationships.

Once you’ve been introduced to your account manager, they will ask several questions about the type of work you’re looking for.  This information is shared in our weekly sales meetings which gives the Creative Finder sales team a brief of what types of opportunities you want to see on our system.  We’re so much more than a technology platform, so asking people to commit to 12-months’ is essential for us to see a return on the time we invest into our customers.  As business owners we know you will understand this concept.

We’ve so many happy customers in just the short 3 months we’ve been live, we save agencies so much time by searching over 1,000 websites every single day to source new tenders. With our Creative Finder sales team, we know given the period of time we’re asking you to commit, that we can help you grow and play a part in your proactive business development activities.

Our founders John and Jill are always happy to answer any questions our customers or prospective customers have about our services. Please don’t hesitate to contact them anytime on their direct email addresses john@creativetenders.co.uk and jill@creativetenders.co.uk.

Look forward to working with you in the future.