Writing Successful Building Tenders; Dos and Don’ts

One of the areas where numerous tenders are floated on daily basis is the construction industry. Again, in the construction industry, building tenders form the larges part. Multiple types of building tenders come up every day. Some of them deal with individual pricey buildings but most of the tenders are floated in the public sector and commercial private sectors.

Building Tender Opportunities
Some of the areas where major building tenders come up are –

• Construction of offices and staff quarters for public sector departments and undertakings. Such tenders could be for new construction, renovation, and expansion of the existing structures.
• Commercial organizations that come up with tenders for construction of their factories, administrative building, staff quarters, or colonies.
• Individual building construction companies that float tender for time bound execution of the construction works.
• Building construction tenders are not related to construction works alone but many of them are related to supply of materials, setting up infrastructure, or associated work performances.

It is Necessary that Tenders are Well Written
Only well written tenders have the prospects of winning the bids and getting the best deals in the bargain. A number of factors should be taken into consideration while writing such building tenders –

• Writing a well designed covering letter is indispensable for good tender responses. It indicates the setting of building structure to the client.
• Bidder should take into consideration the requirements and preferences of the particular client before writing the bid.
• One of the best ways to impress the client would be indicating the brief of similar successful projects carried out by the bidder.
• Most requesting agencies and clients will look for a good track record in respect of the bidder.
• Clarifying the way of executing the construction work or maintenance of the quality of the materials supplied is vital for winning bids.
• A little background on difficult and troublesome projects that have been successfully carried out by the bidder will enhance the winning prospects considerably. Examples will always be appreciated by the clients.
• Tenders response document should be complete and full.

What the Bidder Should Avoid
There are certain aspects in creating the perfect response which a bidder should avoid carefully. Most important among them are –

• Bidder should never over elaborate anything.
• Avoid frequent font changes. Font should be clear and readable and should be maintained throughout the bid without any change here and there.
• Avoid non-indexing. Information provided in the bid and documents enclosed should be properly indexed making the search easier for every client.
• Unbroken and long elaborations do not help. Use of numbered paragraphs greatly helps as it looks professional. Similarly, use of sub headings and bullet points breaking up the contents would be very useful.

Most important however is to respond to the tender floated according to the specified time and not overshooting it. On the one hand it indicates the responsible nature of the client and on the other it helps client to remain in the contest without any tags attached.