Five strategies to win Council and local government tenders

Our bid and tender writers specialise in writing winning council, shire and local government tenders

Our team has helped hundreds of companies to write winning tenders to local government and local Councils. Our experience extends across Australia and New Zealand and we have helped organisations of all shapes and sizes from a range of industries including cleaning, construction and medical. 

When helping our clients win local government bids we employ a range of strategies to help them win. The overall theme that is interwoven with in all our strategies is to tailor the bid. Tailor it to local government. Tailor it to the local area. Tailor it to the Council or Shire’s plans. Tailor it your bid to the needs of the local community. 

How to tender for local government work and how to win local government tenders

We employ a number of different strategies to help our clients win Council contracts. Examples include:

Strategy 1: Review Council’s own plans

It is important to gain a quick but thorough understanding of the Council’s strategic plans. Look at the contract you are bidding for and how they fit in with Council plans. For example, City of Melbourne have a 2030 transport plan, and the City of Sydney have a plan to limit car-parking. We recently assisted a ride sharing company to submit a bid the City of Melbourne. The majority of our bid incorporated the 2030 transport plan and they key locations within it.

When preparing your bid to a Council, shire or local government you should:

• Review the Council’s website for writing your bid or tender.
• Incorporate their plans into you bid to demonstrate that you have read, understood and applied them.
• Demonstrate that your proposal incorporates their plans. 
• Align your response to any question about mission and values to the Council’s mission and values and demonstrate how you share their values.
• Read between the lines. What major issues are they tackling and what major concerns do they have? Is there a housing supply crisis for example? Ensure that you relate your proposal and solution to these issues if relevant. 

 For example, if there is a large problem with a specific pest in Council areas (for example rats), and there is community demand for a quick solution, make sure that your proposal talks about how your solution will quickly deal with the problem and how you will manage any community concerns as part of your bid.

This approach applies to any Council tenders from construction projects (such as the construction of a local new stadium) to writing a bid or proposal for a new toilet block.

Strategy 2: Focus on being local

Local government organisations love to procure from locally-based businesses. In order to secure a contract, you need to put forward a comprehensive argument about how you are a locally based supplier. This isn’t only about location. It’s about your integration with the community. Your workforce. The local community groups you support. 

Some questions to ask yourself and address in your local government bids and tenders:

Are you based in the local government area?

If so, detail your location and the scope of your operation. If not, that’s fine but you need to find something to demonstrate your commitment. For example, if you are appointed to the contract will you lease premises in the local area?

Do you support local suppliers?

This point is critical as local councils want to know where the downstream economic benefits of the contract are going. Provide a list of the local suppliers you use and how long you have been utilising them. If you don’t use local suppliers, it’s a great idea to provide a list of potential suppliers to Council and talk about in what capacity you propose to utilise them.

Do your employees live in the local government area?

Another point that is well worth focusing on. It’s all about the community and supporting jobs is a major part of it. When completing a local council tender, ask your staff where they live, especially any apprentices and highlight this to the council. Again, if you are from out of the area trying to secure a contract, why not confirm to council that if you are appointed, you will employ an apprentice from the local area or something along those lines?

From a bid / no bid perspective, your locality is important when deciding whether or not to bid or tender for a contract. The reality is that companies have more chance winning contracts from local Councils when they are based in the local area, or at least located nearby. There is a lot more to talk about in terms of supporting local jobs and hiring locally when you are either in the local government area or located nearby.

Strategy 3: Put forward relevant experience

It’s important that where the tender asks for previous experience, you put forward experience that is highly relevant to Council. That means that sometimes your favourite, private-sector job may not be the right one to put forward. Governments generally prefer to award contracts to companies with previous government experience. Alternatively, if you put forward the private sector experience, you need to ensure that you highlight the similarities to the public sector.

For example, if you are putting forward a proposal to provide say electrical maintenance services to Council buildings, and you don’t have any previous government experience, you want to put forward experience for say servicing a University. It is also important to talk about how in servicing the University, you have had to adhere to similar requirements to that of the tender. Talk about how you communicate with the University project managers, provide regular reports, and work well and with minimal disruption in public. These are all traits and methodologies that the local council will appreciate.

Strategy 4: Demonstrate how the benefits of the contract will flow through to the local community

Most Councils will want to know that the economic benefits of their contracts through to their local communities. However, there are often social and sometimes environmental benefits. When bidding for a contract you need to show that the downstream economic, social and environmental benefits of the contract will through to the local community and not to another state or territory or community. 

The above strategies help our clients win more local Council bids. 

How to get local government and Council contracts and how to bid for a local government contract

To win a local Government tender you need to:

1. Register for tender alerts. This can be through your local Council website, and is generally then completed by subscribing to TenderLink. Once you have registered they will send you alerts for your local Council as well as local government areas nearby.
2. Conduct a bid / no bid process. Many businesses make the mistake of bidding for everything and everything. Especially if you are a builder or tradesperson. You need to assess each opportunity and bid for what aligns with your expertise and experience (as well as location).
3. Download the RFP documents and write and submit your bid. This is the real part. Once you have decided to bid you need to download the document and write and submit your bid. The best way is to create a list of supporting documents required and then start gathering them straight away. After that, write your draft and refine it. Refer to some of our other blogs about best writing bid techniques for more information and ensure you employ the strategies outlined above. 

I need a tender writer to help me write and win a tender to our local Council. Is there a consultant or business that can help?

Sure – The Tender Team can help. We help businesses across Australia write tenders and bids to local Councils. Our team of bid writers specialises in local Council bids. We adopt different strategies to help you win local Council tenders based on your business size and the industry you are working in. For example, if you are a:

• Small local business: We will focus on your ties to the community and your ability to hire locals. We will also talk about how you are an agile business that can deliver the contract and any varying contract requirements. We will personalise your bid to build a real personal connection with the Council procurement team and talk about any local initiatives you are involved. Local government organisations including Councils and Shires love to hire locals. It’s important that you focus on your locality throughout your bid and demonstrate any ties to the local community. 
• Medium sized local businesses: We adopt some of the same strategies and win themes as small local businesses which we have outlined above. The difference is now you can focus more on your depth of resources and size. Detailing your track record delivering similar projects both locally and in neighboring local government areas is also beneficial to your chances of winning.
• Large, even state or national business: Although you will generally have more experience, references and capabilities than your locally based competitors, you may generally be at a disadvantage due to local content rules. In order to win Council bid, you need to demonstrate a commitment to passing on the benefits of the contract to the local economy and social base. We do this by putting forward a local jobs plan, talking about how you will hire locals, and also, talking about how you will purchase supplies form local suppliers. It’s not enough to simply make the claims. You need to show evidence that you have done your homework and identified potential suppliers and employees. 

I need help with a local Council tender. We need a tender writing expert to assist us. Do you help builders?

Yes. The Tender Team can assist and we help businesses across Australia including in all states and territories. Yes we help business as well as business from all industries such as:

• Childcare
• Community services
• Building 
• Plumbing, electrical and fire maintenance
• Concreting
• Valuation and property consultancy
• Concreting and infrastructure
• Business services
• Many more. 

As experts in Council tenders and bids we can help you win more contracts and secure additional revenue for your business. 

Call us for help with your next local Council or Shire bid

If you require any assistance winning local council tenders, call our team anytime 0410 448 770. We’ve written hundreds of tenders to local governments (Councils and Shires) across the country. This includes tenders and bids in regional and remote locations, where an understanding of the local area is critical. 

Our service and experience extends across all states including New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. We’ve also written a number of bids in Tasmania particularly to City of Hobart. 

FAQ

Can you win a council or shire contract if you are not from the local government area?

Yes. We have helped clients win local Council tenders when they are not based in the area. Sometimes, they are small and medium businesses that are based in a neighboring local government area and they have close ties to the area. 

Other times it’s for larger companies where we put forward a comprehensive local development plan to help them win and they have skills in a highly specialised area or service. It’s certainly possible to win Council contracts from out of area. You just need to put forward a quality, client focused tender submission.

Do you need to write a tender submission to Council in Government language?

It is a good idea to use their terminology when you write the bid. You should also align your submission to any relevant local government plans. Beyond that, simple English is usually the best approach.