So you have applied for a tender, have been shortlisted, and it’s time to present. Here at The Tender Team, we’re proud to be one of Australia’s leading tender presentation and preparation consultants. Excellent – all positive signs. Below is a short guide on how to deliver an engaging presentation when you are shortlisted for a bid or tender to give you best chances of success. This guide applies to just about any industry from medical to defence and construction – although it’s important to tailor your presentation to the specific industry.
Preparation is key
Know the client, know the tender, get your timing right and be organised in terms of what you want to speak about. They are the basics. The reality is you are going to need to foresee the big issues, and sticky points you expect to be asked as part of the Q&A. Then have your answers ready for them. Q&A’s are a great opportunity to sit down and have a discussion with the client, make them feel at ease with dealing with your organisation, and show that you know what you are doing. For that reason, you need to be careful to allow for adequate time for a Q&A session and ensure that your presentation does not run over.
Put together a cohesive presentation team for your presentation
The reality is that there are often internal politics within your team that need to be managed. These are easily noticed by the procurement personnel during a presentation and can certainly shine through. Sometimes we recommend spending time on teambuilding exercises more than practicing your presentation. Either way the point is clear, you need to be in harmony as a presentation team and work together with good chemistry on the stage in order to deliver a winning presentation. The best way to manage any internal issues is to provide everyone clear guidelines about what they will speak about and for how long they will speak for. A simple introduction of all your team members is recommended at the start of the presentation.
Speak clearly, don’t overdo the slides, be personable.
It’s about building a connection. They not only have to like your presentation, the evaluating panel has to like you. More often than not, being successful means you will be dealing with closely in the near future, and people like to do business with people they get along with.
In terms of using powerpoint or other visual prompts, you need to ensure you do not overuse them. Images are great, but simply reading out bullet points is not going to do the trick. Remember, the evaluation committee has usually already reviewed your tender, so the presentation is an opportunity to tackle the serious issues.
When developing a slide presentation or ‘pitch deck’, you need to ensure the content covers any queries that may have arisen during the shortlisting and presentation request process, and also, extends on and builds on what you have put in the proposal. This is different to simply sumarising your proposal or bid into a slide presentation. You need to add in new points, identify key points of difference and talk about how else you will add value.
Finally, when preparing for your presentation, you need to be ready for some hard questions from the panel. You can do this by having someone in your organisation take you through a mock Q&A.
Know the detail
Here at The Tender Team, we often draft a lot of content that our clients skim over and include in their tenders. The problem is, you need to know what you have committed to. Quality control, WHS and Risk Management may seem like irrelevant support information, but the evaluation committee may question these. You can call us to come along as your ‘risk consultant’, but importantly it’s important to know the detail of what you have provided in your tender response.
Take in a large team
This is a strategy that isn’t always best although depending on the situation it can be very powerful. If it’s a complex tender, let’s assume a construction tender, it can be helpful to take in a large team for your presentation. For example, for a medium sized construction tender, there will be questions on work health and safety, program, methodology, site safety, local content and site supervision. It can be a good idea to take your entire team into presentations, including health and safety officer, programmer, proposed site supervisor and others, in order to speak confidently about the different areas of the bid and to demonstrate to the client that you have the depth of resources to win the project.
A tender consultant to assist
If you are looking for a tender consultant or team of tender consultants to assist – our team of writers here at The Tender Team would love to assist. We have experience across all sectors both in preparation and presentation. For examples, we have prepared a construction tender presentation for one of the largest recent infrastructure projects in Australia.
We will work with you to ensure your bidding presentation is exemplary and gives you the best chance of success.
Call The Tender Team on +61 410 448 770 or email info@thetenderteam.com.au to speak with one of our tender presentation and preparation consultants. We’re excited to help clients in 2025 and beyond.
