Why are references important in bids and tenders?

References in tender proposals are often not often given the attention they deserve. There are generally two different types of references. The first are references required for Work Health and Safety verification purposes. These may be used to verify you have not had any claims against your company in previous contracts and are generally simple.

However, for references in tender proposals that attest to your ability to do the job – it’s game on. The first most important point is integration. Whether you are providing a professional service or proposing to undertake an engineering or construction project, the references you provide must integrate well with the case studies you have included in your response, the methodologies and procedures you have outlined as well as your key points of difference.

After all, there’s no real point in providing a reference from your best and most supportive client, if they are a small business and you are pitching to a corporation. Equally, there’s no real point in providing a reference from a large corporation, if you are pitching to a small business who is looking for responsive and personalised service. So it’s horses for courses, references to match the proposal, and a well-integrated tender strategy that will deliver results.

Finally, a solid bid/no bid decision process is also necessary to ensure you aren’t calling up your clients for use as references for a bunch of limited opportunities.

What references work best?

First and foremost the reference needs to be on your aside and also needs to be able to attest to your capabilities. There is no point in putting forward a referee who you don’t have a solid relationship with, even if that referee is from a large well-reputed organisation. It’s also useful to put forward references that are similar in size and scope to the organisation you are bidding to. For example, if you are bidding for a local council contract, then providing a reference for a contract you hold with another local Council makes good sense.

The same generally applies to references when writing tenders to the private sector. It’s a great idea to provide a reference with a similar sized organisation from a different industry. This demonstrates to the potential client that you can handle a company of their size and demands – whilst ensures you are not putting forward a potential competitor as a referee since they are from a different industry.

Incorporating references into your tender through case studies and testimonials

There are many different ways you can use references to help you win more tenders and boost the quality of your proposal of bid. One of these is not the usual way of including a referees details. Instead, you can include testimonials throughout your bid.

This can include inserting direct quotes into your bid from key clients and other stakeholders as well as tailored quotes for case studies. When you personalise your bid and introduce references that are relevant to specific sections of your tender or proposal, they add credibility to your tender.

Case studies need to be detailed and cover the broad range of services you provide. You need to show how you overcame challenges associated with any previous contract and the services you provided and how you handled the process. You can expect a prudent procurement team to call your reference and ask about your performance on a specific case or project in detail including any of the challenges you wrote about in your case study and how you overcame them.

For assistance with your next tender contact our team of writers here at The Tender Team.