Should You Bid? 15 Questions I Always Ask Before I Agree to Write a Tender
7 min readBy Kim FraterPublished 2026-07-31
"I believe public procurement shouldn't be complicated. Every guide I write explains the process in plain English so you can bid with confidence."
Hi, I'm Kim.
One of the hardest conversations I have with a client isn't about how to write a winning tender.
It's telling them not to bid at all.
That usually comes as a bit of a surprise. After all, if you've come to me for help, you're probably expecting me to roll my sleeves up and get started.
Sometimes I do.
Sometimes I don't.
Not because I don't think the business is good enough, but because I don't think the contract is right for them.
I've spent over 40 years working in public procurement, both inside the public sector and helping suppliers win public contracts. If there's one lesson I've learnt, it's this:
Winning more contracts isn't about bidding for more opportunities. It's about bidding for the right ones.
I've seen brilliant businesses spend a week writing a tender they never had a realistic chance of winning. They didn't lose because they wrote a poor bid. They lost because they ignored the warning signs before they even started writing.
Every tender takes time. It pulls people away from running the business. It involves pricing, gathering evidence, chasing references, reviewing documents and often working late into the evening just to meet the deadline.
That's why, before I agree to write any tender, I always ask the same questions.
If too many of the answers concern me, I'll tell my client exactly that.
It isn't always what they want to hear, but I'd rather disappoint someone before they spend a week writing a bid than after they've spent a week losing one.
So, before you download another tender document, make yourself a cup of coffee and work through these questions honestly.
It might be the most valuable hour you spend this week.
1. Can you actually deliver the contract?
This might sound like a silly question, but it catches people out all the time.
I'm not asking whether you could deliver it if everything went perfectly.
I'm asking whether you could comfortably deliver it from day one.
Imagine you've won the contract tomorrow. Do you have enough staff? Can you recruit in time? Do you have the equipment? Can your managers realistically supervise it?
If you have to answer most of those questions with, "We'll work that out if we win," I'd be cautious.
Buyers aren't buying potential. They're buying confidence.
2. Have you done something genuinely similar before?
This doesn't necessarily mean the contract has to be exactly the same size.
I'd much rather see a strong example that's genuinely relevant than a huge contract that has very little in common.
If you're bidding to clean sheltered housing, a shopping centre isn't necessarily a good example. If you're bidding for school security, a retail park probably isn't either.
Ask yourself: "If I was the buyer, would this case study reassure me?"
If the answer is yes, you're on the right track.
3. Is the location realistic?
This is one people often underestimate. Let's say your business is based in Birmingham and you're bidding for a contract in Cornwall. Can you deliver it? Probably. But that's not what the buyer is thinking. They're wondering who's going to cover staff sickness. How quickly your manager can get to site if something goes wrong. Whether you'll recruit locally. Whether you're stretching yourselves too far. None of those questions may appear in the tender, but I can almost guarantee they're being discussed when your bid is evaluated.
4. Why would the buyer move away from their current supplier?
Many contracts already have an incumbent. That doesn't mean you shouldn't bid. But you do need to ask yourself an important question.
What reason am I giving the buyer to change?
Changing suppliers creates work. It creates risk. It creates uncertainty. If the existing contractor is doing a reasonable job, why should the buyer choose you instead? If you can't answer that, don't expect the evaluator to answer it for you.
5. Have you looked at the scoring?
This sounds obvious, but I'm amazed how often businesses don't. If price is worth 60% and quality is worth 40%, can you realistically compete? I've seen excellent quality submissions lose because the pricing simply wasn't competitive enough. Understanding the evaluation criteria helps you decide whether the opportunity is genuinely worth pursuing.
6. Do you meet every mandatory requirement?
Don't skim this section. Read every pass/fail requirement carefully. Do you have the insurance? The accreditations? The financial standing? The certifications? If the answer is no, don't assume the buyer will overlook it. They can't, even if they wanted to.
7. Can you prove what you're saying?
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see. Anyone can write, "We provide excellent customer service."
Can you prove it? Can you show satisfaction scores? KPIs? Testimonials? Audit results? Case studies? Evidence is what separates a good bid from a believable one.
8. Can you deliver the social value where the contract is?
This is one I see a lot. A supplier based in one part of the country talks about the community work they do there, but the contract is somewhere completely different.
Buyers usually want to know what difference you'll make in their community. Not yours.
Think local. It nearly always scores better.
9. Have you actually read the specification?
Not just the questions. The specification.
This is something I always do first. The specification tells you what the buyer really wants. The questions simply tell you where to write the answer.
You can't answer the questions properly if you don't fully understand the service.
10. Who are you likely to be competing against?
You don't need to know every competitor. But you should have a feel for the market.
Is there a well-established incumbent? Will national companies bid? Is it the sort of contract that attracts lots of interest?
Understanding the competition helps you decide whether it's the right opportunity for your business.
11. Will the contract actually make you money?
Winning work feels good. Winning work that loses money doesn't.
Don't be so focused on winning that you forget to ask whether the contract is commercially worthwhile.
Turnover is nice. Profit pays the bills.
Make sure you can deliver and profit inside the contract value before you start writing. I see so many companies doing the pricing on the day before submission and realising that the contract value won't actually cover their costs.
12. Have you got enough time to produce a quality bid?
A rushed tender rarely performs well.
If you've only got a few days to gather evidence, write responses, complete pricing and carry out reviews, ask yourself whether you're giving the opportunity the attention it deserves.
Sometimes waiting for the next opportunity is the smarter decision.
13. Are you bidding because it's right, or because it's there?
This is probably the biggest trap of all.
A contract appears. It looks interesting. The value catches your eye. Before you know it, you've downloaded the documents and convinced yourself you should bid.
Stop. Take a breath. Ask yourself one question.
"Would I still want this contract if it was worth half as much?"
If the answer is no, you might be chasing turnover rather than the right opportunity.
14. If you won tomorrow, could you start?
Buyers think about mobilisation. So should you.
Can you recruit? Can you order equipment? Can you train staff? Can you meet the proposed start date?
Winning the contract is only half the job. Delivering it successfully is what really matters.
15. If you were marking the bids, would you choose your company?
This is always my final question.
Forget it's your business. Pretend you're sitting on the evaluation panel. Would you genuinely feel confident awarding yourself the contract?
If something makes you hesitate, don't ignore it. There's a good chance it'll make the evaluator hesitate too.
Kim's Tip
One thing I've learnt over the years is that saying "no" to the wrong contract often leads to saying "yes" to the right one.
I've had clients question my advice when I've recommended they don't bid, only to thank me a few months later because a much better opportunity came along that suited them perfectly.
You don't have to bid for everything. You just need to bid for the contracts you have a genuine chance of winning.
My Advice
If you're new to public procurement, don't feel you have to chase every opportunity you see. Be selective.
Take the time to understand what the buyer is looking for, be honest about your strengths and don't be afraid to walk away if the contract isn't the right fit. In my experience, the businesses that win consistently aren't the ones that submit the most tenders. They're the ones that choose the right opportunities and then put everything they've got into producing the very best bid they can.
Thanks for reading.
I hope this guide has helped make public procurement feel a little less daunting. If it has, then it's done its job.
Kim Frater
Founder, Bid Trawler
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