Webinars

Many people find the thought of bidding for tenders intimidating – but we’re here to explain what’s involved and show you it’s not a scary process. It’s true, you are going to encounter new rules, regulations and terminology, but once you get familiar with these, you’ll discover how fair and accessible the market is. You might also be surprised to discover how much work is available – we frequently hear businesses say they wish they had explored this market sooner. In this webinar we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the tendering process in 45 minutes. The topics we will cover are:

• What is the public sector and what do they buy
• The legislation governing procurement in the UK
• The procurement procedures and the tendering stages
• How to get started in public sector tendering, including some top tips

Low value tenders can prove to be a great business development tool for public sector suppliers. You may be looking to get started as a supplier and need to build up your experience, you may be looking to branch out into a new territory and build up relationships or low value tenders might just be financially suitable for the size of your organisations. As low value tenders do not have to adhere to the full raft of procurement regulations the challenge with them is knowing where to find them and how to win them. Join us on this 45-minute webinar which provides you with:

• An explanation of what low value tenders are
• Advice on why they are useful for suppliers
• An explanation of how to access them
• An outline of what rules and regulations govern low value tenders

The use of frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems (DPS) is on the rise. They cut through a significant amount of work for procurement teams and simplify the tendering process for suppliers. However, a lot of suppliers are not sure what a framework or DPS is, how they operate and what work needs to be done once you are on them. Our 45 minute webinar provides:

• A description of what a framework is and how it operates
• A description of a DPS and how it differs from a framework
• Examples of ‘call-off’ mini competitions from frameworks and DPSs
• An overview of how to write great bid responses

Do you want to get ahead of the game and feel like you have more control over your tendering activities rather than fire-fighting all the time? You are not alone! The majority of suppliers we speak to are in the rut of reactive tendering, responding to contract notices as and when they appear and hoping for the best. This will garner some success but the ultimate aim for any bid writer or bid team is so get ahead of the curve and be able to tender proactively – knowing in advance when a bid is due out and doing essential business development work before it goes to tender.

Our Overview of Writing Compelling Bids webinar will help you to understand the second stage of the tendering process and how to write high scoring tenders and secure more business. Join us for this webinar for an outline of:

• What to look out for in the tender documents
• How to effectively manage the bid process
• How to write high scoring responses
• What to do post bid to continually improve your process

Does the word Brexit fill you with dread or excitement? The topic that has dominated our news and head spaces for nearly two years is nearing its conclusion but what will happen after 29th March 2019? What does it mean for the public sector and how it does business? Can we expect any changes in how we tender for business? In this webinar we will answer all these questions and more.

Our Overview of Advanced Bid Writing Skills webinar will provide an insight to what you need to do to set your tender apart from the competition and improve your win rate. Join us for this webinar for an outline of:

• How to conduct meaningful research to better inform your tender content
• What you need to elevate the scores you receive for each question
• What type of evidence you need to include to strengthen your bid
• How to edit your responses to make them more effective

Join us for this webinar the week after we officially leave the European Union and find out what impact it has had on public sector procurement and tendering.

How much time do you spend researching, developing and implementing your bid strategy? Too often, companies don’t focus on this or mistake pricing discussions for a comprehensive strategy. A well-considered, complete strategy embedded throughout a proposal increases two things; your chances of success and the expected value from winning the business. This webinar will cover the following bid strategy topics:

• The inputs into strategy formation
• Leveraging existing knowledge and conducting research
• Developing your bid strategy
• Building your strategy into your bid

We’ve created a new tool to help you track which public sector tenders your competitors are winning. Competitor Tracking Alerts will notify you when any organisation(s) you choose to track are announced as the winners of above threshold public contracts. In this webinar we'll show you how Competitor Tracking Alerts work and answer any questions. Competitor Tracking Alerts gives you:

• Email notifications of high value public sector wins by rival businesses
• The ability to track any company and view their contract awards over the last 5 years
• Intelligence on your competitor’s market share and business focus

What are the most common mistakes made in tenders and bids? What simple steps can you take to improve your scoring on submissions? In our upcoming webinar you can ask us whatever burning tender or bidding questions you have and we’ll answer them during our Q&A session and we’ll cover the quickest wins, including:

• When and how to start your response
• Balancing the resources required for the submission
• Error proofing, accuracy and quality
• The correct approach to commercials

Tenders range from the simple (not often!) to the very complex. Public sector tenders of course do have particular procedures that they follow. For inexperienced bidders, understanding the process and making sure the bid is compliant is often the focus. As your knowledge and experience grows the focus will shift from the mechanics of the tender to maximising the quality of your submissions and your win rate. You can ask us whatever burning tendering questions you have and we’ll answer them during our Q&A session in the webinar. Our webinar will cover:

• The most common types of public sector tender processes
• How tenders are published and how to access
• Reviewing and understanding tenders and their scoring
• Evaluating your suitability to bid and making your bid decision

How much time do you spend researching, developing and implementing your bid strategy? Too often, companies don’t focus on this or mistake pricing discussions for a comprehensive strategy. A well-considered, complete strategy embedded throughout a proposal increases two things; your chances of success and the expected value from winning the business. You can ask us whatever burning strategy questions you have and we’ll answer them during our Q&A session in the webinar. This webinar will cover the following bid strategy topics:

• The inputs into strategy formation
• Leveraging existing knowledge and conducting research
• Developing your bid strategy and focusing on the customer’s needs
• Building your strategy into your bid

Are there specific questions on tendering you would love to have answered? Join our webinar where we will be taking questions from the floor! Whether you want to know more about finding the right tenders or what to do when you've found them, whatever your bid or tender question is our experts will try and answer it on the spot. You’ll be able to hear the questions and answers from everyone in the webinar so you can gain insight into the challenges facing other businesses too. This webinar is totally free of charge, you can ask your question when you register or live in the webinar and we’ll do our best to provide you with advice to help you find the tenders you're looking for and improve your bidding.

How well set up are you to tender? Do you have all the things in place you need to succeed when it comes to bidding? In this webinar we'll look at all things that should be in place to give yourself the best opportunity for success and help you will quickly be able to identify areas to work on. During the interactive polls in the session you can see how your answers compare to the other attendees (anonymously of course) and you can ask questions throughout. We will look at the following bid areas and more:

• Pursuit decision
• Strategy formation
• Bidding Process and Management
• Resourcing

Are you winning contracts in the private sector but unsure how to start in the public sector? In this webinar we'll discuss:

• How the public sector differs from the private sector
• The similarities between tendering in both
• How to find public sector opportunities
• How to undertake your first public sector tenders

To watch this recording please click on LISTEN TO RECORDING below to request access. Are you well established with finding and bidding for public sector work or are you just getting started? What does tendering after Brexit and the government’s new Find a Tender portal mean for you? In this webinar, we will cover:

• Procurement after Brexit and Find a Tender Service
• What it means for public sector organisations and private companies
• What will happen with above threshold procurement (OJEU)
• How to best prepare and gear up for a successful 2021

Bringing an experienced Bid Writer in to help form your response can provide you with the winning edge. However, when considering using a consultant, we advise you fully assess the resources available to you to first identify what skills you’re missing. We’ve seen businesses enquire about support which they had internal resource for, and others who started bids blindly only to encounter issues down the line. In our upcoming webinar we’ll help you make informed decisions when deciding whether or not you require the support of an external Bid Writer. This webinar is free of charge, and you can ask any questions you have during registration or live during the webinar - we’ll do our best to provide you with the advice you are looking for.

In this free webinar, we will be taking a broader look across public sector landscape since the start of the year with a focus on how to start developing a pipeline of public opportunities as restrictions ease, and best practice when deciding to bid on public sector opportunities. During this 45 minute webinar, we will give you the keys to restart your pipeline in for the remainder of 2021 through the following topics:

• Summary of main changes to public procurement and what they mean for you as a supplier
• How to decide whether public sector is for you, and the best ways to find public contracts in line with your business needs
• Tips and proven methods of being prepared for winning public sector work
• Free useful resources and contacts for attendees on the day

Many businesses are missing out on lucrative public sector contracts because they think that the bidding process is too complicated. It is not. With the right approach, tools and support, winning public sector contracts can play a significant part of your business strategy. In this webinar, we will provide you with an overview of the construction landscape for the past 12 months, discuss common requirements you can expect to see in tenders, and as a bonus to all attendees, our Training and Consultancy Manager will deconstruct a tender live to provide you with useful insights and tips on how to approach your next bid. The topics we will cover are:

• Construction market insights
• Specific features of construction tenders
• Reviewing a live construction tender
• Introduction to our newly launched Construction Hub

Are there specific questions on tendering you would love to have answered? Join our webinar where we will be taking questions from the floor! Whether you want to know more about finding the right tenders or what to do when you've found them, whatever your bid or tender question is our experts will try and answer it on the spot. You’ll be able to hear the questions and answers from everyone in the webinar so you can gain insight into the challenges facing other businesses too. This webinar is totally free of charge, you can ask your question when you register or live in the webinar and we’ll do our best to provide you with advice to help you find the tenders you're looking for and improve your bidding.

For SMEs with limited or no tendering experience, winning work in the public sector can seem like a daunting task with so many unknowns. Even though there is a bit of learning to do, including public sector contracts in your business strategy should end up being very rewarding. Once you know what to expect and how to deal with it, it’ll be a lot less intimidating. In this free webinar we are going to help you prepare by covering:

• How to decide if the public sector market is right for you
• What are the prerequisites for public sector tendering
• The best ways to find suitable public sectors contracts
• Understand the resources and capabilities you will need to be successful

Are there specific questions on tendering you would love to have answered? Join our webinar where we will be taking questions from the floor! Whether you want to know more about finding the right tenders or what to do when you've found them, whatever your bid or tender question is our experts will try and answer it on the spot. You’ll be able to hear the questions and answers from everyone in the webinar so you can gain insight into the challenges facing other businesses too. This webinar is totally free of charge, you can ask your question when you register or live in the webinar and we’ll do our best to provide you with advice to help you find the tenders you're looking for and improve your bidding.

For the last couple of years, we have all experienced unexpected challenges that have made finding and winning new business difficult. With a lot of external factors still affecting businesses, planning future sources of income is a concern many of us share – and we want to help. The public sector can be a great source of new business opportunities and if you have never explored this market, let’s take a look together. In this webinar, we will focus on:

• Industry trends and insights
• Volume of opportunities
• Sector competitiveness - how many bidders for each opportunity
• How to seize opportunities early and how to monitor your key competitors

Did you know that the UK public sector spends £290bn a year on securing goods, works, and services from businesses like yours? That is a huge market with a lot of potential, yet so many businesses don’t understand what these buyers are looking for and end up making mistakes that prevent them from winning contracts. To be successful you need to demonstrate that you are the right supplier for the job, and that involves more than just saying you can deliver what’s being asked. In this webinar, we will help you increase you win rate by looking at:

• The most common mistakes made when bidding for public sector contracts, and how to address them
• Understanding the size and potential of opportunities for your business with the public sector
• How to find and secure relevant opportunities
• Addressing your biggest concerns in our Q&A at the end of the webinar

Some suppliers have been surprised that when bidding for certain contracts, they have been asked to demonstrate their commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Has your business proactively made a commitment to helping the UK achieve Next Zero by 2050? On 30 September 2021, a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) was introduced as a mandatory supplier requirement for contracts over a certain value. Despite asking suppliers to have a CRP in place to bid, there are many suppliers who don’t know what these are or just how much work is required to create one. We don’t want you to miss opportunities because you weren’t prepared, and in this webinar we will be covering the following topics:

• What does sustainability mean for organisations?
• What is Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21 and how does it fit?
• How do I create a Carbon Reduction Plan?
• What are my options for help and next steps?

Did you know the UK public sector spends around £300bn a year on securing goods, works, and services from companies like yours? With transparent and fair procurement processes, 30-day payment periods, and favourable policies for SMEs – this is not a market you want to miss out on! To help you get started, we’ve collated the most frequently asked questions from beginner bidders and will provide the answers in this webinar. The topics we’ll cover are:

• Structure of tenders
• The process steps and timelines involved in responding
• Understanding procurement terminology
• and much more

Single supplier, Frameworks, Dynamic Purchasing Systems, high-value notices, and low-value notices. Navigating through the different types of tender notices can be difficult, especially when you’re new to bidding for public sector contracts. But don’t worry, we’re here to help. A lot of public sector contracts are suitable for SMEs, but it’s important to focus your efforts and resources on the ones you are most likely to be successful with. To help you identify the right tenders for your business, we will be discussing the types of contracts SMEs should look for and the considerations you need to make before bidding. In this webinar we’ll cover:

• The different types of notices and procurement procedures
• Applying to Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)
• Evaluating your suitability to bid and making your bid decision
• The best ways to find suitable public sector contracts

Responding to tenders over festive season isn’t many people’s idea of fun, but we can take steps to make it as painless as possible - whilst ensuring we don’t miss out on great tendering opportunities. In this webinar we’ll cover:

• Which tenders are likely to be released
• The importance of project planning your tenders, including understanding timelines
• How to manage responses with reduced resourcing levels over the festive period
• How many tenders are really released over the festive period

Have you ever wondered what could give your bid the winning edge? It could be building relationships with public sector buyers before they publish their tenders. Buyers have to be fair and can’t award you a contract based on an existing relationship – but knowing their needs and wants can help you really address how your product or service is the best solution for their requirement. To help you get started, we’ve collated some ways in which you can pre-engage buyers. The topics we’ll cover are:

• How to know what tenders are coming up
• How to approach buyers
• How to build relationships with buyers
• Tailoring your bid approach

You may have heard Social Value mentioned in a tendering context, but are you 100% sure you know what it covers and what is expected from you? Questions related to Social Value are being given increasingly high weightings when public sector buyers evaluate submissions, and many organisations are still catching up when it comes to their approach. Most respond to these types of questions with only a general understanding of what is covered under Social Value. Your ability to explain how much Social Value you can deliver could determine whether you win a contract or not. Join us for this webinar to learn:

• What Social Value actually is
• Why it’s important
• What sort of questions you are likely to encounter in a tender
• How to answer Social Value questions to a high standard

With each webinar we get a huge number of great questions that just don’t fit into the limited time we have. But now is your time to shine, ask us anything! This session is entirely dedicated to answering all your previous and new questions on tendering. Whether you want to know more about finding the right tenders, or what to do when you've found them - our experts will answer them live in the session. Even if you don’t have any specific questions, this will be a great session to attend. You’ll get to learn about challenges other businesses face, and hear questions you didn’t know you needed answers to. This webinar is totally free of charge - you can ask your questions when you register or live in the webinar

For SMEs, competing with large companies for public sector contracts can seem like an impossible task. However, the UK government has committed to spending £1 in every £3 on SMEs, and smaller companies have many advantages they can draw on to win over bigger players. In this webinar we are going to discuss what SMEs can do to win contracts even when the competition seems to have an advantage based on their size:

• Finding the right type and size of tender
• Applying to Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)
• Utilising and organising your resources
• Plus more tendering tips for SMEs

Want to learn the secrets of successful bidders and win more tenders? Join us for this highly requested webinar, where we will teach you how to use simple and proven templates to streamline your tender process and deliver high-quality submissions.

• Make smart and informed bid / no-bid decisions
• Analyse Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents and address every requirement
• Plan and structure your overall response and individual answers
• Review and refine your draft answers to score maximum points

With each webinar we get a huge number of great questions that just don’t fit into the limited time we have. But now is your time to shine, ask us anything! This session is entirely dedicated to answering all your previous and new questions on tendering. Whether you want to know more about finding the right tenders, or what to do when you've found them - our experts will answer them live in the webinar. Even if you don’t have any specific questions, this will be a great session to attend. You’ll get to learn about challenges other businesses face, and hear questions you didn’t know you needed answers to. This webinar is totally free of charge - you can ask your questions when you register or live in the webinar. In this webinar, you will learn how to:

• Plan your responses using a simple and effective technique, ensuring you never suffer from writer's block.
• Identify the key inputs and evidence you need to back up your claims and avoid weak spots.
• Draft clear, concise and compelling responses, letting buyers know you are a contender for the contract.

Are you ready for the ultimate showdown between our champion of bid writing and your toughest tender questions ? During this interactive session, we will invite you to share your tender questions with our Bid Training & Consultancy Manager, Andrew Watson, who will be put on the spot to show you how he would plan his responses. Andrew will use his skills and experience to demonstrate how to analyse questions and plan winning responses. This session is perfect for anyone doubting their ability to properly highlight the strengths of their business, or those in need of a bit more structure when planning their bids. In this webinar, you will learn how to: • Plan your responses using a simple and effective technique, ensuring you never suffer from writer's block. • Identify the key inputs and evidence you need to back up your claims and avoid weak spots. • Apply a structured approach to bid writing that will not only improve readability but also the scores awarded to your responses. Post-session bonuses: • A digital copy of the answer planning template used during the session, sent within a follow-up email. • You can also claim a free 30-minute bid support call from one of our experts, where you can discuss your biggest tendering challenges and get personalised feedback. Booking links will be provided at the end of the session. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how the experts think and improve your bid writing skills.

• Plan your responses using a simple and effective technique, ensuring you never suffer from writer's block.
• Identify the key inputs and evidence you need to back up your claims and avoid weak spots.
• Apply a structured approach to bid writing that will not only improve readability but also the scores awarded to your responses.