Public tenders offer enormous opportunities. The public sector is a stable and reliable client that often awards long-term and financially attractive projects. For companies that manage to successfully navigate the complex tendering process, significant growth opportunities open up. For small and medium-sized companies in particular, winning a public tender can mean breaking into a new market and creating a solid foundation for future business relationships.
But how can you master the challenges of public procurement and make the most of the opportunities that arise? Careful preparation and a strategic approach are crucial here. In this article, we present seven essential tips that will help you increase your chances of success in public tenders and establish yourself as a reliable partner in the public sector.
Preparation is the be-all and end-all
1. Analyze requirements
Comprehensive preparation is essential before participating in a public tender. The first step is a thorough market analysis. The requirements of public authorities may differ from your previous business contacts in the private sector.
So make sure that there is a demand for your product or service in the public sector. Identify where or at which level (local authority, state, federal government, EU) the greatest demand is to be expected.
Also explore the competitive situation. Which other providers are already active on the market and have already worked with the relevant public bodies? A unique selling proposition can be a decisive factor in standing out from the competition and attracting the attention of public sector clients.
2. Familiarization with the public procurement system
The way in which you win contracts in the public sector differs significantly from the process in the private sector. This is mainly due to the requirements of public procurement law, which applies specifically to the public sector and regulates the procurement process to a large extent. It is therefore important to develop an understanding of the structures and processes in public procurement. This not only helps to avoid formal errors in the bidding process, but also to better understand the specific needs and expectations of public sector clients.
The Competence Center for Innovative Procurement of the Federal Ministry of Economics offers companies a free e-learning course, for example, which provides a sound introduction to the topic.
3. Allow for a time buffer
Participating in public tenders requires patience and perseverance. Therefore, allow sufficient time to carefully fulfill all the requirements of the tender. Experience shows that the process in companies becomes more efficient with every tender won. You can develop standards and process routines that reduce your effort for future tenders.
Enter your company in relevant prequalification directories such as the Official Directory of Prequalified Companies (AVPQ) of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce or in the DTAD’s Contractor and Supplier Directory. If you are active in the construction industry, the Verein für die Präqualifikation von Bauunternehmen e. V. (Association for the Prequalification of Construction Companies) would be a suitable point of contact.
These lists offer the advantage that your suitability and the absence of grounds for exclusion have already been checked. This significantly reduces the effort involved in future tenders and can increase your chances of success, as public contracting authorities rely on these verified lists.
4. Make contact proactively and at an early stage
In order to further increase the chances of success, it is crucial to make your own company visible and known with the solutions relevant to the public sector at an early stage – outside of active tendering phases. This can be achieved through targeted marketing measures that are tailored to the needs and requirements of potential clients.
Public clients are often faced with the challenge of having to specify or functionally describe requirements before issuing a tender. The product knowledge required for this is usually obtained through market research. In some cases, solutions are also sought that are not yet available on the market. Market research and contacting companies are therefore important strategic instruments for public bodies when preparing a tender. Public procurement law allows companies to be contacted if there is a legitimate interest and in standardized and documented processes.
To make yourself known to public clients, you can, for example, register free of charge on the KOINNOvationsplatz of the Competence Center for Innovative Procurement and present your company and your product or service on the marketplace of innovations.
The so-called users in the specialist departments are also particularly relevant. In many cases, they are the users of the product and initiate the procurement process by communicating their requirements to the contracting authorities. The task of market research and the resulting service description often lies with the specialist departments. This is where you as a company come into play and can make your solutions known through target group marketing.
Adapt offer to public tenders
5. Check criteria
Make sure you read all the documents and requirements in the tender carefully and ensure that your tender meets all the required criteria. The eligibility and award criteria are a kind of checklist that must be covered in the tender. At the same time, the added value for the public sector and the unique selling point of the solution should be clearly emphasized. The contract advisory offices of the chambers of industry and commerce, which are represented in every federal state, provide support in the preparation of tenders.
If you notice anything in the tender documents that is unclear, incomprehensible or incorrect, both in terms of content and form, it is advisable to ask a corresponding bidder question. All bidder questions and the answers of the contracting authority will be made available to all parties involved and published in accordance with the transparency requirement.
6. Language of the offers
The offer should be adapted as precisely as possible to the requirements of the tender. Avoid general or standardized sales documents that you also use in the B2B sector. If you use Anglicisms or technical terms in your offer, explain them if necessary.
There are service providers who revise the language and content of tender documents so that they meet the needs of the client. If you want to roll out your product in the public sector, this can be a sensible investment to start with. However, it is often enough to read tenders for practice purposes to familiarize yourself with the most important terms and requirements.
7. Building up references through smaller projects
Suitable reference projects are needed to win public contracts. In this way, companies show that they have already mastered similar tasks. For clients, they are proof that the company can implement the order.
Start with smaller projects to build up references in the public sector. Up to a certain order value (varies depending on the federal state, see Sub-Threshold Procurement Ordinance (UVgO)), public procurement bodies can purchase services by means of a direct order without a complex tendering process. You can stay below the threshold value by offering only a partial solution of your product or a license model, for example.
It is also possible to gain experience as part of a bidding consortium or as a subcontractor. These projects help you to get to know the specific requirements and processes of the public sector and provide a basis for qualifying for larger tenders.
You can also find more information, tips and resources to help startups and young SMEs tap into the public sector in the KOINNO Playbook.
