A first bid rarely wins. Not because the company is bad, but because the rules are learnt in practice. Here are the mistakes that cost the most.
1. Starting too late
The tender is found in its last week. The documents are not ready, questions can no longer be asked, the price is worked out in a hurry. The fix: follow the notices every day or get alerts; prepare the permanent folder of documents in advance.
2. Reading only the notice
The notice is a summary. The terms are in the documents: technical specifications, forms, the draft contract. The company bids on the notice and then discovers penalties and payment terms it would never have agreed to.
3. Your own forms
The buyer provides forms for the technical and price proposals, the declarations and the ESPD. They are used as they are. Changing a form or using your own format is a sure way to exclusion.
4. Experience that does not match the requirement
“Contracts with a similar subject completed in the last three years” means exactly that: period, subject, evidence. A contract from four years ago, or with a related but not similar subject, does not count.
5. An incomplete ESPD
Empty fields, missing signatures, subcontractors not shown. The most common formal ground for exclusion.
6. An arithmetic error in the price
Unit price times quantity does not give the total; VAT is included once and left out the second time; roundings add up. The committee has no right to correct it for you. Work it out in a spreadsheet and check by hand.
7. Unrealistic promises
A deadline half as long as the competitors', a ten-year warranty, a team of twenty engineers. It wins points, then becomes part of the contract – with the penalties.
8. A wrong picture of the competition
The company does not know who wins with this buyer, with how many bids, at what discount. It bids “blind” – either too high or below cost. The data on earlier procedures is public.
9. A missed message
The committee asks for a clarification with a three-day deadline. Nobody is watching the system. The bid drops out.
10. Giving up after the first loss
Most regular winners lost their first few procedures. The difference is that they read the minutes, understood the reason and removed it in the next bid.
What winning companies do
- They have one person responsible for tenders and a calendar of deadlines.
- They keep a folder of documents that is updated, not created from scratch each time.
- They choose tenders by their real capacity, not by the value.
- They read the committee's minutes – their own and their competitors'.
- They ask questions and appeal when there are grounds.
Updated on 1 Oct 2026. The article is general information, not legal advice.
