September 3, 2015July 16, 2024

Convince with Evidence: Improving the credibility of your claims

David Harvey, CP.APMP, BidWrite Director.

Anyone can make a statement such as: “Our Company is focused on delivering the highest quality outcomes for our clients. Our team is client-focused and professional in everything we do. We offer a low-risk, value for money solution.” We’ve all seen similar statements, and may have even written a few ourselves.

So, if everyone is saying the same things, what will differentiate your bid from the crowd? Why will the client believe in you? Can you prove what you’ve said is true? How can we use evidence to convince the buyer a statement is accurate?

Here are five common claims we see in tender responses, and for each, several ways to convince with evidence – improving the credibility and believability of your statements.

“We deliver the highest quality….“

Describe the maturity of your quality system – is it accredited?
Identify the people, processes and practices that guarantee quality outcomes.
Provide evidence of internal or external audit findings and corrective actions taken.
Provide evidence of the high quality products or services that you provide – testimonials, awards or recognition.
The presentation of your proposal will be of a higher quality than your competitors, proving that you do indeed “deliver the highest quality”.

“Our company is client-focused….“

You will have met with the client previously to understand their business and show your interest in working for them.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of their requirements in your proposal.
Include testimonials from other clients that support your claims.
Talk more about how you will address the client’s needs and less about your company’s capabilities.
Your proposal will not only comply with all client requests, but will be easy for them to read and evaluate.

“We have a reputation for being professional….“

Define what you mean by ‘professional’ and provide examples of how your professionalism benefits your clients.
Identify the ‘professional’ traits of your staff: their qualifications, experience, and professional or industry recognition.
Use consistent graphics and depict a professional-looking team, and business environment.
Deliver a proposal free of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and other errors.
From its cover to the appendices, your proposal will have a professional appearance, consistent with the image you want to portray.

“We represent the lowest risk….“

Show that you have understood the client’s perceived risks and any others that you think they may face in achieving their stated objectives.
Detail why your company’s experiences and knowledge, and way of doing business will mitigate these risks.
Describe the people, systems and processes you have in place to manage risk.
Identify the activities your company will undertake to manage and mitigate risks on this particular contract.
Include examples that show how you have successfully mitigated risks on previous projects.

“Our solution represents value for money…“

Your proposed solution will meet all or (at least) most of the client’s stated requirements.
Offer your solution at a competitive price and be able to explain why this is competitive.
Describe any additional ‘value’ that your solution delivers to the client (e.g. additional functionality, greater reliability etc).
Define what makes up ‘value for money’ for this particular contract e.g. “A value for money solution will deliver highly-reliable, competitively-priced equipment, supported by experienced tradespeople.”
The overall value proposition of your offer will be clearly evident to the client, e.g. “We will provide brand new equipment with three years of maintenance included, made to Australian standards, for only 10% more than the cost of less-reliable imported equipment. This represents excellent value for money.”