14 Nov Selection Questionnaire
SQ’s – do you truly understand the question?
Recently I was talking about bid writing and trying to explain what it involves. Until someone completes a tender process I’m not sure they will truly understand. The best comparison I could find was that it was like being back at college researching and writing essays. The first thing you are told when essay writing is to read the questions and understand what the marker will be looking for. Bid writing is no different.
In Bid writing it’s not just the ones that need the indepth research but just getting through the selection process is an exercise in attention to detail and methodical working. Selection Questionnaires can feel like groundhog day; the same compliance based questions over and over again but a wrong answer can be the difference between a pass or a fail, so it is vital you read the questions and answer them correctly.
When rushing we can all be guilty of not fully reading the question and guessing the answer. For example, “in the past 5 years has your organisation been convicted of any of the below; corruption, fraud…” you know the ones. Then there are the SME (Micro, small and medium sized enterprises) and Modern Slavery questions that you answer in the hope you have got it right. We have put together a series of helpful tips and tricks to make the process slightly easier and more error proof.
SQ – Complete a first fill, the SQ can be split into 3 parts;
- Suppliers information – Your businesses details.
- Company details- VAT, DUNS and Company numbers, Trading status
- Contact details
- SME – Small Medium or Micro Enterprise
- Sub-contractors
- Exclusions Questions – this section is the one of the areas that is definitely worth taking time over, get someone to check it, they can throw some curve balls in here. You will need to answer ‘No’ to everything usually but sometimes they swap it around and require ‘Yes’ to some questions – which if you miss, can result in a fail.
- Selection Questions
- Additional Questions – include evidence and examples, check word limits, font size and type, and formats they have asked for, also check if you are allowed to use graphics and attachments.
Take your time, check your answers, have a second pair of eyes check the answers and whilst not foolproof, hopefully this guide will help you tread carefully towards that winning bid.
