Obviously, building a freelance writing career does not exactly cater to that aspect of my personality. The reality of waiting four to twelve weeks for a response to a queried article idea drives me to distraction. The thought that it can take nearly a year between having a book accepted by a publisher and having it actually published boggles my mind. And how many hands do you have to shake, how many business cards do you have to distribute, and how many cold calls do you have to make, before you can drum up even an erratic flow of local business writing projects?

That's probably why I so enjoy Internet. Query responses sometimes return in a matter of days, or even hours. Ebook publishing is almost instantaneous. An article submitted to an online publication one day can appear on Web next. You can bid on writing projects a half a world away without having to shake one hand or make one cold call.

This article introduces you to most common mistakes people make when producing tenders and shows you how to learn from these mistakes and turn them into a positive outcome for your company.

Sin no. 1. Not knowing"why"

"Not knowing answer to this question means that your tender response could miss mark completely, simply because you're not aware of any bad experiences or challenges they have had in past ."

The reason why a company or a Government body calls for tenders always plays a HUGE role in what factors are important to them when selecting a supplier, So, it makes sense knowing REAL reasons why. This is something that isn't usually FULLY listed in tender documentation.

For instance, if their previous supplier is hopelessly unreliable, proof of reliability, capacity, and a money back guarantee will probably be very important to them.

Dig around. Talk to everyone you know in industry. See how resourceful you can be.

Telephone purchasing officer and ask them why they are calling for tenders, why they want to undertake project, and what's important to them.

Strike up a conversation. Get to know them a little and discover what makes them tick. You'll be surprised at how much information you can find out - information that will be priceless in tender creation process.Attend "meet buyer's nights.

Ask questions like:

Why do they want to start using this type of product/service now?

Who did they use in past and why?

Why do they want to change?

What do they know about potential positives and negatives of dealing with people?

Why is this of particular importance to them?

Why do they want to change?

Who have they been using in past?