𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴

Tenders don’t get lost because of price.
Or capability.
Or certifications.

Most tenders are lost because teams didn’t read the document properly — or didn’t understand what they read.

It sounds simple, but here’s the truth 👇

🔍 Tendering is NOT a writing exercise.
It’s a deep-reading and accurate-interpretation exercise.

And yet most teams rush straight into:
✖ Writing the response
✖ Copy–pasting past submissions
✖ Crafting the solution too early
✖ Assuming requirements instead of understanding them

Here’s what I’ve seen derail submissions:
• Missing a mandatory requirement hidden in a footnote
• Misinterpreting evaluation criteria
• Overlooking exclusions
• Not reading updated addendums
• Answering the question you think they asked — not the question they actually asked
• Requirements scattered across sections (design criteria, ADC, etc.) by the owner/engineer in a rush, making them easy to overlook

But here’s the part most teams overlook 👇
Misreading a tender doesn’t just cost you the win — it can cost you even more when you actually win it.

When a misunderstood tender becomes a contract, the real issues begin:
• Scope you never priced for
• Deliverables no one planned resourcing for
• KPIs buried in the fine print
• Change requests rejected because “it was clearly stated in the tender”
• Blown budgets
• Profit turning into loss
• Teams scrambling to deliver promises they didn’t know were made
• Damaged client trust before the project even starts

Tendering is won by those who slow down… before they speed up.

💡 My biggest lesson:
A strong reader beats a strong writer — every single time.
If you interpret the tender correctly, your response aligns naturally — and your delivery does too.

So I’m curious:
👉 What’s the most common reading/comprehension mistake you’ve seen in tender submissions?
👉 If this resonates with you, like, share, or repost within your network!

𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚, 𝙥𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙.