1. Does a warranty exist on the item bid? If so, offer it and attached a copy of the warranty information.

2. Is there a price advantage for a slightly larger quantity?  Bid both the quantity requested and insert the quantity required for a price break and the reduced price available.

3. Are there any advantages to the brand you are bidding over what you expect your competition to bid?  Detail them! Make the purchasing department or the buyer think twice before making an automatic "low bid" award.

4. What else do you have to offer?  Do you offer service, in-stock delivery, training of employees in operating or using the item bid, payment discounts or firm price for re-orders in a 60, 90, or 180 day period? Detail these extras.

5. Do you have an alternate item which may cost a bit more (or less) but which would do the job equally as well or better than the item requested? Detail the advantages in your bid response.  Try to give more than the buyer asks for in addition to responding exactly to the request. Fill a page or more with alternate proposals. This tactic may not work every time but, should the ordering agency reconsider what they requested when compared with your response or alternates, they may request that the purchasing agent reject all bids and revise the specifications to allow for your alternates under a re-bid. Should the re-bid occur, you now have the bidding advantage as the new bid may be based on your product line.

Always respond to the specifications as closely as possible and try to offer more in your alternate bids or as supplements to your base bid.

Closely related to getting awards is the response itself. Some local governments will remove a vendor's name from a bid list if no response is received. Be certain that every request for proposals received by your firm is returned with either a bid or a "No Bid" clearly indicated on the proposal form.