Price lists, estimates, quotations and tenders

Pricing a tender for the first time can be difficult as you will have no benchmark or idea of what competitors might bid.

Price is important when submitting a tender, but don't lose sight of the quality you will provide when deciding on it.

Clients often consider the lifetime cost of the products and services they buy. This includes their initial purchase cost, along with other factors such as maintenance costs, downtime costs (if there's a breakdown) and the cost of consumables and disposal.

Make sure you don't bid too low just to get your foot in the door. Clients will be suspicious of abnormally low bids - they may doubt the level of quality you can deliver for such a price. Remember that once you have committed to a very low price, you may find it difficult to increase your prices with this client in the future.

It is therefore better to price your tender realistically and ensure that you focus on the benefits that you can provide to a customer. Get this right and many customers will be willing to pay the price required, even if it is slightly higher than your competitors.

Try to think about the value of your goods or services from the customer's point of view, not your own. If you are the only quality provider of something a client really needs, it may be more valuable than you think. Your price should reflect this.