The 7 things on my 2026 tender wish list
By Roshan Sahukar, Tender Specialist, Sydney
New year is a time of reflection and a time of hope. As a tender specialist who has high expectations of the team on every bid I support, I’m putting my new year wishes out into the world in the hope that the new year is kind to us all. Here’s my 2026 wish list.
1. Lead authors who own their returnables
New year, new tender, and you find yourself assigned as a lead author. It may sound obvious, and perhaps a little snarky, but if your name is listed as a lead on a particular returnable schedule, then you need to lead and lead well. This means: take ownership over your section, take time to understand the question and the steps required for you to answer it effectively, and motivate your team to formulate a solution and articulate a response while being crystal clear about who it is that will actually do the work. PLUS, you’ll need to be accountable for progressing your returnable through bronze, silver and gold gates, ready for final approval and submission. Don’t just be a name in a spreadsheet that takes no responsibility, own that thing and show everyone that you’re serious about making it happen.
2. Team members who turn up to meetings
This may feel like a low bar, but you’d be surprised how often we tender specialists set up meetings to progress a tender response only to be faced with a Teams timer counting the minutes as we adjust our headsets and stare blankly at our own reflections. Being ghosted is for Halloween, not New Year. It makes me feel silly and makes you look even worse, so do us both a favour and turn up to a meeting if you say you will.
3. Contributors who contribute
As with the lead authors, if you are listed as a contributor, my humble wish is that you do your bit. This means not just turning up to meetings (see above) but actively, earnestly doing the work, within the deadline, and showing me you can be relied upon to help get this bid across the line. Bids are a team effort, and the best contributors are the ultimate team players.
4. A ban on hackneyed catchphrases
If you’re using cliches in your tender response, you’re doing it wrong. Overused phrases such as ‘state-of-the-art’ and ‘world-class’ are close to meaningless, especially when your competitors are also describing their offerings the same way. And don’t get us started on ‘safe pair of hands’. Ditch the buzzwords and put your tender response to work for real.
5. A final commercial offer that’s ready 48 hours before the submission deadline
We submitted a bid in December last year, where the commercial team had their pricing proposal sorted well in advance. A Christmas miracle! It was proof that a commercial offer doesn’t have to come down to the eleventh hour of a bid. Yet despite having had weeks, or sometimes months, to develop an offer, it almost always takes an all-nighter by the commercial team to make it happen. Give them a fake deadline, say 48 hours before the actual tender due date (I won’t tell them if you won’t), and watch them meet it no worries.
6. Case studies and CVs ready to go ahead of time
You may think there’s not a lot you can do to prepare for a tender before the request for proposal drops, but there are at least two things: CVs and case studies. Having a stack of up-to-date CVs for your key personnel and some good quality case studies to hand is far more valuable than you realise. You’ll never regret having done the heavy lifting on these ahead of time, and it’s a gift most precious to have access to a complete CV for someone who is inevitably on holiday just when you need them most. Similarly, comprehensive and well-written case studies are an excellent way of demonstrating your capability to do a job well. Even if case studies are not required for the actual submission, you can guarantee that those project examples will help showcase your solution and provide solid evidence of your company’s prior experience.
7. Productive meetings
This should be on everyone’s to-do list for the new year, every year. Spending valuable time sitting in endless meetings listening to people who enjoy the sound of their own voices is not my idea of fun, is it yours? Productive meetings should be a no-brainer. Give me a short, sharp discussion, a few solid agreements and a couple of achievable actions, and I’ll be happy as.
Ever wonder how a tender specialist can help? Our clients were just like you. We provide bid management and tender writing support that could help you win business in 2026. Learn about the tender services we offer in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth here.
For more tips on tender best practice see 7 Practical Ways to Make Your Tender Response More Compelling and Why you should know your tender winning process.