Tendering and Applying with Confidence: Two-part workshop series | workshop 2

This webinar shares practical steps and strategies for social enterprises preparing to engage in procurement including:

• How to position your enterprise as a credible, capable and ready supplier.
• What government and corporate buyers look for in tenders and supplier relationships.
• How to refine your value proposition and clearly articulate the problem your business solves.
• Using case studies, testimonials, and awards as compelling evidence of performance and impact.
• Developing a standout capability statement and ensuring your website supports procurement readiness.
• Accessing business-as-usual (BAU) and low-value opportunities as entry points to government work.
• Understanding collaborative bids and the value of partnering with complementary businesses.
• Steps for building an internal procurement readiness plan with key policies, templates, and documentation.
• What compliance looks like and how to meet common government expectations.
• The scale of opportunity across local, state and federal procurement, and how social enterprises can participate.

Show notes and quotes

Thomas Pollock:  “I spent three and a half years making mistake after mistake after mistake. And now Gov Ready exists to ensure that other small businesses don't.” 

“If you only remember one thing, make it this: if you wait until the tender drops, you're already behind… Don't think you've got to do everything today or even this week or this month. Just start building out the readiness assets over time.”

“They need to know you exist, they need to know the problem you solve, but they don't need to be sold to.”

“Sometimes it can be the first impression you make. We make a lot of judgment calls in the first 20 to 30 seconds when we meet a new person. Exactly the same thing with your capability statement.” 

Hannah O’Brien: "Get your basics right. How do people contact you? It's amazing, even in my role when I'm trying to figure out what region a business might be in, there isn't an address, there isn't a contact number... So make sure that if someone comes to your website and they're wondering, who are you? How do I get in contact? Make sure that's available."

Explore more

• Webinar slides
• Gov Ready: A Quickstart Checklist for Social Enterprises
• Gov Ready Pulse Check
• Book: Winning Government Business
• Unlocking Social Procurement Opportunities: Two-part workshop series | workshop 1
• Tender Portals:
• • QTenders
  • Buying for Victoria
  • buy NSW
  • Tenders WA
  • SA Tenders and Contracts
  • Tenders ACT
  • NT Tenders online
  • Purchasing TAS
  • VendorPanel