Image: Caroline Boot from Plan A.
A recent Lift Your Game course in South Waikato was a collaboration between the South Waikato District Council (SWDC), the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT), CCNZ and tender specialists Plan A. Article supplied.
As a Council initiative, this course was aimed at helping local businesses with bidding for contracts, especially government tenders.
Robbie Winterson, the owner of Go Fox Electrical and Plumbing South Waikato, was confident his business could deliver on local and central government contracts and often more affordably than the ‘out-of-towners’ who usually secured the work. But, he found the tendering process difficult to navigate. This was something that had bothered him for a number of years, and he suspected Go Fox South Waikato was not the only local business in that position.
The turning point came on a spring morning in Tokoroa during the SWDC’s Spring Mayoral Business Breakfast.
Deputy Mayor Hamish Daine and Chief Executive Susan Law outlined the Council’s vision for “a thriving community and robust economy that outpaces the rest of NZ” and reaffirmed a commitment to supporting local businesses. Encouraged but frustrated, Robbie stayed after the breakfast to raise his concerns directly with the Deputy Mayor and Chief Executive.
The issue he raised is a common one. For many small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), tendering can feel like stepping into a different world; full of jargon, tight deadlines, and strict compliance requirements. Unlike larger companies with dedicated bid teams, small businesses must juggle tender writing with their daily workload, often without clear guidance on how to craft a winning response.
Deputy Mayor Daine, himself a local business owner, saw merit in Robbie’s concerns, as did Mayor Petley, and they tasked the Chief Executive with finding a solution. It was important to the Chief Executive that SWDC continued to fulfil its obligations to follow procurement best practices, but she felt there had to be a way to support local SMEs to win some of these contracts.
“Robbie from Go Fox South Waikato was exactly right,” says Susan Law, Chief Executive at SWDC.
“Our local businesses were capable of doing the work but weren’t able to produce a winning response through the tender process.”
Law directed staff to ‘make this happen’. Head of Economic and Community Development, Paul Bowden, approached SWIFT and Plan A to form a partnership aimed at equipping South Waikato businesses with the skills needed to compete more effectively for contracts.
A veteran of tendering and a Major Associate of CCNZ, Plan A has been providing practical support for businesses to help them win tenders for over 25 years. Its team of bid managers and content writers has set up thousands of Kiwi businesses with the tools they need to win public sector work. So, Plan A was a logical partner to boost tendering capability for SMEs in the South Waikato region.
With the Council identifying the need, SWIFT providing targeted funding support and Plan A delivering expert training, the partnership aimed to build capability and confidence for local businesses seeking an opportunity to contract to councils.
Facilitated by Plan A’s John Bryant and Caroline Boot, both seasoned tendering experts, the Lift Your Game course provides practical tender training through hands-on workshops and real-world examples. It’s specifically tailored to SMEs and is regularly updated to reflect the latest in government procurement best practices.
The course covers essential skills, including how to interpret tender documents, identify evaluation criteria and structure responses for maximum impact. Leveraging tender evaluation insights from Plan A’s associated companies, Clever Buying and NZ Procurement and Probity Services, the workshop unveils what evaluators look for, how the scoring systems work and how tenderers can present their strengths in ways that maximise their chances of winning.
“We’ve always aimed to help businesses punch above their weight on public sector tenders,” says Caroline. “Many small businesses have the capability in their core areas but lack the skilled resources to tender for it. This course gives them both the tools and the mindset to compete.”
The workshop also includes interactive exercises where attendees review and improve sample tenders. These collaborative sessions encourage peer-to-peer learning and give participants practical insight into what makes a strong submission.
Seventeen local business leaders attended the session in Tokoroa, thanks to a coordinated marketing effort by all four partners. The day was packed with practical advice, templates and, examples businesses could apply immediately to their next bid opportunity.
Robbie Winterson says the experience has changed his outlook entirely.
“If I’m being honest, I was shying away from the big tenders. I knew my team could do the work, but it felt like the system was rigged against us. The Lift Your Game course gave us the skills and confidence to put our best foot forward and make sure our tenders reflect the same quality we bring to our workmanship.”
After the course, an attendant sent Caroline this message; “It was a great day, very informative, thank you.
“Having won several tenders in the past I was uncertain if this course was a good fit for me but understanding the complete tender process from an evaluator’s perspective and recognising key areas that they were looking for gave me new insights that will definitely help for future proposals.”