Being There At The Right Moment Matters

Being in touch with the buyer isn’t just limited to when you’ve already got the contract. You will notice that you can come a long way by just submitting your best bid, but that real growth lies in having the important conversations with the contracting authority.

By speaking with the public buyers – before, during and after the procurement process --, you’ll be able to show your worth, gaining trust in the long run. We will guide you through every single moment, sharing which opportunities could shape your future. 

 

Dialogue Before Tendering: Market Consultations

Every tender has its own timeline, containing actions both you and the contracting authority must take. Public buyers will firstly shape their demand and research the market, after which they will create the tender documents and follow through on the tender. By that stage, many key decisions have already been made.

This is why strong market knowledge is essential. It begins with understanding when existing contracts are about to expire, so you can engage before a new tender is initiated. It also means identifying where future purchasing demand is emerging by analysing sales leads, such as municipal meeting minutes and public budgets.

As a supplier, your role is therefore twofold: maintain clear visibility into upcoming tenders and expiring contracts, and translate early market signals into timely, well-informed conversations with contracting authorities.

One other opportunity to engage early is through market consultations. They allow buyers to explore what the market can offer and refine their requirements in tender documents. 

These are golden moments to get in touch with the buyers, enabling you to show your knowledge and expertise. A market consultation can happen in multiple different ways, such as:

• A meeting with one or multiple suppliers
• A workshop
• A networking event
• A seminar or themed event

Buyers often invite suppliers they already recognise as established and credible market participants, or through sourcing systems such as Mercell. Maintaining a strong presence and staying visible in the market therefore increases your chances of being involved at an early stage. Explore our in-depth guide to strengthen that position.

 Discover how to boost your proactive sales

 

Dialogue During Tendering: Before Submitting

The procurement process has proceeded, and you’re now in the tendering stage. What’s next? There are a couple of options on getting in touch with the contracting authority:

• During an inspection
• During a tender clarification meeting
• During a technical explanation

Public buyers could ask to do an inspection, not to criticise your workplace, but to learn about your production process, and technical knowledge. Make sure to prepare your workplace for such a meeting, showing off your most relevant processes, most knowledgeable personnel, and latest technology.

A tender clarification meeting is usually held with multiple suppliers present. The public buyers will share the context of the tender, which procedure they will use, which criteria will be important, and what the planning will be. It is an important moment to ask clarifying questions, critically assess the tender documents, and gather insights that help you strengthen your bid. Prepare yourself by researching the contracting authority, learning about their previous contracts, and preparing your questions in advance.

During a technical explanation, you will be asked to provide a presentation about the technical aspects of the job. Preparation is key: Convey in-depth information in a clear and concise manner, making sure that even buyers with little technical knowledge can understand you. This one-on-one session is the perfect opportunity to show your expertise, and strengthen your position as a market leader.

 

Dialogue During Tendering: After Submitting

Procurement is a time-consuming process, both for you as a supplier, as for the public buyers. After all bids have been submitted, the buyers need to read and rate them – hundreds of pages, from all the bids combined. 

Even though platforms such as Mercell will lighten the load, public buyers could get overwhelmed fairly easily by the sheer amount of information provided. Or maybe they need additional clarification on certain subjects that haven’t been covered yet in the submissions. In these cases, public buyers may retort to the following types of conversations:

• A presentation
• Interviews
• A verification meeting
• A demonstration

During a presentation, you will be able to share additional information about your product or service. This is a perfect opportunity to truly sell your business. The interviews enable you to answer the buyer’s questions, and to deliver above and beyond. A verification meeting is meant to verify information given in the bid and is often used with the winning supplier only. A demonstration is usually part of the award stage, allowing you to show cases in real life.

 

Dialogue After Tendering

The last moment for dialogue, in the procurement timeline, is after the tender has been awarded. These conversations are meant to give and receive feedback, both to you and the buyer. Feedback sessions are useful if you’ve won the tender, but also if you didn’t. By asking the right questions, you will learn

• What the other suppliers submitted through their bids,
• How they formatted their bids,
• How to improve your bids, and
• How you can strengthen your strategy even further.

By preparing your feedback session in advance, and truly listening to the public buyers, will get a better grasp on the needs of your market, and how to sell your products or services even better in the future. An honest – and strategic --  feedback meeting lets you unlock how to win even more bids going forward.

 

Start the dialogue together with Mercell

Having a meaningful dialogue with buyers doesn’t start with a cold call. It starts with knowing when to act and why. Turning this proactive mindset into consistent action requires the right visibility. Mercell Bidding supports you in identifying the right moments to start or continue the conversation.

Here’s how: 

• Discover purchasing signals early: By tracking signals like municipal meetings and public budget plans, you can identify upcoming purchasing needs early. This gives you a reason to reach out and start a conversation with the buyer before the tender is published.
• Receive tailored tender alerts: By receiving relevant tenders directly in your inbox, you know when a buyer enters the market. It ensures you never miss a relevant tender and you can respond quickly when it matters most.
• Identify expiring contracts: When you see that an agreement is nearing its end, you can reach out to discuss future needs, share lessons learned from similar projects, and position yourself before requirements are finalised.
• Analyse contract awards: You can review past decisions and detect unusual partnerships or changing patterns. If a competitor wins outside their typical scope, or a new player enters the market, this creates a natural reason to start a conversation backed by data.
• Keep a clear overview of your actions: With intuitive planning tools, you manage key milestones and set reminders for strategic moments, such as requesting feedback after an award decision. This ensures that dialogue continues beyond one tender and supports long-term relationship building.