Finding the Flaws: Why Even Good Tender Answers Miss the Mark

✅ Blog 3 of 7 in our Tender Review Series
Links to all 7 blogs in this series are at the bottom of this page.

The biggest threat to your tender isn’t a spelling mistake — it’s a scoring gap.

Most providers lose points not because their answers are bad, but because something was missing. An example. A clear link to outcomes. A simple explanation. That’s the danger of scoring gaps: they’re invisible unless you know how to look for them. Working with a bid writer for domiciliary care or a bid writer for learning disability services often highlights these blind spots before they cost you points.

🔍 What is a scoring gap?

A scoring gap is where the commissioner needed to see something in your response — and it wasn’t there, or it wasn’t clear enough.

This could be:

  • ❌ A missed keyword or concept from the question
  • ❌ A weak or generic example with no measurable outcome
  • ❌ A response that focuses on policy, not practice
  • ❌ A section that answers only part of the question

Even if the rest of your response is strong, gaps like these can knock 1–3 points off your score.

🧠 Why gaps are hard to see

If you’ve written the tender yourself, everything makes sense in your head. But commissioners aren’t in your head — they’re reading only what’s on the page.

You know what you meant. But do your answers:

  • ✅ Match every part of the question?
  • ✅ Include service-specific examples?
  • ✅ Align with the evaluation criteria?
  • ✅ Use measurable language (“how,” “who,” “when”)?

If not, the panel can only score what’s written — not what was intended. That’s why some providers choose an external reviewer, especially when handling bid writing for home care services, where commissioner expectations can be highly specific.

📋 How to spot the gaps

The best way to catch missing detail is to review your tender through the lens of a commissioner. Try this simple 3-step check:

  1. Highlight every part of the question — sub-questions, prompts, scoring references.
  2. Match each point to a paragraph in your answer.
  3. Ask: “If I didn’t know this service, would this be enough to score full marks?”

If anything feels vague or incomplete — that’s your gap.

📣 Let us spot the gaps for you

We provide strategic reviews that highlight missed criteria, restructure responses, and recommend targeted improvements. Our proofreading and review services don’t just fix grammar — they help close those scoring gaps that make or break tenders.

📞 Contact us here
Let’s make sure you’re not just answering — you’re scoring.

📚 Catch up on the full Tender Review Series:

Written by Mike Harrison, Founder of Impact Guru Ltd — specialists in bid writing, strategy and developing specialist tools to support social care providers to prioritise workflow, win and retain more contracts.

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