How to Write Winning Home Care Bids Without Overclaiming

🧠 Blog 2 of 7 in our ‘Bid Writing for Domiciliary Care Providers’ Series


Commissioners don’t expect perfection — they expect realism. Many home care providers fall into the trap of overclaiming in bids, assuming that bold promises will score higher. In truth, the opposite is often true.


So why do providers overclaim in the first place?

Sometimes it's fear of losing out. Sometimes it’s the belief that everyone else is stretching the truth. And sometimes it’s just lack of confidence in what makes your service genuinely strong.

But overpromising is a fast way to lose credibility — especially in domiciliary care, where commissioners know how hard frontline delivery really is.


What should you do instead?

  • 🧾 Use real evidence — back up your statements with inspection outcomes, client feedback, or specific examples.
  • 🛠 Talk about improvement — it’s OK to acknowledge where you’ve made changes or are developing new systems.
  • 👂 Reflect real-world limitations — such as recruitment challenges, care continuity pressures, or reablement capacity.
  • 📈 Focus on progress and outcomes — not sweeping claims of excellence.

Commissioners want honesty. If you acknowledge risk, explain mitigations, and show a clear plan for continuous improvement — you’re far more likely to score highly.

In short: grounded confidence beats empty confidence, every time.


🧠 Explore our 7-part series on Bid Writing for Domiciliary Care Providers:
Each blog is designed to help you improve your home care tenders — from avoiding common pitfalls to answering complex questions with confidence.


Written by Mike Harrison, Founder of Impact Guru Ltd — specialists in bid writing and strategy for social care providers

Visit impact-guru.co.uk to browse downloadable strategies, method statements, or get in touch about tender support.

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