Negotiating Price After Tender Submission: Staying Viable Without Undercutting Quality

July 25, 2025

After submitting a strong tender, the commissioner comes back with a question: “Can you improve your price?”

Welcome to post-tender pricing negotiations—a delicate stage where social care providers must balance commercial reality with service integrity.

💷 Why Pricing Gets Revisited

Even in quality-weighted tenders, cost matters. Commissioners may have limited budgets, new internal priorities, or face pressure to reduce spend. They may approach several top scorers to test pricing flexibility. But that doesn’t mean you have to cave.

🛡️ Know Your Boundaries

Cost out the contract again: Double-check your assumptions on staffing, travel, overheads, and inflation. What’s your true minimum viable price?
Factor in risk: If TUPE is likely or if service users have complex needs, cheapening the offer could create future problems.
Document your position: If you agree to a discount, specify whether it’s time-limited, conditional, or linked to certain volumes.

🧩 Alternatives to Reducing Your Price

Repackage the offer: Can you slightly reduce scope without compromising outcomes?
Propose efficiencies: Suggest shared resources, digital tools, or partnership models that improve value without dropping quality.
Offer a stepped model: Start with a leaner option, scaling up over time as budgets allow.

🤝 Negotiation, Not Capitulation

Price discussions are not about cutting corners—they’re about exploring ways to deliver excellent outcomes sustainably. Be confident in your value, show flexibility where you can, and walk away if needed. A contract that isn’t viable will cost more in the long run.

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