Do you say Tom-ay-toe or Tom-ah-toe? Dance or Dahnce? Rockmelon or Cantaloupe? (That’s one for the eastern stater’s ).

We’ve all had this debate, and although often heated, it usually ends with everyone involved agreeing it all means the same thing anyway.

This is not the case in tenders. Mirroring the terminology of tender request documents in your answers is critical to creating an easy reading experience for the buyer.

If the request documents refer to you exclusively as the ‘Supplier’ do not start calling yourself the ‘Contractor’ in your responses. Why? Because that’s not what your potential client has called you, and what they say (in this instance) goes.

Keep an eye out for these describing words for you and your client in the tender request:

Buyer > Seller

Principal > Contractor

Company > Supplier

Procurer > Tenderer

Always use the terminology they select, this way you will avoid confusion and create a sense of familiarity for the reader.

Happy bidding!

P.S. It’s tom-ah-toe, dance, and cantaloupe.