Completing a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) in itself is a challenge. It involves days, if not weeks of difficult and time-consuming paper work. So, you are done with weeks of hard work on the PQQ, you have completed it, collected all the required legal policy documents and have signed all the relevant Appendices.
Now, the final task remaining is to write a cover letter before you send your documents to the company for review.
The PQQ letter matters a lot. For, it’s the first thing that is read in your proposal.
It needs to be impressive and should make your proposal stand out amongst the others. It should be written in such a way that the company should think, “I want to read more about this.” A PQQ covering letter needs to be professionally written and it should be very precise without getting into the unwanted details. In other words, it should have only what’s required and what works for you. It should portray a professional image of your hard work and your company.
There are a few things that need to be kept in mind whilst writing a cover letter. There are the things that are professionally required of your company to adhere to and it shows that you take your work seriously.
A cover letter should always be written on your company’s letter head. This gives it a professional look and helps in providing credibility to your proposal.
Use your company or organisation’s VAT registration number, if your company is VAT registered. The quality of paper used for this purpose should be very good and the print quality should be great too.
You sure don’t want to let your hard work on the PQQ down by the quality of paper or print used for your cover letter.
Write the contract reference and the title for your PQQ covering letter as a header in bold ad underlined. Always choose the title for your cover letter with utmost care.
You shouldn’t sound like a typical salesman. No-one likes the hard sell!
The letter should introduce your company in a precise and professional manner explaining how you are suitable for the tender convincingly.
The address of the procurement team needs to be written clearly as in the PQQ specification documents. Also, you should write your personal details such as phone number and email address which is helpful in case the procurement team requires contacting you. Also, write an index for the list of accompanying documents. Never forget to sign the letter.