MEAT Mastery: How to Justify a Premium Price

Most contractors view a tender as a simple math problem: whoever dives the lowest, wins. That is a fallacy that destroys your margins.

In the modern procurement landscape, the lowest price is often synonymous with the highest risk. Clients know this. They aren't looking for a bargain; they are looking for certainty. And they are willing to pay for it via the MEAT mechanism (Most Economically Advantageous Tender).

If you understand MEAT as a strategic weapon rather than a bureaucratic hurdle, you can justify a higher contract sum and win the tender. Here is how the top of the market plays this game.

The Mechanism: Fictitious Discount as a Profit Engine

MEAT is not about "scoring points." It is about monetizing quality. In a MEAT model, every quality promise is converted into a fictitious discount on your bid price.

Here is the catch: That discount is virtual, but your payout is real.

Calculation Example (The "Price Paradox"):
You bid €1,000,000. Your competitor "The Price Fighter" dives under with €950,000.
The client applies a MEAT value of €50,000 per point on "Risk Management".

You deliver a watertight risk plan (Score: 8). The Price Fighter delivers a standard story (Score: 6).
Your Fictitious Discount: €100,000 (2 points difference x €50k).
Your Comparison Price: €900,000.

Result: You win the tender with the lowest comparison price, but ultimately invoice €50,000 more than your competitor.

Reverse-Engineering the Evaluator

Winning on MEAT starts long before writing. It starts with dissecting the client's fear. Why were those award criteria established?

• Are they asking for Environmental Management? Then the fear is: angry neighbors and construction stoppages.
• Are they asking for Planning? Then the fear is: political fallout from delays.

Your proposal shouldn't say "we are good at planning." Your proposal should say: "we eliminate the risk of delay completely through measures X, Y, and Z."

The Winner's Weapon: SMART Specificity

Where the losing bidder writes in vague promises ("We ensure minimal nuisance"), the winner writes in SMART guarantees.

Subjectivity is the enemy of a high score. Make it impossible for evaluators to give you a 6 by providing irrefutable evidence.

• Don't say: "We communicate well with the neighborhood."
• Do say: "We guarantee a response time of < 2 hours to all resident complaints via our 24/7 app, and organize a weekly walk-in consultation on Tuesday evenings."

The more concrete your promise, the lower the perceived risk for the evaluator. And lower risk = maximum fictitious discount.

Risk Analysis with Offertes.AI

Building such a winning strategy takes time. Our AI modules help you lightning-fast scan the pitfalls in a specification and calculate your chances of a maximum MEAT score. This way, you know exactly where to invest in your plan, and where you can settle for a pass.