Tips and advice on improving your bid process to reduce time input and produce higher quality and more effective bids.
When writing any business document, it is important to keep the objective in mind. The objective is determined by considering who the readers will be, what level of knowledge they are likely to have and what impression you want to create. With bids and proposals, your objective is to ensure all evaluators understand and believe … Read more..
An effective way to summarise a process or show an organisational structure in a tender is to use a graphical image. Many people assume expensive software is needed, however you can easily produce high-impact graphics within your normal MS Office package. Design your organisational chart or process flow diagram in Powerpoint and then use “paste … Read more..
Time spent developing and maintaining your bid library will be repaid many times over. If you have good file-copies of responses to typical questions, they will make it considerably quicker to produce a final answer. Remember that you must still tailor the text to the individual contract and ensure that it answers all parts of … Read more..
When a client issues scoring guidance, you should use it to frame your response because it indicates the areas in which they are most interested. Take note of the weightings and marking proportions you have been given, and use this to decide about the level of detail you need to provide. Some questions may contain … Read more..
It is a difficult decision to withdraw from a bid, particularly once staff have started to compile responses or work on technical solutions. Many firms continue investing time and energy in a document despite knowing that the solution is not viable and/or the bid is not going to win. Good bid managers recognise that new … Read more..
ITT (invitation to tender) documents usually give guidance about the evaluation criteria which will be applied. You should ensure that you take account of all the requirements in order to score maximum marks. If you only answer the basic question, you can only expect to be awarded average marks.
To show relevant experience, you should produce case studies of completed projects. The case studies should concentrate on the added value you delivered and the challenges you overcame. If you only describe the technical scope of each project, the client will not know if you performed well or otherwise.
If a client awards a submission time extension, make sure you use the time wisely. Many bidders will take their ‘foot off the gas’ and enjoy a period of respite from the pressure. Wise bidders stick to their original timetable but use the additional time to carry out a more thorough review of the final … Read more..
In terms of objectives, there is a difference between asking senior staff to review a tender and asking them to approve it. ‘Review’ implies that constructive feedback will be given, leading to content changes, while ‘approval’ relates to financial sign-off and risk evaluation. A good bid manager will ensure each stage is allocated to the correct people, at the … Read more..
While it is important that a document is well presented and looks attractive, do not work on this aspect at the expense of producing strong content. What you write must be compelling, address all parts of the client’s requirements and clearly describe the benefits of your offering. Good content may partially offset poor presentation but the reverse is … Read more..
