Collaboration

Getting multiple inputs to a bid in time for a submission deadline was difficult enough when people worked in the same office, but now that most people are working remotely and there are no face-to-face conversations, it has become even harder. To overcome this, it is important to have an easily accessible register of files … Read more..

Health and Safety Responses

Where you are asked about Health and Safety, you should convey ‘understanding’ and ‘adherence’. The best response will usually be one which provides specific details and doesn’t just refer to a company procedure. Try to keep your response practical (rather than theoretical) by linking it to the actual work whenever possible.

Contingency Planning

Where you are asked about business continuity, it may be tempting to focus on your recent experience of disruption due to COVID. While it might be useful to cite this as an example, the client will be interested in all aspects of business continuity. Your response should cover areas such as data security, office integrity … Read more..

Identifying Opportunities

Many companies receive bid and tender opportunities through alert systems or directly from customers. To stay one step ahead of the competition, you should supplement these channels by contacting potential customers who have been identified through market intelligence. Furthermore, where you proactively seek out work, you have the potential to negate the requirement for a … Read more..

Consultancy Proposal

When writing a consultancy proposal it can be very difficult to know how much to “give away”. To resolve this, it is useful to focus on the way you work and the desired result, along with the approach you will take. By describing the steps or phases you recommend, you avoid telling the client the … Read more..

Persuasive Writing

Writing persuasively is a skilled task however there are elements which can be applied by any author. You should always keep the reader, their anticipated response and your desired result in mind. With tenders, this will ensure you describe the benefits and make the document customer focused

People Positive

The surest way to lose a bid is to think you will lose it.  It is important that everyone involved in working on a tender has a positive mindset and understands the key messages you want to convey. The bid manager’s role should include maintaining enthusiasm and consistency within the bid team. 

Template Errors

Templates are useful tools because they save you time and effort. In theory, they are ‘ideal’ documents which contain all the relevant information and follow your company procedures. In practice, because they have been repeatedly amended, they often contain superfluous information and typos.

Price Balance

A customer’s objective is never just to spend money, so leading with your price would be absurd. Their objective is to pick a product or service that best meets their need. Buyers are not allowed to make assumptions when evaluating proposals so check you have told them all the things you need them to know, … Read more..

Don’t Know You Know

Using the four stages of competence model  (Martin M Broadwell), many people are unaware of the things they know they know (unconsciously competent). This is why it is difficult for them to convey their knowledge to others. When detailing a process in a bid or proposal you should clearly describe all the parts and not … Read more..