‘Our Case Studies are letting us down!’ How to make them work for you. Case studies are a vital part of any bid, whether they are stand-alone elements or incorporated into your answers. Writing a case study can act as a key way in which you can prove your capabilities, experience, expertise and resources. However, … Read more..
‘We want to win the bid, but don’t want to give away the farm!’ The fine art of adding value. When you’re putting together a tender it can often feel as if your arm is being twisted to offer too many extras, add-ons and other ‘freebies’ to sweeten the deal and get your company picked. … Read more..
A Tender Presentation is a key part of most bids. Getting asked to do one normally means you’ve made the short list. So it’s vital to get them right, as, at this point, the bid is yours to loose. Presentations throw up a number of challenges. Often preparation time is short. It can also be … Read more..
All too often companies lose tenders to competitors that undercut them on price, even though they offer a superior product or service. If you’ve experience this frustration, then it could be because your bid contained no obvious reason for the client to choose you over your cheaper rival – even though you knew that you … Read more..
‘I just don’t know what they’re looking for!’ The challenge of reading between the lines. Far too often, the questions in a tender document can be poorly worded or vague. Even more frustrating are those questions that are open-ended or which seem to be asking you to ‘read between the lines’. This means that it … Read more..
Not sure what details to include when writing your bid? Think about your different audiences. Bid writing is an exercise in persuasion. You have to give the people you’re talking to a good reason to hire you. But it’s difficult to know what to write – what level and scope of detail to include – … Read more..
Producing a bid or tender can be very stressful and it usually involves significant effort from those involved. A good time to reflect on this is immediately after the document has been submitted. This timing allows you to recognise the successes rather than wait for a final outcome, which may be influenced by factors which … Read more..
It is not usual to add figure or table numbers to graphics which are included in proposals. Your graphics should be introduced in the text and simply given a strong title which describes its key features and benefits. Figure and table numbering is normal in technical reports, where they are also shown alongside the table … Read more..
Bid and tender software can be very valuable when compiling large documents with multiple contributors. Most packages allow you to build a library of reusable material and will automate the notifications going to reviewers. However the quality of the response still relies on individuals thinking about what to include and tailoring it to individual clients.
