Bid Writing

Too many bid writing companies treat it as a mechanical process, an operational function that is “to do”. Bid writing is not like that, it should be strategic and well thought out long before you boot up the laptop!
Here are ten tips strategic tips to help you write better bids and improve your bid win ratio.

1. Do not bid for every opportunity. Ensure that if you are going to go through the PQQ and the bid writing process that the project fits with your organisational strategic aims and objectives. Weight should be given to how well the project fits your high level strategies, core capabilities, strengths, and whether you can leverage any competitive advantages before you commit to bidding it.

2. Create a database which tracks your bid writing activities. Track success and failure rates and look for trends and patterns.

3. Always ask for feedback on both your PQQ and bid. Again, enter the comments into a bid tracking database and look for patterns.

4. Make sure you have a bid process! Plan your bid writing in advance. Make sure you identify key milestones, review progress and have independent feedback at regular intervals.

5. Ensure you have a bid/no bid meeting. Base your decision to go ahead on the likelihood of success, not kudos or need for turnover. After a while you will be able to use your database to make better, more informed decisions and so improve your bid win rate. This means the time you have spent bid writing is not wasted.

6. When you win a bid and it goes operational track its progress against the cost model you build up in your original bid submission.

7. Challenge the assumptions of each bid. If you are not careful bid writing could turn into fairy story writing. Make sure when you write the bid the content is accurate and that it can be delivered.

8. Hold a pre-bid meeting every time. Do not fall into the trap that bid writing is a repetitive process. It is iterative not repetitive.

9. Bid writing is a skill, a competence and should not be delegated out to individuals or teams who have either no experience or no interest in bid writing.

10. Pick a theme for your bid writing. Keep the theme consistent throughout the bid and make sure you can defend it at interview. Common themes include-operational excellence, quality, knowledge and know how, experience and customer service.

11. Always attempt to undertake as much competitor analysis as you can before you start to write you bid. Knowing your competitors weaknesses mean you can contrast their weakness with your strengths.

12. Do not write half hearted bids or write bids that you do not have time to complete properly. If you do not have the time or organisational resources you are beaten before you even begin to write you bid.

More on bids and tenders

More on PQQ

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