Table of Contents
You might have asked people in the bid and proposal profession what they do. Those not part of it might often find the work and jargon like PQQ, ITT, and ITN needing clarification. Despite the mystery, bid professionals play a crucial role in the procurement function for organizations. Their efforts contribute towards winning millions of pounds worth of business, assisting in securing investment or funding and winning awards. If you are considering becoming a bid writer or are already in the profession and want to excel, this rough guide is for you.
The two significant factors that can increase the probability of winning a bid are:
Often subject matters provide the technical content, but the bid writers make this often-complex content coherent, logical, and engaging. Facts are facts, but the ability to present facts as a clear, concise, relevant, and innovative solution that solves the end client’s problem is the thing that wins bids. At Hudson Outsourcing, we have a winning team with an 87% success rate who are experts in creating the correct response for your target buyer.
For crafting a tailored response, understanding key information is essential. Crucial information includes:
The specification and requirements laid out in the bid are vital in planning for the future, including staff requirements, raw materials design, implementation etc. It is also essential for planning if you have the capacity and ability to deliver. To understand what the buyer wants, you can shred the specification in the following way:
For successful bid writing, you must consider many aspects of a bid and the client’s industry and research these areas thoroughly. Some of the elements that can add value to your bid are:
The bid writing needs to be as specific as possible to give yourself the best chance of winning. A vague answer demonstrates laziness and will not fit what is required. The more detailed the bid, the more likely the bid is to be accepted, as you can tailor your answers to fit the questions perfectly. The specificity must include what you will do, how you will do it, and your resources. Structuring the response also demonstrates a confident plan. For example, at Hudson Outsourcing, we emphasize using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) approach for writing about previous services our clients provided.
Most bids come with strict deadlines and specific questions for which you must constantly communicate with the client. A timetable is a perfect way to create a strategy for the ideal bid. Time management from the beginning allows you to stay on track with the bid and hit the deadline, which is vital to success. The timetable must include each stage of the process with mini-deadlines with examples including:
Time management can be complex when working with large teams, where you might receive content late, or last-minute changes arise – hence the importance of time management. A good writer knows how to prioritize and triage content, ensuring the highest-scoring elements of the response or those needing more workers are at the front of the queue. Understanding what you can do in the given timeframe helps manage the time with a contingency period. It is vital to meet the deadline. The inability to meet the deadline shows that you’re unreliable and might be unable to meet other targets. For this reason, the bid is likely to be discarded, allowing another supplier to win the bid.
To prevent last-moment stress at Hudson Outsourcing, we start the process with a bespoke writing plan where we specify our approaches to tackle every question. No job is too big or too small for our dynamic team of bid writers.
Simplicity is critical for successful bid writing. The main reason is that it makes your bid easier to read and shows your understanding. One way you can do this is through bullet points that effectively organize and emphasize your issues, improving readability. As well as this, you must make certain fundamental concepts are explained whilst minimizing jargon. Another way to create simplicity is by creating powerful headings which make your points stand out and more enticing to readers. Likewise, a clear structure will significantly improve your answers.
You can also make your bid stand out amongst a sea of competitors by utilizing good bid design. If your competitors are submitting professionally designed proposals, don’t put your content at a disadvantage. The buyer will be looking for compelling, clean and polished proposals that deliver the content they want to see, with the best possible readability.
A single person produces very few bids. Most bids involve, as a minimum, a team comprising a bid manager or lead, a bid administrator, subject matter experts (SME), specialized writers, and perhaps a graphics team for formatting and production. As a bid writer, if you’re working for a company that bids regularly, you’ll likely be moved from one team to another, quickly adapting and adjusting to different teams. If you are in a dynamic team, you can share each other’s skills and experiences, which helps customize the bids for various industries and buyers and tailor the bids for multiple clients.
Both external and internal communication plays a vital role in successful bid writing. Winning bids help businesses grow; sometimes, bids are the best way for new companies to reach the target client group. Especially for the first few bids, clients might need reassurance and clear communication to determine how they will meet buyers’ requirements. Bid writers must notify them about the timeline to ensure the clients meet the deadline. Team members and bid managers should also inform each other about their progress and sign off in plenty of time, keeping a contingency period to finish writing.
At Hudson Outsourcing, we keep clear internal and external communication and always inform our clients about every step of writing a bid resulting in an 87% success rate.
One of the leading causes of negative feedback from buyers is not answering the questions correctly. Bid writers must fully understand what is being asked of them and ensure that everything the buyer has asked for and needs are covered clearly within their proposal.
Proofreading and vigorous review process help a lot to generate bespoke bids. At Hudson Outsourcing, our bid writers with twenty years of experience thoroughly review final drafts of bids and collect clients’ feedback before submission.
Our RFP Writing service is the perfect solution to ensure that you submit a high-quality bid, even when you’re busy. Our writers will break down the solicitation documents, allowing you to see what the bid and the contract involve. This will help to ensure that you have all the specified evidence and meet the requirements of the contracting authority.
Our RFP Writers will then craft persuasive, high-quality responses, attach supporting evidence and even submit the bid on your behalf. Upload the solicitation documents for a free quote.
Have you already written a bid but need a second pair of eyes to review your work? Our RFP Mentor service will do just that. Simply send over your bid responses and the solicitation documents.
Our writers will then assess your work, ensuring that your responses are in line with the specification. They will also check for any spelling or grammar errors. You can then submit your bid with confidence. Upload your work for a free quote.
Do you need help with preparing a bid proposal? Proposal Ready can help businesses that are new to bidding or those in need of rejuvenating their content.
Our Bid Consultants will create:
All information and data on this blog site are for informational purposes only. Hudson Outsourcing LLC makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity, of any information. Hudson Outsourcing LLC will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided AS IS with no warranties and confers no rights.
Hudson Outsourcing LLC will not be responsible for any material that is found at the end of the links that may be posted on this blog site.
Because the information on this blog is based on Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s own opinion and experience, it should not be considered professional financial investment advice. The ideas and bidding strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. Hudson Outsourcing LLC’s thoughts and opinions will also change from time to time as the market changes and as Hudson Outsourcing LLC develops.
