“Relationships are what it’s all about. If we can create a very good working relationship, you start to trust someone and then you can build that relationship.”
So said one of our clients in a recent Impact Survey. The feedback provided was overwhelmingly about the positive relationships we create with our clients’ stakeholders. In our case, stakeholders are not only those immediately involved in bid management, but also operational and support staff, the supply chain, and various SMEs throughout each business.
How do we create these relationships? We are not parachute bid writers, who waft in and out for each bid. We always get fully involved with clients and their stakeholders, whether there is a live bid or not. We become a friend and ally, as invested in the success of the company as they are.
What we do as consultants translates into strategies for internal bid teams working with their own set of stakeholders:
- Treat stakeholder relationships as long-term assets, not bid-stage necessities: Relationships are continuous, whether there is a live bid or not. Be part of the ecosystem, not just the bid.
- Prioritise genuine human connection over transactional engagement: Invest time in understanding your stakeholders, remembering and responding to personal preferences and pressures to build authentic rapport.
- Listen more than you speak: Seek to understand stakeholder drivers, constraints, and unspoken concerns, adapting your approach to what they need, not what you assume.
- Maintain consistency across every touchpoint: All stakeholders should get the same professionalism, tone, and quality from everyone in your team.
- Be honest: Transparent, even uncomfortable, conversations can bring the best out of stakeholders, building credibility over time. Never overpromise or say what you think stakeholders want to hear.
- Add value even when there is no immediate return: Keep building relationships away from formal bids, sharing insights and perspectives, and keeping in touch without expecting anything in return.
- Be memorable – in a good way: Bring your energy and personality into the relationship, balancing professionalism with warmth and individuality.
- Reflect and improve after every interaction: Learn from feedback, outcomes, and subtle signals, building a continual improvement mindset into how you operate.
I would urge you all to adopt the same approach – your stakeholders are people with their own pressures. As you would make it easier for an evaluator to give you the highest marks for your quality submission, make it easy for your stakeholders to give you the most valuable input. By creating authentic stakeholder relationships and delivering value beyond the bid itself, you will create meaningful partnerships that last long beyond contract award. Ultimately this will enable you, as a team, to create those winning bid submissions.
Pippa Birch
Pippa owns award-winning Pipster Solutions Ltd and has over 20 years bid writing experience, mainly in highways and civil engineering. She is an active member of the Institute of Asphalt and has won several industry awards. She is APMP Professional certified and mentors other bid professionals, winning Contribution to the Profession in 2022. She also developed #ThursdayThrong and #BidBites – free online meetings for the bidding community to reduce isolation.
