Improving Capability

Writing high scoring answers to bids and proposals requires a structured approach, the correct use of storyboarding techniques, an understanding of the subject matter and a flair for creating simple but compelling prose. If you are looking to develop your in-house writing capability or need professional bid writing services for a must-win submission, our team includes the very best bid writers in the industry.

Having benchmarked the maturity of your existing bid process, we design, test and implement a robust, straightforward and repeatable end-to-end improvement plan. We don’t re-invent the wheel: an organisation’s process is often intrinsically linked to its culture. We identify the best of what you have and make it better, whilst removing unnecessary complexity and tackling bottlenecks head-on.

The process of winning contracts in the Public Sector is complicated; intricate rules dictate buying processes in an attempt to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely. Within our team we have the UK’s leading Public Sector experts and have the resources and training to help you make sense of the bidding process, from avoiding the pitfalls of the PQQ through to putting together your bid and presenting it in a way that maximises your potential to win. We believe there are five key secrets to winning more public sector contracts.

Developing an early understanding of your client’s procurement strategy is critical to bid success. We help you articulate in a convincing manner why your solution will deliver against your client’s requirements. We will ensure your win strategy addresses critical success factors and value for money considerations whilst taking account of the competitive landscape and market forces you are subject to.

Ensuring your team produces consistent and appropriately structured proposal documentation can be a significant challenge, particularly with varying levels of Microsoft Word and InDesign experience across your team. We have document management experts available to assist you with proposal management, template design and document formatting. We create enhanced, locked-down Word templates that ensure corporate brand guidelines are consistently implemented, significantly improving document control.

A well-managed bid library enables you to create better proposals and saves precious time and money. If you already have a library of standard content which you struggle to keep updated, our highly skilled experts can quickly bring your content back on track whilst optimising the way you develop, manage and deploy the content library. Bid Solutions is vendor neutral with regard to Proposal Automation Software and can offer an objective view on the benefits and limitations of the market’s leading providers.

Regardless of how much natural ability your bid team has, effective presentation coaching will ensure each individual performs consistently and to the best of their ability. No matter how well you differentiate your products or services the competition will, as far as the client is concerned, provide comparable offerings. We offer professional coaching that ensures your presentation enhances your written bid submission, differentiates your value, develops the presentation skills of the entire team and maximises audience engagement.

Optimising resources within your bid and proposal team can be an extremely tenuous activity given the unpredictable nature of bidding. Hence, having a robust and well tested resource model that flexes to suit the demands of the organisation is essential. We offer a range of services that help you optimise your organisation design that include: capacity planning; defining best practice roles and responsibilities; skills analysis, leading to assessment / development centres; staff retention and talent acquisition; and defining management information and key performance indicators.

Effective bid marketing starts long before the RFP arrives. If you are not proactively raising your organisation’s profile with key decision-makers early, you risk being late to the party. Of course, the look and feel of your submitted proposal also has a huge impact on evaluators, but to be truly effective it needs to build on earlier messaging and investment. We are specialists at developing value propositions that get the message across in a visually compelling and impactful way, whilst addressing the differing needs of all decision makers.

Ideally bid team training should always take place away from the pressures of a live deal. However, there are times when focussed skills development and application of best practice on an active bid can significantly improve the quality of your submission. As well as teaching new skills we can refresh existing ones and ensure consistency of approach across the bid team. We offer intensive live deal skills development, delivered early in the bid lifecycle, either face to face or (for virtual teams) online alonside our bid writing courses.

Finding time to review the bid can be difficult for senior managers. However, critical reviews must be an integral part of your bid process if your bid is to achieve the quality necessary to win. Our consultants can undertake specific reviews within your live deal. As well as Red Team reviews, we can review the customer profile, the win strategy, the solution, the competition and the tender documentation. We also bring objectivity, credibility and a proven process to identifying lessons that can be learned from each proposal submitted – won or lost.

We can provide a number of menu-style services for small to medium-sized organisations that need to outsource bid and proposal management functions. Whether your need is for a specific deal or for a fixed period of time, we can provide the specialist people, tools and process that you need to professionally respond to RFPs, all packaged within an agreed service level.