Bid writing services - How to buy

Bid Writing Services

​You know your competitors are already using professional bid writing services. You don't want to use the same bid writers as them but, with over 50 bid writing services in the UK to choose from, how do you know which is the best bid writing service for you? ​

​How do you separate the professional bid writing services from the cow boys? 

Naomi Clews Consultancy are public procurement consultants. We share our own experience of buying services in our FREE ultimate procurement guide on how to buy bid writing services that includes:

• where to find bid writing services,
• the key questions to ask, and
• how much a bid writing service costs.​

​This guide will not tell you how to write a tender. You will need to contact us for that.

How to buy bid writing services   
​

Table Of Contents 

1. Introduction
2. ​What is a bid writing service?
3. ​What is a bid writer? 
4. Is bid writing difficult? 
5. When would I need bid writing services ?
6. Where can I find bid writing services?
7. What is the role of a bid consultant in bid writing services? 
8. How do I write a specification for bid writing services?
9. ​What minimum qualifications should I specify?
10. ​Are bid writers inside IR35? 
11. ​How will I know if the bid writing service is any good?
12. ​What does “We write bids for all Industries” mean?​
13. What does “We’ll work with you to figure it out” mean? 
14. What does “We guarantee we will win the bid for you” mean? ​
15. What does “We have a secret to our bid writing success!” mean? 
16. What does “We are the cheapest bid writing service on the market!” mean? ​
17. What does “We have a bid writer for every tender" mean?
18. Should I meet my bid writer? 
19. Do beauty parades work?
20. Is the use of bid writing services breaking procurement rules? ​
21. Can bid writing services guarantee a win? 
22. ​Is winning a place on a Framework or DPS guaranteed business? 
23. ​How long do bid writing services take? ​
24. ​How much do bid writers charge? 
25. ​Should I insist on a no win, no fee money back guarantee?
26. What is a bid writing services success payment? 
27. ​What do bid writing services need from me?
28. ​How do I agree and confirm what I am buying? 
29. ​​Are bid writing services increasing? 
30. ​Summary ​

1. Introduction

 

​​In 2020/21 the UK Government spent £357 billion as a direct result of a public sector procurement process, with UK health procurement spend up by £43 billion in 20/21. 

The public procurement process provides suppliers with one chance to make a GREAT first impression. Using professional bid writing services may make it easier for you to achieve this and secure more public sector contracts. 

 

2. What are bid writing services? 
​

Bid writing services are outsourced writing services you can buy from a third party provider.  

By using a reputable bid writing provider (with prior experience of writing bids) you should expect to reduce both the stress and time associated with bid writing.

​The only downside is that this connivence (outsourcing bid writing) comes at a cost. 

​Also see 24. How much do bid writers charge

 

3. What is a bid writer?
​

​​A  bid writer is a person who provides the bid writing service. The bid writers role is to communicate the clients information (about the products and/or services they sell) in a compelling, concise and succinct way. 

​A professional bid writer should be skilled and experienced in responding to tender questions in accordance with procurement rules. And, they should quickly establish who the client is, what the client does and help the client to make a great first impression.

 

4. Is bid writing difficult? 
​

If you know the answers to the tender questions, it's easy. ​Otherwise, bid writing​ requires tactics, strategy and skill and is a high pressure activity.

​Writing an effective and concise, tender response is tricky. There is a fine line between hyperbole and a compelling read. Knowing, how much, is too much and when to stop, is key to winning bids.

You and your bid writer must always write the truth, you must not misrepresent your organisation in a bid. This would be a serious breach of procurement law and YOU (not the bid writer) are responsible for the bid you submit and may be banned from ALL UK government procurement processes for up to 5 years as a result of misrepresentation.

In the near future you may also be put on a debarment list that would automatically prevent you from bidding for UK public procurement contracts. This could seriously damage your reputation and negatively affect the value of your company.  

A bid writers 'success rate or 'win rate' is not a reliable indication of bid writing skill. This is because there are many factors that are out of the control of the bid writer that affect the success of the bid. ​ 

The best bid writer in the world can still lose a bid. This is because the public procurement contract has become a commodity that is highly lucrative for both authorities and suppliers for income generation. 

​Some may argue that the change in public procurements remit (as an income generating profession, rather than a savings profession) may have reduced the impartiality of procurements role in the public procurement process.

​Recent research by the Markets and Competitions Authority concluded that 50% of SME's surveyed consider the current marketplace less fair than it was in 2016 and research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) concluded that a majority of SME's they surveyed would not consider bidding for a public procurement contract. 

However, this view may be shortsighted as not every industry is dominated by a monopoly or oligopoly. Some public sector buyers still believe in creating competition and design their procurement processes for SME's, voluntary organisations and charities. But on the flip side, there is a growing number of buyers who seem content on creating new regional monopolies and putting existing SME's out of business. 

Also see 20. Is the use of bid writing services breaking procurement rules? ​

 

5. When would I need bid writing services? 
​

Bid writing services may reduce the overwhelming enormity of facing the procurement process alone and may be useful in the following circumstances:
​

1. Your competitor is already using a bid writing service.
2. It is a must win bid for you. 
3. You have no time or resource available to write a bid.
4. You are unsure why you keep losing bids.
5. You want an independent opinion of your bid to increase your scores. 

 

6. Where can I find bid writing services?

Bid writing services can be sought in the following ways, ranked in order of perceived  risk, 1 = lowest risk and 5 = highest risk:

1. Recommendations and word of mouth referrals (not incentivised or paid for) from a trusted contact, trusted industry association, trade body and/or network e.g LinkedIn*  
2. Internet Search*  
3. Social Media Search*
4. Job boards e.g. online market places*
5. Unsolicited letters, emails, texts and instant messages*

We've purposely not included company reviews or star ratings in the above list. This is because the activity of paying for fake reviews will soon become illegal. Glowing reviews can be paid for and there is evidence that this has harmed consumers.

​Some industry awards are also paid for via high membership fees, high exhibiting fees and selling tables at the award event. All may create a barrier to entry for smaller suppliers.    

* Follow all of these up with a conversation, consultation, additional checks. 

 

7. What is the role of a bid consultant in bid writing services?
​ 

A bid consultant has the same meaning as recruitment consultant, which is a sales role.

​The role of the bid consultant is to act as an intermediary to connect an end customer with an individual seeking a temporary bid writing assignment.

​The bid consultant is responsible for searching a data base of names and contact details (collected from various sources) about individuals who are a perfect match and may be interested in a temporary bid writing assignment or fixed term bid writing assignment. ​​

 

8. Do I need a bid writing service specification? 
​

Yes, it is critical to have a bid writing service specification before you make contact or speak to a bid writing service provider. 

One approach to creating a bid writing service specification, is to ask yourself some questions. For example:

• What part of the bid writing process am I good at?
• What part of the bid writing process do I need help with?
• How much bid writing support do I actually need?

If you determine that a proofreader is what you need, a freelance proofreader with an English degree (BA) may provide this service for a fraction of the price of a bid writing service. 

Unless grammar and/or spelling is allocated a specific weighting in the procurement documents, awarding a lower score (due to grammatical or spelling mistakes) is unlawful and may be subject to challenge. 

​The next step in the specification writing process may be to determine how involved in the bid writing process you want to be. For example ask yourself: 
​

• Do I want the whole bid taken off my hands? And, can I afford this? 
• Would tips and pointers on how to edit my bid be more affordable?
• Do I want reassurance that my bid will score well?

 
​If organisation is what you lack, a business manager or a project manager may be more beneficial to you.

However, if you want a complete overhaul of your competitor strategy, your ideal person would be a management consultant with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and decades of commercial experience. 

It's important to include in your specification the requirement for a specific understanding of your industry, e.g. providing examples of winning similar bids and that the bid writing service is exclusively committed to the success of your business and your business alone.

Once you know WHAT you want, you are in a much stronger position to articulate your requirements (for a bid writing service) in writing in a specification to share with bid writing service providers. 

It's important to remember that there are costs associated with membership, exhibitions, award events and advertising that may be passed on to you, the consumer, when you buy bid writing services. 

If price is a deciding factor for you when evaluating bid writing services, it may be prudent to take into account a wider range of deciding factors (including an acceptable level of risk) over and above membership, awards, accreditations and ISO certificates before making a decision to proceed with a bid writing service. 

​Smaller bid writing service providers (who keep their operating costs low) will often provide the same great quality bid writing service at a more competitive price point.  

 

9. What minimum qualifications should I specify?
​

This is a tricky question to answer as people come to bid writing from all walks of life and at different stages of their lives.

The qualifications bid writers may hold will vary, depending on their age, where they were born and various other factors. For example: 

• 11+, O Levels, A Levels and GCSE's,
• English language and literature qualifications, 
• sales and marketing qualifications, 
• journalist qualifications,
• professional business qualifications, 
• relevant industry qualifications and experience. 

​
Importantly, you will want to ensure your specification does not raise a claim of discrimination based on any of the 9 protected characteristics under equality and diversity guidelines and legislation. 

The Association for Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) trains bid writers to write in a specific style. But other people just love writing and are great at it. They prefer to have their own unique style of writing that differentiates them from other bid writers.  

10. Are bid writers inside IR35? 

 

Some bid writing service providers act as intermediaries or neutral vendors who rely on self employed bid writers to deliver the bid writing services on their behalf. 

HMRC define an employment intermediary as a person or business who makes arrangements for someone to work for a third person. They are often known as an ‘agency’ or ‘employment business’. 

​You’re an employment intermediary if you supply bid writers to work for an end client or another employment intermediary, and the client then pays you or someone connected to you (e.g. umbrella company) for the bid writers services. 

​If you use an employment intermediary for bid writing services you may need to consider if the off payroll working rules (that came into place on the 6th April 2021) affect you. ​

​Additional due diligence on a bid writing services supply chain may be necessary to protect you from future financial risk, penalties and the risk of modern slavery. 

 

11. How will I know if the bid writing service is any good?
​

Bid writing services should be exclusively committed to the success of your business and your business alone, if you have any hope of winning the bid. 

​By organising a face to face video call with the bid writer you can be sure the person you are speaking to is not reading from a sales script and/or being coached during the call, on how to sound like an expert when answering bid writing questions.   

You may ask all the right questions but how can you be sure the answers received are genuine? How can you determine if your investment in their bid writing services will win you the contract?

The short answer is, you can't know for sure until you actually use their bid writing services.  

It's useful to understand some common phrases used by bid writing companies, during their initial sales pitch and to understand what these statements actually mean.

 

12. What Does “We Write Bids for All Industries” Mean? 
​​

Bid writing service providers are happy to write bids in any field. By simplifying their business model in this way, they act as a master vendor in the hope it will open up more opportunities for them. 

A master vendor can be a single bid writing services provider assuming full responsibility for supplying bid writers. The bid writing service provider attempts to supply bid writers themselves and when they cannot fulfil requirements, they will release the opportunity to a tier 2 or even tier 3 bid writing services provider.

Alternatively, the bid writing service provider can act as a neutral vendor, an unbiased provider of self employed bid writers, instead of filling bid writer requirements directly themselves. They control and manage supply chains of self employed bid writers. 

 

​13. What does “We’ll Work With You To Figure It Out” Mean?
​ ​

This vague, non-committal answer should immediately raise alarm bells. Does your bid writing service provider have any clue as to how to write your bid? 

‘We’ll work with you’ or ‘We’ll figure it out as we go’ are red flags.

These responses indicate that the bid writing service provider has absolutely no plan as to where they will even begin. They may also be expecting YOU to do all the work (which defeats the object of bid writing services). 

If you are in any doubt (after receiving a response like this) you may want to ask the bid writing services provider what bid writing services you can expect them to deliver, on your behalf. Also see " How to know what you are buying", below. 
​
A bid writing services provider should be confident and competent enough to talk you through how the bid writing services will work from the outset.

 

​14. What does “We Guarantee Your Bid Will Win” Mean? 

Either there is something unlawful going on, or this is an empty promise. 

A guarantee sounds fantastic:

Yes! We are going to win this bid if we go with this bid writer!

No! That’s not a reality at all.

Even the most experienced bid writing services provider could never guarantee a 100% win rate.

​Should you trust a bid writing services provider who expresses such a wild claim? Also see "can bid writers guarantee a bid will win?" 

Instead, a legitimate bid writing services provider could prove they are the best fit for you by demonstrating their previous experience, knowledge and skills.

​The only guarantee offered should be their dedication to do their very best for you, the client and that's as far as the guarantee should go. ​

 

15. What Does “We Have A Secret To Our Bid Writing Success!” Mean? 

​​

Your bid writing services provider should have a proven record of competence within their specialist field.

​They should demonstrate their bid writing knowledge in your industry and/or sector from the outset, through their responses to your initial questions. 

You should expect your bid writing services provider to offer:

• skill,
• experience,
• determination,
• hard work,
• patience, and
• diligence. 

It is no secret that some bid writing services providers have better success than others, because they have specialised training, knowledge and extensive experience in their field. This should always be transparent. 

It pays to always invest your money with a bid writing services provider who is proud of their achievements, and not one who wants to keep them a secret. 

 

16.What Does “We Are The Cheapest Bid Writing Service On The Market!” Mean? 

​​

The bid writing services provider may think you are price motivated. This may be because the first question you asked was

" how much do you charge for bid writing services? "

Instead, the first question you should have asked is

" do you think you can win the bid for me? "

Where bid writing services are concerned, you really do get what you pay for. 

Bid writing services who engage bid writers they trust with a proven desire to win (not a delusion) is often reflected in the fees they charge. Bid writing services who engage random individuals who just want to get paid may be inexpensive.

If you want to increase your chances of winning tenders, pay for professional bid writing services, committed to 'your' business and 'your' bid, rather than bid writing services committed to making a quick buck (as a side hustle) to their existing business.

Expecting to win a lucrative procurement contract by employing the cheapest bid writing services around, is the definition of false economy. The cost of bid writing services is tiny in comparison to the value that some procurement contracts award. On the flip side, over paying for bid writing services is madness!!

It is therefore prudent for YOU to have your budget in mind before contacting bid writing services providers, and share your budget expectations with them from the outset. 

​​Budget for bid writing services in terms of what winning the contract is worth to you. This will save you both the wasted time and effort of discussing a bid when your price expectations are not aligned.  

17. What Does “We Have A Bid Writer For Every Tender" Mean?

 

This statement may mean "we are a master vendor or neutral vendor and we have a database of bid writers or bid writing companies, we will approach with 'your' job”.  

​As all bid writing services are an investment in business development and could make the difference between business success and business failure, it is important to establish 'who' is actually writing your bid, rather than who is 'responsible' for your bid.

​Will it be the person you spoke to on the phone, another colleague, another bid writing company or a computer? 

It pays to establish how good 'your' bid writer is:

• Do you have the best bid writer?
• Does your competitor have the best bid writer?
• Do you have the same bid writer as your competitor?

​
As with any lucrative market place, neutral vendors and master vendors have sought to control the bid writing market place through bricks and mortar businesses and online marketplaces.
 
Modern Slavery is defined as one person owned as property by another. This is a modern day problem in neutral vendor and master vendor supply chains.

When engaging with master vendors and neutral vendors, it is important to vet them and their sub-contractors' first, second and third tier supply chains.

Remember, the more intermediaries involved in the bid writing supply chain, the higher the risk of exploitation. Furthermore, a 'cheap' quote for bid writing services should be investigated fully to ensure the people involved in writing the bid are not being exploited and ARE receiving FAIR payment for their work. 

18. Should I meet my bid writer? 
​

Yes, absolutely you should expect to meet your bid writer but this does not need to be in person. It is perfectly acceptable to meet and interview your bid writer via a video conference call. 

It is important to establish (as with any service) who will be undertaking the bid writing service, prior to entering into an agreement. It is the people who will provide the bid writing services who really matter.

​Priority should be given to testing an individuals extensive knowledge and experience of writing bids for your industry and/or your sector. 

​It is a commonly known sales tactic for companies to use their best people to win the sales pitch, before substituting them with weaker personnel who complete the actual work!

Also see " Do beauty parades work?"   

​It therefore pays to speak directly to the bid writer and ask them the following 5 questions: 

1.  Are you available? 
2.  What relevant previous experience do you have? 
3.  What is your success rate? 
4.  Have you written bids for my competitors before? 
5.  How much do YOU charge? ​
​​

 

​19. Do beauty parades work?

A 'beauty parade' (as a procurement term) is when a number of suppliers are invited to present to a customer panel, one immediately after the other.

​Each supplier is provided with the same brief and must 'pitch' to the customer panel for a set amount of time.

The customer panel then scores each 'supplier pitch' to determine the winner. In the same way that men would judge women on their attractiveness in the 1970's, buyers judge suppliers on the attractiveness of their pitch.  

My previous experience of the 'beauty parade' approach helped me to identify 5 possible drawbacks to 'beauty parades' when vetting suppliers:

• Firstly, 'beauty parades' are time consuming and costly for suppliers. This deters participation.

 

• Secondly, in my experience, suppliers repeat the same information over and over because there is only one answer to the question asked.

 

• Thirdly, the supplier who 'pitches' first, may have an advantage over all other suppliers. This is because they have the customer panels full attention, which subsequent suppliers may not. 

 

• Fourthly, beauty parades are often repetitive and boring for the customer panel. This is due to hearing the same (or similar) information, over and over again. 

​

• Finally, a great 'pitch' is no guarantee of a 'great' bid writing service. Many  introverts make the best writers. Introverts are unlikely to enjoy participating or perform poorly, in a 'beauty parade'.

The winner of the 'beauty parade' is often the person who performs best on the day, not overall.

This is why the process is known as a 'beauty parade' and is not taught as a credible strategic sourcing technique.

It is important to note that a 'beauty parade' should not be confused with a 'demonstration' which is a credible strategic sourcing technique. 

​An interview process is often more successful at gaining full participation from interested suppliers and helps buyers to test their assumptions about what they actually need from a bid writing service provider.    

 

20. Is the use of bid writing services breaking procurement rules? 
​

No, using a bid writing service is no different in theory to asking your accountant or lawyer for help to complete a bid IF the bid writer:
​ 

1. Is NOT employed (or working on a temporary basis) for the Contracting Authority.
2. Has had NO prior involvement in the tender process and/or the drafting of the tender documentation. 
3. Has NO influence over the evaluation scoring or the tender award decision. 

Contracting Authorities must effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement processes to ensure equal treatment of all bidders.

Procurement law states that:

"the concept of conflicts of interest shall at least cover any situation where relevant staff members ​(meaning staff members of the Contracting Authority, or of a procurement service provider (meaning a public or private body which offers ancillary purchasing activities to the market) acting on behalf of the contracting authority, who are involved in the conduct of the procurement procedure or may influence the outcome of that procedure), directly or indirectly, a financial, economic or other personal interest which might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and independence in the context of the procurement procedure" .

The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Code of Conduct defines behaviours and actions which CIPS members must commit to maintain. They include: 
​

• Rejecting any business practice which might reasonably be deemed improper.
• Never using procurements authority or position for one's own financial gain.
• Not allowing offers of hospitality or those with vested interests to influence, or be perceived to influence, procurements business decisions.
• Declaring any personal interest that might affect, or be seen by others to affect, procurements impartiality in decision making.
• Never breaching the confidentiality of information received in a professional capacity.
• Striving for genuine, fair and transparent competition. 
• Responsibly managing any business relationships where unethical practices may come to light and take appropriate action to report and remedy them.

​Where a bidder has advised a Contracting Authority, or has otherwise been involved in the preparation of the procurement procedure, the Contracting Authority must take appropriate measures to ensure that competition is not distorted by the participation of that bidder in the procurement process.

​This may include: 

• sharing all relevant information in the preparation of the procurement procedure with all bidders,
• providing adequate time limits for the receipt of tenders,
• excluding the bidder if there are no other means to ensure compliance with the duty to treat all bidders equally.

In circumstances where it is proven that attempts were made to influence decision-makers (by offering benefits other than what can be legitimately offered as part of the tendering process), the matter may be referred to the police as a breach of the Bribery Act 2010.

​If an individual is found guilty of such offence, penalties include prison terms of up to 10 years. ​

 

21. Can bid writing services guarantee a win? 
​

There is no ethical way a bid writing service can guarantee a win. 

​Why is this?

​Procurement Law states that a tender process must be fair and transparent with all bidders treated equally.

Equal treatment and transparency are fundamental principles of public procurement. Meaning, to go to tender with a preconceived idea of who the winning bidder will be, is unlawful. 

​You may therefore want to perform additional due diligence if you are guaranteed your bid will win. 

22. Is winning a place on a Framework or DPS guaranteed business? 

 

No, winning a place on a multi supplier framework agreement or a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is not a guarantee of Government business. This is always clearly stated in the tender documents.
 
The purpose of bids and tenders or Request for Proposals (RFP) is to create competition in the marketplace for goods or services at the required quantity, quality and price that the buyer wants to procure. They are intended to either reduce the price or to secure supply by offering commitment to a reduced number of suppliers. It's as simple as that.

There is no commitment offered under a framework agreement or a DPS, they are effectively a catalogue of supplier’s maximum prices.

​The catalogue is presented to the public sector customers (named in the tender documents), to then pick and choose which supplier they will contract with.

However, a sole supplier framework agreement is often guaranteed business. 

 

23. How long do bid writing services take? 
​

​Your bid writing service provider should allow plenty of time to complete your bid. 

​An initial, quick flick through the tender documents should be all they need to determine how complex the tender is and how much time is required to compile a quality tender response.
​
On average, it took up to 60 hours to complete the requirements of a government procurement tender process. This does not include clients reviews and reflection, which is critical. However, every tender process is different, the 60 hours was only an average.  Post Covid-19 tender requirements (for social value plans and business continuity plans) have increased substantially and this has impacted upon bid response writing times and bid writing costs. 

The time taken to write your bid will depend on the complexity of the tender and the skills, knowledge and subject matter expertise of the person writing your bid. It can also depend on the number of changes the buyer makes (to the tender documents) throughout the tender process.

​For example, the number of clarification questions and the number of changes made (by the buyer) to the tender response documents (during the tender process), can impact on the amount of time it takes to complete your bid.

If the buyer makes changes to the word counts, mid-way through the tender process, this will impact on the time it takes to write the bid (as the existing response will need to be amended accordingly). 
 
It may be prudent to agree a fixed price for the bid writing service rather than a daily or hourly rate or price per number of words. Otherwise, any re-work may cost you additional money.

 

24. How much do bid writers charge?  

How much does bid writing Cost?

The good news is, there is a bid writer for every budget. You can expect to pay anywhere in the region of £550 and £1,200 a day for a reputable UK based industry bid writing professional to write​ your bid.

​Based on 60 hours professional bid writing work this will cost between £4,400 and £9,600. 

A freelance writer may charge by the hour, with prices as low as £50 per hour. Writers may also use the traditional method of selling copy, charging by the word or the page. ​

Alternatively, bid writing services (with a large in-house multi-disciplinary team) may charge a blended rate to reflect the different levels of skill, experience and activities undertaken by the team of people who work on your bid. This figure is reported to be in the region of £20,000 in 2022. 

​For example, a newly qualified graduate may write the majority of the bid with input from a subject matter expert or industry professional. This provides a cost effective method of training new recruits whilst they earn revenue for the bid writing services provider.
​​
The following examples of associated bid writing services may be required and offered for an additional fee:
​

• bid management,
• proof reading,
• selection questionnaires,
• project plans,
• organigram,
• tables and graphics,
• case studies,
• references,
• policies and procedures.

With a clear idea of what your bid writing services requirements are, you can avoid over paying and/or paying for unnecessary bid writing services.

If you are unsure as to what you need, you could ask the bid writing services provider to break the total bid writing services charge into its component parts.

This way you can quickly determine which bid writing services activities to outsource to them and which activities you want to keep in-house.  

It is therefore important to establish what method of charges the bid writing services quote is based on.

Examples of bid writing services charging mechanisms include:

• Fixed rate 
• Day rate 

• Blended rate 

• Hourly rate 
• Number of words
• Number of pages   
• Success Payment

​The method of charging for bid writing services can also impact on the total cost of bid writing services and the quality of the bid.

​For example, if you agree to pay by the word and the buyer decides to increase the word count (part way through the procurement process), the total cost of bid writing services may increase as a consequence.

It may also be in the interest of the bid writing services provider to lobby the buyer to increase the word count, as they will earn more money.  

In contrast, a fixed rate (used to incentivise a bid writing services provider to work quickly to complete the bid writing work within a defined budget) may not result in a winning bid if the fixed rate is lower than existing market rates.  

You have a budget BUT, choosing the cheapest bid writing services now (rather than the best bid writing services), may lead to a more costly business mistake in the future. However, over paying for bid writing services is madness. It pays to shop around and find a great deal rather than underpaying or overpaying for bid writing services. 

It is important to remember (when buying professional bid writing services) that it may not be possible for your bid writer to provide an accurate quote (prior to viewing the procurement documentation).

There may also be a smaller pool of bid writing services to pick from at busy times. Good bid writing services will charge more than the figures quoted online on freelancing websites.

When you find a good bid writing service you tend to hold onto them so they can't write bids for anyone else. One way to achieve this is to pay your bid writing service a retainer to secure a percentage of their bid writing time to you each month. 

Most bid writing services know their worth and when you find the right one for YOU and YOUR business it is worth its weight in gold. 

However, offering a bid writing service provider a retainer does provide you with some leverage and greater bargaining power. 

 

25. Should I insist on a no win, no fee money back guarantee?
​

There are NO guarantees in the procurement process. Buyers can cancel procurement processes without reason or they can choose simply not to award the contract.

​This is perfectly acceptable under procurement law and is clearly stated in the procurement documents.
 
In our experience the majority of bid writing services are unlikely to offer a 'no win, no fee' guarantee as they have provided the time and resources to complete the bid writing service.

​The 'no win, no fee' concept was introduced by legal firms for trip and fall claims.

Would you demand a refund if money spent on advertising did not result in increased revenue? No, you would try somebody new.

​Bid writing services are the same. You may have to work with a few bid writing service providers before you find a bid writing service you like.
 
If the 'no win, no fee' is a deal breaker for you (and you can convince a bid writing services provider you are the ultimate winner of the contract), maybe you can get a bid writing services provider to agree to your terms.

​However, do not be surprised if (in the long run) you pay more for this privilege as there is a cost associated with writing the bid.

 

26. What is a success payment? 

​

A 'success payment' is a bonus or an additional payment the buyer makes to the bid writer or bid writing company, if their bid wins.

​A 'success payment' is a tangible guarantee that the bid writer will do everything (within the law) to help you win the bid. 

How does it work?

​You pay an agreed amount for the bid writing service now and if the bid wins, you pay an additional agreed amount or a percentage to the bid writer or bid writing company, later. 

In theory, 'success payments' sound like a great deal but there are things to consider:

Firstly, what is the total cost, for both the bid writing service and the 'success payment'?  

Secondly, how confident are you about winning the bid? 

Thirdly, is the total cost (bid writing service + 'success payment') value for money? 

Below are 3 worked examples illustrating how the 'success payment' works and how to determine value for money. 

Worked example 1:

Supplier A: charges £5000 Total Cost = £5000
Supplier B: charges £5000 plus £5000 'success payment' Total Cost = £10,000

In worked example 1, Supplier A provides best value for money if a place on a Government framework is guaranteed.

If a bid is for sole supply, this would be a commercial decision based on the merits of Supplier A and Supplier B in terms of the bid writing services offered, experience and skill. 

Worked example 2: 

Supplier A: charges £5000 Total Cost = £5000
Supplier B: charges £3500 plus £1500 'success payment' Total Cost = £5,000

In worked example 2, as both total costs are the same, Supplier B is perceived to offer best value for money as the initial cost is lower than Supplier A and the remaining payment is deferred to a later date. 

Worked example 3: 

Supplier B Option 1 : charges £5000 Total Cost = £5000
Supplier B Option 2 : charges £3500 plus £2500 'success payment' Total Cost = £6,000

In worked example 3, Option 2 is £1000 more expensive than Option 1. This approach factors in the risk that Supplier B is taking by allowing the buyer to delay the success payment. 

A 'success payment' is both good and bad for bid writers and bid writing companies.

The benefit of the 'success payment' approach is the customer thinks they are getting a great deal.

This is a useful tool for undercutting competitors by delaying a percentage of the customers total charges.  

However, the bid writer and bid writing companies risks associated with the 'success payment' approach are the: 

1. Contract is never awarded.
2. Customer's business is insolvent, prior to the award of the contract. 
3. Customer fails to disclose they won the contract. 
4. Tender award is significantly delayed.
5. Additional administration costs. 

Bid writers and bid writing companies may balance risk by factoring additional profit into their charges as demonstrated by Supplier B in worked example 1 and 3. 

 

27. What do bid writers need from me?
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Bid writing services can work in different ways.

Generally, if a bid writer is writing your bid they will need to understand more about you and your organisation, (the goods and services you sell), to answer the tender questions fully. 

This usually includes asking questions about how your business works and requesting company literature to help the bid writer understand who you are and what differentiates you from your competitors.

This may be achieved via the dictation method. For example, the bid writer asks you how you want to answer each tender question and includes your verbal response in your bid. 

A bid writer with existing industry knowledge is preferable to a bid writer with no industry knowledge, as prior industry knowledge will save you considerable time and hopefully money.

This is because the bid writer with existing industry knowledge will already know how to answer the tender questions and will be looking to obtain those differentiators or golden nuggets of information from YOU, to include in your bid. 

By choosing the right bid writing service for the job from the start, you may avoid explaining the basics to the bid writer later.

​Their pre-existing understanding of your industry, may mean they only need to understand what makes your organisation unique, in order to successfully sell you to the buyer. 

 

28. How to agree and confirm what you are buying  
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​In the UK the bid writing market place is unregulated. This means anybody can operate as a bid writing service.

No licence, qualifications or trade body membership are required to sell bid writing services in the UK.

You may therefore need to perform your own due diligence checks to ensure the company/individual is genuine. 
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The management of the contract with a bid writing service, is crucial.

Before you hand over any money for bid writing services you may want to make sure you have a signed and dated agreement (between both parties) that provides, for example: 

• full details of the service,
• who will provide the service,
• when the service will start and end,
• how much the service will cost,
• when payment(s) will be made and 
• method of payment.

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​Also, you may want to make sure you have an address (business or personal) not a PO Box number and that this is an address in the UK. 

​Regular review meetings to discuss the progress of the service may help to swiftly rectify any issues with service delivery.

 

29. Are bid writing services increasing? 
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The short answer is yes, but in the very near future the traditional large, complex UK Government tenders will be replaced by simple box ticking dynamic purchasing systems. This will reduce the need for bid writing services dramatically. 

 

30. Summary 
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When buying bid writing services, it is important to determine the credentials of both the bid writing service and/or the person writing the bid. 

​Firstly, do they exist and are they genuine and secondly, are they any good?
 
Once you have answered these questions, your decision may come down to personal choice.
 
Don't be pressured into signing a contract or handing over money to the first person you speak to. It could be a scam. 

If you receive an email telling you about the millions of pounds the Government wants to give you, you should proceed with caution. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

​If you want a bid writing service to stop contacting you, click the unsubscribe button in the email and request (in writing) that they do not contact you again.

​If they continue to use bro-marketing tactics, you may choose to report them to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) who will investigate and may administer a fine. 

We hope that you found this guide useful and you feel informed, confident and ready to secure a professional bid writing service to help you win your next procurement contract

If you don't feel this way and you still haven't found the bid writing service for you, you should contact us. 

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