Bid writing - how to achieve value for money

Searching for a bid writer or tender writing support can be daunting. ​There's no shortage of claims - 'world's best bid writer', 'award winning tender writer' or 'the UK's leading bid writing company'. You may take these claims at face value or you may choose to dig a little deeper. 

​How can you determine if the bid writer is likely to win you the contract?

How do you separate the professional bid writer from the cow boy? 

​Ultimately, how do you get value for money from a bid writer? ​

Read on to find out. 

How to achieve value for money

I know what you're thinking, how hard can bid writing be? It turns out, harder than you thought. You familiarised yourself with the tender documents and submitted a bid. You failed! You can't believe it, you thought your tender response was awesome! So what went wrong? 

​The majority of people feel under pressure when asked to write a bid. Procurement tendering instructions are often complicated, vague and open to interpretation. Bidders also struggle with the no contact approach to public tendering processes. All communications must be submitted through a tender portal. If you ask a question, it's often frustrating when you are referred back to a clause in the tender documents. 

​Failing to win a tender often has nothing to do with how intelligent you are or how qualified you are, experience of procurement processes is what really counts. 

With the UK Government publishing an estimated £280 billion pounds of contracts each year with a target to spend between 22 percent and 33 percent of this budget with Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's), competition is fierce. 

With this in mind, here are my top 5 tips on how to get value for money from your bid writer. 

#1 Experience counts
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“We Write Bids for All Industries”  the bid writer is generalising their business and are happy to write bids in any field. Why is this? Because by simplifying their business in this way, they are hoping that it will open more opportunities for themselves. 

You need to find a bid writer who is exclusively committed to the success of your business and your business alone if you have any hope of winning the bid. 

​An experienced bid writer knows specifics about your industry and the procurement process. They will have worked on similar bids before and will know what is expected from the tender when they write your bid.

When you choose a bid writer you are investing your money in their specialised knowledge and experience. A good bid writer will quickly establish who you are, what you do and what you want to achieve. ​

#2 What is their approach?   
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“We’ll Work with You to Figure it Out” - This vague, non-committal answer should immediately raise alarm bells. Do they have any clue as to how to write your bid? ‘We’ll work with you’ or ‘We’ll figure it out as we go’ is a red flag.

This response indicates the bid writer has absolutely no plan as to where they will even begin. If you are in any doubt after receiving a response like this then ask the bid writer to give you their expectations of what service they will deliver on your behalf.
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​A professional will look over the tender and say ‘yes, this all seems achievable’. They will only need your input when a question in the tender requires a personal response. Otherwise, they should be confident and competent enough to know how to respond and what is required from you at the outset.

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#3 Investigate claims 
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“We Guarantee We Will Win the Bid for You”

​In life there are no guarantees and there certainly are no guarantees in bid writing.

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 writers could not guarantee a 100% success rate, and you should never trust a bid writer who expresses such a claim.
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​A legitimate bid writer should prove that they are the best fit for you by guaranteeing their dedication in the response to the tender.

​No bid writer should guarantee that they are going to win, but they should be able to give you reassurance that they are highly confident that the bid will be successful.

“We Have a Secret to our Bid Writing Success!”

​The truth is there is no secret to successful bid writing.

It is no secret that some bid writers have better success because they have specialised training, knowledge and extensive experience in the field where others do not.

Your bid writer should have a proven record of competence within their field. They should demonstrate their industry knowledge from the outset through their responses to your initial questions.

#4 Is the price too good to be true?  

“We Are the Cheapest Bid Writing Firm on the Market!”

​Where bid writing is concerned, you really do get what you pay for.

Expecting to win a lucrative contract by employing the cheapest bid writer around is the definition of a false economy.

The cost of bid writing is tiny in comparison to the size of the prize on offer, if you win the contract.

​Other pricing models I've come across: 

No win no fee - No respectable bid writer will work on this basis. 

Professional bid writers require payment whether you win or lose the bid.

Win bonus - The bid writer stakes a percentage of their fee on a 'win'.

​For example, you pay 50% upfront and are invoiced 50% if you win the bid. 

In theory this sounds like a good deal but it's only a good deal if the price you are being charged is competitive.

​In theory, you are borrowing the money from the bid writer, an element of interest is factored into the deal. 

​Always pay a bid writer in relation to what the contract is worth to you.

​If you want to win then pay for a quality bid writer who has a desire to win above all else, it really is as simple as that.

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​#5 Who is writing my bid?  
​

“We have a bid writer for every tender"

​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, a freelance bid writer, another bid writing company or a computer?  

Your bid writer should demonstrate meticulous attention to detail and provide you with an honest review of your prospects.

​This includes the quality of the responses and documentation you are submitting with your tender. 

If your responses and supporting documentation is rubbish, you would want your bid writer to tell you before the buyer does. The bid writer needs to have the confidence in their own abilities to do this. 

As all bid writing is an investment in your business’ growth and development and could make the difference between business success and business failure, you really want to know who exactly is completing the work and potentially who your data is being shared with. 

A professional bid writer should take away the stress associated with the bid writing process, not add to it. 

Bid writing help
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If the only reason not to bid is a lack of time or resource, you should consider hiring the services of a professional bid writer. Professional bid writers are experts in how to respond to difficult tender questions. 

Seeking the services of an expert bid writer makes the bid writing process less daunting and easier to manage.​

Outsourcing your bid writing to Naomi Clews Consultancy is a great business decision. Our clients are frequently overwhelmed by the enormity of the prospect of participating in a tender process.

We know winning the bid will change your fortunes forever. We invest our time in your business, helping you to write a winning bid.  

There are no guarantees in the tender process. The evaluation of bids is very subjective but tender processes provide opportunities to learn.

​The more feedback you receive, the more your confidence will grow and the more you learn about your business. 

If you are considering applying for bids and tenders, PQQ's - check out our bid writing services here. 

About the author

Naomi Clews is a chartered procurement professional with over 15 years knowledge, skills and experience in Government tender processes.