14 Sep How To Build A Brilliant Bid Writing Team
Building a strong team is an essential step for establishing an effective bid writing and management process.
Each role within the team has its distinct requirements, and it is up to you to choose members of staff who are best suited to that role.
Your team should consist of professionals with a diverse range of skills and experience, tailored to the requirements of each contract you apply for. These team members will need to work together effectively and be able to consistently meet deadlines.
In this article, we will explore the core roles on a bid writing team and outline the necessary skills, experience, and traits needed to carry each role out effectively.
Bid/Proposal Manager
The Bid Manager oversees the entire timeline of the bid writing process.
They are responsible for assembling and managing the bid writing team and preparing and hosting the initial kick-off session, through to the final ‘lessons learned’ debrief. As part of their role, they are responsible for developing your core bidding strategy and managing the overall development of the bid, including ensuring effective governance and compliance with the legislation relevant to your trade.
A good bid manager should be strategic, have good leadership skills, and be able to manage a team effectively. They should also have a keen eye for detail and be able to help team members craft a high-quality response while meeting evaluation criteria and tight deadlines.
Required Skills:
- Strategic vision
- Analytical thinking style
- Attention to detail
- Leadership ability
- Team working skills
- Competitive
- Organised
- Good communication ability
- Problem-solving skills
Required Experience:
- Managerial experience in bid writing or related fields
- Technical writing experience
- Experience with public and private sector bidding
- Project management experience
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) provide the bulk of the information provided in the bid. They use their technical skills, industry knowledge, and relevant experience to inform the Bid Writers about the key details to include in the bid, which they can then formulate into a persuasive proposal.
The roles of Subject Matter Expert and Bid Writer should not be conflated.
Subject Matter Experts are not the same as Bid Writers; they are often highly technical people who provide an in-depth explanation of the vital aspects to include in each bid, which Bid Writers can then format into a readable and engaging document.
Required Skills:
- Technical expertise
- Analytical thinking style
- Good communication ability
- Problem-solving skills
- Attention to detail
- Ability to collaborate with others
Required Experience:
- Highly experienced in their role
- Highly qualified in their field
- Experienced in effectively communicating their role to others within a team
- Research experience
Bid Writer
The Bid Writer plays a vital role in the formulation of an effective bid.
A large tender document may contain sections written by multiple team members in a variety of ways. As such, it is the Bid Writer’s responsibility to ensure that the bidding document is cohesive in writing style by rewriting any sections that seem inconsistent with the overall proposal, and to ensure that the tender document has an appropriate tone and voice that communicates key messages effectively.
They will also be required to interview the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to ensure that any information contained in the tender document is accurate and contains all the necessary details.
Required Skills:
- High standard of written English
- Written communication ability
- Verbal communication ability
- Attention to detail
- Team working skills
- Proofreading
- Time management
- Strategic vision
- IT skills
- Research skills
Required Experience:
- Experience in bid writing, editing, or related fields
Graphic Designer
You could be forgiven for thinking that graphic design doesn’t play much of a role in bid writing. After all, it is bid writing, not bid design, right?
But in fact, graphic design plays almost as much of a role in the bid writing process as the written content itself.
That’s because it is the design of your bid that will grab your reader’s attention before they sit down to read a word. The look and feel of your tender document create an impression of your business – whether you want it to appear clean, minimalistic, and professional for private or public sector contracts, or inspiring and artistic for the creative industries.
The design of your tender document should perfectly complement your business’ visual branding scheme, helping your company to be more memorable for your reader.
The design should also break up long paragraphs of text using graphics – such as graphs, charts, and images, to keep your reader engaged throughout your proposal and to reassert key messages.
Note that your designer should be familiar with the restrictions posed on design elements, and be able to use graphics appropriately and in line with your brand guidelines.
Required Skills:
- Creative
- Visually gifted
- Attention to detail
- IT skills (for example, InDesign, Photoshop)
- Reliable
- Time management skills
How To Assemble An Effective Team
Above all, it is essential that your team works effectively and collaboratively together, striving to meet the same goals and deliver high-quality results. As such, you should choose team members who work well together and bring a diverse range of skills and experience to the table.
In addition, you should pick team members who are reliable, and who are used to working to strict deadlines to meet the tight turnaround times required throughout the tendering process.
If you have any questions regarding how to optimise the bid management process within your organisation, we would be delighted to help.
We provide expert advice regarding bid management and tendering procedures, including professional bid writing services that will help you meet your clients’ expectations. Contact us today on 01908 382 414 to learn more!
