e

026-029_EM_OctNov05_EU 7/10/05 5:46 pm Page 26

ww

w.ie

e.or

g/m

gt

For those of us who run a consultancy, turningout a continuous stream of bids and proposalsis a fact of life. But how good are the proposalsyou write? Are they bringing you the contractsthat will do most for your business? Or are youfailing to win work because their content and

style lets you down? With outsourcing starting to look like yesterday’s

fashion, you’ll find it increasingly hard to gain consultancywork unless your proposals show that you really can makea difference to clients. If the proposals you send out don’tcontain all the information asked for, if they have errorsand inconsistencies, if the approach and price have notbeen thought through, or if they seem flat and uninspiringeven to the people who wrote them, how can you expect aclient to see you as the right choice of professional advice?

This article offers some practical guidelines to follow ifyou want your proposal writing to be more convincing,more competitive and more rewarding.

DECIDING TO BIDFirst, you have to recognise that it won’t be sensible orpracticable to chase after every bid opportunity. Thedecision over whether to bid ought to be based on yourclient research and an informed assessment of thetechnical, commercial and professional issues thatinfluence the competitive situation. It is a decision that hasto be made as soon as possible so as not to waste time andeffort on prospects you have no real chance of winning.

MANAGING THE BID PROCESSThe proposal needs to be managed and developed through astructured, methodical approach and a strategy that hassustained commitment and support from the top. Remember,in asking you to prepare a bid the client is setting you a test:the quality of your response will be seen as a proxy for yourperformance of the work. So there is no point in half-heartedly going through the motions of bidding. �

Do your proposals

makeovHarold Lewis providessome tips on how towin bids and contracts

26 IEE Engineering Management | October/November 2005

s

ve

026-029_EM_OctNov05_EU 7/10/05 5:46 pm Page 27

IEE Engineering Management | October/November 2005 27

Finance

need a

r?

28 I

ww

w.ie

e.or

g/m

gt

026-029_EM_OctNov05_EU 7/10/05 5:46 pm Page 28

Work out a plan to get the proposal out on time, with asufficient contingency margin to overcome any last-minutehitches. If the bid is likely to involve successive drafts fromseveral contributors, put in place an effective process ofdocument management and version control. And don’tneglect any requirements for electronic submission orcopies on CDs.

FOLLOWING DIRECTIONSIf the client has given instructions about the structure, lengthand content of the proposal, or about the way information isto be presented, observe them to the letter. This sounds abasic, common-sense point, but it is often neglected, and thecost of not being compliant can be high. When you are askedto provide, say, three examples of comparable work, or tokeep within five pages of text, do just that, no more and noless. If the bid documents include templates, use them, notforms that you have concocted yourself.

FOCUSING ON THE CLIENTYour proposal won’t get anywhere if it reads like ageneralised, off-the-shelf product. Its content has to betargeted precisely on the client’s requirements, not yourmenu of services. It isn’t a marketing document, like acapability statement, and it should not turn into a how-tomanual. It’s a business offer to a specific client. The workmatters to the client, and you have to show that winning itmatters to you.

UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIFICATION Don’t skimp on analysing the bid documents, or you’relikely to miss key items of information and fail to detectsignals about what the client sees as added value. Answerthe specification directly and concisely, and put originalthought into your response. Clients don’t want their ownwords fed back to them; they want your thinking and yourideas. Whatever the client tells you by way of backgroundis the minimum you are expected to know.

EXPLAINING THE BENEFITS If you’re setting out a methodology, explain what theoptions are and how your choice will bring most benefitsto the client. Don’t just list the people in a team or themembers of a consortium. Describe the part each will playin the contract and the added value of their combinedstrength. You have to convince clients that you can meettheir needs more accurately, economically and dependablythan any other consultant and deliver more benefits thanany of your competitors.

BE REALISTICTake care not to commit yourself to an impossible workplan or promise results you cannot deliver. Show you have

EE Engineering Management | October/November 2005

thought through the work and its challenges in detail andhave made a correct assessment of the professional effortit will require. Make sure you repair any weaknesses inyour team and try to disarm any criticisms that the clientmay raise.

PROFESSIONAL APPROACH Technical competence to do the work is not enough. Yourproposal has to convince the client that you are able toorganise the work in a way that delivers the most cost-effective, time-effective and quality-effective service. Don’ttalk just in generalities about ‘commitment to the highestprofessional standards’ or ‘maintaining a qualitymanagement system’. Clients want more solid material onwhich to judge the practicality of your intentions – evidenceof how exactly you will make sure the work stays on track,meets targets and comes in on cost.

The message to convey is that quality management,progress measurement and performance monitoring arepart of the best practice approach that you bring to everycontract you undertake. Find out, if you don’t already know,how the client likes to work and show how well you will fitin. Let the client see that awarding the contract to you willensure an alert response to changes in requirements as thework takes shape.

When writing about your past and current projects, givefacts and figures to substantiate your record of experience.Never rely on boasts about ‘extensive’ or ‘in-depth’experience. The client needs to see proof.

Also, humanise your proposal – don’t just write inabstract terms. Remember the client is buying brain power– the experience, knowledge, energies and enthusiasm of thepeople named in your bid. The best proposals give clients asense of the value each team member adds to your businessoffer and a clear statement of what they will do and when.

MATCHING THE EVALUATION CRITERIA Do you know how the proposal will be judged? Will factorssuch as best value for money, past performance, minimumexposure to risk, and the assurance of a safe pair of handsbe decisive? Or is the client really looking for evidence offresh innovative thinking and new ideas? Your task is togain a confident insight into the client’s priorities andensure the proposal scores high on all the points thatrepresent value to the client. Your aim should be to makeyour proposal so attractive that it becomes the benchmarkagainst which others are measured.

GETTING THE PRICE RIGHTWhatever price you quote, it needs to be justified in termsof the professional input you intend to provide, the risksthe work will entail and the value the client attaches to yourexpertise, and it has to be realistic in terms of the available

Finance

026-029_EM_OctNov05_EU 7/10/05 5:46 pm Page 29

� Research the client’s businessenvironment and objectives beforestarting to write the bid.

� Follow all instructions and supply allthe information you are asked for.

� Focus on the client’s requirements andthe distinctive value you can offer inmeeting them.

� Understand the specification down tothe smallest detail.

� Show you have fully thought throughthe work and its challenges.

� Justify everything in your proposal –from the structure of the team to thecontent of the methodology.

� Be honest and realistic about what youcan deliver.

� Give the client a precise statement of outputs and a clear workprogramme.

� Write clearly, concisely and confidentlyin a way that reflects the client’spriorities.

� Make it clear exactly what your pricecovers.

� Keep a close eye on quality andcompliance all the way through thedevelopment and writing of the bid.

� Throughout the proposal communicatethe added value of your approach.

TWELVE THINGS TO DO:

budget. Make it clear precisely what your price covers,remembering that fixed prices are tricky to calculate – takecare not to underestimate the effort and resources neededto deliver the required outputs.

WRITING THE PROPOSALIf the proposal has just a few pages, it probably won’t needa summary unless the client requires it. If you do includeone, make it a summary of the value offered by your bid –the salient points of your proposal – not just a summary ofthe text.

If possible, get a colleague to check through theproposal for points that may need more explanation. Is thetext strong and consistent all the way through, or are thereparts that the client may find weak? Make time to proof-read the proposal carefully. Attention to detail is vital,including spelling and grammar. Don’t let the client be thefirst to spot a glaring error. Do the numbers in tables addup correctly? Are tables consistent with the text? Do thecost figures tally with the technical input? Have you putright any mistakes in spelling and sentence construction?And if you alter the structure of the proposal at the lastmoment, make sure the changes are reflected in any cross-references in the text. Remember to check and re-checkthat everything the client has asked for is in place.

CREATING A SENSE OF PARTNERSHIPYour proposal has to be business-like, but it shouldn’t readlike a pitch from a seller to a buyer. It needs to give theclient a reassuring feel for the relationship you willdevelop if you are asked to take on the work. Themessages to convey are collaboration, transparency andpartnership, based on identity of purpose with the client’sbusiness objectives and an honest commitment to qualityand professionalism.

ADDING READABILITYThe bids most likely to win are those that make their case

straightforwardly, concisely and vividly. Cut out flab andpadding: it’s the content of the proposal that counts, not itslength. And it needs to be written in a way that wins theclient over, with impact and personality, rather thancoasting along in neutral. The way you say things isimportant – which is why ‘wordsmithing’ is a key proposalskill. The right words can help your proposal resonate withmessages the client wants to hear. Write confidently, notstridently: there’s a difference between being assertive(which is good) and being aggressive (which is bad).

To defeat the competition, your proposal has to possessan extra dimension that sets it apart from the rest. It has tooffer more at no extra cost. This is what is meant by addingvalue. But it’s the client, not you, who decides whatrepresents added value. How do you identify that? Byknowing your client, researching the work opportunity,understanding how the client organisation perceives itsrequirements and recognising its expectations ofperformance.

The points of advice outlined here are not offered as‘tricks of the trade’: I don’t believe consultants should be inthe business of playing tricks! They are meant to help yourespond honestly and convincingly to the proposalchallenge. Follow this guidance and you are bound toachieve better proposals and better results. �

Harold Lewis is an independent consultant who advises consultancy firms onproposal writing and tendering

Kogan Page is offering readers the chance to win one of five FREE copies of Harold’s book, ‘Bids, Tenders & Proposals’ in a prizedraw. Send your name and address toengineeringmanagement@iee.org.uk.Please note your details will be passed to Kogan Page.

IEE Engineering Management | October/November 2005 29