At the Beginning – Planning & Signposting

• We review the structure and content of the PQQ or bid enquiry to determine the overall strategy
• Our signposting guide helps the team with themes, storyline, win plan, customer focus, and value management
• We research background documents to determine the approach
• We produce a bid plan to identify and assign tasks to individuals within defined timescales
• We chair bid meetings, team co-ordination, creative workshops, problem solving, option appraisals, bid and tender reviews
• We monitor and report against the bid plan to manage inputs and ensure timely delivery

Along the way – Bid Management

• We develop a template for the response that complies with the tender requirements
• We produce a writing style guide
• We manage the bid team members to ensure content is compliant and issued on time
• We write and edit text to ensure consistency in style, spelling and grammar – particularly the content of the opening statements and executive summary
• We ensure that key messages are delivered with examples throughout the document to clearly inform the prospect what they can expect from you- Output Thinking and SMART values

Our approach to bidding is consistent and with a real focus on your customers- the outcome is a demonstration of your expertise in relation to their needs coupled with clear statements of the outcomes they can expect if you work with them.

At the end -Final Submission

• Vision controls the process to avoid those last minute rushes to ensure that you have the time to carefully consider all aspects of your bid before it is submitted
• We publish a bespoke, visually exciting and easily navigable document that stands out
• To be outstanding – we constantly review the way we present bids to ensure they remain modern and ahead of your competitors
• Finally, we print, bind, deliver or upload the final compliant document with electronic copies on time

Vision aims to enhance the performance of your business by improving the way you communicate through writing to achieve maximum impact in a persuasive way. The competitive advantages you offer through your experience, aptitude, integrity, and dependability will be clearly understood and place you ahead of your rivals.

We also carry out “hot and cold” reviews- hot reviews to check that the bid is the best it can possibly be before it is submitted and cold reviews to check where you can improve your approach for better results. These reviews can offer vital insight into how you can improve future performance and win more work.

Consortium Bids

It is now becoming much more common for groups of companies to collaborate to submit a consortium bid for projects. This gives you an opportunity to bid for work of a greater value than normal and bring in expertise in areas where you might need support. A good consortium bid is often well received by clients as it spreads their risks from employing just one organisation, brings in specific skills rather than generalists, and opens additional avenues of financing.

Consortium bids also pose challenges for the parties involved and you will need to reach agreement on business and legal matters to ensure that the risks are clearly defined and responsibilities properly allocated. This may involve a new legal entity or just a working arrangement but either way your bid will need to demonstrate that you can work together with systems that can be easily adopted across all partners.

Vision has an excellent track record in working on consortium bids and writing to showcase the collective rather than any single company. Drawing together the individual aspects of each partner into a single bid requires a particular focus to ensure that the objectives of your prospective client will be achieved when you are selected. It also requires diplomacy, clarity of thinking, and focus on the benefits that will be achieved for all.