Behind the Bid: Lessons from 20 Years of Tendering

Real-world insights that separate the winners from the nearly-theres.

Two decades in the tendering trenches teaches you more than any textbook ever could. I’ve seen brilliant companies lose by a whisker and underdogs walk away with contracts no one thought they could win.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: winning bids aren’t always the best solutions. They’re the best presented, structured, and strategically positioned offers. And if you want to be in that top tier, these are the battle-tested lessons you need to know.

1. The Best Bids Start Before the Tender Drops

Rookie bidders react to tenders. Winners see them coming.

The strongest bids are built on early intelligence, understanding the buyer, their pain points, their drivers, their decision-makers, and the market context long before the ITT or RFP lands.

Lesson: If you’re starting your strategy after the tender is published, you’re already behind.

2. Don’t Sell What You Do - Sell What They Care About

One of the most common mistakes? Talking about yourself like the evaluator actually cares. They don’t. They care about their outcomes, their risk, and their procurement scorecard.

The best bids flip the lens:

• Not “We deliver outstanding service.”

• But “Here’s how we will deliver measurable, low-risk, high-impact outcomes for you.”

Lesson: Great bids aren’t autobiographies. They’re tailored solutions.

3. Win Themes Win Tenders

Over the years, I’ve seen bids with impeccable technical answers lose to competitors who simply told a better story.

Why? Because evaluators remember themes, not paragraphs.

Lesson: If your win themes aren’t clear, your scorecard won’t be either.

4. Compliance Doesn’t Win Bids — But Non-Compliance Loses Them

You can have the slickest strategy in the world… miss a single requirement, and you’re out.

I’ve watched exceptional submissions disqualified over avoidable details: missing appendices, mislabelled uploads, unsigned forms.

Lesson: Your bid needs a forensic compliance mindset.

5. Price Isn’t Everything — But It’s Never Nothing

Here’s a bitter pill: I’ve seen great solutions undercut by leaner pricing and weak solutions win on commercial structure alone.

But pricing isn’t about being the cheapest; it’s about being justified, transparent, and aligned with the value story.

Lesson: Your commercial model must tell the same story as your written response.

6. Your Website Is a Sleeping Giant

Here’s something I’ve learned after reviewing hundreds of bids: most companies are sitting on a goldmine of evidence they never use. And it’s usually right there on their website, case studies, awards, certifications, testimonials.

Lesson: Your website should reinforce your bid narrative, not contradict or underwhelm it.

7. A Bid Isn’t Written. It’s Engineered.

The most successful bids I’ve been part of didn’t happen by accident. They were designed,  architected with strategy, structured for clarity, reviewed ruthlessly, and submitted with

confidence.

Lesson: Great bids are the product of disciplined engineering, not heroic all-nighters.

The Advantage of Experience

Twenty-plus years in this game have taught me that winning bids aren’t about being perfect, they’re about being strategic, consistent, and credible.

Great bids tell the right story, at the right time, to the right people and leave no room for doubt.

With Vision TDM by your side, you’re not just writing a response. 👉 You’re building a winning position before the competition even knows what hit them.

📩 Ready to stop reacting and start winning? Schedule your FREE bid strategy to see how we turn 30+ years of bid wisdom into your next contract win.