Write and submit the bid
Overview
This standard is for you if you are involved in writing and / or submitting the bid. It is relevant to in-house bid managers, other related professionals, technical specialists, marketing, sales and business development teams and business owners.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- confirm the relevant design, terminology, writing style and format for the bid and any other templates or specific writing instructions
- agree on the overall bid solution and individual sections or the answer plans
- confirm the relevant professionals' roles and responsibilities for writing and contributing to sections of the bid within the internal team or externally, where appropriate
- adopt clear and consistent corporate writing style using the language appropriate for the audience
- stress out your organisation's unique selling propositions, key differentiator(s), solutions, and benefits to demonstrate how the offer adds the value and meets or exceeds the buyer's / funder's requirements
- draft the bid in line with the sections or the answer plans, liaise with other bid team members and consult the key stakeholders
- ensure that the draft bid takes account of market research and conforms with the requirements set out in the bid documentation
- keep track of version control of all bid related documents during the writing process
- conduct the relevant team reviews, proofreading of the draft at all key development stages to ensure readability, style consistency and fitness to bid requirements are maintained
- apply the win themes and bidder strategies across all relevant documents
- conduct a compliance check against a bid checklist or a compliance matrix and sign off the bid
- submit the bid in line with the bid plan and obtain confirmation of receipt.
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the relevant legal, regulatory and ethical requirements that relate to bidding
- the current best practice(s) relevant to bidding activities
- your organisation's guidelines for bid writing including in-house or generic style guides
- the bid formats, designs and writing styles
- the written communication techniques and the correct use of grammar and punctuation
- how to draw on research results and use the past bids as part of the drafting process
- how to control and maintain documents' consistency during writing process by using configuration management
- the methods of proofreading and editing
- the different methods of reviewing the bid, including peer, colour team and executive reviews
- the organisational procedure for managing, protecting and storing all bid documentation
- how to carry out the compliance check by using the compliance matrix or checklist
- how to submit the bid.
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
- Bid project management
- Giving and receiving constructive feedback
- Lone working skills
- Team working skills
- Proofreading, editing
- Time management
- Question analysis
- Interpretation
- Writing
Glossary
Answer plan: sets out the structure for the proposed answer to the bid. An answer plan can include tools and techniques such as storyboarding, bid skeleton, page plan, mock-up, etc.
Bid solution: the bid solution, at this stage, has been reviewed and agreed and covers the way in which products or services will be delivered as a result of a contract being awarded.
Configuration management: A discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to: (1) identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item; (2) control changes to those characteristics; and (3) record and report changes to processing and implementation status. (Definition from the Free Dictionary - amended)
Compliance matrix: is a table that shows where the buyer / funder requirements are addressed across the proposal. It may map requirements down to the section or page of the proposal, showing where these are answered and show word counts, etc.
Colour team reviews: are often conducted as part of a business development and proposal process.
- Blue team reviews: reviews and updates initial capture strategy and capture plan (especially in a larger bid team).
- Red team reviews: reviews final proposal draft - including price and budget - to predict how the buyer / funder may score the proposal.
- Pink team review: reviews storyboards and mock-ups (plans of bid content) to confirm solution set and to validate proposal strategy.
- Gold team review: an approval of final proposal and price.
- Black team review: predicts one or more competitor solutions.
Win themes:** are higher level features and benefits that transcend the entire proposal. Win themes aim to bring out the best features the customers are looking for - typically low cost, low risk, proven solutions, innovation, or performance-based accountability.
Links To Other NOS
CFABAA211 Produce documents in a business environment
CFABAA614 Prepare to communicate in a business environment
CFABAA615 Communicate in a business environment
CFASAL012 Develop sales proposals and quotations