Bid writing is a necessary part of survival and existence for many companies. Companies must win bids in order to stay in business, and bid proposals are made through the writing of bids. The funding sources from which bids apply for are limited, making a good written bid a must. Securing these funds for a corporation is also a tough, competitive process, as all companies need money at one time or another.
Bid writing is a skill that can be refined and strengthened with time and practice. Some businesses have their own bid writers within the company, while others use services that write bids, requests for proposals and bid templates. The request for proposal (RFP) is a document that is part of the bidding process used to submit a proposal for a specific service. A request for proposal template is usually similar to a bid template or general proposal template. These consist of basic formats that the bid writer can use as a starting point and from there adapt the writing style and language to the company he or she is representing.
As bid writing usually needs to be done on a tight deadline to secure the necessary funds, companies often turn to writing services to write the bids for them. These services will often include bid consultancy, a pre-qualification questionnaire, the RFP, an Invitation to Tender (ITT) submission, proofreading, editing, researching, preparing all documents and presentation training. Sometimes the company must present their bid before the group providing the funding. The organization that takes care of the bid writing is often willing to provide training sessions for the company on the best tactics and strategies to use when presenting the bid.
Before bid writing can occur, a company must gather together all their financial records and data, including tax statements and payroll information. A bid form and bid proposal sheet must also be obtained, which outline all the rules to be followed in the bid. The person or organization writing the bid must also take into account inspection reports. Often, bids will not even be considered unless the bid contains an appropriate inspection report of the building or office where the bid is being issued from.
All of the bid’s terms must be outlined explicitly in the document since verbal correspondence is not always honored. The best advice for bid writing is to take care of it early. Do not wait until the deadline is approaching because the bid will be rushed, and the evaluators will notice. Bids should be well planned; this is often best accomplished by the use of an outline before the writing takes place. Make sure the writing is persuasive and appealing, as the most successful bids grab readers’ attention immediately.
