What I offer

Versatility, flexibility, and reliability - these are the three core strengths of my service.

I have never worked strictly nine-to-five – you never know when a story might happen. And as a sports journalist, weekends and evenings were generally my busy periods.

A straightforward day-rate system means I can offer the following services with complete transparency. And if that has to be broken down in to the odd hour here or there, you will only pay for what you get.

Remember, too, with those three qualities central to everything I offer, I would hope to be able to help with any other bidding or writing needs you may wish to discuss.

Audit and Review

Deadline looming? Want a practised eye used to catching errors and improving copy up to the moment it goes to press?

Or perhaps you are concerned that the proposal has lost its way and needs renewed focus to capture your most compelling story?

This is most fundamental to the journalism writing skills that have been honed for the last 30 years, supplemented by my diligent pursuit of best practice, qualifying for my APMP Foundation Certificate before I had even been part of my first bid.

Ongoing training provided by Shipley and augmented with continued professional development at conferences and via webinars ensures your bid copy will be:

Persuasive and focused on the customer
Compliant with the bid requirements
Polished; error-free; professional
Consistent with the client’s voice and branding
Concise – whether word counts are in place or not
Clear – even complex technical narrative must be understood
Lively and dynamic – driven by years when the first hurdle was simply to get your story read
Winning

CASE sTUDY:

AudiT & REVIEW

SECTOR:

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

LARGE FM COMPANY submitted a series of projects to review - project #2 just 48 hours before submission.

as well as improving customer focus, I CUT AVERGAGE SENTENCE LENGTH, SENTENCES PER PARAGRAPH AND OVERALL WORD COUNT IN LINE WITH BEST PRACTICE.

#1 #3 WINS #2 NOT QUITE ENOUGH TIME

Figure 1: Review task case study. Even close to deadline, submissions can be improved dramatically by applying the fundamental principles of bid writing and taking opportunities to improve the writing style for the customer - snatching a win from a lost cause

Traditionally, of course, it is all about that win. But while it may not be much of a business model for my services, I want to empower my clients to get the results they want on their own.

Any changes will be fully explained, with the best practice reasoning given in the hope that you can start to build your responses the right way from the beginning. Because while a review and compliance check can avoid catastrophes and give a bid sparkle - pure gold comes from getting things right from the start.

A full bid-writing service

You have identified the market, planned your approach to the account in question, performed an opportunity / capture review assessment. The bid / no bid decision is a green light.

From this moment, the support of a specialist bid writer will improve the final bid document.

Figure 2: The value of bid-writer input throughout the process. By enveloping bid-writing best practice into the project from the very start, you have more chance of producing a strong and coherent bid formed around strategies that are proven to be successful

Early input, even before the RFP has dropped, can help shape a bid properly from the very start. By researching public documents, I can help build profile of potential competitors to aid capture planning. This can be assimiliated into win strategies as I look to help you develop win themes to give the bid a coherent structure.

Once the RFP lands, the construction of a comprehensive compliance matrix will give the bid a robust skeleton to maximise scoring opportunity, and bid-writer input into early content planning will ensure a customer focus, help identify the best approach, and establish compelling reasons why the customer should choose you. Strategically, drawing up some next steps will help smooth the bid process and an initial drafting of the executive summary will help focus minds on the overall direction of travel.

Which brings us to the

With the whole team gathered at this initial launch meeting, early information can be fed back into the group, responsibilities can be allocated and the practical business of responding to the RFP can begin in earnest. It is an opportunity for a bid writer to absorb the sentiments driving the bid and capture the mood of the bid team as a whole.

Previous bids, boiler-plate copy and company literature are the first step of providing the substance for the response. But the winning material lies with the subject matter experts.

A brief focus on interviewing SMEs

Like major sports stars, an SME's top priority is always the job at hand. Talking about what they do distracts from their core focus. However it is a necessary evil. For sports stars, interviews are a gateway to increased profile and sponsorship. By the same token, it is important a strong culture within the company impresses upon everybody that they have a part to play in winning more work.

Thankfully, the efficient professionalism I have developed over the years maximises even limited opportunities to extricate the best possible story with remarkable efficiency.

SMEs hold the details that can make or break a bid. They understand the marginal gains that will benefit the client and can even mitigate for those areas where performance is not quite up to standard.

However, presenting that information to evaluators is a nuanced skill. Fail to capture the fundamental strength of the argument and the bid is already on the back foot. Conversely, too much unnecessary jargon can hide important messages.

Figure 3: Unlocking key SME input. Rather than providing written answers, when SME testimony is provided through the prism of a bid-writer interview, it gains colour, impact and is more likely to cover the full spectrum of the response.

Holding one, two or potentially three brief rounds of discussions unlocks all aspects of the SME's expertise:

Explaining the solution
Indentifying benefits
Persuading the customer

These sessions are tightly scripted to cause limited disruption. Making it an iterative process allows time for the bid writer to consider responses, find gaps and uncertainties, and formulate further targeted questions to attack those flaws. It also gives the SME time to double-check any uncertainties and furnish strong examples. Proof points are vital for top scores.

Ultimately, though, interviewing is an art, not a science. Some subjects like to be cajoled, others challenged. Only through decades of experience does a bid writer learn to recognise how best to steer each conversation to make it as productive as possible.

The final document

The qualities of the bid document listed in Figure 2 are just the beginning. The response will also be clearly signposted so the evaluator can find the information required. It will be clear, professional, and written in a single coherent voice which reflects the company's established tone and language.

After all, this is your document and I will help you through whatever reviews you feel are necessary right the way to submission.

But I don't leave it there. A 'lessons learned' session, win or lose, will help improve future bids and ensure your company is better equipped to win more work in the future.

Associated writing

At heart, I am a writer and can help with any of your needs in this regard. In the past, clients have asked me to undertake a wide variety of projects where my journalistic abilities can add value to the undertaking. I have:

Compiled in-depth case studies for clients to use to generate future work. Received overwhelming feedback: “Hugely compelling; engaging to read; highly impactful. A breath of fresh air for our organisation”
Demonstrated the strong bond between a client and their customer by charting, on a human level, their 10-year history of working together to enhance a corporate annual review
Celebrated a charity's 50-year history by writing and editing a lavish coffee-table style history to sell and distribute to potential fundraisers
Provided narrative for content curated from the best Champions League action in history for a huge multi-sensory exhibition in Miami to tie in with the 2026 World Cup tournament.

What I offer

Audit and Review

A full bid-writing service

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Associated writing